Svidrigailov and Raskolnikov: Men of Differences and Similarities
Svidrigailov and Raskolnikov are they really that different from each other? In the novel Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky these two men live lives that seem to parallel. Raskolnikov used to be an impoverished law student who wrote a thesis on the role of "the extraordinary man," which he believed to be above the law since they have a greater calling that would benefit society. He attempts to prove his theory by murdering two women, but instead he ends up disproving his theory since he fails to commit the perfect crime. He is not an extraordinary man because he cannot mentally handle what he has done. Svidrigailov is the former employer of Raskolnikov's sister, Dunia. He killed his wife and went out to seek Dunia, the woman he truly seems to love and tried to seduce. Both Svidrigailov and Raskolnikov committed murders; as a result they were faced with a long, mentally agonizing journey in order to seek redemption. Svidrigailov and Raskolnikov both had to deal with being murders and seeking redemption, they however ended up drastically differently because they had completely different perspectives on life.