While reading Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoevsky, I noticed that Christianity plays quite a role in the actual novel. Of course murder, revenge, prostitution, as well as other themes pertaining to this novel aren’t exactly reflections of typical Christian beliefs. There were however many instances where faith, suffering and redemption were present. These occasions show that the underlying theme of Crime and Punishment is one of Christianity. The references to Lazarus, New Jerusalem and the constant presence of suffering prove that the novel has biblical meaning. One prime example was before Rodion’s confession, his visit to Sonya towards the end of my reading. Sonya gives Rodion a cross, a symbol of Jesus' sacrifice for the sins of humanity. After receiving the cross Rodion tells Sonya that he isn’t with sin and that he isn’t one of the best examples really of Christianity. Yet in reality the cross didn’t symbolize redemption or his new profound faith, no it more or less signified the first steps to his rebirth. Sonya bestowing Rodion with the cross symbolized her role as the Christ like figure in Crime and Punishment, enforcing that although Rodion stepped away from the word of God, he became God’s son once more and thanks so Sonya, gained salvation. By kissing the ground before his confession, Rodion placed an exclamation mark on the theory of his rebirth, since by doing so he showed humility and acceptance to his fate.
posted by Oscar P.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
i noticed the some of the same things. I didn't see it a lot but i relized it mainly when in the end Rask pulls out the Gospels from under his pillow. I saw how he used it as something to connect him to Sonya. And when it speaks of "the account of a man's gradual renewal...".
ReplyDelete~nateil