Literary Thoughts: Raskolnikov

Literary Thoughts:
Raskolnikov

http://www.againwiththecomics.com/2007/08/batman-by-dostoyevsky.html

I recently finished reading Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky and felt the need to expunge some word vomit. I have waited to read Crime and Punishment for truly the hippest of hipster reasons, that of course being that it is Dostoevsky’s most widely read book.  I instead wanted to read those less known works first, out of intellectual vanity. 

However Crime and Punishment did not disappoint at all. In fact I find myself sympathizing with Raskolnikov more than any of Dostoevsky’s character besides perhaps Ivan Karamazov. Many denounce this troubled soul as a villain, and use his story as a cautionary tale of the dangers of unrestrained progressive ideals. To some extent this is warranted.

Raskolnikov in my eyes is a man, neither hero nor villain. Dostoevsky does this well with his characters, all of whom are brutally flawed and often tragically beautiful. This, to me, best reflects life. There are no storybook princes or heroines, even the greatest men and women had intense character flaws; history has just done its best to gloss over them.  

  

Again I say I sympathize with the young scholar. He is morose and sullen and a bit of an ass, but truly in his heart there is great compassion. I know how it feels to wander the night in a feverish state without rest for hours on end. No matter how far you walk you can never get away from yourself. And so Raskolnikov finds that the only comfort he will find will be in confronting his crime. He takes responsibility for his actions, he does not shirk from the consequences, and indeed his honesty is startling in his confession.

He does not compromise his ideals (however misguided they may be) and still believes, even in Siberia that his murdering of the pawnbroker for the greater good was justified. There is a part of me that does not disagree with him, he realizes the consequences of his actions and in a way stays consistent with his original idea. 

Part of his essay “On Crime,” points out that society as a whole acts as the arbitrator for those “who are above it.” In this regard Raskolnikov faces the fact that he cannot live with himself and maintain his sanity within society and accepts the full consequences of his actions. In doing so he is admitting that he is not one that wants rise above society’s laws, this is not to say he cannot. His moral compass is shaped by his own reason and experience. He does not allow the cookie cutter mold of what he is told to make a deep impression, instead he constantly questions and reshapes his own values. In this way Raskolnikov is morally superior. 

The true reason for his change of heart is the character Svidrigailov. Svidrigailov shows the twisted and evil side of Raskolnikov’s idea: that those who are capable of overcoming and avoiding crime are morally allowed to be unrestricted. Dostoevsky loves to do this in his stories, The Brothers Karamazov has the twisted reflection of Ivan’s “everything is permitted philosophy” in Smerdyakov patricide; while The Possessed has the mirrored yet opposite ideologies of the elder Verkhovensky and his son. 

Svidrigailov lives his life committing atrocious crimes only for his own self-interested passion, and he is very good at getting away with them. In many ways he exemplifies Raskolnikov idea of the superior man, based on his intelligence and ability. Where he does not fit into Raskolnikov’s idea is that unlike the Napoleon’s, he is not serving mankind. 

When we contrast Svidrigailov with the character of Sonya, who prostitutes herself out for her family, essentially committing a grievous social crime, we see that she also is not acting for mankind. She is doing so out of love for her young step-siblings who would starve without her. She does it for her family and for God, and becomes a martyr in Raskolnikov’s eyes.

The contrast of these two characters that unknowingly live through Raskolnikov’s ideological crisis is what brings him to his knees. He sees that in some sense the idea is absolutely just (Sonya) and in another sense evil (Svidrigailov) this realization is absurd and inconsolable in his heart.  It is also what allows him to realize that his actions were not done, truly for humanity and the greater good, but for his own pride. 

And that suffering leads to his confession. Though he never relinquishes his pride, he allows Sonya’s love to finally give him peace. 

In my eyes Raskolnikov is a tragic hero. He brings about much of his own suffering, but has the courage to admit it; he willingly suffers for his mistakes and in doing so allows love into his heart.