Crime and Punishment

So, that's me finished with my first Dostoevsky. It's really good. Pick it up and read it sometime in your life. Unlike some of my favourite Dickens, it's not hard to get into - really, honestly it's not! I know, I know what you're thinking - Russian novels - bleak, gray, sad, depressing, and yes, Crime and Punishment has all these aspects, but you know what? So does Dickens, and he's great, just like Dostoevsky. Why? Because there's also themes of redemption and grace - of evil transformed into good.

I loved it because it has so many layers:
- the devestating critique of socialist and nihilist thought (I know, that doesn't really entice you to read it, but from a philosophical point of view, it's fascinating)Raskolnikov thinks that the end justifies the means, that great men have the right to 'overstep obstacles' for the good of society. Putting this theory into practice, following it to it's logical conclusions, results in destruction - self-destruction of Raskolnikov, two murders, and in a certain sense the destruction of others as well - like his mother. When the end justifies the means, the means ends up destroying the end.

- a vindication of total depravity. Raskolnikov murders and he spends the novel trying to justify his crime. At various times throughout the novel he claims he did it to better humanity, to save his mother and sister, to provide himself with the resources he needed to be truly great, etc. Towards the end he tells Sonya that he did it for power to prove he was different from the ordinary man, but that he did it out of a heart that was evil and base. He says that he is a bad man, but then he says he committed no crime and is unrepentant. Even his confession he sees as the logical outworking of his failure to consistently follow his theories. And everytime you start to feel sorry for him and sympathise a wee bit with him, his diabolical pride raises its head and puts you off. At the end of the day Raskolnikov himself takes away every excuse you might make for him, and you are left with only the sinfulness of his heart.

- guilt. Despite all his justifications, Raskolnikov is tormented with guilt and anguish over what he has done. Romans 1 - the law of God is written on his heart - though he tries to suppress it with his theories - he knows what he has done is wrong, and he is driven to attempt to atone for it through good works, to justify it with his theories of the man above the law, and to seek a saviour in Sonya. He needs her tears, because he can not cry them himself - he can't admit he's wrong - he needs to share his suffering with her, because he can't admit he should be suffering. It's almost as though the entire story is about the war going on between his head and his heart - between his theories and his experience; his principles and practice.

- redemption. My favourite theme is the allegorical one I see in Sonya and Raskolnikov. Sonya loves Raskolnikov, even though he is eminently unlovable. Her desire is for him to repent and believe in Jesus Christ. He comes and confesses to her. She takes his suffering upon herself. She continues to love him and demonstrates it by her faithful following of him to Siberia. And finally, finally at the end of the book on the last two pages - he is resurrected through his love of her. Her love brings him from death to life. The theme of Lazarus being raised from the dead is mentioned several times in the book, and it ties in to this relationship. So, yes, despite her sinfulness, I think there is a picture of Christ and sinners going on here.

- the other end of suicide. There is a character very like Raskolnikov, an evil depraved character called Svidrigailov, who also does these random acts of kindness to atone for the guilt that torments him, who also justifies his evil ways. But unlike Raskolnikov, he rejects the influence of his 'saviour', Dounia (Raskolnikov's sister)and ends up killing himself. Made me think of the contrast between Peter and Judas.

There's so much there - it's really very good.