The Readers Review: Literature from 1714 to 1910 discussion
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Crime and Punishment
Fyodor Dostoevsky Collection
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Crime and Punishment - Week 7 (Part 5)
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1) Gem, I felt the same way about these chapters. We have just come from the intense scenes at the police station and then all of a sudden we turn to these secondary characters. It is almost a little of a caricature scene with the feast and the different people around the table. However, we should not forget about Luzhin talking to and philosophizing with Lebeziatnikov. I am not sure why Luzhin seems to play an important role in this novel. I hope he will get some form of punishment, too, as he is not really free of crime as shown in these chapters,Maybe it is not always just the murderer who is a criminal. There are criminals in different ways.
2) I did not think that having Lebeziatnikov as a witness during the conversation with Sonia was odd, as you could regard him as a kind of chaperone, and in this case less for Sonia's, but more for Luzhin's sake who might not want to be associated with a prostitute. Luzhin seemed a little regretful about not having given Dounia and her mother some more money for all their inconveniences of moving to St. Petersburg. I had the hope of him being a little self-reflective, but I must admit I was as angry with him as Lebeziatnikov was in the end. It all seemed strange that he denied money to his fiance, but would give money to Sonia who has no connection to him. It felt too good to be true and it was.
3) There is so much caricature around this table. Katerina wants to show that she comes from a good background. For her showing off her heritage is more important than pragmatism. It is maybe a little like with Raskolnikov who does not seem to be able to actually do something about his situation. For Katerina it is more important to have a dignified farewell to her husband than to household properly with the money she got.
And I wonder a little what for. All the people at the feast did not seem to be worthy all those efforts. I felt almost disgusted by it. And then these animosities between Katerina and her landlady. But it must be hard for Katerina to be reduced to these conditions, especially considering her sickness as well.
4) What does this scene reveal to you? That Luzhin is a criminal as well and should get some sort of punishment. ;-)
I was really disgusted by this act. And how he could think that this would make him right towards Dounia and her mother?
I have to think about the other questions tomorrow. It is getting late. ;-)
5)...What do you make of this scene? Why did Raskolnikov confess to Sonya? Is there anything telling about the way the two characters react to each other in this scene? I almost have to reread this section as there was so much in it. One thing is the discussion about Luzhin and how to punish him / how to decide on his death. Sonia says it is not her decision to make. I think she is deeply religious and let's God make these decisions. That is in contrast to Raskonikov who does not see it that way and in the end became the judge and executor.
Then he comes to the point of telling who killed Lizaveta, but he does not do that in a straight forward way, which might demonstrate his true regret about this whole affair.
Sonia is repulsed, but at the same time she offers to go with him to Siberia. His explanation of having wanted to become Napoleon is not something that she understands. HIs whole world view and why he killed "this louse" is far away from Sonia's. Sonia wants him to confess and give himself up, but he rejects this idea.
She wants to give him a cross. It is almost as if she wants him back into God's world/ embrace. Is that maybe the reason for the Lazarus story? To show the divine power and convince in this case Raskolnikov of it? The resurrection of Lazarus was attributed to Jesus to show his divine power. Raskolnikov is a "lost soul", but Sonia tries to get him back to faith. However, he does not seem to be ready for that just yet.
Does that make any sense?
6) Lizaveta gave Sonia the cross in exchange for a little ikon. Was the ikon mentioned when Raskolnikov killed Lizaveta and her sister? I have somehow in mind that an ikon was named at the time, but I might be wrong.
7) That seemed a little strange to me. Why would Svidrigailov do this for her? Is he really that charitable? Is he a contrast to Luzhin, who showed himself as a nice person, but is an abuser/ criminal deep inside? Svidrigailov had a rather bad reputation and is then the good person inside? In a way Svidrigailov becomes a "judge" deciding on how the lives of Sonia and her siblings might be. I do not really know. I am just speculating.
This also leads on to question 8. Svidrigailov has obviously heard everything of the conversation between Sonia and Raskolnikov. He knows about the potential decision-making about Luzhin's death and of the killing of the "louse". By mentioning these he indicates very clearly that he knows everything about Raskolnikov. But I am really not sure what he will do with that knowledge now. Will he put pressure on Raskolnikov, will he blackmail him in a way to get something that he wants? But he did not seem to be interested in Dounia anymore. So I do not know what Raskolnikov could do for him.
I am quite eager to read on. Now that I have posted this I feel I might be able to read on and not spoil anything for you without realizing it.
However, I am very curious what you are thinking about the events in this section as there seems to be much more in it than you would think at first sight.
Sorry guys, I am behind schedule here, I will try to catch up and give some commentary. Family issues, and now an abscessed tooth that needs some surgical attention. I’ll get to it once I feel better.
I lost a fair bit of patience with Sonya in these scene, or at least with her characterization. And for a poor prostitute, she seems to spend remarkably little time working. Perhaps because that would dim her angelic aura a little. I can see why Raskolnikov would be drawn to confess to her -- who better? She's clearly insipid and faithful to a fault, and there's an attraction between them. Svidrigailov will be blackmailing Raskolnikov I imagine. Will Dounia be the cost of secrecy? But I agree he didn't sound overly interested in her in this scene.
I did not really feel that this section did not add much to the story. Dostoyevsky is apparently very interested in the social condition of the people he describes in this novel. And including scenes of life in poverty and utter despair is part of that. Lots of people don’t see a way out of this. Raskolnikov is also seeing this, but his solution was to believe in the superior being that is above all of this, and can make decisions about other people without regard to their wishes. He miscalculates in that tragically, and he is a common criminal now. He will payoff his crimes.And Luzhin is a really disgusting personality, he needs to be admired and be the „boss“, beware the person that ignores it. Here he does not succeed, and, hopefully, will get his punishment.
Katerina has her misplaced pride, which needs to be put at display, to tragic and also somewhat hilarious effect.
I love the depth of Dostojevsky‘s insight in all of this. A very interesting read!
Detlef wrote: "...Dostoyevsky is apparently very interested in the social condition of the people he describes in this novel. And including scenes of life in poverty and utter despair is part of that. ..."That is right. I do not know how all of your translations are, but mine is in general very good to describe the sceneries. I can almost see the dirty streets, courtyards and accommodations in front of me. I was wondering whether there might be a movie or TV adaptation reenacting the streets of St. Petersburg of the 1860s.
Mod
I hope you are feeling better. I had a boatload of dental work done recently, it's no fun at all.
Mod
I think you are absolutely right, there is a lot going on with the various characters. And there is a lot of symbolism, commentary on the Russian society of the times, some autobiographical elements from the author's life, and "layers" that I am only seeing after reading the section and then reading a couple of analyses.
I wish I had a better understanding of Russian history and society. Because I feel my lack of knowledge in those areas affects my understanding of some of the issues the author is trying to highlight.
Mod
Yes! This is something I have found with the Russians and the French too, in a lot of cases.
Wow - there’s a lot to think about in this section, and Dostoyevsky has solved some mysteries and created others. One thing that really struck me is the portrayal of evil in different forms. Raskolnikov, a murderer, is one face of evil, but we can’t be sure of how much control he has over his own actions. Many of the characters think of Sonya as evil for prostituting herself, but we also see that her motives were good and her decisions made out of desperation. Katarina spends money on an expensive luncheon after her husband’s funeral in order to impress her neighbors; later, she beats her young children and uses them to get money. But her apparent evil is that of a desperately ill and totally impoverished woman who is trying to survive an impossible situation. Then we come to Luzhin, a truly evil man. I believe his attempt to mark Sonya as a thief is due to his hatred of Raskolnikov. He sees Raskolnikov as the reason why Dunya has rejected him, and, knowing that Raskolnikov cares for Sonya, he hopes to exact revenge. Whether he still hopes to regain Dunya as his wife isn’t at all clear to me. Finally, there is the very evil Svidrigailov. I also believe that his motive is to blackmail Raskolnikov in an attempt to have Dunya as his wife or mistress. Will he go to the police if his blackmail attempt is unsuccessful? Only if it serves his purposes.
1) The focus of Part 5 was not on Raskolnikov, he played more of a peripheral role and the focus was on some of the other characters and bringing some of their personalities and circumstances to light. I'm not sure why the author does this, it almost seems like a diversion that does not contribute to the story. What are your thoughts about this part, overall?
2) In this part we see Luzhin and Sonya interacting with Lebezyatnikov as a witness. Did you feel Luzhin's insistence that Lebezyatnikov is present as odd? Did you realize Luzhin was up to something? Did you feel Luzhin's charity was out of character?
3) Next we are witness to pandemonium at the memorial meal. What is the significance of Katrina spending all the money she does on the funeral dinner? Why does she do this and what is the result? Does the pandemonium that ensues at the meal reveal anything about Katrina? The other guests?
4) Ah ha! Luzhin attempts to frame Sonya and in doing so shows that he is ultimately the most despicable person in the novel. Fortunately, Lebezyatnikov tells how he saw Luzhin slip the hundred-ruble note into Sonya's pocket while she was standing in his room. What does this scene reveal to you?
5) The next scene is between Raskolnikov and Sonya. Again, the dual aspect of Raskolnikov's personality is exemplified when Raskolnikov is drawn to Sonya enough to make his confession, but after having done so, he is suddenly repulsed by her. What do you make of this scene? Why did Raskolnikov confess to Sonya? Is there anything telling about the way the two characters react to each other in this scene?
6) How did Sonya get Lizaveta's cross?
7) In an interesting twist we see Katarina's death and understand that Sonya is now responsible for the children. Once Katrina is taken to Sonya's apartment, Svidrigailov, who lives in the next room, enters and volunteers to undertake all of the arrangements. He tells Raskolnikov that he will use the money that he was going to give to Dunya to apply it to the care the children and will settle a large sum upon Sonya also. What does this tell us about Svidrigailov? What implications will this have for Dunya and by extension to Raskolnikov?
8) By using the exact phrasing and terms that Raskolnikov used in making his confession to Sonya, he thus subtly reveals to Raskolnikov that he overheard the entire conversation between him and Sonya, and he reminds Raskolnikov that "I told you that we should come together again — I foretold it." What, if anything, do you think Svidrigailov will do with this information?