The Different Portrayals of Self-Sacrifice in "Kesa and Morito" and Crime and Punishment

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Winniarti Donyada

English → H

21st April 2005

World Literature Paper

The Different Portrayals of Self-Sacrifice in “Kesa and Morito” and Crime and Punishment

In order to survive, human nature has learned to equip itself with selfishness and egotism. However, along with that, there also exists the desire to share, care and sacrifice for the sake of our beloved. In Ryonosuke Akutagawa’s “Kesa and Morito” and “The Martyr”, and Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, the characters portray the motif of self sacrifice through their actions, although their aims may differ from one another. For the most part, the characters’ sacrifice is to serve others, but there are instances when the sacrifice made are for selfish purposes.

        In Ryonosuke Akutagawa’s short story “Kesa and Morito”, introspection is used to convey the thoughts and problems of the two adulterers, Kesa and Morito. Both of them begin to think about the love and hate that they fell towards each other and has led them to the decision of killing Kesa’s husband. In the middle of their affair, Morito has come to the conclusion that he no longer loves her, and only used her to satisfy his carnal desires. Subsequently, he suggests the idea of killing her husband, even though he is fully aware that it is not out of love or jealousy for Wataru, the husband. Morito then says, “the more I despised and hated her (Kesa), the more impatient I became to bring some disgrace upon her.” (Akutagawa 86) This means that Morito is desperate to cause her shame so that he can see her suffer, only because he loathes her deeply, and because the method of bringing disgrace upon Kesa is by committing the murder together, it is evident that Morito is willing to sacrifice his own self by risking his own life just so that he can feel the satisfaction of Kesa being dishonored. Unlike the other examples that will be shown later, Morito’s self sacrifice is in no way for the benefit of the people he loves. Rather, it is a selfish act for his own purpose to see another individual suffer. In addition to that selfish reason, Morito commits this self-sacrifice out of cowardice. He says, “I fell into the sad plight of making an appointment to murder her husband because of my fear that she would take revenge on me if I failed to carry out my part of the bargain.” (Akutagawa 87) This shows that the other reason that Morito is sacrificing his own self by risking his life is because he is afraid of what Kesa may do to him if he does not commit the murder. This is ironic because Morito is trying to save himself by risking own life. Therefore, in Morito’s case, he uses self-sacrifice for his own purposes: satisfaction and protection. However, he is not the only character who uses the motif of self-sacrifice. Towards the end of Kesa’s introspection, she asks herself, “Is it really because of my love for my husband that I am going to die for him? No, it is merely that under such reasonable pretext, I want to atone for my sin of having slept with another.” (Akutagawa 92) This shows that although she does not love Wataru anymore, she feels that she should die, not because she feels that she has wronged him, but because she wants to repent for her sin of having had the affair. Hence, this implies that her self-sacrifice is not so that she can seek forgiveness from her husband, but because she is worried about her honor. This, as in Morito’s case, shows that she also uses self sacrifice for her own purposes as opposed to the well being of others.

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        In Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, the motif of self-sacrifice is portrayed by two female characters, Sonya and Dunya. Unlike the characters mentioned previously, their self-sacrifices serve a greater purpose than themselves. Sonya is the daughter of an ex-government clerk, Marmeladov, who is an alcoholic and who is remarried with several step-children. During an encounter between Marmeladov and the novel’s protagonist, Raskolnikov, Marmeladov described to him the one time when his wife, Katerina, was complaining about how they never have enough to eat. He then said that Sonya left the house, returned two hours later, and brought back some money. ...

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