Sonya

When Sonya was first introduced in Crime and Punishment, she had a very enigmatic way about her. As I read more, I began to see Sonya as a pious Christian who turned to prostitution as the only solution to rectify her family’s adverse financial state. I see several similarities between Sonya and Dunya in that they both made sacrifices for their families. They obtained degrading jobs in order to earn a living while they simultaneously endured great shame and ostracism. Although both women had strong and selfless attributes, Raskolniknov admired Sonya more than he did his own sister. He defended Sonya at all costs and saw something in her that the average person overlooked. Although he recognized that her occupation was not a glamorous one, he was drawn to the person beneath her rags and dishonorable occupation. Dostoevsky stated, “Of course he understood that Sonya’s position was an accidental social phenomenon, though unfortunately a far from isolated and exceptional one.” Raskolniknov was intrigued by Sonya, for he knew that she had endured years of unbearable torment and anguish. He wondered, “What sustained her? Surely not depravity? All this shame obviously touched her only mechanically; no true depravity, not even a drop of it, had yet penetrated her heart- he could see that; she stood before him in reality…” Raskolniknov was able to discern Sonya’s shameful job as a prostitute from her true character that she buried beneath the surface. He believed that her actual character had been unscathed by her disgraceful job.
Sonya’s lack of self-esteem is evident throughout Part IV. She felt ashamed of her job and viewed herself as a sinner. Dostoevsky livened up the plot by making an interesting connection between Sonya and Lizaveta. Before Lizaveta was brutally murdered, she and Sonya would read and discuss portions of the Bible together. Although Raskolniknov could see that reading from the Bible caused her great anguish, he insisted that Sonya read to him the story of Lazarus. Sonya’s deep religious faith played an essential role in her life. The words in the verses had a deep meaning to her because she believed that a miracle would occur one day and alter her life for the better. Once Sonya regained her composure, Raskolniknov asked her to accompany him in his attempt to escape from town. By this point, he had already broken ties with his family and had left his friend Razumikhin in charge of his mother and sister. Raskolniknov’s reasoning to have Sonya come along was that she had already destroyed her own life and would be better off in Raskolniknov’s company since they were headed on the same descending path. He stated, “You can’t endure it, and if you remain alone, you’ll lose your mind, like me. You’re nearly crazy already; so we must go together on the same path.” I am very interested to see how the relationship between Raskolniknov and Sonya will develop over the next two hundred pages. Will Sonya persuade Raskolnikov to find religion? If so, will his new found faith fuel his confession?
posted by Leslie P.