Ellaine T. Cruz MA Literature European Literature Saturday 8AM-11AM “Crime and Punishment” by Fyodor Dostoyevsky A Report Background of the Writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky was often described as one of the finest novelists who ever lived because of his influence not only in the fields of literature but also in various schools of thoughts in psychology and theology. Born on November 11, 1821 to a minor noble family in Russia, he was the son of a doctor and a mother from a family of merchants. He had 6 siblings who all survived him after his death in February 9, 1881 where he was surrounded by his children in his dying bed while being read the parable of the Prodigal Son. His influence in the literary circles of his time was apparent in the literary works of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and Anton Chekov as well as the philosphers such as Friendrich Nietzsche and Jean-Paul Sartre. Dostoyevsky’s works mostly composed of novellas and novels though he had also written numerous amounts of short stories and collected his essays in a compilation entitled “A Writer’s Diary” which includes essays written from 1873-1881. His first essay entitled “Winter Notes on Summer Impressions” was published through a monthly magazine named Vremya which Dostoyevsky himself edited. His first novella entitled “Poor Folk” published in 1846, was considered a socialist literary work and was even dubbed by Vissarion Belinsky as Russia’s first “social novel”. In 1864, another one of his novellas entitled “Notes from Underground” was again rendered a first of its kind when it was considered by critics as one of the first existentialist novels as it narrates itself as a rambling monologue of a bitter, isolated, and unnamed narrator described as a retired civil servant living in St. Petersburg. It was also regarded as one of his four major works along with “Crime and Punishment” (1866), “The Idiot” (1869), and “The Demon” (alternatively titled, “The Possessed” published in 1872). Originally published as a monthly installment in the literary journal The Russian Messenger in 1866, “Crime and Punishment” became Dostoyevsky’s first full length novel after it was published in a single volume after his exile in the prisons of Siberia. It was generally regarded by critics as his first great novel during the maturation of his writing career. Writer’s Milieu and the Milieu of the Novel Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential novelists in the Golden Age of Russian Literature, Dostoyevsky’s writing career had spanned throughout the latter part of this literary age which was greatly influenced by his fellow Russian writers like Vasily Zhukovsky, Alexander Pushkin, Nikolai Gogol, and Mikhail Lermontov among others. Dostoyevsky’s works are traditionally regarded as highly psychological as he specialized in the analysis of states of mind leading to insanity, self-humiliation, and murderous rage brought about by tragic and desperate human circumstances. Though belonging to an age of greatly realistic literary form, his novel “Crime and Punishment”, portrayed an altogether different form dealing with the depths of human meaning questioned in a heavy blend of philosophical, psychological, and political issues. Plot Structure The novel was divided into six parts and an epilogue, the parts in themselves were divided into several chapters. The story was narrated in a very linear manner though it presented the focal event at the beginning of the novel. As it was originally published as a monthly installment in a literary journal, every chapters portray elements of thrill and surprise. The dialogue used was highly idealistic and contains more than a fair share of ideals infused by the narrator and the central characters of the novel. Brief summary of the Novel Raskolnikov is a former law student who lives in poverty in a tiny apartment in St. Petersburg. Though stricken with poverty, the former student is a proud, handsome, and intelligent man who refused to bow down to his situation and ultimately arrived at the conclusion that people who are considered rare individuals of high level of genius can be given the right to overstep moral and legal boundaries to achieve the success of their ideas therefore giving them the right of transgression towards other ‘lesser’ people. With this belief, he had carefully planned the murder of an old pawn broker whom he intended to thieve on to improve his financial situation. Albeit his hesitance at first, Raskolnikov was able to complete his plan but was discovered by the old lady’s sister while rummaging her stuff and whom he also killed after. Before the chilling murder of the two sisters however, the guilt stricken murderer had previously entered a pub where he met the acquaintance of a drunkard named Marmeladov and was subject to his bitter story of his daughter who was forced into prostitution to support their family and his ailing wife, Katrina. The next day, Raskolnikov also received word from his mother that his sister Dounia, was forced to resign from her job as a governess in the house of her employer named Svidrigailov who was repeatedly forcing himself on her. To help her family’s financial and social situation, Dounia had decided to marry her wealthy suitor named Luizhin. Razkolnikov was heartbroken to hear of his sister’s sacrifice and was greatly fueled to commit and fulfill his murderous plan. Following these fateful scenes is Raskolnikov’s relentless emotional struggle with guilt and his conscience as well as the impending revelation of his crime. Due to this, he was ill for the most part of the story and has repeatedly warded off offers of help from his friends and family. When Marmeladov was run over by a carriage and killed, Raskolnikov gave his daughter, Sonia, the last of his money to help with the expenses for the funeral. He also passionately objected to the marriage of his sister and Luzhin due to the latter’s highly pompous attitude towards their family and specially to Sonia as seen in a later part of the story when, during the memorial dinner of her father, she was accused of stealing his money on the day she visited Raskolnikov’s apartment which was the same day he also stayed there to visit with his fiance. Meanwhile, the investigator in charge of the murders of the two sisters have almost arrived at his conclusion of the case which implied Raskolnikov as the murderer. Before arriving at this conclusion however, another man confessed to the murders which further heightened Raskolnikov’s feelings of guilt. Later on, he tells Sonia what he has done but Svidrigailov overhears his confession and used this information to blackmail Dounia into submitting to his advances but when it became clear that she will never feel for him as he does to her, he succumbed to his depression and committed suicide. Eventually, Raskolnikov admitted to his crimes as convinced by Sonia. He was charged to 8 years of prison and hard labor in Siberia where he still didn’t repent for the crime he has committed. He was visited by Sonia repeatedly during his exile, meanwhile his sister Dounia married his friend Razumikhin who has helped him greatly during his illness in most parts of the story. During his imprisonment, Raskolnikov also shuts himself out of touch with people until he was hit with an illness which eventually made him realize that happiness cannot be achieved through a planned existence but through suffering. This realization rendered him able to return Sonia’s developed affection for him at the end of the novel. Major Characters of the Novel Rodian Raskolnikov – the main protagonist of the story and the center of psychological themes apparent all throughout. He was a former law student stricken with poverty while living in a tiny garett in St. Petersburg. Despite his poverty however, he had remain proud and handsome albeit his shabby appearance. Believing himself a superior being rendering humanity a good cause by planning the murder of an old pawn broker whom nobody will miss, he had carefully planned his steps towards his idea by repeatedly pretending to pawn a watch to be able to visit the old woman’s house and eventually fulfilling the crime at the expense of an extra life, the old woman’s sister. The story revolved around his feelings of guilt and emotions caused by his conscience as he suffers through the events of the murders investigation. Sonia Marmeladova – the daughter of Raskolnikov’s drunkard friend and was mostly the source of moral strength for the protagonist throughout the novel. She was described as shy and innocent despite having been forced into prostitution to help her family. The protagonist greatly feels connected to Sonia because he believes she shares the feeling of isolation he experienced as man of poverty. Dounia Raskolnikov – the sister of the main protagonist and the catalyst to his enactment of the crime. During Raskolnikov’s time of hesistance, having received the sad fate of his sister through the letter of their mother rendered him desperate to improve his financial situation which finally decided his mind. Though seemingly helpless in her dire situation, Dounia had still imperviously fought her way in life by deciding to marry her rich suitor though his extreme pompous manner forced her to break off the engagement. She later married his brother’s best friend, Razumikhin, who had helped their family throughout the ordeal of the murder investigation and her brother’s almost delusional state of mind. Dmitri Razumikhin – the main protagonist’s old friend whom he visited after committing his crime. During Raskolnikov’s illness in the early part of the novel, he had nursed him back to health where he was able to meet and was greatly enamored by his friend’s sister, Dounia, when they arrived at his apartment for a visit. He eventually realized what his friend had done but he was relentless in giving him assistance extended to his family resulting to him falling in love with Dounia. He was described as a loyal, strong, and intelligent character in the novel which was deemed important for the main protagonist during his time of great struggle. Pyotr Luzhin – a well-off man who was engaged to Dounia at the beginning of the story. He was described as a narrow-minded and self absorbed who’s only intention in marrying the main protagonist’s sister was to indulge his desire to have a beautiful but poor girl who will be completely enamored and indebted to him. Arkady Svidrigailov – Dounia’s former employer who had taken advantage of her poor situation by repeatedly attempting to force himself upon his employee despite the fact that he was married. After his wife died, he generously offered to make financial arrangements for the Sonya and the rest of the Marmeladov children after their father’s death. He seemingly believes that he can make Dounia fall in love with him but when it became apparent that such a thing will never happen, he committed suicide at the end of the novel. Porfiry Petrovich – the investigator in charge of the murders of the two sisters. He had a profound understanding of criminal psychology and was able to detect the connection of Raskolnikov to the crime because of his previously published essay. He had played mind games with the main protagonist for the most part of the story so as to be able to make him confess to his transgression but was halted in his attempts when a different man confessed to the murder he was investigating on. He still eventually figured out that Raskolnikov was the murderer he’s trying to catch but didn’t pursue further in arresting him and instead tried to persuade him to confess. Some Minor Characters in the Novel Alyona Ivanovna – the old pawnbroker the main protagonist murdered at the beginning of the novel. She was described as crude and a cheat for deceiving the poor who comes to her in need of money. Lizaveta Ivanovna – Alyona’s sister and was murdered alongside her sister having witnessed her death at the hand of Raskolnikov. Semyon Marmeladov – the drunkard friend of the main protagonist who was killed during a run over by a carriage. Katerina Marmeladov – the drunkard’s ill second wife and the stepmother of Sonia who forced her into prostitution in order to improve their family’s financial situation. She later regrets forcing her stepdaughter into prostitution but was still ill tempered enough to beat her children despite the fact that she passionately works hard to heighten their state of living. She eventually succumbs to her illness at the end of the novel. Pulkheria Raskolnikov – the main protagonist’s loving but naïve mother. She became mentally and physicall ill after her son’s sentence and was eventually claimed. Andrei Lebezyatnikov – Luzhin’s roommate and witness to his attempt to frame Sonia for theft. He helped Raskolnikov in proving her innocence. Setting and Climax The story was set during the 1860s in St. Petersburg, Russia. Dostoyevsky himself lived in St. Petersburg as it was where he was set sent to attend boarding school and had thus spent most of his life living in what was once Russia’s capital. The narrative’s element as a crime novel will most likely render anyone to think that the climax of the novel was already achieved at the first chapter of the story when Raskolnikov had finally acted on his plan to murder the crude pawnbroker. However, the reporter believes that the climax of the story was achieved when the main protagonist finally decided to confess his crime as an attempt to end his suffering. Themes of the Novel Accounts of Dostoyevsky’s letter to his publisher Mikhail Katkov reveals his true inspiration for writing ‘Crime and Punishment” as the trial of one Pierre Francois Lacenaire in 1865. Lacenaire was a famous murderer who inspired many literary works with his firm belief that his crimes were a form of protest against social injustice and therefore should be pardoned as valid. His sheer belief in this idea had aroused interest in writers like Dostoyevsky who had been dealing with the psychological aspects in most of his published works. He had also intended to use “Crime and Punishment” to show the consequences of nihilism which propagated 19th century Russia during the reign of Tsar Alexander II. Dostoyevsky also touched upon the ideas of utilitarianism and rationalism in his novel as he believes these two fuels the radicals of his time and who had resulted to what Nikolai Chernyshevsky had described as ‘rational egoism’. The novel also highlights the consequences of poverty and human’s tendency for wretchedness seen through the eyes of the main protagonist though it still offered a realist way of redemption apparent in how the narrative ended. Style and Language “Crime and Punishment” was written in a third person point of view which the reporter believes is an important aspect of the novel as it the dialogue it portrays contains the ideas which Dostoyevsky himself wanted to convey and can only be ultimately achieved using the aforementioned. As already apparent in his other works of fiction, he also achieved a highly unusual way of storytelling in the methods of memory shifts and time manipulation, a highly unusual technique during his time of linear modes in literary fiction. Opinions on the Novel As the reporter mentioned on a previously done report of the same crime genre, it was with some difficulty that this report is being written due to the sheer length of the novel which was understandable since it was originally published in a installment basis on a magazine and also because the reporter is not fond of the aforementioned fiction genre. It was also highly descriptive in nature and had too much events going on at the same time that the shifts in memory and manipulation of sequential events contributed to it being a challenge to read. Significance to literature and contemporary times “Crime and Punishment” was considered by many as the novel made at the height of Dostoyevsky’s writing career thus it was regarded as a focal point of his literary legacy, even more so than his novella “Notes from the Underground”. Considered a literary classic, it has been adapted into 25 films to date and had been translated into over 150 languages. It’s significance as a major contribution to the literary world is without a doubt apparent even in the present time. As a fiction belonging to the crime genre, contemporaries published after it surely share the same elements of thrill and surprise evidenced in most crime novels to date.
