Crime and Punishment

With the publication of Crime and Punishment, Dostoevsky firmly established himself as one of the most significant authors of the nineteenth century. His grippingly accurate psychological portrayal of the criminal mind and the role of conscience, morality and acceptance of a Supreme Being, set the stage for the other great novels to follow: The Idiot, The Devils, and The Brothers Karamzov. The protagonist Rodion Raskolnikov transgresses against God and humanity and effectively cuts himself off from both. The novel both explores his theory of the "extraordinary man" and follows his path to atonement as the only way to heal the schism in his soul.