Crime and Punishment Discussion Quote
September 17th, 2017
Crime and Punishment Discussion Quote
“’But how did I murder her? Is that how men do
murders? Do men go to commit a murder as I went then? I will tell you someday
how I went! Did I murder the old woman? I murdered myself, not her! I crushed
myself once and for all, forever…. But it was the devil that killed that old
woman, not I. Enough, enough, Sonia, enough! Let me be!’ he cried in a sudden
spasm of agony, ‘let me be’”
When I first read this sentence, I was really
interested by it and what it meant. We have Raskolnikov trying to explain his
murder and what happened and it raises some interesting points and questions.
Does Raskolnikov believe he is at fault for the murder, or does he believe that
the Devil did it and he is a slave to fate? What does he mean he murdered
himself not the old woman? Why does he muse over how other men commit murder? It
is an interesting and thoughtful passage that lets us understand the
psychological aspect of Raskolnikov’s murder and really understand what he is thinking.
I feel like Raskolnikov was still trying to avoid facing the fact that he killed her. His statement is trying to divert the blame and focus to other things, like the devil or him murdering himself. Though, both of those statements really do give insight into what he's thinking. He struggled with faith throughout the book, so to use the devil like that shows he hasn't so much rejected it as lost his understanding of its meaning. And as for murdering himself, that is the crucial line here. He knows that what happened there means the end of everything he used to be. There can be no more Rodion the student, only Rodion the murderer being a student.
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