malalai khan

“But what has he tied it up like this for?” the old woman cried with vexation and moved towards him.

He had not a minute more to lose. He pulled the axe quite out, swung it with both arms, scarcely conscious of himself, and almost without effort, almost mechanically, brought the blunt side down on her head. He seemed not to use his own strength in this. But as soon as he had once brought the axe down, his strength returned to him.

The old woman was as always bareheaded. Her thin, light hair, streaked with grey, thickly smeared with grease, was plaited in a rat’s tail and fastened by a broken horn comb which stood out on the nape of her neck. As she was so short, the blow fell on the very top of her skull. She cried out, but very faintly, and suddenly sank all of a heap on the floor, raising her hands to her head. In one hand she still held “the pledge.” Then he dealt her another and another blow with the blunt side and on the same spot. The blood gushed as from an overturned glass, the body fell back. He stepped back, let it fall, and at once bent over her face; she was dead. Her eyes seemed to be starting out of their sockets, the brow and the whole face were drawn and contorted convulsively. (Part 1, Chapter 7)

This was a thriller.

Crime and Punishment is a 1866 psychological crime novel, written by the famous Russian novelist, Fyodor Dostoyevsky. It is regarded as as one of the first psychological thrillers, as the critic John Jones wrote, it is ‘the most accessible and exciting novel in the world’.

Plot

The story starts with a young student, Rodion Romanovitch Raskolnikov who lives in a tiny apartment in St Petersburg. He is pale, in rags and talks to himself about committing a crime for the sake of robbery. He goes to the old pawnbroker, Alena Ivanova, to get money, while also planning the crime. He wanders into streets and markets and stops at an inn for a drink. There, a drunken retired officer, Semyon Zakharovich Marmeladov, interests him and tells him of his family and the harsh conditions they live in. Rodion walks with Marmeladov to his apartment where he meets Marmeladov’s wife Katrina. The next day, Rodion receives a letter from his mother, Pulcheria Alexandrovna, who informs him of his sister Dounia’s engagement to Looshin, a government official, and that they will all soon move to St. Petersburg. This puts Rodion in distress because his mother and sister worked so hard for him and his education yet he had stopped tutoring and they would all soon be dependent on him for their financial needs. Thus, two days later, Raskolnikov goes to the pawnbroker, fabricates a fake object, finds an axe and kills her. While rummaging through the bedroom, Alena’s sister Elizabeth walks in, whom Raskolnikov also kills with the axe. He steals the pawnbroker’s money, and barely escapes the apartment. After that, a long series of events take place which include the arrival of Pulcheria and Dounia, meeting with Razumikhin, the true character of Luzhin, the crimes of Svidrigailov, the interrrogation of Porfiry Petrovich, Raskolnikov’s confession, the sentence of seven years in Siberia and the love of Sonya.

The part that I loved most was when Raskolnikov was interrogated by Porfiry Petrovitch, both times because he questions him and teases him with accounts of the murder with such frankness that he knows Raskolnikov will eventually give himself in. With the use of psychology, he of course ends up making him more insane than usual.

The part that I hated most was of course, Svidrigailov’s. He was a criminal whom Raskolnikov should’ve murdered. (I apologize for this rant, but I won’t actually feel sorry) Anyway, he did himself and all girls good on suiciding. (I won’t apologize for this one)

Character Critique

Rodion’s personality was very contradicting—that of a psychopath. But he was a very interesting subject and his beliefs were very weird. He commits the murder for the sake of himself. He tries to reassure himself that the murder was justifiable and instead lost his sanity in this process. His alienation from society, his ‘superhuman thoughts’ makes him a unique character which was very well made, and Dostoyevsky did an excellent job in this. As Rodion quotes:

“I simply hinted that an ‘extraordinary’ man has the right … that is not an official right, but an inner right to decide in his own conscience to overstep … certain obstacles, and only in case it is essential for the practical fulfillment of his idea (sometimes, perhaps, of benefit to the whole of humanity).” (Part 3, Chapter 5)

Sonya’s character was pitiful. Her family conditions force her into crime. Unlike Rodion, Sonya’s commits these acts out of her love and care for her family. She has a very religious faith, and even through those acts, she hasn’t lost it at all.

Dounia was proud, intelligent, resolute and brave. She was strong female character throughout the novel, as it can be seen when she ends her engagement with Luzhin at once and aiming her revolver at that criminal Svidrigailov.

Razumikhin is very gentlemanly. He is a kind intellectual who works hard for his earnings. When Rodion alienates himself from society, he steps in charge to protect Dounia and Alexandrovna.

Alexandrovna, Rodion and Dounia’s mother, is very devoted to her children. During Rodion’s alienation, she implores to see him just once. Even after his confession, she refuses to believe he is a murderer and thus, dies in the grief of absence of Rodion.

Katerina, Marmeladov’s wife, was just as pitiful. She is a patient of tuberculosis, with a drunkard husband who fails to at least fulfil the financial needs of his poor family. She is proud at times of her educational upbringing.

Porfiry Petrovich was intellectual that altogether made this novel interesting. He is the magistrate in charge of the crimes involving the murder of the money-lender. He is aware from the beginning of the unstable mental state Rodion is in, and taking the advantage of it, eventually he makes him confess. One might say that Petrovich is the antagonist, but for me another person remains the antagonist.

Luzhin is a selfish narrow-minded man who only cares that he might marry Dounia so that she might be indebted to him. He might be the primary antagonist in the beginning for Rodion, Dounia and Sonia. His extreme hatred to destroy Rodion’s reputation in his family makes him the second most loathed character.

Svidrigailov is a man who shouldn’t even be mentioned here but, I have to. He was a criminal, a threat to society. He did himself and society justice by killing himself. He might be the antagonist of both Dounia and Rodion.

There are a lot of other side characters in the book which would make this book review very lengthy. They need not be mentioned, for you might have read the book anyway.

Rating

This was my first Dostoyevsky book, and it was an interesting read, though there were times it became boring.

So I give Crime and Punishment a 4.6, that rounds off to 5:

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

I recommend this novel to everyone who wants to read a classic, psychological thriller! ❤

(Read it on Goodreads!)

✧─── ･｡ﾟ★: *.✦.* :★｡ﾟ･ ───✧