Crime and Punishment: Final Thoughts

I had originally started work on a few thoughts about Part 4, but then I pulled them for revision. By the time I got back to the computer I was well beyond Part 4, so I dumped the blog. Before I get to my final thoughts on the novel, here are a few highlights of the Part 4 Blog:

Part 4:

For me, Part 4 was a bit of a let-down. While I whole-heartedly enjoyed chapters 1-3, I found myself uncomfortable with almost everything that happened after Rodya left his mother, sister, and Raz. with gaping mouths. In chapters 4, 5 and 6 we see moments of cruelty (torturing Sofya) and weakness (cracking under the annoying laughter of Porfriy - I did not like this scene with Porfriy half as much as the earlier scene at the apartment) from our protagonist. These were disappointing moments for me, and I didn't expect that type of regression from Roskolnikov. I especially didn't like him waffling back and forth in regards to surrendering to the authorities (Note: Now that I've finished the novel, I've changed my mind about his constant indecisiveness (aka: most of the internal tension in the novel). This element of his personality stays consistent all the way through to the magnificent end when he goes down the stairs of the police station only to be encountered by Sofya, and realizes that there is no turning back. This back and forth mentality is effective and believable.).

Still, there were interesting moments in the final 3 chapters (when he talks about Sonya leaping into the water I recalled the woman in Part 2, Svidrigaylov's diabolical presence at the end of Chapter 4, the suspensefull moment with the man behind the door, come to mind), and I happily found myself pondering the strange paradox of rooting for a killer. Ultimately, it was the first 3 chapters that made this Part fun for me.

Svidrigaylov is an excellent addition to the novel (He remains one of my favorites throughout the tale). I know, I know this is very redundant to say, but he belongs in a Dickens' novel! I loved how quickly Rodya and he revealed their minds in Chapter 1. Svid. does a great job of waiting out Rodya's original disdain, and successfully wins over the reader (at least this one) by the end of their conversation. Svid is sneaky, smart, cunning, and, as we later discover, dangerous and sad. His rationale for pursuing Dunya is more than acceptable; who can be blamed for seeking love? Sure, he's a bit of a screw-up and a golddigger, but I don't believe he purposely fell in love with Dunya. He might, however, have fallen for any other woman besides his wife, had Dunya not been around. Interestingly enough, after reading more about Svid. in Parts 5 and 6, he reminded me Florentino Ariza in Love in the Time of Cholera, although only loosely. I think it's the thirst for sex versus love thing.

Chapter 2 was outstanding (Luzhin Revealed!)! Oftentimes, I look for characters to come out and deal with their problems immediately and courageously, and they fail to comply. All that I had hoped for with this Luzhin "problem" came to fruition. Dunya and mom rose to the occasion, and proved they are women capable of taking care of themselves, with the exception of financially, of course. Dunya's intelligence is only matched by her strength of character. Her assertion that Rodya would apologize if ordered was impressive. Never once did you see Rodya challenge her authority. Watching Luzhin squirm was a delight (This scene is matched by the one later on in Part 5, when Luzhin's attempt to slander Sofya is thwarted). The snobbish upper-class is always a delicious mark in literature. Although I was surprised and angered by Rodya's sudden attempt to estrange himself from his family (after they just experienced such a great triumph), his silent exchange with Raz. at the end of the chapter might be THE moment in the book.

Note: After I read Fab's remarks on Part 4, I remembered the moment when the narrator decided to use the 1st person pronoun. While reading that scene, it struck me as odd. I was glad to see Fab bring it up. I think an FD scholar probably has had a field day discussing the narrative point of view in this novel, and I wouldn't mind reading more about it. One of the things I noticed is that the tone and pace of the narration oftentimes shifted to meet the personality and the moment, several times in the last 3 Parts (Profriy's scenes and the scenes with Katerina Ivanova come to mind). Now I know this is not uncommon in great literature, so I might just be saying something obvious here.

Final Thoughts:

I also really enjoyed reading this novel (I peeked at Fab and Ford's blogs). It was an excellent choice for this blogging project, but a difficult one as well. There are a lot of different ways to examine the book, and it would take a lot more work than I have time to put in to do an authoritative/scholarly examination with each part (at this point in my life). Still, I liked doing the work I did (a solid record of my reading to refer to later on is very attractive to me), and I liked reading the other blogs as well. I guess I could say I now posses a much better than average understanding of the novel, so that's nice. I'm going to throw out a few final thoughts here:

Luzhin (Part 5, Chapter 1): "Am I to get married for the sake of the furniture?" One of my favorite lines!

I enjoyed the Luzhin character tremendously. I really liked the scene with his roommate, Lebeziatnikov, which was unexpected, since I could care less about Leb's commune idea. Luzhin's counting of his money in front of the bohemian (and clearly jealous) phony was a delight! (On a side note, Leb. really redeemed himself in the slander scene). Luzhin's offer to "help" Sofya perked me up, and I couldn't wait to see how his revenge on Rodya would take form through this poor girl. Once Luzhin exited the novel (way too early for this reader, but at an appropriate time in general), his absence was missed. One of the things I noticed (or thought about) during the scene when Luzhin begins his accusation (his re-telling of the facts) of Sofya, is just how patient of a writer FD truly is. There are many moments in the story (Porfriy's speeches and Katrina's death scenes come to mind) where the writer allows his characters to talk at their own pace, through what I consider great discipline on Dostoevky's part. I would imagine that having a sound understanding of where you're going, and what you want to accomplish, would make a lot of writers rush to get there, but not FD. Still, as I'll mention shortly, this can be a fault if used too much.

Svidrigaylov (Part Two): Like Luzhin, Svid was a favorite character of mine. I always enjoy the villains and the asses (that's why I like Richard III and Twelfth Night so much), so it's no surprise to me that I liked this creep. However, I felt that every moment after Dunya shot him and he walked out of the room dragged the story down. He is an interesting character, yes, but he's not the main character. His "goodbyes" and his dreams (I did like the helpless little girl dream a lot) were totally unnecessary. Here FD is doing too much!

On a side note: Actually, I found that quite a few moments in the novel could have been whittled down, although not the death of Katerina (it was very powerful and worth the read). The novel definitely has a lot of "flavor", which can be both rewarding and tedious, depending on your personal taste. I read that one of you loved the dinner scene tremendously. While I enjoyed the scene for what it was, I didn't need all of it. Had it been a play we were watching, I think FD made the scene come alive and it would definitely play well before an audience. In the dinner scene the focus is off Rodya too much for my taste, even though you could argue many reasons for this being so: he's trying to stay in the background; he's out of his class; Rodya isn't one to get involved early on; he likes to wait and pick his spots, etc.

When Rodya reveals himself to Sofya: I found this scene to be very powerful because of the tension she demonstrates between her passion for God, her disgust, and her "love" for Rodya. It was - as Mark mentioned - time for Dostoevsky to inject God into his novel, and she was the right character to bring it out. Still, that's not what moved me. Her back and forth (flings herself on the bed and then gets right up in his eyes, turns away and then places her hand on his chest), was the ultimate in inner conflict. I loved it. I kept thinking that if she truly was a "bad girl" she would have been free to acknowledge any carnality she might have, and throw her fellow sinner on the bed for a consummation of evil. Her mortification solidified her purity, and in many ways designated her prostitution into the category of "didn't really happen". That having been said, I found her character nosediving at the end. She was wonderful in her sadness and in her refusal to let him seek his fate on his own (and as his conscience at the bottom of the police stairs), but she died out for me in the epilogue, and I found no reason for her to be as exalted by the prisoners as she was. I get why she stayed with Rodya, after all he was her earthy"savior"- to go with her heavenly one -, but she didn't come across as divine.

Boy this is long!

The Ending and the Epilogue: I'm glad the novel ended with Rodya's admission of guilt. Having Rodya leave the police room and meet up with Sofya on the stairs and then go back was a brilliant move. It shouldn't have ended any other way. I was also pleased with Rodya when he went to see his mother, a act that raised my estimation of him tremendously. The kneeling down scene was also a wonderful touch, and, I agree, much more important because he doesn't do it for show. I'm not sure I liked him choosing to avoid Porfriy; I thought the man had done Rodya quite a favor by letting him make the choice on his own, and deserved the collar. As far as the Epilogue goes, I'm back and forth on that. There's always a danger of spoiling the story with an epilogue (Tolkien has moments where he hurts Lord of the Rings with his extended epilogues, in my mind), and there's not a lot of real value in them if a writer does too much. Do I really need to know all that much about Razmuhin and Donya? His character disappears (as does many of the better characters) after Part 5, and most of what happens with him is expected. I get that Rodya's embracing of God is an important thematic element, but I don't know if it moved me at all. Of course, as one of you (Rob or Mark) nicely pointed out, his theory failed because he killed for no reason, and selected poorly. It could also be argued that he failed because he wasn't truly great (he was just a big fish in a very sordid pond. The people he hobnobbed with were of considerably low class, so of course he would shine under these circumstances. Sort of like an adult kicking ass on the Jepoardy teen tournament). Still, I would have enjoyed a more evil end, with him sitting there critiquing his first go around, and making adjustments to the theory for his eventual parole! HAAHAAHAAHAA!

Thanks for the experience Fydor, Mark, and Rob. At some point I'd like to discuss the role of Charity in the novel (but not on-line). There's a lot of people helping the unfortunates, in this novel.

What's next?