Confession and Rebirth

Through the beginning of part four of Crime and Punishment, the plot was ultimately revealed, and was too suspenseful for me to put off the reading for a couple of more days. I feel as though through the last three parts of the book, the suspense truly unraveled; I’m only disappointed that it took a while to get through it all. The end of part three reveals Raskolnikov’s ideas of embodying a “divine being” and that extraordinary people have the right to be above the law, therefore being just to commit crimes “seemingly” beneficial to mankind. The theme of “superman” comes into play where Raskolnikov views himself to be superior to others, and that extraordinary man that was justified in killing the pawnbroker. Yet with every superman, comes his weakness – kryptonite; in this case Raskolnikov’s kryptonite is his inner battling conflicts with guilt, and his impulses to confess to the crimes. By killing the pawnbroker, Raskolnikov was not seeking financial victories, but was rather seeking to become a divine being, with high self worth and belittling the pawnbroker at the same time. Through the process in which he killed the pawnbroker, Raskolnikov thought that by killing someone with no worth in the world, he would gain worth and appreciation himself. When encountering a chilling nightmare in his sleep, Raskolnikov again revisits the scene where he is about to kill the woman, but instead of crying out for help, she merely laughs at him with disgust. This not only proves his excessive guilt, but more his weakness, confusion, and struggles with valuing himself.
In part five, Raskolnikov finally confesses the murder to Sonya, Marmaledov’s prostituting daughter. The two have previously gotten closer through the death of Marmaledov, and Sonya proves to be a supporting foundation for Raskolnikov’s vulnerable state. After confessing, Sonya reads Raskolnikov the story of Lazarus, one of the most essential stories in Christianity. Lazarus portrays fallen and corrupted humanity about to be redeemed through Jesus Christ’s passion, death, and resurrection. The illness Jesus makes Lazarus endure, and his resurrection of the illness embodies the significance of Jesus’ resurrection, which restores tainted humanity. This story applies to both Sonya and Raskolnikov; Sonya seeks redemption for prostituting herself, and Raskolnikov from his murders. However both are on the path towards gaining back redemption- although Sonya prostitutes herself, she does it in the hopes of supporting her poor family, and hopefully escaping an impoverished life; Raskolnikov recognizes that he is not superman, or an extraordinary person having the right to commit an unjust crime, but an ordinary human, allowing himself to take a step closer towards redemption. Sonya encourages Raskolnikov to confess, and he agrees, accepting a cross as a symbol of gaining a position back in the humane society that Raskolnikov has so long isolated himself from. Readers can see that Sonya is not only offering Raskolnikov a symbol of Christ and redemption, but also a part of herself; her religion, her pious Christian thoughts on life and salvation, which Raskolnikov views as highly valuable. The last paragraphs of part six were really captivating; just as Raskolnikov enters the police station to confess, he get scared and leaves, but he sees Sonya outside waiting for him. It’s at that moment where he realized Sonya truly loves him, and is the one person who leads him towards replenishing himself of past sins and corruption, and he finally confesses.
Reading the epilogue was sort of a drag, it seemed very repetitive up until the part Raskolnikov breaks down emotionally and cries at Sonya’s feet. I see that as his turning point as a character; through offering himself to society through confession, he endured a painful months long stay in a Siberian prison. Yet through his efforts at truly recognizing his guilt, and wrongdoings as a human, he won back redemption and thus again entered the world of humanity not as a callous, egotistical man, but someone who was able to feel unconditional love and compassion as a man who experienced rebirth.
posted by Jenn Jo