Crime and Punishment

Author: F.M. Dostoevsky () / Yue Lin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-11-01
Features: Crime and Punishment is one of the representative works of the great Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky in the 19th century. The novel depicts a poor university student, Raskolnikov, who aspires to be a Napoleon-like figure and believes himself to be a superman. Influenced by anarchism and driven by financial hardship, he kills an usurer and her innocent younger sister, committing a shocking murder case thats all of Russia. After experiencing a painful inner struggle and repentance, he ultimately surrenders to the authorities under the persuasion of the Christian girl Sonya, is sentenced to exile in Siberia. The work focuses on the protagonist's conscience after the crime, portraying his deep loneliness and fear, as well as his psychological changes before and after the crime. On one hand, the novel depicts the miserable lives of the lower classes in Russia and exposes the evils of the aristocratic society; on the other hand, it promotes the idea of enduring adversity and seeking redemption through religion.