The Redeeming Nature of Suffering An innocent prostitute, a depraved obsessive, and a conflicted murderer, and each one of them share something in common. All these are characters that are found in “Crime And Punishment”, a novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Even more importantly, each one of the characters experiences suffering, from Sonya who sells herself in an effort to support her family, to Svidrigailov who stoops to the basest levels of the nature of man, and to Raskolnikov who murders two women in cold blood for the sake of a twisted worldview. Through their suffering, Dostoevsky shares a very specific message. Suffering, when done for the sake of others, is redemptive rather than punitive. Svidrigailov does not suffer for the sake of
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Raskolnikov experienced personal conflict all throughout the novel, especially during the times when he attempts to help others, something he often regrets or expresses confusion over why he did it in the first place. This comes to light in his conversation with his sister Dunya, when he tells her that “before helping people, one must first have the right” (pg 227). To Raskolnikov, at least at face value, he believes that suffering for others is unnecessary and even sees the act as weak. Yet, Raskolnikov still helps others and suffers for them by giving them his money, revealing deeper confliction on the subject matter than it appears. Not until he understands Sonya, at the end of the novel, does he finally see the error in his ways. After realizing that how great Sonya is by suffering for others, he asks himself, “can her convictions not be my convictions now? Her feelings, her aspirations at least…” (pg 550). This shows how Raskolnikov truly sees the path to redemption, the path Sonya takes. It is a path of suffering for the sake of others, and though Raskolnikov has not fully redeemed himself, unlike Svidrigailov, Raskolnikov still has a chance to do so. Is suffering, and by a slight margin of proximity, martyrdom, pointless? Dostoevsky does not seem to believe so, and “Crime and Punishment” proudly displays this. The sacrifices of Sonya, and the reluctance to sacrifice anything by Svidrigailov, show the true redemptive nature of suffering. Those who refuse to place others before themselves become lost, while those who do act as beacons of hope to the ones who still have a
Raskolnikov experienced personal conflict all throughout the novel, especially during the times when he attempts to help others, something he often regrets or expresses confusion over why he did it in the first place. This comes to light in his conversation with his sister Dunya, when he tells her that “before helping people, one must first have the right” (pg 227). To Raskolnikov, at least at face value, he believes that suffering for others is unnecessary and even sees the act as weak. Yet, Raskolnikov still helps others and suffers for them by giving them his money, revealing deeper confliction on the subject matter than it appears. Not until he understands Sonya, at the end of the novel, does he finally see the error in his ways. After realizing that how great Sonya is by suffering for others, he asks himself, “can her convictions not be my convictions now? Her feelings, her aspirations at least…” (pg 550). This shows how Raskolnikov truly sees the path to redemption, the path Sonya takes. It is a path of suffering for the sake of others, and though Raskolnikov has not fully redeemed himself, unlike Svidrigailov, Raskolnikov still has a chance to do so. Is suffering, and by a slight margin of proximity, martyrdom, pointless? Dostoevsky does not seem to believe so, and “Crime and Punishment” proudly displays this. The sacrifices of Sonya, and the reluctance to sacrifice anything by Svidrigailov, show the true redemptive nature of suffering. Those who refuse to place others before themselves become lost, while those who do act as beacons of hope to the ones who still have a