Questions tagged [crime-and-punishment]

For questions about the novel "Crime and Punishment" by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Not to be used for questions about any non-literary (e.g. screen) adaptations except as they relate to literature. Use in conjunction with [fyodor-dostoevsky] and [russian-literature].

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Crime and Punishment - what's with the smiles?

In Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment, there is always this repeating motif of "smiling", a facial practice that Raskolnikov does a lot of. "poisonous smile" "sardonic smile&...
5 votes
2 answers
201 views

"Hamlet" reference in "Crime and Punishment": translator's invention?

I am reading Pevear & Volokhonsky's translation of Crime and Punishment. In part II, chapter 6, Raskolnikov is at the "Crystal Palace" restaurant, where he runs into the clerk Zamyotov ...
12 votes
1 answer
719 views

Original Russian text of this review of Crime and Punishment

In the introduction to Constance Garnett's translation of Crime and Punishment, she quotes this Russian critic: In the words of a Russian critic, who seeks to explain the feeling inspired by ...
13 votes
2 answers
7k views

What does the last sentence in chapter 2 of Crime and Punishment really mean?

The sentence I'm referring to is this one. ‘And what if I am wrong,’ he cried suddenly after a moment’s thought. ‘What if man is not really a scoundrel, man in general, I mean, the whole race ...
4 votes
0 answers
246 views

What kind of censorship was Dostoevsky avoiding by obscuring place names?

In the opening paragraph of "Crime and Punishment", two locations, S-- Lane and K--n Bridge, are identified only by their first and final letters. My translation has a footnote which says ...
7 votes
1 answer
397 views

Use of the word 'aesthetic(s)' in this passage from Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment

I am reading Crime and Punishment, and as you might expect am really enjoying it. Fascinating book. But there is one passage that is a little confusing to me, in particular the use of the word '...
13 votes
1 answer
600 views

What does Dostoyevsky mean by 'propaganda' in Crime and Punishment?

I am wondering about what Dostoyevsky means by the word 'propaganda' in part six, chapter four of Crime and Punishment. None of the meanings that I understand make sense in the context of the book. ...
3 votes
0 answers
253 views

Dostoevsky's attitude towards Sonya Marmeladova

Note: The question concerns a somewhat touchy topic - prostitution. I am not a native English speaker, therefore, I cannot be sure which terms are suitable for a discussion. I am using words of the ...
3 votes
1 answer
1k views

What does “lying is a delightful thing, for it leads to truth” mean in "Crime and Punishment"?

From part II, chapter IV of Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky, translated by Constance Garnett: Zossimov looked curiously at Raskolnikov. He did not stir. “But I say, Razumihin, I wonder at ...
4 votes
1 answer
1k views

Significance in Raskolnikov's name in Crime and Punishment?

The protagonist/antihero of Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment is Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov. As it says on Wikipedia: The name Raskolnikov derives from the Russian raskolnik meaning "schismatic"...
2 votes
1 answer
295 views

Alyona Ivanovna apartment layout

I am stuck trying to figure out something from Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment. In the following passage: The young man stepped into the dark entry, which was partitioned off from the tiny ...
4 votes
1 answer
1k views

About the role of Lizaveta in Crime and Punishment

I just finished Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, and I loved it (of course). I would like to bring into analysis the role of Lizaveta, the pawnbroker's half sister who is accidentally killed by ...
1 vote
0 answers
181 views

What are the arguments against atheism in Crime and Punishment?

I'm trying to figure out exactly what arguments Dostoevsky tries to make in Crime and Punishment against atheism. I'm talking about the kind of conclusion he wants you to make for yourself when ...
10 votes
1 answer
542 views

How was Crime and Punishment originally published?

I know that Crime and Punishment was originally published in "The Russian Messenger". I read that it was a Monthly journal. But how exactly was Crime and Punishment formatted in its initial release? ...
37 votes
1 answer
2k views

Is there anything that definitely confirms that Svidrigailov actually committed murder in "Crime and Punishment?"

Is there any proof that Svidrigailov actually committed murder in Crime and Punishment, of either Philip (his servant) or Marfa Petrovna (his wife)? By proof, I mean either a nuanced passage I might ...
7 votes
2 answers
332 views

Confusing list in Crime and Punishment

I have started to read some classic books and I am having some trouble understanding some parts of chapter 6 part 3 in Crime and Punishment, this is after Raskolnikov is called a "Murderer" by a man ...