Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky: A Psychological Masterpiece Review

The famous Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky's novel Crime and Punishment is one of the most impressive masterpieces of world literature. Published in 1866, this work is considered the first great novel of the author's mature period and offers a profound psychological analysis that delves into the darkest corners of the human soul. The novel tells the story of Rodion Raskolnikov, a former law student, who murders an old pawnbroker and then experiences the pangs of conscience that follow. However, Crime and Punishment is not merely a murder novel; it is also a philosophical inquiry into universal themes such as morality, guilt, justice, and the human effort to transcend one's own limits. In this post, I will explore the plot of the novel, the psychology behind Raskolnikov's crime, the subplots, the important characters, and the psychological depth that Dostoevsky masterfully weaves. I will also share my personal impressions of why the book is so compelling and thought-provoking.

My Review of Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment

Crime and Punishment is one of the foremost books among world classics. There is a general belief that Dostoevsky is a difficult author to read. However, for me, Crime and Punishment was, on the contrary, a very enjoyable and very fluid reading experience. With its plot, its narrative style, and the subplots that support the main story, the novel constantly succeeds in capturing the reader's interest and attention. Its characters are also quite fascinating. Dostoevsky, like a psychologist, meticulously weaves the inner world of these characters, reflecting their internal conflicts, fears, and obsessions down to the finest detail. For this reason, I can easily say that I read the book with great pleasure.

I have read other books by Dostoevsky before. But I can say that his writing style and narrative in this book are very different. This is precisely why Crime and Punishment is considered the first great novel of the author's mature period. The novel delves deeply into fundamental themes such as morality, conscience, the psychology of guilt, and the human effort to transcend one's own limits. Dostoevsky does not merely discuss these themes on a philosophical plane; he also transforms them into a tension that the reader almost experiences firsthand. Thus, one of the deepest psychological and philosophical novels in literary history emerges.

The Plot of Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment

Crime and Punishment is set in St. Petersburg, Russia, in the 19th century. The main character of the novel is Rodion Raskolnikov, a former law student. At the beginning of the novel, we see that Raskolnikov has abandoned his education and is living a life of poverty. He stays in a very small, single-room apartment. However, he cannot pay the rent for this apartment. Because he cannot pay, his landlady withholds the meals she is supposed to provide him in exchange for the rent. Lately, he has been surviving by pawning his few remaining valuables to a pawnbroker. Among the items he pawns is a watch, the only thing left as a keepsake from his father, who died when Raskolnikov was a child. The novel's plot begins in such an environment.

Struggling with this impoverished life, Raskolnikov has a plan in mind. In the early pages, he alludes to this plan in his thoughts without revealing it directly. But soon, we learn what it is. To escape his poverty, he decides to kill the old pawnbroker woman to whom he has been pawning his belongings for money. He will kill the woman, take the money from her apartment, and then use that as capital to build a good future for himself. He even thinks that once he has financial means, he will perform many charitable acts. According to his reasoning, by killing the pawnbroker he will commit an evil act, but he also believes he will have done good for many people. Many people are in debt to the pawnbroker, and they too will be rid of this woman who "sucks the blood" of the poor. This was Raskolnikov's plan and his balance between good and evil.

Raskolnikov carries out his plan. He kills the pawnbroker, Alyona Ivanovna. But while committing the murder, he is so beside himself that he leaves the door open. As he rummages around to find the woman's valuables and money, the pawnbroker's half-sister, Lizaveta, unexpectedly arrives at the apartment. Raskolnikov kills her as well. Moreover, shortly afterward, some people from neighboring apartments come and ring the doorbell. Just as he is about to be caught red-handed at the scene of the crime, he manages to escape at the last moment by sheer luck.

Raskolnikov commits the murder and flees. But he experiences a great collapse within his inner world. He hides the money he took from killing the woman in some hiding place. He cannot shake off the effect of the event. He falls ill and takes to his bed for days. Meanwhile, an old school friend takes care of him. His mother and sister arrive in St. Petersburg. While Raskolnikov is grappling with confronting the murder in his inner world, various other characters and their stories add further depth to the plot.

The Psychology Behind Raskolnikov's Murder of the Pawnbroker

Raskolnikov kills the pawnbroker. But there are several reasons behind this. The most obvious reason is this: he believes that by killing this pawnbroker who exploits the poor, he is in a sense doing "good." Additionally, he wants to free himself from poverty and build a better future using her money. But as the novel progresses, we see that Raskolnikov has other reasons and thoughts in his mind. He has a kind of philosophical perspective on the matter.

Raskolnikov divides people into ordinary and extraordinary. He explains this in an article he publishes. According to him, extraordinary people can do whatever they want. He cites Napoleon as an example of such extraordinary people. Because people like Napoleon are even granted permission to kill. They do as they please. Referring to Napoleon, he says:

"No, those people are made differently. A true master, to whom everything is permitted, sacks Toulon, unleashes slaughter in Paris, forgets an army in Egypt, expends half a million lives marching on Moscow, then laughs it all off with a quip in Vilno; and he even has idols erected to him after his death—so everything really is permitted. Such people are made not of flesh but of bronze!"

According to Raskolnikov, the conscience of such people permits killing. Even though they cause the deaths of many, they feel no remorse. Therefore, no one judges them, no one holds them accountable for their actions, and in the end, statues are even erected in their honor. Raskolnikov, who calls such people extraordinary, says that the right to possess power also belongs to this type of person. He even describes them as "human" while calling the rest "lice." Before killing the pawnbroker, he reasons with himself as follows:

"Here's what: I once asked myself the following question: what if, say, Napoleon had found himself in my shoes and had neither Toulon nor Egypt nor the pass at Mont Blanc to get his career going, and instead of all those beautiful, grand things all he had was some ridiculous old hag, some pen-pusher's widow, and what's more he'd have to murder her to get his hands on the money she kept in her box (for his career, understand?); well, could he have brought himself to do that, if he had no other way out? Wouldn't he have been put off by the fact that it was insufficiently grand, to say the least, and... and a sin? Well then, let me tell you that I agonized over this 'question' for such a long time that I was horribly ashamed when it finally got through to me (all of a sudden) that not only would he not have been put off, it wouldn't even have occurred to him that there was nothing grand about it... he wouldn't even have understood the question: put off by what? And if there really were no other path open to him, he'd have throttled her before she could even squeak, with no second thoughts!... So I, too... put second thoughts aside... and throttled her... taking him as my authority... And that's precisely what happened!"

After reaching such a conclusion, Raskolnikov decides to kill the pawnbroker. He makes a plan and then carries it out. However, nothing happens as he expected. While he sees himself as an extraordinary person, he thinks his conscience will not trouble him after the murder. But it does not go as planned. So much so that in the early days, he falls ill and takes to his bed. He constantly fears that someone will come and arrest him. Moreover, it seems he finds an answer to the question: "Am I a human being or a louse?"

"I went there like a man with brains, and that was my downfall! Can't you see that I must have known that if I'd already started asking myself the question, 'Do I have a right to power?', then it already meant I didn't. Or that if I asked, 'Is a human being a louse?', then man was certainly no louse for me, only for someone to whom the question never occurs, and who sets off without asking questions... And if I'd already tormented myself for so many days wondering, 'Would Napoleon have gone or wouldn't he?', then I obviously knew that I was no Napoleon... I endured all the agony of this empty talk, Sonya, all of it, and now I just wanted to shake it off. I wanted to kill without casuistry, Sonya, to kill for myself, for myself alone! I didn't want to lie about it, not even to myself! It wasn't to help mother that I killed—nonsense! It wasn't to acquire funds and power that I killed, so as to make myself a benefactor of humanity. Nonsense! I just killed. I killed for myself, for myself alone; and whether I'd become anyone's benefactor or spend my entire life as a spider, catching everyone in my web and sucking out their vital juices, shouldn't have mattered to me one jot at that moment!... And it wasn't so much money I needed, Sonya, when I killed; not so much money as something else... I know all this now... Try to understand: taking that same road again, I might never have repeated the murder. There was something else I needed to find out then, something else was nudging me along: what I needed to find out, and find out quickly, was whether I was a louse, like everyone else, or a human being. Could I take that step or couldn't I? Would I dare to stoop and grab or wouldn't I? Was I a quivering creature or did I have the right...'"

Raskolnikov commits the murder and finds answers to the questions he was curious about. That is precisely why he suffers for days. In the end, however, he has very few options left. One of them is to go to the police, turn himself in, and confess everything.

The Subplots and Incidents in Crime and Punishment

We have said that the main plot of the novel is Raskolnikov committing murder and then experiencing a severe psychological breakdown. However, Dostoevsky constructed the novel in such a way that there are remarkable subplots involving other important characters. As early as the second part of the novel, Raskolnikov meets a man named Marmeladov, a former official who is an alcoholic, in a tavern. In this scene near the beginning of the book, Marmeladov tells him about his life. He speaks of how his drinking has ruined his family, how he lost his job, and how his family lives in poverty. The most affecting part of his story is that his daughter, Sonya, has turned to prostitution because of this poverty. There are two small step-siblings at home. Their constant hunger leads Sonya to make such a decision. Although this subplot initially seems unconnected to the main plot, Raskolnikov later meets Sonya, and these two characters become central to the main story.

Another important subplot in the novel concerns what happens to Raskolnikov's sister, Dunya. Dunya works as a governess in the house of a wealthy landowner named Svidrigailov. Although Svidrigailov is married, he makes improper advances toward Dunya and tries to corner her. When Svidrigailov's wife, Marfa Petrovna, notices the situation, she misunderstands the events and, while her husband is the real culprit, accuses Dunya of dishonor. As a result, she humiliates Dunya in public and throws her out of the house. The incident becomes the talk of the town; while Dunya's reputation is tarnished, Raskolnikov's mother is deeply shamed. However, later, Svidrigailov confesses his guilt, and it is revealed that Dunya is completely innocent. After learning the truth, Marfa Petrovna feels remorse and, wherever she goes, defends Dunya's honor and tells everyone that she is a perfectly pure young woman. Thus, Dunya's reputation is restored. This incident is important because it shows what kind of difficulties Raskolnikov's family was going through even before he committed his crime.

Beyond these, there are other side events in the novel that nourish the main narrative. For example, the true face of the lawyer Luzhin, whom Raskolnikov's sister Dunya is about to marry, is gradually revealed; the dirty games he plays against both Raskolnikov and Sonya form one of the novel's suspenseful threads. Likewise, Svidrigailov's past shows that he is not merely someone who torments Dunya but carries much darker secrets. The tragedy of the Marmeladov family is not limited to Sonya's sacrifice; her father's death, her stepmother Katerina Ivanovna's increasing madness, and the fate of the small children are finely woven into the background of the novel. Dostoevsky uses all these subplots as mirrors that surround Raskolnikov's spiral of crime and punishment from every angle, without ever drifting away from his inner world.

Important Characters in the Novel

Now let me briefly introduce the most important characters in the novel. Dostoevsky weaves each character's story down to the finest psychological detail in such a beautiful way that one cannot help but admire it.

Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov – The main character of the novel. A former law student, Raskolnikov lives in poverty. He kills the pawnbroker woman and throughout the novel struggles with guilt, illness, and philosophical crises.

Sonya Semyonovna Marmeladova – Another important character in the novel. She is the daughter of Marmeladov, a drunken official. To save her family from starvation, she turns to prostitution. She has a devout, self-sacrificing, and quiet nature. Over time, an important bond develops between her and Raskolnikov.

Porfiry Petrovich – The police investigator. He is intelligent, cunning, and interested in psychology. He is almost certain that Raskolnikov is guilty, but there is no direct evidence. The psychological duels between them form some of the most tense scenes in the novel.

Arkady Ivanovich Svidrigailov – A wealthy, amoral, and mysterious landowner. He is obsessed with Raskolnikov's sister, Dunya. He is a character who has experienced the meaninglessness of life and transgressed every moral boundary.

Dunya (Avdotya Romanovna Raskolnikova) – Raskolnikov's sister. A proud, intelligent, and self-sacrificing young woman. To save her family, she first agrees to marry Luzhin. Later, she grows close to Razumikhin.

Dmitri Prokofych Razumikhin – Raskolnikov's friend from university. A good-hearted, hardworking, reliable, and full-of-life young man. He takes care of Raskolnikov when he falls ill and later helps his mother and sister.

Pulcheria Alexandrovna Raskolnikova – Raskolnikov's mother. A self-sacrificing, elderly woman blindly devoted to her son. When she learns of her son's crime, her health deteriorates, and she falls ill and dies toward the end of the novel.

Pyotr Petrovich Luzhin – A lawyer, conceited, self-interested, and arrogant. He wants to marry Dunya, but his real aim is to dominate her. He harbors hostility toward Raskolnikov. He is the "petty villain" of the novel.

Alyona Ivanovna – The old, greedy pawnbroker woman. She is Raskolnikov's first victim. She is known for exploiting poor people.

Lizaveta Ivanovna – Alyona's half-sister. A pure, kind-hearted, somewhat intellectually disabled woman. Unlike the pawnbroker, she harms no one. Raskolnikov is forced to kill her by accident.

Semyon Zakharovich Marmeladov – Sonya's father. A former official and a severe alcoholic. Despite dragging his family into ruin, he carries deep remorse.

Katerina Ivanovna Marmeladova – Marmeladov's second wife. A proud, ill (consumptive), and tense woman. She actually comes from a noble family. After her husband's death, she goes mad from poverty.

Andrey Semyonovich Lebezyatnikov – Luzhin's former roommate. He presents himself as "progressive" and a "new thinker," but in reality he is naive and foolish.

The Psychology of Dostoevsky's Characters

What makes Dostoevsky a great writer is his keen observation of human psychology and his ability to reflect this in the characters of his novels. In this review, I have already discussed the psychology behind Raskolnikov's decision to commit murder and how his consciousness reacted after the crime. All the other characters also have traits and psychological depths crafted in very fine detail. Let us examine a few of them.

Raskolnikov's sister, Dunya, is about to marry Luzhin. But why does Luzhin want to marry this girl? Dunya had been subjected to a slander while working as a governess, and no one in her social circle wanted to hire her again. Although Svidrigailov was the cause of this slander, the truth later emerged and Dunya's name was cleared. Dostoevsky explains the psychology behind Luzhin's desire to marry, and specifically his choice of this girl, as follows:

"He simply had to have Dunya; giving her up was unthinkable. He'd been dreaming fondly of marriage for several years already, but all he'd done was save up money and wait. In deepest secrecy, he'd thrilled at the thought of a young maiden who was virtuous and poor (the latter was essential), very young and very pretty, noble and educated, timid to the core, someone with endless misfortunes behind her, who'd prostrate herself before him, consider him her saviour her whole life long, revere him, submit to him, marvel at him – at him alone."

Later, there is a passage about the psychological pressure applied by the police to a suspect during an investigation. During a conversation between Raskolnikov and the investigator Porfiry Petrovich, the following interesting dialogue takes place:

"'But why "comical", sir?'

Porfiry Petrovich, who'd already turned to go back, instantly pricked up his ears.

'Well, what about this poor Mikolka, for example. You must have given him a terrible going over, psychologically, I mean, and in your own particular fashion, until he finally confessed. Day and night you must have been drumming it into him, "You're the murderer, you're the murderer..." – and now he's confessed you're stretching him out on the rack again: "Liar, you're not the murderer! You couldn't have been! These aren't your own words!" What's that if not comical?'

'Heh-heh-heh! So you noticed me telling Mikolai just now that those weren't his own words?'

'How could I not?'

'Heh-heh! You're a wit, sir, you really are. Nothing escapes your notice! Such a playful mind, sir! And such a gift for winkling out comedy... heh-heh! They say that Gogol, among the writers, had that knack, do they not?'

'That's right, Gogol.'

'Yes, sir, Gogol... Well, till next I have the pleasure, sir.'"

Finally, these words spoken by Svidrigailov about women are also noteworthy:

"Finally, he deployed the greatest and surest method for conquering a woman's heart, a method which never lets you down and works on absolutely everyone, without exception. The method is well known: flattery. Nothing in the world is harder than candour, and nothing easier than flattery."

The Only "Healthy" Character in the Novel: Razumikhin

While almost every character in the novel is caught in some crisis, obsession, or desperation, Razumikhin stands as a balancing force. Razumikhin, Raskolnikov's friend from university, is poor yet stands out for his hard work and his strong grip on life. He is the one who takes care of Raskolnikov when he falls ill, brings a doctor despite having no money, and tries to protect him from the police. Throughout the novel, he remains loyal to his friend without any self-interest, even though Raskolnikov sometimes treats him very badly. At one point, despite all the help Razumikhin has given him, Raskolnikov says:

"'Listen, Razumikhin,' Raskolnikov began quietly, with a semblance of perfect calm, 'why can't you see that I don't want your good deeds? And why this urge to bestow your kindness on people who... spit in reply? For whom this is more than they can bear? I mean, why did you have to look me up when I fell ill? What if I were only too happy to die? Didn't I make it clear enough to you today that you're tormenting me, that I'm... sick and tired of you? Why this urge to torment people? It doesn't help my recovery at all, I assure you. In fact, it's a constant irritation. Didn't Zosimov leave earlier so as not to irritate me? Now you should do the same, for the love of God! Anyway, what right do you have to keep me here by force? Can't you see that I've got all my wits about me? What do I need to say to you – please, tell me – for you to stop pestering me and bestowing your goodness on me? Call me ungrateful, call me scum, but for the love of God just leave me alone, all of you! Just leave me!'"

Razumikhin's most important quality is that he never falls into any of the philosophical dead ends or moral crises present in the novel. Svidrigailov's darkness, Raskolnikov's theories, Luzhin's calculation—all are foreign to him. He is direct and sincere. He also has a romantic side: he falls in love with Raskolnikov's sister, Dunya, and eventually marries her. Amidst the gloomy St. Petersburg atmosphere of the novel, Razumikhin is one of the rare characters through whom the reader can breathe. Through him, Dostoevsky shows that it is possible to live an honest and virtuous life without being consumed by grand theories or extreme passions.

Final Thoughts

Much more could be said about Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment. However, since I aimed in this review to provide information about the novel's plot, characters, and important philosophical and psychological aspects, this will suffice.

In conclusion, I can say that Dostoevsky's first novel of his mature period both deeply impressed me and left me even more curious. It was a very fluid and enjoyable read. With its events, structure, and characters, it is one of the classics that absolutely must be read.

Title: Crime and Punishment

Original Title: Преступление и наказание (Prestupleniye i Nakazaniye)

Author: Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky

Genre: Psychological Novel, Philosophical Novel, Crime Novel

Publication Year: 1866 (First edition: Russian, The Russian Messenger magazine)

Pages: 608

Period: 19th century Russian literature (Realism)

Main Themes: Crime, conscience, morality, nihilism, the idea of the Übermensch (superman), poverty, atonement