Crime and Punishment

Fyodor Dostoevsky

When exactly does punishment happen for a crime? Is it when one is booked and held in prison? Or when one repents his action of crime?

Punishment starts at the very moment of conception of the crime. Fear, anxiety, paranoia and relentless vigilance in every single moment cause immense mental as well as physical distress for the criminal.

"Crime and Punishment" opens the mind of Raskolnikov with its intricate thought patterns right from the moment of conception of his crime of a twin murder. The reader feels the burden of his mind, the turbulence of boiling concoctions of emotions and his mental as well as physical distress from the conception through planning, execution and the aftermath..

When each strand of thought in the mind of Raskolnikov is distinctly laid out, the reader is in an advantageous position to analyse his thoughts and actions. When Raskolnikov tries to colour his actions and cover up his guilt in some vague revolutionary philosophy, the reader knows that it has more to do with his pathetic, impoverished circumstances and depressive state of mind. One can see the Freudian defence mechanisms of 'Rationalisation' and 'Reaction Formation' in his thoughts and actions.

His need to release some pressure leads him to blurt out to a person in a tavern. But he plays the mind game skillfully with the doubtful, shrewd investigator, Porfiry. But then he finds Sonya, a poor fragile girl who had to take up prostitution to support her drunkard father, stepmother and siblings. Raskolnikov confesses his crime to her. Horrified at the crime and the excruciating burden of his moral dilemmas, she urges him to confess and surrender to the authorities. He does accordingly, though in two minds.

He is sent to prison in Siberia but still continues to be in emotional distress. It takes him a few years in jail to finally own up the guilt and move forward. Only then he starts to acknowledge his love for Sonya who moved to Siberia to visit him in jail often. True liberation comes only after owning up responsibility of one's actions.

Though the novel dwells mostly inside the mind of Raskolnikov it gives the reader a vivid picture of St Petersburg and Russia of the time, rampant alcoholism and its devastating effects on families and society.

Preetha Raj

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