Crime and Punishment (1866) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit see section history

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Summary edit see section history

Characters edit see section history

• Rodion (Rodya) Romanovich Raskolnikov: The protagonist of the novel. A former student, Raskolnikov is now destitute, living in a cramped garret at the top of an apartment building.He wants to become like Napoleon Bonaparte, an ubermensch man, who is not governed by the rules of society but by himself. He has an unreasonable belief in fate, and when circumstances align to facilitate the murder, he asserts "When reason fails, the devil helps!"
• Ilya Petrovitch: The police official whom Raskolnikov encounters after committing the murder and to whom he confesses at the end of the novel. Unlike Porfiry Petrovich, Ilya Petrovich is rather oblivious and prone to sudden bouts of temper (thus the nickname “Gunpowder”).
• Sofya (Sonia) Semyonovna Marmeladov: A girl of the streets. An extremely religious young woman who believes that god can solve all problems. She is Marmeladov's daughter and the love interest and saving grace of Raskolnikov.
• Avdotya (Dounia/Dunya) Romanovna Raskolnikov: Raskolnikov’s sister. Dunya is as intelligent, proud, and good-looking as her brother, but she is also moral and compassionate.
• Arkady Ivanovich Svidrigailov: Dunya’s depraved former employer.
• Dmitri Prokofych Razumikhin: Raskolnikov’s friend. A poor ex-student, he responds to his poverty not by taking from others but by working even harder. Razumikhin is Raskolnikov’s foil, illustrating through his kindness and amicability the extent to which Raskolnikov has alienated himself from society. To some extent, he even serves as Raskolnikov’s replacement, stepping in to advise and protect Pulcheria Alexandrovna and Dunya. His name comes from the Russian word razum, which means “reason” or “intelligence.”
• Katerina Ivanovna Marmeladova: The consumptive wife of Marmeladov. Katerina Ivanovna’s serious illness gives her flushed cheeks and a persistent, bloody cough. She is very proud and repeatedly declares her aristocratic heritage. She places public perception above the well-being of her children.
• Pyotr Petrovitch Luzhin: Dunya’s fiancé. Luzhin is mean, narrow-minded, and self-absorbed. His deepest wish is to marry a beautiful, intelligent, but desperately poor girl like Dunya so that she will be indebted to and dependent on him.
• Pulcheria Alexandrovna Raskolnikov: Raskolnikov’s mother. Pulcheria Alexandrovna is deeply devoted to her son and willing to sacrifice everything, even her own and her daughter’s happiness, so that he might be successful. Even after Raskolnikov has confessed, she is unwilling to admit to herself that her son is a murderer. To her son she says "She is an angel and you, Rodya, you are everything to us--our one hope, our one consolation. If only you are happy, we shall be happy."
• Nikolai Dementiev (“Mikolka”): A painter working in an empty apartment next to Alyona Ivanovna’s on the day of the murders. Suspected of the murders and held in prison, Nikolai eventually makes a false confession.
• Marfa Petrovna Svidrigaïlov: Wife of Arkady Ivanovitch Svidrigailov. She sees the good in Dounia and goes to great lengths to clear the name of her former governess.
• Dr. Zossimov: Raskolnikov’s doctor and a friend of Razumikhin. Zossimov is a young, self-congratulating man who has little insight into his patient’s condition. He suspects that Raskolnikov is mentally ill.
• Lizaveta Ivanovna: Alyona Ivanovna’s sister. Lizaveta is simple, almost “idiotic,” and a virtual servant to her sister. Sonya later reveals to Raskolnikov that she and Lizaveta were friends.
• Nastasya Petrovna (“Nastenka,” “Nastasyushka”): A servant in the house where Raskolnikov rents his “closet.” Nastasya brings him tea and food when he requests it and helps care for him in his illness after the murders.
• Mr. Zametov: Police head clerk.
• Porfiry Petrovitch: Police detective. He plays a clever game of entrapment with Raskolnikov, using dissimulation and casual assertions in a way that many years later would be used by Author Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. He plays the game a little too well: "He had too much confidence in himself, in his power and in the helplessness of his victims."
• Andrei Semyonovich Lebezyatnikov: Luzhin’s grudging roommate. Lebezyatnikov is a young man who is convinced of the rightness of the “new philosophies” such as nihilism that are currently raging through St. Petersburg. Although he is self-centered, confused, and immature, he nonetheless seems to possess basic scruples. He says "We are trying to establish a community of our own, a special one, on a broader basis. We have gone further in our convictions. We reject more!"
• Alyona Ivanovna: An old, withered pawnbroker whom Raskolnikov kills. Raskolnikov calls Alyona Ivanovna a “louse” and despises her for cheating the poor out of their money and enslaving her own sister, Lizaveta.
• Nikodim Fomitch: Police detective.
• Amalia Ivanovna Lippevechsel (Ludwigova): The Marveladov's landlady.
• Praskovya Pavlovna: Rodion's landlady.
• Nicodemus Thomich: Ward Officer who sees blood on Raskolnikov's shirt.
• Dushkin: Add a description of this character.
• Mitka
• Semyon Zaharovitch
• Heruvimov
• Philip
• Mr. Svidrigalov
• Karl
• Koch
• Mr. Captain
• Luise Ivanovna
• Amalia Fyodorovna Lippevechsel
• Nikolay Dementyev
• Afanasy Ivanovitch Vahrushin
• Parasha
• Polenka
• Kapernaumov
• Darya Frantsovna
• Pestryakov
• Kolya
• Mary
• Lida
• Mr. Tchebarov
• Kozel
• Martha
• Madame Resslich
• Katia
• Missy
• Vater
• Raphael
• Pashenka
• Pisarev
• Nastasya Nikiforovna
• Pavel Aristov
• Madonna
• Rodion Romanovitch
• Romeo
• Bazarov
• Karl Marx
• Jove
• Stalin
• Mikhail Katkov
• Schiller
• Arkady Ivanovitch Svidrigaïlov
• Lazarus
• Madame Lippevechsel
• Dmitri Prokofitch
• F. T. Stellovsky
• N. G. Chernyshevsky
• Apollinaria Suslova
• Andrey Semyonovitch Lebeziatnikov
• Dostoevsky
• Napoleon

Quotes edit see section history

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• “"Why am I to be pitied, you say? Yes! There's nothing to pity me for! I ought to be crucified, crucified on a cross, not pitied! Crucify me, oh judge, crucify me but pity me?"”

  Rodion Raskolnikov

• “"They say it is necessary for me to suffer! What's the object of these senseless sufferings? Shall I know any better what they are for, when I am crushed by hardships and idiocy, and weak as an old man after twenty years' penal servitude?"”

  Rodion Raskolnikov

• “Why am I going there now? Am I capable of that? Is that serious? It is not serious at all. It's simply a fantasy to amuse myself; a plaything! Yes, maybe it is a plaything.”

• “Where is it I've read that someone condemned to death says or think, an hour before his death, that if he had to live on some high rock, on such a narrow ledge that he'd only room to stand, and the ocean, everlasting darkness, everlasting solitude, everlasting tempest around him, if he had to remain standing on a square yard of space all his life, a thousand years, eternity, it were better to live so than to die at once! Only to live, to live and live! Life, whatever it may be!”

• “I did not bow down to you, I bowed down to all the suffering of humanity.”

• “A special little theory come in too - a theory of sort - dividing mankind, you see, into material and superior persons, that is persons to whom the law does not apply owing to their superiority, who make laws for the rest of mankind, the material, that is.”

• “Extraordinary men have a right to commit any crime and to transgress the law in any way, just because they are extraordinary”

• “Why do you demand a heroism of me that you may not even have in yourself?”

  Avdotya Romanovna

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Setting & Locations edit see section history

• Petersburg
• Siberia
• Pashenka
• Mikolka
• America
• Neva
• Moscow
• Russia
• Bakaleyev
• The Hay Market

First Sentence edit see section history

Table of Contents edit see section history

Glossary edit see section history

• Ach, mein Gott!: "Oh my God!" Dostoevsky uses both the German phrase and a humorous type of German speech pattern for the purpose of satirizing the landlady and satirizing Germans in general.
• Dussauts: A famous hotel/restaurant and gathering place for advanced thinkers.
• Hay Market: A section of the city best known for its low and bohemian life. Around the square are cheap student housings such as Raskolnikov's room and also houses of prostitution that were easily accessible to Sonya. Drunks such as Marmelodov would also congregate here in the square.

Themes & Symbolism edit see section history

• Crime and Punishment: Describe this theme.
• Revenge
• Alienation from Society: Alienation is the primary theme of Crime and Punishment. At first, Raskolnikov’s pride separates him from society. He sees himself as superior to all other people and so cannot relate to anyone. Within his personal philosophy, he sees other people as tools and uses them for his own ends. After committing the murders, his isolation grows because of his intense guilt and the half-delirium into which his guilt throws him. Over and over again, Raskolnikov pushes away the people who are trying to help him, including Sonya, Dunya, Pulcheria Alexandrovna, Razumikhin, and even Porfiry Petrovich, and then suffers the consequences. In the end, he finds the total alienation that he has brought upon himself intolerable. Only in the Epilogue, when he finally realizes that he loves Sonya, does Raskolnikov break through the wall of pride and self-centeredness that has separated him from society.
• The Psychology of Crime and Punishment: The manner in which the novel addresses crime and punishment is not exactly what one would expect. The crime is committed in Part I and the punishment comes hundreds of pages later, in the Epilogue. The real focus of the novel is not on those two endpoints but on what lies between them—an in-depth exploration of the psychology of a criminal. The inner world of Raskolnikov, with all of its doubts, deliria, second-guessing, fear, and despair, is the heart of the story. Dostoevsky concerns himself not with the actual repercussions of the murder but with the way the murder forces Raskolnikov to deal with tormenting guilt. Indeed, by focusing so little on Raskolnikov’s imprisonment, Dostoevsky seems to suggest that actual punishment is much less terrible than the stress and anxiety of trying to avoid punishment. Porfiry Petrovich emphasizes the psychological angle of the novel, as he shrewdly realizes that Raskolnikov is the killer and makes several speeches in which he details the workings of Raskolnikov’s mind after the killing. Because he understands that a guilt-ridden criminal must necessarily experience mental torture, he is certain that Raskolnikov will eventually confess or go mad. The expert mind games that he plays with Raskolnikov strengthen the sense that the novel’s outcome is inevitable because of the nature of the human psyche.
• The Idea of the Superman: At the beginning of the novel, Raskolnikov sees himself as a “superman,” a person who is extraordinary and thus above the moral rules that govern the rest of humanity. His vaunted estimation of himself compels him to separate himself from society. His murder of the pawnbroker is, in part, a consequence of his belief that he is above the law and an attempt to establish the truth of his superiority. Raskolnikov’s inability to quell his subsequent feelings of guilt, however, proves to him that he is not a “superman.” Although he realizes his failure to live up to what he has envisioned for himself, he is nevertheless unwilling to accept the total deconstruction of this identity. He continues to resist the idea that he is as mediocre as the rest of humanity by maintaining to himself that the murder was justified. It is only in his final surrender to his love for Sonya, and his realization of the joys in such surrender, that he can finally escape his conception of himself as a superman and the terrible isolation such a belief brought upon him.
• Nihilism: Nihilism was a philosophical position developed in Russia in the 1850s and 1860s, known for “negating more,” in the words of Lebezyatnikov. It rejected family and societal bonds and emotional and aesthetic concerns in favor of a strict materialism, or the idea that there is no “mind” or “soul” outside of the physical world. Linked to nihilism is utilitarianism, or the idea that moral decisions should be based on the rule of the greatest happiness for the largest number of people. Raskolnikov originally justifies the murder of Alyona on utilitarian grounds, claiming that a “louse” has been removed from society. Whether or not the murder is actually a utilitarian act, Raskolnikov is certainly a nihilist; completely unsentimental for most of the novel, he cares nothing about the emotions of others. Similarly, he utterly disregards social conventions that run counter to the austere interactions that he desires with the world. However, at the end of the novel, as Raskolnikov discovers love, he throws off his nihilism. Through this action, the novel condemns nihilism as empty.
• Poverty Motif: Poverty is ubiquitous in the St. Petersburg of Dostoevsky’s novel. Almost every character in the novel—except Luzhin, Svidrigailov, and the police officials—is desperately poor, including the Marmeladovs, the Raskolnikovs, Razumikhin, and various lesser characters. While poverty inherently forces families to bond together, Raskolnikov often attempts to distance himself from Pulcheria Alexandrovna and Dunya. He scolds his sister when he thinks that she is marrying to help him out financially; he also rejects Razumikhin’s offer of a job. Dostoevsky’s descriptions of poverty allow him to address important social issues and to create rich, problematic situations in which the only way to survive is through self-sacrifice. As a result, poverty enables characters such as Sonya and Dunya to demonstrate their strength and compassion.
• Symbols of The City: The city of St. Petersburg as represented in Dostoevsky’s novel is dirty and crowded. Drunks are sprawled on the street in broad daylight, consumptive women beat their children and beg for money, and everyone is crowded into tiny, noisy apartments. The clutter and chaos of St. Petersburg is a twofold symbol. It represents the state of society, with all of its inequalities, prejudices, and deficits. But it also represents Raskolnikov’s delirious, agitated state as he spirals through the novel toward the point of his confession and redemption. He can escape neither the city nor his warped mind. From the very beginning, the narrator describes the heat and “the odor” coming off the city, the crowds, and the disorder, and says they “all contributed to irritate the young man’s already excited nerves.” Indeed, it is only when Raskolnikov is forcefully removed from the city to a prison in a small town in Siberia that he is able to regain compassion and balance.
• Symbols of The Cross: The cross that Sonya gives to Raskolnikov before he goes to the police station to confess is an important symbol of redemption for him. Throughout Christendom, of course, the cross symbolizes Jesus’ self-sacrifice for the sins of humanity. Raskolnikov denies any feeling of sin or devoutness even after he receives the cross; the cross symbolizes not that he has achieved redemption or even understood what Sonya believes religion can offer him, but that he has begun on the path toward recognition of the sins that he has committed. That Sonya is the one who gives him the cross has special significance: she gives of herself to bring him back to humanity, and her love and concern for him, like that of Jesus, according to Christianity, will ultimately save and renew him.

Series & Lists edit see section history

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Fyodor Dostoyevsky (Author)

Other Contributors:

1. David McDuff (Translator)
2. Stephen Tumim (Introduction)
3. Harry Brockway (Illustrator)
4. Swetlana Geier (Translator)

First Edition edit see section history

Awards edit see section history

• Guardian 1000 (Crime)
• 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die (2006-2008)
• BBC's Big Read (April 2003: Best Loved Novel, #60)

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: PG3326 .P7
• Dewey: 891.7308

Notes for Parents edit see section history

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Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Literature & Fiction › Contemporary
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Classics
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Classics

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

• Project Gutenberg: Free e-book, full text

Movie Connections edit see section history

• Raskolnikow (Crime and Punishment) (IMDb): Germany 1923, directed by Robert Wiene
• Crime and Punishment (IMDb): Crime and Punishment was made in 1935, directed by Josef von Sternberg and starring Peter Lorre, Edward Arnold, Marian Marsh, Douglass Dumbrille, Gene Lockhart, and Mrs Patrick Campbell.
• Crime et châtiment (IMDb): Crime et châtiment, a 1935 French film directed by Pierre Chenal.
• Prestuplenie i nakazanie (IMDb): Crime and Punishment (Russian: Преступление и наказание) is a 1970 Soviet film in two parts directed by Lev Kulidzhanov, based on the eponymous novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky.
• Crime and Punishment (IMDb): Crime and Punishment was a 1979 television serial starring Timothy West and John Hurt.
• Crime and Punishment (IMDb): Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment was a 1998 TV movie starring Patrick Dempsey, Ben Kingsley and Julie Delpy.
• Crime and Punishment (IMDb): Crime and Punishment is a 2002 film adaptation of Fyodor Dostoyevsky's novel of the same name. The film starred Crispin Glover and Vanessa Redgrave and was directed by Menahem Golan. In modern day post-Soviet Moscow Raskolinkov acts out the arrogant theory that he can neglect all laws and proceeds to murder a woman. But he is unable to extinguish the victim from his mind and is plagued by his ceaseless rationalization of his decision.
• Crime and Punishment (IMDb): Crime and Punishment was a 2000 television serial produced by the BBC, starring John Simm as Raskolnikov and Ian McDiarmid as Petrovich.
• Prestuplenie i nakazanie: Prestuplenie i nakazanie (Crime and Punishment) was a 1913 Russian film directed by I. Vronsky
• Crime and Punishment: Crime and Punishment, a 1917 US silent film directed by Lawrence B. McGill and starring Derwent Hall Caine.
• Raskolnikow (IMDb): Raskolnikow (aka Crime and Punishment) was a German film made in 1923, directed by Robert Wiene.
• Paper Parinam: Paper Parinam was a 1924 Indian production.
• Brott och straff: Brott och straff, a 1945 Swedish film directed by Hampe Faustman
• Crimen y castigo: Crimen y castigo was a 1951 Mexican production directed by Fernando de Fuentes
• Eigoban Tsumi to Batsu (manga): Eigoban Tsumi to Batsu was a 1953 manga by Tezuka Osamu, based on the novel.
• Crime et châtiment: Crime et châtiment was a French film of 1956, directed by Georges Lampin and starring Lino Ventura and Jean Gabin.
• El gharima waal ikab: El gharima waal ikab was a 1957 Egyptian production in Arabic, directed by Ibrahim Emara.
• Crime and Punishment, USA: Crime and Punishment, USA was a 1959 American film, directed by Denis Sanders, adapted by Walter Newman and starring Mary Murphy, Frank Silvera and George Hamilton (his first credited film role).
• Crime et châtiment: Crime et châtiment, a 1971 French film directed by Stellio Lorenzi
• Neramu Siksha (IMDb): Neramu Siksha, a 1973 Indian production in Telugu, directed by K. Vishwanath
• Jurm Aur Sazaar: Jurm Aur Sazaar, a 1974 Indian film in Hindi, directed by Nisar Ahmad Ansari.
• Rikos ja Rangaistus (IMDb): Rikos ja Rangaistus (1983; aka Crime and Punishment) was the debut film of the Finnish director Aki Kaurismäki, with Markku Toikka in the lead role; the story is set in modern-day Helsinki.
• Elu Suttina Kote: Elu Suttina Kote(Seven rounded fort) a Kannada film directed by Gowrishankar, with Ambarish in the lead role. The film is loosely based on Crime and Punishment and enjoys a classic status in Kannada cinema industry.
• Sin Compasión: Sin Compasión was a 1994 adaptation of the novel, directed by Francisco Lombardi and set in Lima, Peru
• Zlocin i kazna: Zlocin i Kazna (Crime and Punishment) is the name of two separate 1994 Croatian productions, one directed by Drazen Zarkovic, the other by <Jasna Zastavnikovic.
• The Rockford Files: Punishment and Crime: The Rockford Files: Punishment and Crime, a 1996 US film starring James Garner and directed by David Chase, was loosely based on the novel.
• Crime and Punishment in America: Crime and Punishment in America, a 1997 US film directed by David Rabinovitch.
• Crime and Punishment in Suburbia (IMDb): Crime and Punishment in Suburbia was a 2000 adaptation, set in modern America and "loosely based" on the novel.

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