Why every Nihilist should read Crime and Punishment!
Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov is the main character in "Crime and Punishment" written by Fyodor Dostoevsky.
Dostoevsky wrote this novel after he went through the shock of being pardoned moments before he was going to be publicly executed for reading censored materials. This event gave Dostoevsky tremendous inspiration for writing Crime and Punishment.
The story is set up in 19th century Saint Petersburg, which served as the capital of The Russian Empire for two centuries. However, Raskolnikov’s experience of this city was far from an imagined utopia.
He lived in a locality with dilapidated houses and apartments. His own abode was dingy, little and cube-like. He was a law student but he dropped out due to lack of funds.
He lived in abject poverty and the only source of income for him was pawning his old things to a pawnbroker. Things got worse for him when he read a letter sent by his mother detailing a marriage proposal his sister had gotten.
He realized that his sister had only accepted the marriage proposal because she wanted to help him, as the man who made the proposal was wealthy.
His mother's letter had been a torture for him, but one thing was clear: he would never allow a marriage like this while he was alive. He believed that such a marriage was similar to prostitution, or even worse.
The reality of his situation flashed in front of him, and he realized that he must do something to get himself and his family out of this situation.
A foggy idea that he used to delve on became clearer to him and that was killing the pawnbroker he used to pawn his things to, who no one liked because she was an extremely bitter and selfish woman.
This novel is not just about Raskolnikov’s inner turmoil; it’s merely disguised as a murder mystery. In reality, it’s more of a critique of nihilism.
Written during the time nihilistic ideas were gaining popularity in Russia. Dostoevsky wanted to show how not believing in God could ruin a society and its people.
Dostoevsky delves into this subject by creating Raskolnikov— he is an atheist who believes in a theory in which all men are divided into ‘Ordinary’ and ‘extraordinary’. Ordinary men have to live in submission, have no right to transgress the law. While the extraordinary man has an inner right to decide in his own conscience to overstep certain obstacles, only if it’s essential for the fulfilment of his idea. Similar to the idea of Übermensch by Friedrich Nietzsche.
Raskolnikov was heavily inspired by Napolean (whom Nietzsche also highly admired), and before committing the crime, he asked himself, “What if Napoleon, for instance, had been in my place and had to kill some ridiculous old hag, a pawnbroker, to get money from her trunk?" He concluded that Napoleon wouldn’t have felt bad about killing the pawnbroker. Raskolnikov, thinking of himself as an extraordinary man like Napoleon, followed Napoleon’s example and murdered the pawnbroker.
However, things did not go as planned. After murdering the pawnbroker, he found he could not live as he had imagined Napoleon could.
The name Raskolnikov is derived from the Russian word for schism. As the name suggests, he had two distinct personalities. One was remorseful for his actions, while the other believed that power is only granted to those who dare to seize it. This conflict within himself caused him to become delirious and experience terrible nightmares. He struggled to distinguish between what was real and what was artificial.
The realization that he may not be an ‘extraordinary man’ but as same as all the others irked him tremendously.
By this Dostoevsky demonstrates the failure of the Übermensch, the extraordinary. Dostoevsky wanted to show that like we rely on God who is a perfect being one can’t rely on an Übermensch because he like God isn’t perfect and will act in his own self-interest.
Nietzsche believes that morality is a man made thing, but Dostoevsky believes if there is no God then everything is permitted.
Nietzsche and Dostoevsky both see the horror of living and the cruelty of existence but they take a different path on how to survive.
Dostoevsky’s unwavering belief in God wouldn’t be shaken even if he was given the opportunity to witness the supposed 'truth’. On the other hand, Nietzsche, would more likely seek the truth and forge his own set of morals based on his personal discoveries.
Nietzsche’s admiration of Dostoevsky despite Dostoevsky’s contrasting views from his own seems enough of a reason for a Nihilist enthusiast to read C&P!
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