Raskolnikov Redemption

There are many themes and motifs throughout Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s novel Crime and Punishment. Perhaps the most prevalent is the theme of transgression followed by redemption. Raskolnikov seeks redemption after committing the murders in distinct ways. He turns to good deeds, religion, and and moral justification to try and receive the regeneration that can come after wrongdoing. Redemption, however, is not easy to achieve. It is something that takes time and work, and we can see Raskolnikov going through this to achieve his regeneration. That is why the theme of transgression and redemption is so prevalent in Crime and Punishment.
The first time we see any sense of redemption in Raskolnikov is during and after Marmeladov’s death. Having just …show more content…
He serves his long sentence, and in doing so, slowly strides towards his own regeneration and redemption. Sonia is with him, in Siberia. Dostoyevsky utilizes her presence in Raskolnikov’s life as a symbol of love and the completed process of redemption. At the end of the book, Dostoyevsky states, “But that is the beginning of a new story--the story of the gradual renewal of a man, the story of his gradual regeneration, of his passing from one world into another, of his initiation into a new unknown life” (430). He begins to truly redeem himself and start his new life. This shows that he has gone through all the requisite steps of redemption to come back after his crime.
Although there a various array of themes in Crime and Punishment, the theme of moral transgression followed by redemption maintains a prevalent presence throughout the duration of the novel. Dostoyevsky capitalizes on this theme to show Raskolnikov’s journey through all the stages of redemption. After tearing himself down, he can at last redeem himself. This message is undoubtedly an integral part of this classic work of literature. Redemption is not easy to achieve, but it is necessary to live after disastrous events--even better than