World Classics Library : Fyodor Dostoevsky

5/5
Spoilers.

The most difficult thing to read without bias is an author's most famous work. Crime and Punishment is, undeniably, the most known and praised piece of Dostoevsky's. Having just finished this and waiting for the ending to seep into my brain, the one thing I can say for certain is the flow of this book is impeccable. This book is probably the most accessible of his writing, with no need of any familiarity with Russian classics. Arguably, the same thing could be said about some of his other works—such as The Gambler, The Double, and most of his short stories—but they do not have the plot depth this book has.

The story follows a former law student, Raskolnikov, who discontinues his studies due to financial problems. He is of the utmost cynical and capricious nature. Raskolnikov, unemployed and impoverished, spends the majority of his time 'thinking.' The more he indulges in his supposedly intellectual monologues, the further he inflates his own ego. He comes to the idea he could be on par with the great intellectuals and geniuses of the world—particularly Napoleon. Coming to this conclusion, he decides the principles of morality are flexible and that those with enough wit and courage can rewrite these principles.

Raskolnikov's financial circumstances lead him to planning the murder of a pawnbroker who does nothing but hoard her money and provides no societal benefit. As he contemplates his plan, he sees signs encouraging him to go ahead with it from all around him. It is unclear whether this is a case of Jung's synchronicity or the onset of Raskolnikov's delusions. Following the murder—technically murders counting Lizaveta, who rushed in and became a witness to the crime—Raskolnikov's neurotic behaviour is enhanced and he is sent into bouts of pure delirium. He does good by giving his money away to the poor and those who need it, only to change his mind a moment later and regret it. He ruminates on the nature of his actions, sometimes completely indifferent to his crime and sometimes suffocated by his fleeting conscience. Ultimately, he sees morals as 'obstacles' (a word he repeatedly uses as a substitute) he should allow his conscience to 'step across.' In the end, he realises he is not the man Napoleon was and accepts his mediocrity. He decides to turn himself in and accept suffering as the price of his crime.

Personally, I could not decide whether I adored Raskolnikov's character or loathed him completely. This takes me to other characters in this book, who all contribute to the main theme—human suffering—in one way or another. Two relationships stood out to me the most: the relationship between Marmeladov and his daughter, Sonya; and the relationship between Sonya and her stepmother, Katerina. Sonya 'sells' herself to provide food for her family whilst her father spends most of his time—and her money—in drinking inns drowning his sorrows. Marmeladov watches his daughter choose a life of sin in devotion to their family, taking her money and wasting it on alcohol. He increases her suffering in the hopes God bears witness and bestows a greater forgiveness for her.

'He (God) will come this day, and inquire: "And where is the daughter that hath not spared herself for the sake of her harsh-tongued and consumptive stepmother and for young children that are not her own kith and kin? Where is the daughter who took pity on her earthly father, an obscene drunkard, undismayed by his bestial nature?" And he (God) will say unto her, "Come unto me! I have already forgiven thee once. Forgiven thee once... Thy sins, which are many, are forgiven; for thou lovest much..."
And he'll forgive my Sonya, he'll forgive her, I know he will.'

This theme of human suffering and sacrifice cleansing one's sins goes on throughout the book. Marmeladov even admits to taking pleasure from the beating given to him by his wife as a result of his unruly behaviour. He claims these beatings help 'unburden her soul.' His wife, Katerina Ivanovna, is the stepmother of Sonya. Katerina Ivanovna is an interesting character on her own accord. A woman of strength who is constantly shown to make sacrifices for her family. It's the pairing of Katerina Ivanovna and Sonya that intrigues me most. Although Sonya is not her real daughter, Katerina treats her so. She sees Sonya as the saviour of the family and regards her with the highest esteem despite her profession. For Sonya, Katerina goes into utter frenzy once the girl's reputation is questioned. There is a segment describing the scene at Katerina Ivanovna's funeral that visualises the connection between Katerina and her children, which I can only imagine as the inverted version of Ciseri's Martyrdom of the Seven Maccabees:

'Sonya fell on her corpse, gripped her in her arms and froze there, her head fixed close to the dead woman's withered chest. Polya fell prostate at her mothers feet, kissing them and sobbing violently. Kolya and Lyonya, who did not yet understand what had happened, but sensed that it must be something very dreadful, seized each other's little shoulders in an embrace and fixing each other with their eyes, suddenly, both at the same time, opened their mouths wide and began to howl.'

I could go on about this book for aeons but I will stop here. Although this has not taken its spot as my favourite work of Dostoevsky's—a position limited to Demons and House of the Dead—I can understand the praise this book has gotten. I do not regret starting it late; In fact, if anything it has made me enjoy this more.