What Is Raskolnikov's Suffering
Dostoevsky and the Dimensions of Human Suffering Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment is a dark novel about the suffering of a man named Raskolnikov who kills two innocent women with an axe. Suffering is not only seen through Raskolnikov, but can be seen in almost every characters role in the novel. Although every character in the novel experiences some type of suffering, Raskolnikov’s suffering is unlike anyone else’s. Raskolnikov’s suffering did not derive from the two murders he committed. His suffering was not out of guilt nor did he feel any remorse for what he did. He suffered because he did not feel that he lived up to his own idea of what being great means. When reading Crime and Punishment, the reader very seldom hears Raskolnikov mention his feelings about the murders after they were committed, besides his inner struggle to keep it a secret. The only thing that brings pain to him is his lack of pride and the stress from keeping such big secret from everyone around him, but there is no pain that comes from guilt or remorse. After Raskolnikov finally admits to the crime, he is sent off to pay his time in Siberia. To me, his time in Siberia did not allow him to suffer at all. He seemed to enjoy it and
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However, the suffering that he decides to display with Raskolnikov is not a typical type of suffering one would experience after brutally murdering two innocent women with a motive that it is the act of an extraordinary person. Raskolnikov’s suffering does not at all seem authentic and it seems as if Dostoevsky lets the crazy killer off easy, without any real suffering done to receive the cheap redemption he got. He suffers because of selfish reasons and seems to feel little guilt for the crime he committed. He gets a terrible illness throughout the novel but it does not look at all as if it was caused because of the
However, the suffering that he decides to display with Raskolnikov is not a typical type of suffering one would experience after brutally murdering two innocent women with a motive that it is the act of an extraordinary person. Raskolnikov’s suffering does not at all seem authentic and it seems as if Dostoevsky lets the crazy killer off easy, without any real suffering done to receive the cheap redemption he got. He suffers because of selfish reasons and seems to feel little guilt for the crime he committed. He gets a terrible illness throughout the novel but it does not look at all as if it was caused because of the