Crime And Punishment Feminist Analysis

Feminist theory shows the ways of a gender structured life. This culture is also displayed in Crime and Punishment by Sonya and Dunya. Feminist criticism is a type of literary criticism that was well known in the 1970’s. Women would begin taking apart the classics and analyzing how the author portrayed women. The women in Crime and Punishment , especially Sonya and Dunya have a stronger state of mind and are able to handle the pressures and struggles of life better than the men in the novel. The women in the novel, such as Sonya and Dunya are spiritual connected far more than the men. However, this leads them to help the men in making decisions that will leave a major impact on them. The women in the novel are shown as having
Due to Dunyas strong mind, she is able to make an independent decision to leave the man she was going to marry because he would have made her miserable. She realizes that if she stays with him, then her life would not be the way she desired it to be. She chooses independence. When Raskolnikov tells Sonya about the murder, she is able to automatically compassionate towards him while he is mad at himself. This shows women are able to deal with issues better than men and be more open
For instance, her decision to not marry Luhzin is partly based on how he acted at an event after Dunya invited her brother to said event after Luhzin asked her not to. He escorts Dunya into another room and are outs to regain his pride. However, Dunya does not like and will not condone his degrading behavior towards women and marriage and makes the decision that he is not the man that she wishes to marry. “Pyotr Petrovitch, get out!” She turned to him pale with wrath” (Dostoyevsky pg. 305)This is a very clear example of Wollstonecraft's ways of showing feminism. Dunya does not allow herself to be over emotional when it comes to her own life. A trait she and Sonya both seem to share. Sonya’s actions do not seem to be supportive of Wollstonecraft's work, however , she is still a strong female in this novel and moral conviction. This is a way she shows she doesn’t let herself become over emotional about her life. Dunya shows a lot of feminism through her relationship with Luhzin. When Luhzin attempts to bring Dunya down and make her feel submissive and almost worthless, simply to make himself feel better, but also to make sure Dunya will feel dependent on him. Dunya defies his wishes however, she does what she wishes even if it’s against his wishes. To show Luhzin that men can’t control women the way he believes he