Crime and Punishment - Review

Novel: Crime and Punishment

Genre: Literary Classic, Suspense, Crime Psychology

Author: Fyodor Mikhaylovich Dostoyevsky

Publication date: 1866

Plot Synopsis:

Crime and Punishment set in 19^th century St. Petersburg, Russia tells the story of Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov, a former student and the main protagonist, who is described as good-looking and intelligent. He dwells in a tiny rented accommodation, living a life of utter penury, and more disturbingly going through a conflicted state of mind. He belongs to the then prevalent nihilistic school of thought and believes in a certain class of ‘intellectuals’ who are superior to the common and can ‘get away’ with the out comings of the deeds that are abominable to the mass. He rejects any kind of assistance and devises a plot to murder and rob Alyona Ivanovna, an elderly pawn-broker and money-lender, who is a known hoarder and has been merciless to her patrons. His prime motivation for the act is driven by an overpowering sense that he is prearranged to kill the old woman by some power external to himself.

After few days of deliberate plotting, Raskolnikov sneaks into Alyona Ivanovna's apartment and murders her with a stolen axe. However, Lizaveta, the pawn-broker’s handicapped sister happens to stumble upon the scene, and incidentally Raskolnikov has to kill her too. Stunned by this unplanned element and more so by the guilt of killing an innocent, he steals only a handful of items and a small purse, while leaving the remaining valuables. After the bungled murder and amid a series of other unplanned events cropping up, Raskolnikov somehow manages to flee unnoticed, later falling into a state of delirium. His self begins to betray him during his feverish states, and he starts throwing a fit of strange acts whenever the incident is referred to in his presence.

Meanwhile, the novel introduces Porfiry Petrovich, the detective in charge of the case, who suspects Raskolnikov after gathering hints out of his strange behavior, and, thus, starts a psychological game with him. Eventually, his suspicion gains a firm footing and he exerts his psychological wit against Raskolnikov’s grit who though mentally frail is unwilling to yield, and thus comes out an equal match for the detective. Thus begins one of the finest dissections of criminal psychology, while the plot becomes thicker with the timely introduction and growing richness of characters as diverse and deep as Sofia Semyonovna Marmeladova, Arkady Ivanovich Svidrigaïlov, Dmitri Prokofich Razumikhin, Pyotr Petrovich Luzhin, and Semyon Zakharovich Marmeladov.

Structure: Crime and Punishment is divided into six parts with an epilogue. The first three parts of the novel portray a proud and rational Raskolnikov, while the remaining three shift towards an emerging "illogical" and humble Raskolnikov. Crime and Punishment is written from a third-person omniscient perspective, chiefly from the point of view of Raskolnikov, which intermittently switches to that of other characters also. Dostoyevsky uses time shifts of memory and manipulates temporal sequence to blend the narration with the consciousness and perspective of the key characters. Dostoyevsky further enhances the richness and distinctness of characters by employing different speech mannerisms and length of sentences for different characters.

Verdict: It would be demeaning to say that Crime and Punishment is a ‘novel’ in the sense of a ‘novel’. Rather, it is without exaggeration to say that Crime and Punishment is an institution in itself that has influenced a whole generation of renowned literati such as Vladimir Nabokov, James Joyce, Virginia Wolf, and Sigmund Freud to name a few. It definitely is a must read for any mature reader who wishes to understand not only the intricacy of human psychology and depth of characters, but also craves for a prose that defies and supersedes the style of Victorian literature.