Raskolnikova: Rodion Romanovich's Struggle with the Woman Within (Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov) (Critical Essay‪)‬

[1] Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov's delirium-filled wanderings about Saint Petersburg and his subsequent encounters with various abused and anonymous young women are necessary catalysts to his eventual self-discovery as well as paradigms for Crime and Punishment. The recurrence of nameless, poverty-stricken waifs throughout the novel creates an associative structure that forces Raskolnikov to identify with these women. Such identification prompts the self-reflection to which he eventually surrenders as his spiritual epiphany is achieved by the recognition of his female counterparts. The humiliating and victimizing experiences of these women mirror his own desperation and helplessness. Dostoevsky's presentation of women as victims creates a paradigm of social abuses that illustrate my main argument: Raskolnikov's struggle is against the feminine elements within himself. This is not a prescriptive feminist argument but an exploration prompted by Gary Rosenshield's summation that Dostoevsky "is always testing stereotypes" and as such opens themes such as gender and victimization to questioning (127). [2] Dostoevsky's most famous novel, Crime and Punishment (1866), is the story of an impoverished university student who brutally murders an old female pawnbroker, and then quite by accident, her sister as well. Raskolnikov has rationalized his crime with the defense that as he is destined for certain greatness he is doing society a favor by ridding the world of the parasitic moneylender. Once he has their blood on his hands, however, he sinks into illness, depression, and remorse. These feelings are intensified by Raskolnikov's distress at the news that his sister Dunya has accepted a proposal of marriage in order to save herself, their mother, and him from ruin. Meanwhile, Raskolnikov also befriends the drunkard father of Sonya Marmeladova who explains to him that his daughter has become a prostitute in order to support him, his wife and her children. Sonya's spiritual purity despite the squalor of her life drives Raskolnikov to confess his crime, after which she follows him to Siberia where he is serving his sentence at the conclusion of the novel.