As part of my Russian Studies, I take ‘Golden and Silver Ages of Russian Literature’, which is a bit of a mouthful. Last semester, we covered ‘Crime and Punishment’, by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Negligent student that I am, I have only just finished reading it, so I thought I’d share some opinions with you.
Crime and Punishment is one of the most well known titles among Russian literature in the Western world, up there with War and Peace. Dostoevsky crafts the story of Rodya Raskolnikov, who has a fair few issues: he murders an evil old lady in a utilitarian fashion, but finds that he is not above the guilt and other repercussions that he imagined himself to be.
One of the things I loved most about this book were the women. The men were all flawed, manipulative and generally of bad character (except for the gentlemanly Razumihin), but the women showed strength, virtue, and just love. Rodya’s sister, Dounia, is devastatingly poor, but simultaneously possibly the most beautiful woman ever described in literature. I usually have trouble picturing fictional characters, and they go about rather faceless, but Dounia’s haughtily beautiful face is etched on my retina. Dounia is the embodiment of everything I want to be - hard-working, self-sacrificing for the good of others, spirited, but endlessly kind. Her efforts to mend her broken family are incredible, and Rodya’s love for her is one of the things that keeps him noble.
Sonia, the young girl forced into prostitution to provide for her family, is endlessly meek and shy, shocked when anyone of higher status addresses her, and so nervous that she runs from most people who try to talk to her. This timid little soul being sentenced to prostitution is heart-breaking; you can easily see that she’s still so young. Indeed, Rodya notes in surprise that, ‘not one drop of real depravity had penetrated to her heart’; despite her situation, she remains entirely pure and innocent. Rodya discovers the secret that keeps Sonia from the ‘depravity’ associated with her profession - her absolute faith in God. Sonia acts as the voice of virtue in the novel, encouraging Rodya to do the right thing and confess even when he could easily escape.
The mother figures in Crime and Punishment are also extraordinary. Rodya’s mother, Pulcheria (a name which really makes me chuckle) is perhaps a little naive, but so incredibly loving of her son and daughter. As she admits herself, she doesn’t always do the best thing by them (such as letting Dounia work for Svidrigailov, then get engaged to Luzhin) but her heart is totally and completely in the right place: the way she sends the last of her money to Rodya for his studies out of the overflowing pride she has for him and his lofty work - which makes it even more painful when he misuses the money and lies to her. Sonia’s mother, the tragic Katerina Ivanovna, embodies the downfall of an aristocrat’s daughter to a beggarwoman, and the scene where she hysterically forces her children to sing and dance in the street for money is heart-breaking, even more so when she berates them for not singing French and German songs, to show that they are ‘well-brought up children’. To see how much of a handful Katerina is, and even then see Sonia’s overwhelming love and self-sacrifice for her, is a true testament to Sonia’s purity of character.
Dostoevsky clearly did not have such a high opinion of men. Of the male characters, the only one I adored was dear little Razumihin, who was imbued with an almost puppy-like enthusiasm for Rodya’s wellbeing, voraciously ensuring his good health and safeguarding Pulcheria and Dounia. When we first meet him, he is as destitute as Rodya, yet still offers him work and other help. This endless (and usually unappreciated) goodness and charity goes to exacerbate just how proud Rodya is: even when his friends and family persistently try to help him, he rejects it all and sacrifices it on the altar of his own pride and superiority complex; he desperately wants to distance himself from the beggars that he sees as so overwhelmingly ‘ordinary’, something that is totally incompatible with his Napoleonic ideology.
I was told before reading this book that Dostoevsky was kind of like the Russian C.S. Lewis, and I expected to find strong Christian morals woven throughout the novel. On first completing the book, I thought it was nothing of the sort - Rodya is a terrible, terrible man, who spends his money unwisely and feels no sense of responsibility towards society or towards his family - he is perfectly happy to remain unemployed and live on the expectation that money will fall at his feet. An unchristian character before you even consider the murder! He is incredibly charitable, as is illustrated throughout the novel, which is a redeeming factor, but overall I was thoroughly unimpressed with Dostoevsky’s protagonist. However, upon reflection and some background reading, the story is littered with good Christian women, and some Christian men. The story is essentially a resurrection in itself, the story of a sinner brought to life. Dostoevsky threads the story of Lazarus the beggar into his narrative, which emphasises the new life a person has with faith, no matter what their earthly circumstances. Rodya’s bearing of Sonia’s cross mimics the cross of Jesus, and the suffering Rodya is bearing, that is later lifted. Lastly, it is only when Rodya humbles himself to accept the love of Sonia that he finds true peace, showing the beneficial nature of the love bestowed by God.
So, in summary.
Pros: Great exploration of the human psyche, and mental conditions. Fascinating. Also great portrait of poverty in early 20th century St Petersburg, and how poverty affects humankind. Great characters, you really feel for their troubles and will them on to better things.
Cons: Wildly confusing at times. Dostoevsky has an interestingly convoluted narrative style: a lot of attention is paid to small details and minimal attention paid to crucial facts. I had to keep flipping back to reread paragraphs.
Definitely going to have to read this again sometime, if only to better understand what on earth is going on!
RATING
One of the things I loved most about this book were the women. The men were all flawed, manipulative and generally of bad character (except for the gentlemanly Razumihin), but the women showed strength, virtue, and just love. Rodya’s sister, Dounia, is devastatingly poor, but simultaneously possibly the most beautiful woman ever described in literature. I usually have trouble picturing fictional characters, and they go about rather faceless, but Dounia’s haughtily beautiful face is etched on my retina. Dounia is the embodiment of everything I want to be - hard-working, self-sacrificing for the good of others, spirited, but endlessly kind. Her efforts to mend her broken family are incredible, and Rodya’s love for her is one of the things that keeps him noble.
Sonia, the young girl forced into prostitution to provide for her family, is endlessly meek and shy, shocked when anyone of higher status addresses her, and so nervous that she runs from most people who try to talk to her. This timid little soul being sentenced to prostitution is heart-breaking; you can easily see that she’s still so young. Indeed, Rodya notes in surprise that, ‘not one drop of real depravity had penetrated to her heart’; despite her situation, she remains entirely pure and innocent. Rodya discovers the secret that keeps Sonia from the ‘depravity’ associated with her profession - her absolute faith in God. Sonia acts as the voice of virtue in the novel, encouraging Rodya to do the right thing and confess even when he could easily escape.
The mother figures in Crime and Punishment are also extraordinary. Rodya’s mother, Pulcheria (a name which really makes me chuckle) is perhaps a little naive, but so incredibly loving of her son and daughter. As she admits herself, she doesn’t always do the best thing by them (such as letting Dounia work for Svidrigailov, then get engaged to Luzhin) but her heart is totally and completely in the right place: the way she sends the last of her money to Rodya for his studies out of the overflowing pride she has for him and his lofty work - which makes it even more painful when he misuses the money and lies to her. Sonia’s mother, the tragic Katerina Ivanovna, embodies the downfall of an aristocrat’s daughter to a beggarwoman, and the scene where she hysterically forces her children to sing and dance in the street for money is heart-breaking, even more so when she berates them for not singing French and German songs, to show that they are ‘well-brought up children’. To see how much of a handful Katerina is, and even then see Sonia’s overwhelming love and self-sacrifice for her, is a true testament to Sonia’s purity of character.
Dostoevsky clearly did not have such a high opinion of men. Of the male characters, the only one I adored was dear little Razumihin, who was imbued with an almost puppy-like enthusiasm for Rodya’s wellbeing, voraciously ensuring his good health and safeguarding Pulcheria and Dounia. When we first meet him, he is as destitute as Rodya, yet still offers him work and other help. This endless (and usually unappreciated) goodness and charity goes to exacerbate just how proud Rodya is: even when his friends and family persistently try to help him, he rejects it all and sacrifices it on the altar of his own pride and superiority complex; he desperately wants to distance himself from the beggars that he sees as so overwhelmingly ‘ordinary’, something that is totally incompatible with his Napoleonic ideology.
I was told before reading this book that Dostoevsky was kind of like the Russian C.S. Lewis, and I expected to find strong Christian morals woven throughout the novel. On first completing the book, I thought it was nothing of the sort - Rodya is a terrible, terrible man, who spends his money unwisely and feels no sense of responsibility towards society or towards his family - he is perfectly happy to remain unemployed and live on the expectation that money will fall at his feet. An unchristian character before you even consider the murder! He is incredibly charitable, as is illustrated throughout the novel, which is a redeeming factor, but overall I was thoroughly unimpressed with Dostoevsky’s protagonist. However, upon reflection and some background reading, the story is littered with good Christian women, and some Christian men. The story is essentially a resurrection in itself, the story of a sinner brought to life. Dostoevsky threads the story of Lazarus the beggar into his narrative, which emphasises the new life a person has with faith, no matter what their earthly circumstances. Rodya’s bearing of Sonia’s cross mimics the cross of Jesus, and the suffering Rodya is bearing, that is later lifted. Lastly, it is only when Rodya humbles himself to accept the love of Sonia that he finds true peace, showing the beneficial nature of the love bestowed by God.
So, in summary.
Pros: Great exploration of the human psyche, and mental conditions. Fascinating. Also great portrait of poverty in early 20th century St Petersburg, and how poverty affects humankind. Great characters, you really feel for their troubles and will them on to better things.
Cons: Wildly confusing at times. Dostoevsky has an interestingly convoluted narrative style: a lot of attention is paid to small details and minimal attention paid to crucial facts. I had to keep flipping back to reread paragraphs.
Definitely going to have to read this again sometime, if only to better understand what on earth is going on!
RATING
FRESH
