Crime And Punishment

Crime and Punishment - Suffering

Suffering in Crime and Punishment

In the novel Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoevsky,
suffering is an integral part of every character's role. However, the
message that Dostoevsky wants to present with the main character,
Raskolnikov, is not one of the Christian idea of salvation through
suffering. Rather, it appears to me, as if the author never lets his
main character suffer mentally throughout the novel, in relation to
the crime, that is. His only pain seems to be physical sicknes.

Raskolnikov commits a premeditated murder in a state of
delirium. He ends up committing a second murder, which he never ever
wanted to be responsible for. He kills Lizaveta, an exceedingly
innocent person. But does the author ever remind us of the murder at
any time in the novel again? Not in the physical sense of the crime
itself. The reader doesn't hear about how heavily the murders are
weighing on his heart, or how he is tormented by visions of the crime.
He doesn't feel the least bit guilty about having committed the crime,
only his pride's hurt. He doesn't mention the idea of the pain that
might arise from recurrent visions of the crime. Raskolnikov never
again recalls the massive amounts of blood everywhere, the look on
Lizaveta's face when he brings down the axe on her head. These things
clearly show that the crime isn't what might cause him suffering, or
pain, it is something else.

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Crime And Punishment - Suffering

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