Thoughts on Raskolnikov's Past

What I personally find most interesting in this story is actually the protagonist himself (Raskolnikov) and the unique characteristics he bestows. When one begins to read the story, the narrator introduces the reader to a mysterious anti-social man who isolates himself from others and is apparently formulating a plan of murder; he is later revealed to be named "Raskolnikov". As the story progresses, Raskolnikov's mental conditions are exacerbated due to delirium from a fever, ambivalence derived from the thought of committing a crime or not, and pressure from the thought of being discovered to be the one who killed Alyona Ivanovna. Now, my question is: Was Raskolnikov always like this? Besides contempt derived from the crime he is "destined" to commit, Raskolnikov is introduced to naturally be the way he is: feeling tension and anger towards humanity, being anti-social, looking down on others, and being lackadaisical -- in respect to the fact that he doesn't even bother to get a job of any kind. There are however elements in the story that point out that he was not always this way.
In chapter III of part I, Raskolnikov's mom (Pulcheria) says in her letter, "Remember, my dear, in your childhood, when your father was alive, how you prattled out your prayers sitting on my knee, and how happy we all were then!" This quote gives a vague but interesting hint that Raskolnikov lived a happy life with his father during childhood. Perhaps it was the absence of his father that changed him and gave him a new view on things, or perhaps it was the things he witnessed as a child that blend in with his vitriolic personality and scorn towards society. Later on in chapter V, Raskolnikov has a dream about his childhood, where he witnessed a group of sadistic peasants beating an old horse to death. Judging from the moment he had the dream (before committing the crime and still filled with ambivalence), it can easily reflect on his own inner views of the crime, or rather, what his conscience is telling him. He obviously thought of the crime being committed in this dream as odious, which can represent exactly how he feels about the crime he is going to commit. In the dream, he is depicted as an innocent child, which can represent his actual innocence in reality; he is not evil. Since the dream itself is a reminiscence of Raskolnikov's past, the reader can clearly see Raskolnikov as a caring child back then. As I mentioned before, it is possible that the things he witnessed as a child are what developed his scorn and tension towards society. It is also interesting to note that Raskolnikov's father was present in this dream.
In chapter IV of part I, it is revealed that during his time in the university, Raskolnikov didn't have any friends and considered all his peers inferior to himself. The only person he was social with during this time was Razumikhin. In chapter V of part III, we learn about an article dealing with crime -- written by Raskolnikov some time after leaving the university. From this article, we learn that he feels that there are people that go above the law and can commit crime. Judging from the time this article was made and the time he was still in the university, we can assume that Raskolnikov has had the view on humanity that he has during the beginning of the story even before contemplating on whether or not to commit a crime -- thus his ambivalence isn't the source to his apparent way of being.
Raskolnikov in general is not a bad guy, as can be seen when he gives money to Marmeladov's family (twice), and how he reacts upon reading his mother's letter. He seems to have accumulated feelings of contempt, scorn, tension, and hatred toward humanity as he grew. It would be interesting learning more about Raskolnikov's past and see what the main source of his change was. Perhaps later in the story there will be some more hints dealing with his past to help clarify this.
Anthony M.