Gender relations have been at the center of all past and current conflicts. According to the University of Delaware, “Kuritsa ne ptitsa, Zhenshchina ne chelovek”, a traditional Russian folk proverb, roughly translates to, “A hen is not a bird, a woman is not a man.” This proverb illustrates the general consensus about gender related discrimination in 19th century Russia. Famous Russian authors like Fyodor Dostoevsky and Anton Chekhov encountered these issues and wrote about them in their works of literature. Various examples of this discrimination are especially exemplified by Dostoevsky’s character Raskolnikov in his novel, Crime and Punishment. In his novel, Crime and Punishment, Fyodor Dostoevsky uses Raskolnikov’s relationships with women
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Shortly after meeting with Marmeladov, husband of Katerina Ivanovna, Raskolnikov receives a letter from his mother and is genuinely excited to hear from her. By the time he finishes reading the letter, however, his tone shifts. After finding out that Pulcheria and Dounia have planned a wedding without his approval, he becomes enraged and mutters to himself, “No, mother, no, Dounia, you won’t deceive me! and then they apologise for not asking my advice and for taking the decision without me! I dare say!” (33) Dostoevsky’s notion that Raskolnikov feels insulted that they should “apologise for not asking his advice” is reminiscent of the idea that men are generally perceived as the head of the family. As the head of the family, Raskolnikov should be making the big decisions, not the women. As the primary breadwinners of the family, men are also expected to provide for the family, but this is also not the case for Raskolnikov. Instead of being the proud, decisive, and providing man society expects him to be, Dostoevsky has portrayed Raskolnikov as utterly useless and a joke to society. After his murder of Alyona, the pawnbroker, and Lizaveta, Alyona’s sister, Raskolnikov finds himself feeling sick and decides to lock himself in his apartment. Worrying for the well-being of the morose Raskolnikov, Nastasya, Raskolnikov’s cook and servant, bangs on his apartment door and screams, “Open, do, are you dead or alive? He keeps sleeping here! For whole days together he’s snoring here like a dog! A dog he is too. Open, I tell you. It’s past ten.” (75) A woman going out of her way to ensure the safety of a man in this time period is unthinkable, especially given that Nastasya and Raskolnikov are not related. Nastasya’s actions also violate the
Shortly after meeting with Marmeladov, husband of Katerina Ivanovna, Raskolnikov receives a letter from his mother and is genuinely excited to hear from her. By the time he finishes reading the letter, however, his tone shifts. After finding out that Pulcheria and Dounia have planned a wedding without his approval, he becomes enraged and mutters to himself, “No, mother, no, Dounia, you won’t deceive me! and then they apologise for not asking my advice and for taking the decision without me! I dare say!” (33) Dostoevsky’s notion that Raskolnikov feels insulted that they should “apologise for not asking his advice” is reminiscent of the idea that men are generally perceived as the head of the family. As the head of the family, Raskolnikov should be making the big decisions, not the women. As the primary breadwinners of the family, men are also expected to provide for the family, but this is also not the case for Raskolnikov. Instead of being the proud, decisive, and providing man society expects him to be, Dostoevsky has portrayed Raskolnikov as utterly useless and a joke to society. After his murder of Alyona, the pawnbroker, and Lizaveta, Alyona’s sister, Raskolnikov finds himself feeling sick and decides to lock himself in his apartment. Worrying for the well-being of the morose Raskolnikov, Nastasya, Raskolnikov’s cook and servant, bangs on his apartment door and screams, “Open, do, are you dead or alive? He keeps sleeping here! For whole days together he’s snoring here like a dog! A dog he is too. Open, I tell you. It’s past ten.” (75) A woman going out of her way to ensure the safety of a man in this time period is unthinkable, especially given that Nastasya and Raskolnikov are not related. Nastasya’s actions also violate the