My Take - Crime and Punishment

If you aren’t overwhelmed by a classic, then you might be reading it wrong. And Dostoyevsky would never allow that to happen. His works are bound to awe, stir and overwhelm you. And what happens when literary prowess, psychology, philosophy and ethics come together in a single work which stands the test of time? Well, simple, humankind gets one of its literary magnum opus: Crime and Punishment.

A novel which takes its readers through the alleys of Petersburg to the garret which was the home of the famous literary hero Rodion Romanovitch Raskolnikov and then nudges the readers into the turmoil inside his mind, warrants no introduction. The novel is a mental voyage which begins from the moment the hideous idea is conceived by Raskolnikov and continues till he accepts and repents his crime. Being a psychological novel it excellently portrays the mental agony and chaos of Raskolnikov and the mental state of several other characters as well. But, the novel doesn’t deals just with the psyche of its characters but it also brings forth the social and political conditions of 19^th century Russia.

Crime and Punishment concerns itself with the then contemporary principles of Existentialism and Nihilism, which stormed the intellectual quarters of Europe and Russia. Dostoyevsky was opposed to such principles which advocated a Godless society. In this novel he rejects such principles, but in doing so he never for once resorts to fanaticism or bigotry, and herein lays the beauty of Crime and Punishment. Dostoyevsky presents the principles which he rejects in such a detailed, precise and logical manner that the reader is bound to mentally nod while reading the arguments in favour of those principles. That is, Dostoyevsky doesn’t triumph over the principles by making a mockery of them but by vividly presenting the mental trauma of those who enticed by such fancy notions take it upon themselves to live their lives on those lines and hence carry those principles to their logical consequences. Through Crime and Punishment Fyodor Dostoyevsky brings out the fallacy of Nietzsche’s theory of ubermensch and the famous declamation “GOD IS DEAD”.

The novel is replete with rich characters, and each character brings in a new set of values and complexity. None of the character is denied their right to stand for what they believe in. The clash of two opposing sets of beliefs and principles is depicted through the iconic encounters between Porfiry Petrovitch and Raskolnikov. Their meetings which is characterized by the brilliant mind games played by each to subdue the other has already reached a cult status and is a treat for the intellect of the readers. Raskolnikov who firmly believes in the theory of ubermensch, thinks himself to be above the ordinary man, which makes him entitled to a breach in morality for the greater good, and is thus lead to commit the murder of the old pawnbroker. But after committing the crime he suffers mental agony because on one hand his conscience torments him while on the other hand he still believes himself to be above the ordinary and thus entitled to bloodshed, though he had failed in fulfilling his objective of promoting greater good and is thus a contemptible failure. He strives to be a ubermensch but is saved and finally redeemed by Sonia. While on the other hand, Svidrigailov epitomizes the concept of ubermensch, for he is a man of his own whims and is never tormented by any ethical or moral question. But unlike Raskolnikov, he doesn’t have the good fortune of being redeemed by Dounia and thus finally ends his life albeit remorseless. The dangers of such atheist principles and theories in reiterated in the delirious dream of Raskolnikov in which each man believes himself to be in the possession of ultimate truth and therefore considers himself to be the ultimate authority, which wreaks havoc and leads to the ultimate destruction of civilization.

Undoubtedly, Crime and Punishment is a masterpiece and I was absolutely awed by the force of the story. However, I personally feel unsatisfied with the role of the saviour which the women of the novel were made to play, especially Sonia. Though I ought not to bring my 21^st century feminist notions while analysing a 19^th century psychological novel yet I couldn’t help feeling indignant at the self-effacing altruistic role that Sonia is made to play. Though one may say that it was her love for Raskolnikov which made her follow him to Siberia, but, I ask why is it that it is only women who are entrusted with the duty of redeeming ‘fallen’ men. Why is it that women must take it upon themselves to bring back the men who are lead astray to the correct and moral path, to ‘save’ such lost men even if it means sacrificing their own life, and by sacrificing life I don’t mean the literal giving up of the physical body for life entails much more. Are women supposed to be the rehab centre for ‘fallen’ and ‘lost’ men with the sole purpose of resurrecting them back to pure life? Dostoyevsky of course did not mean to portray women as inferior, but somehow such angelic and self-effacing notion of women was revolting to me.

Also, I would like to add that Sonia who was the embodiment of the suffering of humanity, according to me symbolises Christ himself in resurrecting Rakolnikov from his morbid rationality devoid of faith and consequent agony.

Apart from my disagreement with such angelic and self-effacing roles assigned to women, I thoroughly enjoyed the novel. Dostoyevsky presents a great deal about human nature through the brilliant description of the mental turmoil of Raskolnikov.  “A faithless man is condemned to suffer; a faithless world is condemned to doom”, how poignantly this message is conveyed by Dostoyevsky without for once preaching or resorting to fanaticism, but through the vivid depiction of the suffering and agony of his protagonist, Rodion Romanovitch Raskolnikov.

My rating of this classic is 4.5 stars.

I would like to end my review with one of my favourite quotes from this novel-

“Pain and suffering are always inevitable for a large intelligence and a deep heart. The really great men must, I think, have great sadness on earth.”