To ensure not an ounce of sympathy is elicited in the reader, Dostoevsky writes this event from a spectator’s point of view, particularly a younger Raskolnikov. For such a tender aged boy to witness this immoral beating, and the bystanders to both simply stand there and absorb this atrocious event or merely yell, “He’ll kill her!”—in which both methods lack efficacy to actually stop the murdering from progressing any further, guarantees this situation extracts no amount of consideration and pity. To further enhance this aroused extreme disdain for Milkilka, as if arbitrarily killing a horse to depict the general extension of the vile effects of alcoholism was not sufficient, Dostoevsky creates vivid visual imagery as Milkolka deliberately tortures the female horse by “whipping” her “across the ribs,” watching her wallow in pain, and then proceeding by “dealing a stunning blow” with an iron crowbar, and continuing this vicious cycle. He finally demands some inspired and awe-stricken spectators to help “Finish her off!” and congenially watches her last movements as she “drew a long breath and died,” as if it appears that Milkolka finds a disgusting pleasure in seeing animals in excruciating pain that will inevitably lead to their unjustifiable departure from the world. Also, by the reader not being familiar with the character of Milkolka as opposed to Raskolikov, one cannot sympathize with the reasoning—if any—of killing an innocent mare that was his own “property” besides the fact that he was drunk and just desired some shape of “fun” that would attract a crowd, thus making him and his object of torture the center of attention.
Dostoevsky does contribute an atmosphere of scorn as Raskolikov murders Alyona and Lizaveta, but to a lesser severity in comparison to the killing of the mare. He is able to create a contrasting effect by not including personal dialogue as Alyona is murdered, and repeats the absence of conversation even during the course of reluctantly killing Lizaveta. However, with this lack of dialogue and this occurrence written from the murderer’s point of view—Raskolnikov—it depicts his internal dialogue and thinking process that makes the reader feel more attached to Rodya, thus inducing understanding from the reader. By Dostoevsky writing the killings in this manner, the reader can automatically sense the hesitation that Rodya displays up until the moments he passively hits Alyona with the blunt side of the axe. The uncertainty of whether to kill or not is causative of the weakness in his hands, and makes him fear that “the axe would slip and fall.” This vacillation and indecisiveness seems to convey the idea that Rodya possesses bi-polar disorder and is subsequently mentally unstable. This mental instability is further inflated when Rodya discovers that Alyona resides in “a very small room with a whole shrine of holy images.” Although Rodya is an outcast from society, he is sincerely devout and “loved [going to] church.” The fact that he would have to murder Alyona in a room with such images made him hesitant because he knew God would watching him, and if he did follow through with his plan, God would be testing him until he repented his sin and confessed to the court of law. Furthermore, Raskolkinov does not go about purposefully torturing both the pawnbroker and her sister so he can attract a crowd for means of self-satisfaction and recognition. He commits this murder in isolation, and is even still hesitant about truly following through because of his psychological instability and the setting of Alyona’s home. This exemplifies a hint of compassion that Rodya possesses as opposed to Milkolka, who despite witnessing the mare’s poor condition, still continues his “fun” and appears to hold no regrets.
Raskolkov simply did not kill Alyona and Lizaveta for the lack of excitement in his life or because he found it enticing; he committed the act because of the “humanitarian” view he accepted. He wanted to murder the position in society the pawnbroker held as opposed to necessarily killing the tangible Alyona. She ran a corrupt business, in which she continuously gave her customers a significantly lesser price for the items they brought in, and instead of giving back to society, Alyona hoarded all of her money for selfish reasons, thus making her one of the richest individuals in St. Petersburg. Therefore, Rodya felt that he could potentially save many lives with her money, and could save her sister from such a miserable life that Listavesta exhibited. Since the majority of people in St. Petersburg felt the same way as Rodya did, as illustrated by the conversation Rodya overhead between an officer and his acquaintance, Rodya felt that this was his chance to encompass his “humanitarian” view he idolized, and take it one step further. He wanted to transform from being an “ordinary” man—men who leisurely go by day to day abiding by society’s laws—into an “extraordinary” man—a man who has the authentic capability of breaking laws only if they desire to benefit society. For this reason, Rodya felt as if he was conducting a catharsis on society by eliminating the one person he felt that everyone despised due to her unkind and unethical actions.
Though both scenes involve the death of a living creature, Dostoevsky is able to educe a greater sense of abhorrence towards Milokla then towards Raskoliknov by primarily attaching the reader to Rodya more than Milkolka, and by insinuating a justification for the death of Alyona as opposed to the innocent mare. It is with these methods that give the reader the ability to have sympathy for Rodya that ultimately carries throughout the remainder of the novel.
