Crime and Punishment, Part One

So far, I’m enjoying Crime and Punishment much more than Don Quixote. The novel started slowly: the “experimental” visit to Alyona, the conversation with Marmeladov in the bar, the letter from his mother, and the adventure with the young drunken girl. But when Raskolinikov broke into the apartment in Chapter Seven, everything picked right up.

At first, I didn’t know why Dostoevsky included the conversation with Marmeladov and his prostitute daughter, but I figured there must be a reason for it. I came back to it later. When I was reading the letter from Raskolnikov’s mother, I thought, “Well, here’s the end of the novel. All his money problems are over, and now Alyona’s safe.” His reaction to the suitor surprised me, but then I immediately saw the connection between Sonia and Dounia, a connection which Raskolnikov must have seen even sooner and resented even more than I. Of course, he would oppose the marriage. Who would want their beloved younger sister whoring herself out in a loveless marriage for their benefit? His rantings as he walked down the street, while at first hardly coherent, soon seemed to make sense. His horse-dream, however, did not mean that much to me. I wonder, does it become more integrated into the plot later on? Does it have a symbolic significance to Raskolnikov that I cannot see? He killed the old woman – and her sister – but the old horse doesn’t represent her. The horse is seen as something to be pitied, while Alyona is unpleasant and almost deserving of death, at least according to the student in the bar whom Raskolnikov overheard.  Probably something to do with the social order.

I was surprised that Raskolnikov chose to use an axe to kill her, especially one that was stolen. Why make things even more difficult for yourself? It seemed to me that, with such an old woman, he would be better off just strangling her. Forensic evidence being what it was back then, it seems unlikely that his hands would have been matched up to the bruises on her throat, plus there would be no blood. I remember when I killed that old lady, I— Oops. Wait. Forget I said that.

I knew that he would encounter Lizaveta, even if he successfully killed Alyona. Would’ve been too easy otherwise. And I figured he would have to kill her, too. But I never anticipated the two visitors that would come to Alyona’s door. And the young one seemed so suspicious! He seemed to know, or at least guess, exactly what had happened. I figured there would be no way Raskolnikov could get away, but he got lucky. He seemed to get lucky many times as he committed his crime. I was surprised he was able to duck into the empty flat while the other men were investigating, but he seems charmed. The writing style was lively and made me want to jump ahead. Very compelling.

Toward the end of Chapter Six, Raskolnikov considers why so many criminals give themselves away by making mistakes. It seemed to me at the time that he would certainly overlook something and would make some grave mistake himself. You know: foreshadowing. But perhaps, since he seems so passionate and superstitious, he won’t make a mistake but he’ll think he will, and he’ll be so overcome with remorse and guilt that he’ll eventually give himself up even if he could get away with it. Hmm, we’ll see, I guess.

So. He seems to have gotten away with a double-murder. I want simultaneously for him to get busted and to get away with it. It took me a while to get myself on his side. It really wasn’t until the dream – maybe that was its purpose – until I really began to care for him and want him to be successful. It’s funny how we can be both attracted to, and repulsed by, such a vicious criminal. There’s a certain attractiveness we feel to criminals: their reasons for their crimes, their methods, the imbalance in their mental states, and the sheer interest we feel for their crimes. Who among us has no skeletons in their closets? Who among us has not committed even a small crime? We feel a moral superiority to one who commits such a violent crime, and perhaps a little gratitude that it is not we who are trying to avoid punishment for it. Still, as Bender points out in The Breakfast Club, being bad feels pretty good, even vicariously.

My guess is that his mother and sister will come to visit in Part Two and he’ll have to deal with them. One of the reasons he committed the crime – probably – will be so he can have some grounds for refusing to allow Dounia to marry. He was right when he mused earlier: who is he to refuse her marriage? Now at least, he can say that he doesn’t need the money. My prediction for Part Two is that it will end with some kind of encounter with police, a meeting with resultant bad feelings between Raskolnikov and Luzhin, and some amount of resentfulness among Raskolnikov’s family, centering around Raskolnikov’s reaction to Dounia’s marriage.

Knowing Dostoevsky, I am looking forward to a nice descent-into-madness with Raskolnikov. Two thumbs up for Part One.