Raskolnikov And Raskolnikov

Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov, the protagonist in Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s novel Crime and Punishment is a penniless Russian ex-student who undergoes a psychological breakdown which lead to him committing the murder of his landlord Alyona Ivanovna and her sister Lizaveta Ivanovna. In the novel the numbers two, four and eight represent Raskolnikov’s attempt to achieve redemption. While the ages of Raskolnikov and Sonya, Raskolnikov’s love interest, reveal the current mental state and relationship between the characters. Also, the small amount of pension which Raskolnikov’s mother, Pulkheria receives indirectly affects Raskolnikov. The use of specific numbers in relation to age, details, and financial status correlate with the different psychological
He counted the “seven hundred and thirty [steps] exactly” (8) which take him from his home to Alyona’s, this precise number conveys that Raskolnikov had already planned the murder much time before it actually took place. To execute his plan Raskolnikov visited Alyona to pawn a watch, as he walked in he “took... everything in the room” (10) in detail and examined the location of his future murders. After making a deal with Alyona, Raskolnikov observes that she keeps her keys in her “right-hand pocket” (11) and one of the keys is “three times the size” (12). With these details Raskolnikov concluded the bigger key must belong to a “box or chest” (12) These observations were made minutes upon entering Alyona’s house, this illustrates Raskolnikov’s obsessive state of mind as he also thought “it’s the details that matter more than anything else” (8) suggesting he had every detail planned before Alyona’s murder. But, his plan did not consider Lizaveta, the unexpected guest which was killed minutes upon arriving and spotting her dead sister. After murdering Lizaveta “Raskolnikov began to lose his nerve completely” (98). Raskolnikov’s eye for details helped him construct a plan to murder Alyona but when his plan did not end as he expected he committed a crime by unjustifiably killing Lizaveta. Contrarily, in part three
He uses the age of characters to depict their current mental state and relationship with each other with the example of Raskolnikov and Sonya. The many numerical details in the novel display the obsessive psychological state of Raskolnikov and its changes over time. While Pulkheria’s pension money depicts the captivity which Raskolnikov’s family has to bear with. At the end Raskolnikov accepts the crucifix from Sonya representing his willingness to start fresh after his eight years in