Dostoyevsky and Existential Crisis…
• Existentialism in its simplest understanding is attempting to answer
the questions of why am I here and what is my purpose for being
here. (Clearly the term is much more complicated than this).
• It was Dostoevsky's opinion that suffering was necessary to man…it
was a means of atoning for sin and the road to salvation. To give up
suffering would be to give up consciousness.
• Dostoevsky feels that people are individuals, and it is this individual
human element that is lacking from Communism (a doctrine which
can only be held seriously by young boys, as he writes in The Brothers
Karamazov).
Dostoyevsky and Existential Crisis…
• Dostoevsky recognized that man is not a static collection of attributes, beliefs,
desires, but rather he is an ongoing process.
• Dostoevsky frequently highlighted the contradictory drives present within an
individual character …
– for example: love and hate; a passion for creation and a passion for destruction.
– It is the continual interplay between these contradictory passions which is essential to life.
• Dostoevsky wrote Crime and Punishment in 1866 to illustrate how suffering leads to
redemption of a lost soul (Existential Crisis).
– The book’s anti-hero, Raskolnikov, commits an irrational murder.
– Dostoevsky did not want to trivialize the crime, but instead wanted to explore the process of
redemption.
– Unlike other existentialist pieces, Raskolnikov’s murder is meant from the beginning to test
his beliefs. For Raskolnikov, murder is an experiment in morality.
Crime and Punishment Introduction
• Read the following poem by Steven Crane. Discuss the theme of the poem (what is the
author’s purpose?). Be sure to consider Existentialist Philosophy and how it could
connect to Raskolnikov.
A man said to the universe:
"Sir I exist!"
"However," replied the universe,
"The fact has not created in me
A sense of obligation."
•
Raskolnikov:
– Create two lists. One…describe Raskolnikov as a person (personality, mental
make-up, etc). Two…describe Raskolnikov’s physical appearance.
– What do the two lists share in common? What is different? Do you note any
irony between his mental state and his physical appearance?
**focus only on Part One when you create these lists**
C & P part 1
• Marmeladov= _______________
– Physical description…
– Marmeladov principle?
• Sonia= _____________________
• Stalking of the girl…
– Svidrigailov= ________________
– In chapter 4, we read about Raskolnikov helping a girl who is about to be raped by some
unknown man. Raskolnikov calls this man “Svidrigailov.” We know the man is NOT really
Svidrigailov, but what does this scene tell us about what Svidrigailov symbolically represents to
Raskolnikov? What is ironic about this entire scene (hint: think about where he going).
• The dream…
• Hegelian Superman—justification of the murder
• Murder: Blunt and Sharp sides of the axe…
– Discuss the murders (chapter 7). Why are the two women killed? Take special note as to how
each woman is killed. What is symbolically significant about how he murders each woman
and what does this reveal about Raskolnikov as a person?
Crime and Punishment can be simply broken down into two distinct
parts: Part I is the crime; Parts II-VI are the punishment. Today you
are focusing on the punishment in Part II of the novel.
• Create a list highlighting R’s dual character. Focus on the concepts of Guilt and Rationale Thought.
What aspects of his character are racked by guilt and how does that cause him to act. Likewise, what
aspects of his character are driven by rational thought and how does this cause him to act? Which is the
more dominate personality trait?
• Connect the burial of the “loot” from the pawnbroker’s house to the Hegelian Superman. What does
the burial prove or disprove about R’s character?
• In chapter 6 of Part I, R makes the statement “either disease gives rise to crime or crime is always
accompanied by something akin to disease.” Based on what R is going through, debate which part of his
theory is correct.
• Why “confess” in chapter 6?
• BANG! Marmeladov is dead! Run over by a horse and wagon. What is the point of his character and
how does this connect to Sonia?
•
Trace the image of blood in Part II. What does it represent and how does the image shift over the
course of this section?
Blood Symbols
• In literature: fear, anger, sadness, confusion, etc.
• In C and P
– Initiation
• D uses blood to evoke the image of the Orthodox sacrament of the Holy
Eucharist.
• Rask. Is symbolically initiated into evil and then symbolically inititated in
suffering and redemption.
Holy Eucharist (Orthodox)
• Belief that bread and wine become real (Jesus’ body and
blood) Drinking the wine= union with Christ
• Rask goes through a series of “inititations” with blood
Step 1: The Murder
• Rask knows old woman is dead because blood from her head
flows “as from an overturned glass”
– At first, Rask tries not to get blood on himself
– Soon, he is forced to “smear his hand” to rob the woman
• Irony –he pulls two crossed from her neck.
• This scene can be described as an unholy Eucharist
Step 2: Rask becomes the Pawnbroker
• His first action after killing pawnbroker is to kill Lizaveta
– Same treatment of sister but Rask finishes the job
– Pawnbroker saw her sister as useless
– The rest of novel he say says he “killed an old pawn broker” –ignoring
Lizaveta
Step 3: Alyona is alive for Raskolnikov
• Dream– returns to room and tries to kill her again but he can’t
• Why?
– She is “shaking with mirth.”
– He can’t kill the woman within him – he needs redemption
– “It was the devil that killed that woman.”
– “I murdered myself”
• his death is a spiritual one – one that looks to the story of Lazarus for hope of
resurrection
Step 4: Sacraments are repeatable (he has a chance
at redemption)
• The blood of a pitiful drunk is his 2nd Eucharist
• Marmeladov’s death is bloody (over the top)
– Rask is immersed in blood
– Drunk =wine
– Rask leaves the scene covered in blood
– He becomes initiated into Marm’s role
Chance for Redemption and Penitience
• Rask “takes care” of the family
– Katerina coughs up blood –sacrifice to poverty
– Sonia – sacrifice to family
– Makes Rask give money to them – start of redemption
• Final redemption – must confess (confession) and due penitience
Crucifixion is punishment for crimes of the world
• Belief that Christ’s death benefits followers
–Benefits of Marmaladov’s death?
–Benefits of Pawnbroker’s death?
• If they are beneficial isn’t Raskolnikov righteous?
–Dostoevsky never answers this question
C & P Part 3
• Character analysis of Svidrigailov
• Define the Ordinary Man and the Extraordinary Man
– Define “crime”
– Who is the Superman in this novel?
– Petrovich’s trap?
• Justification for the murder and the proof of his theory?
• The Dream…
– Apply psychological criticism here
C & P parts IV and V
1. Sonia’s room.
– Symbolic of what?
– Originally she was a symbol of human suffering. What has she come to represent by the end of the text?
– R’s judgment of Sonia’s sacrifice?
2. Story of Lazarus.
– Why this story? Symbolism behind it?
– How does this shape Sonia’s character?
– A literary Christ figure is someone who sacrifices himself or herself for the betterment of other characters in the story. Consider Sonia.
Is she a Christ figure?
3. The confession.
– “Who made me a judge to decide who ought to live and who ought not to live?” (Sonia) Consider the implications of this quote.
– Consider R’s reasons for and rejections for the murder
• See the following pages in the B&N version of the text: 392, 394, 395, 396, 398.
4. Analyze Sv’s throughout parts IV and V.
– Monster? Victim? Are he and R the same? (consider your journal response).
5. Discuss R’s comment at the end of Part IV (pg 341).
Nietzschean Superman
• Does not exist for the benefit of society
• Exists for his own personal gratification.
– Aims are not prompted by any type of nobility.
– Most important aim is self-gratification.
• The Superman refuses to recognize any will beyond that of his
own will.
• The test of this type of superman is that he must stand
completely alone and must not allow his will to be influenced by
the wishes of others.
– Leaves him in complete solitude.
C & P part VI
Chapters 3-4:
~ Discuss Sv’s views on women.
~consider both the 16 and 13 year old girls he knew.
~Is he the Nietzsche superman? Explain.
Chapters 5-6:
~Explain Sv’s relationship with Dunia.
~What does he want from her? Why does he not rape her?
~What does Sv symbolically represent in this scene?
~Why suicide (consider Nietzsche’s superman to arrive at
your answer)?
C & P part VI
Chapters 7-8:
~Explain R’s final understanding of his crime and his theory.
~Final justification of the murder and the judgment of his theory?
~Does he think he even committed a crime? Explain.
~Why go to Sonia’s? What does she want him to do?
Chapter 8 & Epilogue: Dostoyevsky’s final lines vs. The Epilogue.
“It was I who killed the old pawnbroker woman and her sister Lizaveta with an axe and robbed
them.”
Ilia Petrovich opened his mouth. People ran up on all sides.
Raskolnikov repeated his statement.
~Which is a more suitable ending for the novel and explain why.
Use your journal to help.