Discuss Roskolnikov's theory of the ordinary versus the extraordinary man.

[Ioanna]

It's been some years since I read the book, but from what I recall Raskolnikov was calling himself an extraordinary man to negate and avoid any of his negative feelings, trying to rationalise and remove himself from any form of guilt. That evidently doesn't work because he increasingly feels that he did not have the right to murder and thus cannot consider himself extraordinary or in any way above other people - regardless of whether these is such a thing as an extraordinary man, Raskolnikov is not one; nor does he seem a useful character for Dostoyevsky to support this theory with.

[Mark]

I agree