Crime and Punishment

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1866

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Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Epilogue

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

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Themes

Alienation and Shame

In Crime and Punishment, many characters feel alienated from society, cut off or isolated from other people. Raskolnikov is the central embodiment of this alienation. He physically separates himself from people by staying in his room, refusing to engage with friends and family, and retreating into his own thoughts. Trapped like this, Raskolnikov festers with rage. To explain his disconnection, he concocts a complex theory separating people into the ordinary and the extraordinary, to whom everything is permitted. Desperate to believe that he is extraordinary, he commits murder. But this action only isolates him more.

Other characters experience alienation in Crime and Punishment because of shame. Marmeladov’s alcoholism makes him a self-hating pariah, too ashamed to go home to his wife. The shame of Sonia’s profession dehumanizes her as an immoral fallen woman. Raskolnikov witnesses an attempted suicide, and several young women reportedly killed themselves after Svidrigailov raped them—the shame of premarital sex, even when coerced, is enough for them to consider their lives ruined.

However, shame works in the other direction as well. The novel posits that public shaming is necessary to reclaim those alienated from society—after being mortified like this, the alienated can be restored through love and social connections. When anger over Dunia’s rejection leads Luzhin to falsely accuse Sonia of theft, his would-be conspirator Lebeziatnikov reveals the deceit, subjecting Luzhin to public shaming and thus freeing everyone from his influence. When Raskolnikov decides to really take responsibility for his crimes, he obeys Sonia’s instruction to beg for forgiveness at a crossroad first, where a crowd heckles and mocks him mercilessly. Those who cannot face public humiliation cannot be redeemed. Desperate to escape the crowd yelling insults at her, the consumptive and half-raving Katerina Ivanovna mortally wounds herself and tragically dies. After his attempted rape of Dunia fails, Svidrigailov finally sees just how alienated from humanity he has become and shoots himself—the ultimate expression of isolation.

Criminality

Criminality is a constant concern in Crime and Punishment, as characters are murderers, prostitutes, and debauched rich men. The novel posits that crime is the result of a variety of things. It can be the product of poverty as destitute, desperate people react to their social conditions. It can be the action of a person whose wealth has isolated them from consequences. Finally—in a unique case—it is a way for a deluded person to prove a philosophical idea.

Raskolnikov is an example of this last type of criminal. He commits murder to demonstrate his nihilist theory that people are either ordinary or extraordinary. He believes that normal morality cannot bind extraordinary men. Rather, for great men (such as himself), everything is permitted in the pursuit of greatness. Raskolnikov’s theory of criminality is undone by the aftermath of the murder. He struggles with his guilt and his fears of being caught, revealing the tension between abstract theory and the reality of harming another person.

Svidrigailov, on the other hand, commits crimes because his socio-economic status keeps him from facing justice. His sexual assaults lead to at least two suicides, he is possibly guilty of murdering his wife, and he threatens to rape Dunia. Unlike Raskolnikov, Svidrigailov does not suffer guilt after his actions—instead, he is prone to bragging about his success with the ladies. His sexual predation is a hobby, not a source of shame. Only when he has a moment of clarity about exactly what kind of person he is and how unlikely it is that anyone will ever care for him does Svidrigailov suddenly confront what he has done. In response, he kills himself rather than face external justice. In the end, wealth allows to be his own arbiter—criminality might cross social divides, but punishment is not universal.

The Necessity of Suffering

The novel presents suffering as necessary and universal. Crime, sickness, poverty, alienation, and love—all causes of suffering—are ever-present in the lives of the characters. Only by accepting suffering can characters find happiness. Those who refuse to suffer gladly, as a kind of spiritual test, tend to meet tragic ends.

Dostoevsky’s view of suffering as a holy or religious thing is a common theme of Christian doctrine. His characters often see the overwhelming suffering in their lives as a crucible of faith. The alcoholic Marmeladov looks to God for redemption, even though he does not believe he deserve it. Sonia internalizes her shame and suffering, viewing her pain as a just punishment from God. Her strength and faith guide Raskolnikov to accept the suffering he deserves for his crimes and to welcome its cleansing power. Raskolnikov does not believe in God, but he has faith in Sonia’s belief that suffering is a necessary step toward redemption.

On other hand, Luzhin and Svidrigailov refuse to accept that they must suffer for what they have done. Luzhin’s response to Dunia’s rejection is to immediately try to transfer his pain to someone else—Sonia. When he is publicly confronted, he escapes rather than take his due opprobrium. Svidrigailov gives himself over entirely to debauchery and refuses to live with the fact that he is monster. As soon as he realizes this fact, Svidrigailov shoots himself rather than suffer any longer.