Bibi King
ENG4U7
October 16, 2009
The Presentation of Madness in Crime and Punishment
“In times of need, people resort to madness or denial” (Thinkexist). This is indeed evident in the novel Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky, in which the characters, being in extreme poverty do resort to madness. Set in St. Petersburg before the Russian Revolution, this novel deals with the emergence of several new ideologies, such as utilitarianism and capitalism and it is, in fact utilitarianism that drives the protagonist, Raskolnikov, to commit murder, resulting in his madness from his overpowering guilt and paranoia. Likewise, Katerina Ivanovna, a secondary character and a mother to three, must cope with an alcoholic husband and lack of money to purchase basic necessities, which also makes her mad, from suffering and the undeniable poverty she experiences. Therefore, one can ask, what affect does madness have on the novel and its characters? Madness, reflected through the characters of Raskolnikov and Katerina, display extreme suffering, which can be seen through the change in narrative point of view, creating compassion and portraying Dostoevsky’s view of the corrupt society in St. Petersburg during this era.
Raskolnikov’s madness:
- presented as mental suffering and it is conveyed through the author’s use of narrative point of view
- fear of society (agoraphobia): revealed through the statement “he dreaded meaning anyone” (1)
- Raskolnikov isolates himself in a room; this is a representation of his psychological confinement and his self-alienation from society.
- His self-entrapment leaves him “into deep thought” and “absorbed in himself ” (2) revealing his introspective nature (1)
- He is constantly “lost in dreams” (3)
- He is extremely compulsive, he constantly thinks that the police know about the murder and the items he stole, this is shown when he keeps checking the whole in the wall
- He is concerned with little details as “ He knew indeed how many steps it was from…his lodging house: exactly seven hundred and thirty” (3)
- Furthermore, at the sudden comment about his hat, he begins to lose control, thinking the hat is “too noticeable” and that it will ruin “his whole plan” (3)
- He is a disturbed character portrayed through his “hallucination[s]” (293)
- After he commits the murder he begins to think “all of his clothes were covered in blood,” revealing his guilt (95)
- He has a self-analytical nature which reveals his self-conflict, displayed through his constant questioning of himself
- Raskolnikov exhibits physical signs of his madness, he is described as being in “delirium” and “far from being capable of rational reflection” (92, 95)
- Ironically, Raskolnikov writes a paper on crime and analyzes himself, he states that “perpetration of a crime is always accompanied by illness,” this illness of body and mind is what Raskolnikov experiences (259)
- Svidrigalov says that there is “something common” between them and Raskolnikov says that “he is a madman” (267,288)
- Through the presentation of Raskolnikov’s madness, Dostoevsky shows that all of humanity is capable of madness
- This is also shown through Zossimov’s comment of how “A normal man…hardly exists” (227)
- This reflects the theme of the capacity of evil, forcing the reader to question whether it is worth committing a crime, because, as demonstrated by Raskolnikov, the personal consequence of dealing with the crime is so torturous.
