Connotations In Crime And Punishment

People often judge others based on physical appearances, such as what they wear or how they style their hair. The style and condition of their home and room can also reflect their character, as homes are the place where people spend most of their time. In Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novel titled Crime and Punishment, translated by David McDuff, the author describes the rooms occupied by Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov, the protagonist and a murderer; Sonya Marmeladov, a prostitute and Raskolnikov’s conscience; Alyona Ivanovna, a pawnbroker and Raskolnikov’s victim; and Porfiry Petrovitch, a police inspector who interrogates Raskolnikov. The author specifically includes descriptions of the furnishings and size of rooms to influence the reader’s interpretation of the
In the novel, the descriptions of furniture illustrate the poverty-stricken lives of Raskolnikov and Sonya as well as those of the wealthy such as Porfiry. During the emancipation of the serfs in Russia in 1861, serfs were freed by their landlords and many moved to big cities such as St. Petersburg, the setting of the novel, in search of jobs. The emancipation created high poverty rates and a divide between the wealthy and the poor, which is highlighted in Crime and Punishment because many characters struggle to gain money to survive. For instance, Raskolnikov, a former student, lives in poverty as he does not have a job and depends on his mother and pawning goods to receive money. The furnishings in his room reflect his impoverished life because contains it contains “a big, ungainly sofa … [that] serve[s] as Raskolnikov’s bed” (35), revealing Raskolnikov’s poverty because he uses a sofa as a bed. The sofa “at one time had an upholstering of chintz” (35) but has since deteriorated, reflecting Raskolnikov’s financial situation because he is “crushed by poverty” (5). In addition to the sofa, Raskolnikov’s pillow symbolizes his impoverished life because his