It's very interesting to hear Raskolnikov connect with others in a fashion that does not appear insane as it did before. I also find it a little fake that Raskolnikov recovered from his supposing mental illness so quickly. But then again Zossimov's explanation of someone with a mental illness is someone who isn't mental at all, they're only a little above the average human strangeness. (I actually happened to really like Zossimov's explanation of what a mental illness is. He explains how not one person is completely sane, there for the ones who really are called "insane" are the ones who take their insanity to the next level.) From what it sounds like, Raskolnikov's deadly thoughts and actions were caused from not having the necessities he needed to live comfortably, it's common one would go insane when uncomfortable and unstable in life. He brought his insanity to the next level by not only becoming a murderer but also by not eating, becoming obviously delusional, and saying unusual things to the questioning people around him.
Raskolnikov's visit to Razumikin earlier on in the book was really a cry for help. The visit also seemed like a way for Raskolnikov to try to help himself. He would be able to help himself by putting himself with a person that really cares about him and has before understood him. Of course in Raskolnikov's state, he did not know how to ask for help so he felt foolish and left Razumikin's place. Though in the end or at least now, in the midst of the book, Raskolnikov has received what he has longed for this entire time: help and has amazingly quickly "recovered."
Now that Sonya is in the picture, Raskolnikov finally has a reason to act like a normal human-being again. Some of the male characters in the story are getting caught up with the girls that are now in the picture. It seems like Razumikin is using Raskolnikov's illness to get closer to Raskolnikov's sister, Avadoyta. So far it seems like Razumikin's plan to get to Avadoyta will work, but is Raskolnikov still willing to keep him in the picture? And what will Luzhin do?
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I found that Raskolnikov never fully recovers...until the end that is. And I never really found that Sonya made him act normal. I always thought that he was a little out there when he was around sonya. Although, now that I think about it, and recall what happens in the end, You may be right. He does act the most like himself when around Sonya.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if your up to this part yet, but Raskolnikov eventually tells Razumikin that he wants him to take care of his sister. He says it during one of his delusional episodes where he wanders off into the night and goes wherever.
I found your take on Zoosimov's ideas on mental illness very interesting and I do have to agree with you that since the women have been introduced some of the male characters have been acting different. I like to think that maybe Dostoevsky had an encounter with a certain woman that he modeled Sonya after and that is why Raskolnikov acts so normal around her. As if she is his only cure.
ReplyDeleteI actually believe that there is some truth to Zossimov's theory of mental illnesses. As for Razumikin, i do agree that Raskolnikov visit was a cry for help, but he is a proud character so even if he wasn't in that state he probably still would have trouble asking for help.
ReplyDeleteRazuminkin has good and honest personality and has helped Raskolnikov alot. It's too bad that around the that point he didn't seem to realize what a good friend he has and even seemed ungrateful.
Now that I have read more of the book, I now see that Razumikin is really there for Raskolnikov. But I still do wonder if Dunya will have the same feelings for Razumikin that he has for her later on in the story. Also, where has Zossimov went? I mean is he just no longer needed?
ReplyDeleteIt's peculiar how Dostoyevsky focuses on one character, (other than Raskolnikov,) for a long time and then, all of sudden stops writing about them and later on that character pops up in the most random of places. Honestly, this book is getting so dramatic that to me it is becoming a bit comical, though I know that was definitely not Dosteyevsky's motive.
i think not having anything to do in your life and being bored all day long is what really drives u crazy. raskolnikov had absolutly nothing to do in his life after he left college, which gave him the oppertunity to get out his frustration at someone else, and to come up with plans of murder. i agree with you that since sonya came into the story, raskolnikov had a reason to start acting like a normal person. seeing the way he helped her and her family after her father died, i feel like even though raskolnikov seemed like a villan throughout the story,he now seems like he actually has a conscience.
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