Suffering In Crime And Punishment By Fyodor Dostoevsky

In Dostoevsky’s novel Crime and Punishment, a realm of suffering and deep distress was illustrated through the characterization of Sonia Semyonovna Marmeladov. Within the novel, Dostoevsky paints an image of Sonia as a young lower-class woman who struggles with her physical reality of suffering as well as an emotional battle to redeem herself and others. In doing so, Dostoevsky forces the reader to examine the corruption that followed the religious systems within the Russian society. Throughout the novel the use of characterization further highlights the motif of suffering to enhance the overall commentary on religious systems; overarching the theme of redemption to further shed light on Dostoevsky’s views of religious systems within Russian
Petersburg, Dostoyevsky suggests a place of extreme suffering in the development of characters and the overall plot in the novel. St. Petersburg also serves to be a starting point for the overwhelming sense of suffering in the novel and the greater Russian society. Dostoevsky describes an image of poverty and suffering within the streets of St. Petersburg, this is evident through the connotation gathered from the descriptions of the familiar “Petersburg’s stench” and how “awful [a] place” it is in the way you cannot walk alone at night (9). The actual description of St. Petersburg lends itself to the overall stifled suffering as alluded by the “terrible heat in the street and the airlessness” that was evident (9). Suffering in the setting allows a deep evaluation of suffering in characters to be established and aid in the further understanding of how each character underlies Dostoevsky’s views on religious systems. Suffering begins as an external factor as seen through the outside environment of St. Petersburg, yet this suffering manifests into greater consequences within its citizens like Sonia who epitomizes the concept of suffering through
For instance, on page 189, “in spite of her eighteen years, [Sonia] looked almost like a little girl;” reinforcing an innocent and pure nature yet she far exceeds the responsibilities set forth for a child of her age. Without acknowledgement, Sonia remains a consistent support for her family, which is in alignment with Jesus sacrifices. This sets her apart from other characters in the novel, she continues to suffer, not for herself, but for others which places her in alignment with a religious figure. A Christ Figure in literate is demonstrated through a means certain characteristics, many of which Sonia embodies. One of which is the concept of crucifixion, despite not being crucified, Sonia endured physical pain inflicted on her through her “yellow ticket” – prostitution (14). This allows for a leeway into another type of suffering, agony. Her mental suffering is seen as deep guilt imposed by her occupation and her separation from her Christian faith; she suffers for the betterment of her family. The exemplified self-sacrificing nature of Sonia aligners her with how Jesus Christ barred the cross to relieve the sins of others. Through these associations developed through Sonia’s characterization, Dostoevsky establishes both the idea of redemption and suffering involved in Sonia’s character.