Book Review: Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov is a law student, allegedly. When we meet him, Raskolnikov has not been to class in some time, nor has he worked at his part-time tutoring job. For the last few weeks he’s been just brooding in his tiny room (several months behind on the rent), not getting enough to eat and wandering around the bad part of Saint Petersburg as his only outfit turns to rags.
Raskolnikov has a theory, though. While laws are all very well for the common run of people, they just get in the way for the truly superior man. If a man is destined for greatness, and his destiny will ultimately be the best thing for everyone, then any necessary crimes to achieve that destiny are not only justified, but actually required!
Raskolnikov requires a large sum of money to get back on his feet and do the good works he intends to do. The miserly pawnbroker Alyona Ivanovna has a large sum of money, and is generally a horrid person, including mistreating her kindly sister Lizaveta. Raskolnikov has almost convinced himself that robbing and murdering Alyona would be the best outcome for all involved.
But Raskolnikov is troubled by disturbing dreams and afflicted by the July heat. After pawning a small item to case Alyona’s apartment business, the young man stumbles into a tavern, where he meets compulsive alcoholic Marmeladov. Marmeladov has just thrown away his last chance for a steady job to support his family and allow his daughter Sonya to quit prostitution for a few days of binge drinking.
This encounter will be of vital importance to Raskolnikov’s future, but he proceeds with his plan to commit ax murder for money. He does not realize that all crimes lead to punishment, even if they are not detected.
This classic novel was first published as a serial in The Russian Messenger in 1866, after Dostoevsky returned from his exile in Siberia. A lot of words have been written about the themes and meaning of the story, and I am not sure I have anything new to add.
Raskolnikov reminds me a bit of college students I’ve known who go through Philosophy 101 or Political Science 101, get what they think is a brilliant idea about the true meaning of life or how people should be governed and then will just not shut up about it. He doesn’t really discuss it that often with other people, but the omniscient third person narration means we get to hear his thoughts on the subject frequently.
The crime itself is bungled when Raskolnikov neglects to lock the door after the murder and Lizaveta returns home unexpectedly. The young man winds up killing the innocent Lizaveta and fleeing with only a small portion of loot, which he promptly buries to avoid being caught with it. He manages to avoid being seen by a living witness during any of this, so initially escapes suspicion.
A combination of his neglected health and mental stress causes Raskolnikov to have a nervous collapse, and he is nursed back to a semblance of health by his friend Razumikhin, a fellow impoverished student with a much healthier attitude towards life. Raskolnikov is well-known among his acquaintances for being eccentric, so his behavior doesn’t raise any suspicions.
As Raskolnikov recovers, his mother and sister arrive in St. Petersburg. Avdotya (nicknamed “Dunya”) had been forced to give up her servant job when her wealthy and wicked employer Svidrigaïlov attempted to seduce her. In order to save the family from poverty, Dunya has agreed to an arranged marriage with the lawyer Luzhin, who is in St. Petersburg on business so summoned her there.
Luzhin is a grade-A snake, and Raskolnikov takes a violent dislike to him, forbidding the marriage. In retaliation, Luzhin attempts to frame Sonya for theft at the wake of her father Marmeladov (who dies in a traffic accident while drunk), on the grounds that Raskolnikov likes the young woman.
Nor is Luzhin the only threat, as Svidrigaïlov’s wife has died (coincidence? murder? we never find out), and he is now able to pursue Dunya as well. The older rake is far more competent than Luzhin and a coincidence gives him evidence he could use to destroy Raskolnikov.
Meanwhile, police inspector Porfiry Petrovich has realized that Raskolnikov is the right suspect in the pawnbroker murders, but based on psychology rather than any direct physical evidence. He plays mind games with the student, attempting to convince Raskolnikov to confess.
In the epilogue, Raskolnikov serves his sentence in Siberia, and slowly comes to full repentance and a re-establishment of his moral core. This punishment, though unpleasant, is nothing compared to what his own guilt and confusion had done to him.
There’s a lot of death in this book, and I can see where Russian literature got its reputation for being depressing. (Content warning: animal abuse, suicide, domestic abuse, period ethnic prejudice, mostly against Germans.)
The themes are heavy, reflecting the nihilism and political radicalization of the time. The freeing of the serfs in 1861 had done little to improve economic conditions. Luzhin rooms with a proto-Communist during his stay in St. Petersburg. In general, there is a housing shortage in the city, with every building divided into tiny apartments. The pawnbroker’s business is a two-room flat, Raskolnikov’s room is small enough that he can open the door from the couch on the opposite wall, the Marmeladov family lives in a converted hallway, and even the police station is a rented upper floor in an apartment building.
I read the Constance Garnett translation, which has only a couple of footnotes to explain historical points and otherwise does not explain references. This made the book thick going, even for a strong reader. I’d recommend an annotated version if you can find one.
The psychological drama in Raskolnikov’s head is the main draw of the book, as he learns how bankrupt his “great man” theory is. (But Friedrich Nietzsche read the book and said, “no, wait, I think he has a point.”)
Some bits are overly melodramatic (the fate of Marmeladov’s wife) or require too much suspense of disbelief (Svidrigaïlov just happening to take the room next to Sonya and just happening to be in it when Raskolnikov confesses to her.)
Well worth reading, but you might want to watch a movie version instead:
