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Themes of Crime and punishment

In the novel Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoevsky,
suffering is an integral part of every character's role. However, the
message that Dostoevsky wants to present with the main character,
Raskolnikov, is not one of the Christian idea of salvation through
suffering. Rather, it appears to be as if the author never lets his
main character suffer mentally throughout the novel, in relation to
the crime, that is. His only pain seems to be physical sicknes.

Raskolnikov commits a premeditated murder in a state of
delirium. He ends up committing a second murder, which he never ever
wanted to be responsible for. He kills Lizaveta, an exceedingly
innocent person. But does the author ever remind us of the murder at
any time in the novel again? Not in the physical sense of the crime
itself. The reader doesn't hear about how heavily the murders are
weighing on his heart, or how he is tormented by visions of the crime.
He doesn't feel the least bit guilty abo...

Posted by: Sylvia Schiavoni

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