As I started reading the first part of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s, Crime And Punishment, I wondered why Dostoevsky mentioned all these issues and events that don’t seem relevant to the story line. I completely understand the plot, but when he goes into detail in certain scenes, I’m puzzled.
As the story begins, the main character, Raskolnikov, finds himself in a tavern talking to a drunken man by the name of Marmeladov. There, Marmeladov is telling a story about his wife and daughter. He mentions how his wife used to be beaten and how his daughter “lives on a yellow pass” (in other words, she’s a prostitute). What I can’t comprehend is what Marmeladov’s personal life relates to Raskolnikov. Could this scene be connected to something that happens later in the book?
I also found myself confused about the dream Raskolnikov has. In his dream, a horse is abused to the point where it’s going to die. Why does he have a dream about something so gory and gruesome? As I’m reading these two scenes, I wonder if this is where Raskolnikov shapes his mind to become a person that in reality, he may not be.
Lastly, as I was reading, I stumbled upon a line that I couldn’t interpret. On page 42, it reads, “And that’s how it always is with these beautiful, Schilleresque souls till the last moment they dress a man up in peacock’s feathers”. What does Dostoevsky mean when he says this?
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I found a similarity between Blanche and Raskolinkov. They both show characteristics of being mentally unstable. They seem to be suffering form an unknown illness that make them appear incoherent and not 100% there.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you have stated about when you began reading the book. I read from page to page wondering what was going on and when everything will be connected. I couldnt understand why he was so nervous and shaking even stepping out of his own building. It seemed bazarre.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand I disagree about being confused about the dream Raskolnikov has. The dream was a way of foreshadowing him killing Alyona and her sister. Justine Velez