Raskolnikov Quotes Analysis

Raskolnikov’s brusque affectation eventually yields to his predilection for salvation and redemption. He ultimately comes to the realization that he is not worthy of being “extraordinary” because of the crippling guilt that followed his murder of the pawnbroker. Raskolnikov reflects upon the implications of his crime on his psyche, “I murdered myself, not her! I crushed myself once for all,

By not following the rules established by Christianity, Raskolnikov is essentially making himself God, which is an internal struggle throughout the novel because Raskolnikov feels guilty about it. Although he commits murder, which is impermissible in a religious and societal context, Raskolnikov actually saw some value in religion. It is for

    The confusion in Raskolnikov’s soul is best seen when he tries to help a girl in the street who has been raped and left to the whims of whoever may

The mood of confusion due to the characters disorientation from his guilty conscious is what manipulates the tone. The mood and tone are also expressed during the state of agitation the character encounters when battling his conscious about committing the murder in the first place. Going back to the point of the characters un-confessed sin which is his main cause of his torture; there comes the moment of truth within the story. In the excerpt, the author says, “There had been little difficulty about his trial. The criminal adhered exactly, firmly, and clearly to his statement… He explained every incident of the murder” (lines 4-6). This is the point in the story where Raskolnikov unleashes the demons in his mind and confesses to his sin. It’s shown here just how brutal the battle with his guilty conscious truly was, by Raskolnikov being pushed to a confession, stating the exact incidents and not missing a single detail, all while showing absolutely no remorse for himself. There is finally a sense of hope that is shown for the main character at the end of the excerpt when the author describes the moment in prison after his confession. When the author says “In prison, how it happened, he did not know. But all at once something seemed to seize him and fling him at her (Sonia’s) feet. He wept and threw his arms round her knees. They were both pale and thin; but those sick pale faces were bright with the dawn of a new future, of a full

It shall not be, so long as I am alive, it shall not, it shall not! I won’t accept it!” (Part 1. 4.). Raskolnikov begins to alienate himself from his ex-colleague, Razumikhin, although at points it is Razumikhin who supports Raskolnikov the most. It forces Razumikhin to replace Raskolnikov in situations that should have been left to his authority. In a situation where Raskolnikov should have reassured Dounia and Pulcheria of their safety “he waved his hand weakly to Razumikhin to cut short the flow of warm and incoherent consolations he was addressing to his mother and sister” (Part 3. 1). As Raskolnikov began to slowly move away from any form of comfortable socialization and a growing poverty situation, his stubbornness to contain his pride and dignity eventually builds up to the brutal murder of Alyona.

Although the cross was initially supposed to show Raskolnikov's self-sacrifice, it began to show that he started down the path of recognizing the wrongs that he committed. Before he confessed his crime to Sonia he felt isolated from her as well. Since he fell in love with her, it was his biggest pain being cut off from her. When he finally trusted Sonia with the knowledge of his crime, she accepts him because he finally starts his reconciliation. He gathers strength from Sonia's acceptance of him, and that is what pushes him into confessing to society. His compassionate nature is what also pushes his actions once again. Since he felt disconnected from Sonia, his compassion is what pushed him into confining in her his secret to become closer to her. With Raskolnikov gaining spiritual reassessment at the end shows the special significance of Sonia as well through the novel. She gave herself (her love) to bring him back to society, like Jesus, and by doing so he would ultimatly save himself and recognize his sins, as he did. The strength from which Raskolnikov gained from Sonia influenced his reconciliation, reassessment, and stability to which then lead to the major importance of the

“You won’t understand and will only suffer misery… on my account! Well, you are crying and embracing me again. Why do you do it?... And can you love such a mean wretch?” (325). This is when Raskolnikov is beginning to tell Sonia about his murders. He believes that Sonia would leave him and not love him anymore. This is important because it shows Raskolnikov’s guilt.

A shy and timid seventeen year old girl, Sonia is wary of Raskolnikov when she first meets him. Her tenacious religious faith is a vital part of her character; she is shy and timid, but also truly compassionate and altruistic (especially towards Raskolnikov). In this sense, Raskolnikov is quite different from Sonia; where he is uncaring and ignorant, she is warm-hearted and thoughtful. Sonia helps to bring back the humane aspects of Raskolnikov’s personality. “There, not far from the entrance, stood Sonia, pale and horror-stricken. She looked wildly at him… There was a look of poignant agony, of despair in her face...His lips worked in an ugly, meaningless smile. He stood still a minute, grinned, and went back into the police office” (Dostoevsky 447). At this moment in time, Raskolnikov had gone into the police station to confess his crime, but in a lack of better judgement, he returns back to Sonia without telling about his crime. Had Raskolnikov not been motivated by the repugnant look on Sonia’s face, it is unlikely that he would have gone back into the police station. This is perhaps the prime example of how Sonia brings out the best in Raskolnikov. Sonia’s sympathetic and doting personality is polar to Raskolnikov’s selfish beliefs and his “extraordinary man theory”. However, when all is said and done, Sonia guides Raskolnikov to face the punishment of his wrong doing. Had Raskolnikov not had a tenacious relationship with Sonia, it likely would have taken him a much

Throughout history, it has been said that there are two sides to every coin. In Crime and Punishment, Raskolnikov is the coin. Raskol, in Russian, stands for “split.” Raskolnikov himself is an extremely split character; throughout this novel, he has two very different sides. In the beaten down, busy town of St. Petersburg, Raskolnikov is constantly ill, alienating himself from society. Once a student, Raskolnikov now lives in shambles and barely has enough money to support himself. Although Raskolnikov appears kind and gentle towards Katerina Ivanovna after her husband's sudden death, his true identity was revealed through the gruesome murder of Alyona Ivanovna and, her half-sister, Lizaveta, which shows that Raskolnikov is actually a barbaric, cold-blooded creature.

In Fyodor Dostoevsky book Crime and Punishment, women at this time in Russia were not the equals of men in terms of education and power. In Crime and Punishment the women in the story were self-sacrificing in their actions, which in return paid off for the women. Majority of women, in Crime and Punishment, such as Sonya were selfless in their actions. The women in this story play a motherly role towards the men. Women in this story may have lived in a male dominated society, but it seemed that the words the women spoke in this story were very strong in influencing the men. Sonya plays a major role in Raskolnikov's life, being the person Raskolnikov relies on while he was in and out of prison. Raskolnikov felt a heavy connection with Sonya

Raskolnikov murders an old pawnbroker woman for seemingly no reason at all. His sister and mother move to St. Petersburg following his sister's engagement to a man whom Raskolnikov was extremely displeased. Raskolnikov undergoes severe mental trauma, and falls ill after the

Even when Raskolnikov was asleep he received painful messages of others who were suffering, just as he was. In one particular instance, before the double-murder, Raskolnikov is brought back to the poverty he suffered throughout his childhood. He once again feels a great empathy toward the suffered, but this time

As Raskolnikov’s shame takes over him, his mental health gradually deteriorates, despite his previous belief that he held enough intellectual and emotional

His desire is to use the old ladies money to help people who were imprisoned by poverty. Despite this, in the moment, he realizes that he was not “capable of seeing and reasoning” as a normal person would be (71). He knows that, in societies eyes, what he did was wrong, but he does not feel guilt over it. Had he felt guilty, he would have been able to make amends of the situation. As it was, he viewed it as more of an “atonement for forty sins” rather than a crime (446). Raskolnikov can reason, but he is emotionally motivated, and these emotions enhance his split personality. For this reason, the internal struggle increases as his emotions become

When this student died, Raskolnikov had looked after his old invalid father, who was still alive… Raskolnikov had paid for his funeral. (509 Dostoyevsky)