Crime and Punishment. Personal impression.

Recently, I finished reading Crime and Punishment by Fedor Dostoevskij. Needless to say, this 600 pages brick revealed itself to be a 24hours attention-catching book and definitely one of the best novels I have ever read. Since I am not a literature critic as my friend Martina is wishing to become, I am not trying to write down a review of the book, but at least a scheme of the main topics I was able to extrapolate. In english, because the main impulse to undertake this reading had been given to me by Ksenia, a russian girl from Saint Petersbourg, where the book is set. I'm writing this post mainly to thank her for having introduced me to this masterpiece. Crime and Punishment is probably the most widely read and well-known novel by Dostoevsky and one of the most famous literary works of all time. Not only it has been a real pleasure to read it, but it also represented a personal challenge for me.

Plot.

In 1866, Dostoevskij sends a synopsis of the work to his editor and describes the book like this: A young man coming from the middle class, expelled from the university, very poor, decides to come out from his sad situation (...) and kill an old usurer (...), a stupid, deaf, sick, avid, poor, old woman (...). He decides to kill her (...) and become later - and forever - an honest man, resolute, inflexible in doing "his duty to humanity" (...).

Raskolnikov -the name of the main character- divides humanity into two species. The great men, or "Napoleons", who are allowed to live and act above the moral law and to whom, in the name of their greatness and the benefit that humanity obtain from their existence, everything is allowed. They are very rare. All the rest, the common people, must instead comply with the laws and common sense, and in respect of which the Napoleons have the right of life and death. The murder that Raskolnikov accomplishes is, at least in part, a mean that the student has to prove to himself and to the world that he belongs to the category of great men. Once the crime is committed, however, Raskolnikov encloses himself in the attic where he lives and the psychological process of the crime begins. Insoluble questions stalk the murderer, he is harassed by both the truth of God and the law of the men and eventually he is forced to report himself to the police in order to return among men, even via the penitentiary. In other words, Crime and Punishment is, starting from the title, the story of the tormented consciousness of guilt and redemption.

But there is much more. Crime and Punishment is a work where there are no minor characters: each figure is the bearer of a voice, of its own powerful vision of the world. The author does nothing more than following the natural development of the plot, without expressing any point of view. Instead, sometimes is even difficult to recognize weather is the author talking or a character.

Of course, the main protagonist is and remains Raskolnikov, but I recognized at least three more story-lines inside the novel. In addition to the murder plot, there is the story of the misfortunes of the Marmeladov family, whose breadwinner is now an unemployed alcoholic. [The alcoholism topic is spread all over the novel, probably one of the biggest russian problem the author wanted to report] Fundamental character of this story-line (and the whole novel) is the daughter of Marmeladov, Sonja, forced into prostitution, but full of a Christian charity. She will later be able to transmit to the beloved Raskolnikov her values and charity, helping him to redeem himself and accept the Siberia prison field. A third story-line follows the love affairs of Dunja, Raskolnikov's sister, loved by Razumichin, lovely friend of the protagonist, by Luzhin, petty sexist bourgeois with little values, and especially by Svidrigailov, perverted amoral "double" of Raskolnikov that, unable to redeem himself, eventually commits suicide. Of course, the three lines are interlocked, and the characters move from one narrative level to another. Relative of Razumichin is Porfiry, a police detective that meets Raskolnikov three times. He realizes Raskolnikov's guilt and his secret torments. He never accuse him, he simply chats with him about his ideas and leads him to confession. In one meeting, Porfiry describes Raskolnikov:  <<You are not a villain. Not at all! (...) You need to change the air. That is, suffering is a good thing. Suffer! ( ... ) I'm even sure you will will come to accept suffering!>> (my translation, sorry Fedor!). And the acceptance of suffering is one of the cornerstones of Crime and Punishment. But not the legal punishment. The legal punishment is seen by Raskolnikov as something that does not scary villains as much as lawmakers think. The villain himself requires it to feel himself a proper villain. The main idea (primarily Christian) is that the act of suffering has a purifying effect on the human spirit, which makes it easier for the man to look for salvation in God. Dostoevsky remains faithful to the idea that salvation is a possible option for everyone, even for those who have sinned more grievously. It is only when Raskolnikov -pushed by Sonja- realizes this idea that he goes to police to confess. Sonja loves Raskolnikov and exemplifies the traits of the ideal Christian forgiveness, allowing Raskolnikov to face his crime and accept his punishment.

There is one last, great protagonist: Saint Petersburg, a city that Dostoevsky hated and that is the dark claustrophobic background to the delusions (falso amico con l'italiano; significa deliri!) and miseries of Raskolnikov and the other characters. The Petersburg of Crime and Punishment has nothing of the majestic imperial city; it might be seen instead as a the exterior image of the inner sadness of the characters.

I have read a new italian translation from La Feltrinelli, which comes with a useful guide to the russian names and nicknames, very confusing for a european reader. I copy and paste a similar guide from an external website here:

Rodion Romanovitch Raskolnikov The main character who is alternately called Rodya, Rodenka, and Rodka. 

Avdotya Romanovna Raskolnikov Rodya's sister, alternately called Dounia. 

Pulcheria Alexandrovna Raskolnikov Rodya's mother. 

Semyon Zakharovitch Marmeladov A drunkard who figures prominently in a bar conversation with Raskolnikov. 

Katerina Ivanovna The wife of Marmeladov. 

Sofya Semyonovna Marmeladov Marmeladov's daughter and devoted step-daughter of Katerina Ivanovna, who prostitutes herself and later falls in love with Raskolnikov. Also called Sonia. 

Arkady Ivanovitch Svidrigaïlov Dounia's former employer who arrives in St. Petersburg. 

Marfa Petrovna Svidrigaïlov's wife who dies and leaves Dounia a bundle of needed money. 

Pyotr Petrovich Luzhin A rich man who thinks he can buy happiness for Dounia, his love. His name, comically, means "puddle." 

Dimitri Prokofitch Razhumikin Raskolnikov's best friend and guardian of Dounia. 

Andrei Semyonovitch Lebeziatnikov A tenant in the same building as the Marmeladovs and a liberal. 

Porfiry Petrovich The overseeing police officer on Raskolnikov's case. 

Alyona Ivanovna The moneylender who Raskolnikov murders. 

Lizaveta Ivanovna The simple-minded sister of Alyona and a friend of Sonya. 

Praskovya Pavlovna Raskolnikov's complaining landlady who is owed back-rent. 

Nastasya Praskovya's servant and a friend of Raskolnikov. 

Amalia Fyodorovna The Marmeladov's landlady who causes a big scandalous fight at a dinner party. 

Kapernaumov Sonia's landlady. 

Zossimov A friend of Razhumikin and a doctor who cared for Raskolnikov. 

Nikodim Fomitch Chief of the police. 

Zametov A clerk in the police station and a fiend of Razhumikin. 

Ilya Petrovitch A police official. 

Nikolay and Dimitri The painters, one of whom admits to the crime.