To kill or not to kill? (Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky)

Member Name: robertjake

Product:	Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Date:	11/07/01 (71 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Very readable, Intellectual argument, Cheap!

Disadvantages: Longer than necessary, Disappointing ending (for me anyway!)

Dostoyevsky was born into Tsarist Russia in 1821. He spent much of his early life as an active socialist agitator, and was a member of the radical 'Petraveshky circle'. This led to his arrest, in 1848, and subsequent spell in the Omsk labour camp for four years. This was a formative period in his life because he changed his ideological perspective to become a strong supporter of the Russian Orthodox Church; traditionally a bastion of the Tsarist regime. Crime and Punishment, his most popular work, was written in 1866, and I thought it would be useful to point out the context in which it was written. Because at this time, Russian writers tended to focus on issues that were either for or against the regime. Dostoyevsky is firmly in the former camp.

The story centers around the character of a young student called Raskolnikov living in St Petersburg. He lives in abject poverty and is always struggling to survive, and can only do this through the support of his mother and sister who are back in the provinces somewhere. In fact, they have to give everything they have to Raskolnikov, and this is a source of great pressure on him. When he hears that his sister is going to marry a man for money and not love, he feels desperate and angry. He decides to kill an old woman lender to free himself from poverty, and to help his family.

He ruminates for ages over the pros and cons of the murder, and decides that because she is a hated parasite, he would be doing no wrong in killing the old woman. Yet he is still obsessed with self doubt and is morally tormented. He later kills her for the money, and we find the justification for this later when we hear of an article he had written, which stresses that many of the great men in history, have broken the law in order to achieve greatness. Such men are above the law, because they seek to break it, only in order to further humanity. Raskolnikov sees himself to be one such man - he is extremely clever, and feels t
hat the death of one hated woman in order to achieve greatness is a reasonable sacrifice.

However, after he has murdered the old woman, he undergoes what could only be described as severe psychological paralysis. He collapses in his room and sort of fades away. He has a tortured soul, and the arrival of his mum and sister only increases his sense of guilt.

Raskolnikov then tries to free himself from his mental anguish, (he hasn't even used the money) and goes back to the scene of the murder. He sort of allows himself to get caught up in the police investigation, and is finally discovered (half willingly) and sent to a prison camp. Here he lives for a number of years, in which his soul is rejuvenated and he feels whole again.

Ive missed out plenty of the plot, as I have tried to get to the meaning of the story - crime does not pay. People, no matter how great, have to obey the law or inevitably face the consequences - mental torture and/or imprisonment. It is a strong argument in favour of the rule of law, and therefore, an implicit recognition of the legitimacy of the Tsarist regime. Thus, it could be said to undermine one of the central socialist principles that were being argued at the time - that is fine to break the law in order to make a peoples republic.

I actually really enjoyed this novel, even though it must appear quite dry from my description! You should read it with the political message in mind, as it is certainly no intended for light entertainment. Its quite long, 434 pages, but I found it very readable, and it is very easy to get into Raskolnikov's mind set. You end up feeling and understanding his mental anguish about the crime dilemma. However, I also got a bit angry with him! I was actually a bit disappointed in the ending (being a socialist) because I thought Raskolnikov should have stood by his principles and made a better life for himself and his family, with the old woman's money - she was a ho
rrible cow after all! But this is why the novel is so good; you end up engaging in the debate, and I at least appreciated what Dosteyevsky was trying to say. For example, with our laws, it would be entirely applicable today.

A classic read, and one I heartily recommend!

ISBN 0-14-062180-6 Available in Penguin, in most book stores for a quid.

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