Doubles and antipodes of Rodion Raskolnikov (based on the novel by F. Dostoevsky “Crime and Punishment”). Lesson-research “Doubles and antipodes of Rodion Raskolnikov in F. M. Dostoevsky’s novel “Crime and Punishment”” Motivation for learning activities

The fate of Sonechka Marmeladova is known and has become a symbol of sacrifice and Christian love for everyone who has ever read the novel by F.M. Dostoevsky "Crime and Punishment".

The image of Sonya Marmeladova, just like the image of Raskolnikov, was and is perceived ambiguously in literary criticism. Thus, D. Merezhkovsky in his work “L. Tolstoy and Dostoevsky,” comparing the images of Sonya Marmeladova and Rodion Raskolnikov, writes: “He killed the other for himself, only for himself, and not for God; she killed herself for others, only for others, and not for God - and "it does not matter"-- the “crime” is the same. Just as anti-Christian self-affirmation - love for oneself is not in God, in the same way Christian, or, better said, only seemingly Christian, self-denial, self-sacrifice - love for others is not in God - leads to the same non-"crime", and the mortification of the human soul - it doesn’t matter whether it’s yours or someone else’s. Raskolnikov violated the commandment of Christ by loving others less than himself; Sonya - because she loved herself less than others, but Christ commanded to love others no less and no more than yourself, but as yourself. Both of them are “cursed together,” they will perish together, because they failed to unite love for themselves with love for God. Raskolnikov, according to Sonya’s behest, “must atone for himself through suffering.” Well, and for herself, what other suffering can she atone for herself? Isn’t her whole “crime” precisely that she suffered? in moderation crossed, “was able to cross” that limit of self-denial, self-sacrifice, which a person is allowed to cross not for others and not for himself, but only for God?” [Merezhkovsky, 1995, p. 208]. The religious philosopher K. Leontiev, without denying Dostoevsky’s religiosity in general, nevertheless found that the Orthodox idea was not sufficiently reliably expressed in his works and images. Thus, regarding the image of Sonya Marmeladova, he wrote that Sonya Marmeladova, for all her sincere religiosity, is still far from true Orthodoxy. She “... reads only the Gospel (an equally obligatory source of both church Christianity and all kinds of heresies - Lutheranism, Molokanism, Skoptchestvo, etc.), does not serve prayers, does not seek clergy for spiritual advice, does not apply to miraculous icons" [Leontyev , This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. To view it, you must have JavaScript enabled]. Much later, already in the middle of the 20th century, Vl. Nabokov speaks of Sonya as a heroine, leading “...her origin from those romantic heroines who, through no fault of their own, had to live outside the framework established by society and on whom society shouldered the burden of shame and suffering associated with their way of life” [Nabokov, 2001, With. 193].

Modern researcher M. Pugovkina believes, following the theory of Reinhard Lauth, that Dostoevsky’s philosophy represents two possible paths of humanity, designated in accordance with the peculiarities of the psyche - good and evil are inherent in a person to varying degrees. “A person, perceiving the world from a position of duality, polarity, is faced with a choice, and depending on his character, on the influence of the surrounding reality, he determines his path” [Pugovkina, www. ug. ru/civicn], writes the researcher and illustrates his statement by comparing two heroes of the novel “Crime and Punishment,” calling them “antipodean models” based on their views on life. Thus, Arkady Ivanovich Svidrigailov, the bearer of negative philosophy, according to M. Pugovkina, can be contrasted with Sonya Marmeladova, the bearer of positive philosophy. The researcher justifies his position by saying that Svidrigailov freed himself from “issues of man and citizen.” His idea: “Single villainy is permissible if the main goal is good.” And he finds this goal for himself - boundless voluptuousness, without any barriers, “something that always remains like a kindled coal in the blood” [Pugovkina, www. ug. ru/civicn] . For her sake - any crime. Sonya has a completely different position: “get over yourself, give yourself to people” [Pugovkina, www. ug. ru/civicn]. “Unauthorized, completely conscious and unforced self-sacrifice of oneself for the benefit of everyone is a sign of the highest development of personality. Living on a yellow ticket, Sonya commits a fall, but, being deeply religious, she understands her guilt, suffers, and bows before the great meaning of existence, which may not always be accessible to her mind, but is always felt by her. Sonya carries the idea of ​​love for God, all-human unity" [Pugovkina, www. ug. ru/civicn], writes M. Pugovkina. Continuing his reasoning, the researcher comes to the conclusion that both Svidrigailov and Sonya represent statics, the former - the statics of the negative, the latter - the path of moral search [Pugovkina, www. ug. ru/civicn].

Sonya Marmeladova is perceived as a “sign of fate” for Raskolnikov, as a guarantee of the preservation and salvation of the world, by the author of the Orthodox newspaper “Right Word” I. Brazhnikov, who writes in the article “Inside and outside. The true world order in the novel “Crime and Punishment”: “Sonechka Marmeladova, eternal Sonechka, while the world stands - the image, barely having time to emerge, grows into an archetype. For Raskolnikov, there is no doubt: Sonechka is a pillar, a stronghold of the world, people like her “hold the world together.” What holds the world together? The answer is contained in Raskolnikov’s next word after the “eternal Sonechka”: “Have you fully measured the sacrifice, the sacrifice?” The world is held together by the victim” [Brazhnikov, 2004, January 30].

Thus, it is obvious that most of the above opinions (with the exception of V. Nabokov) contain, to one degree or another, a religious interpretation of the image of Sonya Marmeladova, seeing in her the embodiment of the idea of ​​self-sacrifice and salvation through sacrifice. Sonya and Raskolnikov imagine him as a sacrifice, however, from his point of view, her sacrifice is in vain. The reader first learns about Sonya Marmeladova together with Raskolnikov from Sonya’s father Marmeladov. It is important for us that for the first time we hear about Sonya together with Raskolnikov, because in this way we perceive the information refracted in Raskolnikov’s consciousness, we imagine Sonya as “his ideas.” In addition, it does not seem accidental that Marmeladov tells Raskolnikov about Sonya (it was said above that the dialogue between Marmeladov and Raskolnikov begins with a silent dialogue of views, showing that between Raskolnikov and Marmeladov there is that internal connection that can only be comprehended through sensory level): this means that it is he (Raskolnikov) who needs to hear about the fate of Sonya Marmeladova, as if a sign has been sent to him that he can “read” as his “inner man” tells him. Having seen off the drunken Marmeladov, seeing the terrible situation of his family, the hero thinks: “Oh, Sonya! What a well, but they managed to dig it! And they use it! And we got used to it. We cried and got used to it. A scoundrel gets used to everything!” [T. 5, p. 53]. The first meeting with the heroine leaves no doubt for him her future fate: “She has three paths,” he thought, throw herself into a ditch, end up in a madhouse, or... or, finally, throw herself into debauchery, stupefying the mind and petrifying the heart.” Moreover, the last exit, i.e. debauchery seemed to him the most likely. Touched by Sonya's suffering, Raskolnikov sincerely bows at her feet for the fact that she “killed and betrayed herself in vain”: “... you are not helping anyone with this and you are not saving anyone from anything!” [T. 5, p. 212]. This is how Raskolnikov’s consciousness reacts to Sonya’s life and actions.
“Didn’t you do the same thing? You also stepped over... were able to step over. You're on myself laid hands on you, you ruined your life... Your own (it’s all the same!). You could live in spirit and mind, but you will end up on Sennaya... We are cursed together, together we will go - along the same road! " [T. 5, p. 213], says Raskolnikov to Sonya.D. Merezhkovsky, whose point of view is given above, presents the situation as if through the eyes of Raskolnikov - just like the hero of the novel, D. Merezhkovsky, speaking about the “murder of the human soul” that Sonya commits with her self-denial, does not see a personal decision, a choice in her victim made on the basis of inner religious feeling. Raskolnikov, in a conversation with Sonya, calls her a sinner, that is, in essence, he accuses her of violating divine laws: “And that you are a great sinner, that’s so. And most of all, you are a sinner because she killed and betrayed herself in vain. Why wouldn't it be terrible? It wouldn’t be terrible that you live in this filth, which you hate so much, and at the same time you know yourself (you just have to open your eyes) that you’re not helping anyone and you’re not saving anyone from anything!” [T. 5, p. 213]. These words of Raskolnikov show that it is clear to his mind that observance of Christian laws makes a person sinless; it is difficult for him to see the true meaning of Sonya’s actions, because he does not want to see it - it is important for the hero that the theory that he created is confirmed in everyone manifestations of life. Whereas Orthodoxy says: “Orthodoxy of the mind is faith in what the Church teaches. Orthodoxy of the heart is the ability to sense the spiritual world, to distinguish between dark and light forces, good and evil, lies and truth. The Orthodox heart will immediately sense in all heresies and schisms, no matter how disguised they are, an alien deadly spirit, similar to the stinking smell of decay emanating from a corpse (no matter how anointed it is with perfume). It is difficult for a person who has this spiritual intuition to be among heretics and schismatics, his heart aches dully, as if squeezed by a stone, he feels what is hidden behind the words...” [Archimandrite Raphael, 2001]. The words of A. Men contradict the opinion of D. Merezhkovsky and the hero of Dostoevsky’s novel: “Sometimes they say that Christ announced a new morality. He said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another as I have loved you.” And before there was a commandment about love, and the words “love your neighbor as yourself” belong to Moses. And Christ gave it a very special meaning - “how I loved you,” because for the sake of love for humanity He stayed with us on a dirty, bloody and sinful earth - just to be with us. That is, His love became self-giving love, and therefore He says: “Whoever wants to come after Me, let him deny himself” - that is, his selfhood; not of one’s personality, not at all: personality is sacred, but of one’s false self-affirmation, selfhood. “Let everyone,” He says, “give himself, take up his cross (that is, his service in suffering and in joy) and then follow Me” [Men, 1990]. Telling Raskolnikov about his life, Marmeladov says words that are important from the point of view of the Christian understanding of man and faith: “And if there is no one to go to, if there is nowhere else to go! After all, it is necessary for every person to go at least somewhere! When my only begotten daughter went for the first time with a yellow ticket, and then I went too...” [T. 5, p. 53].

Marmeladov’s words about the need for every person to have “at least one place where they would feel sorry for him...” [T. 5, p.53] - these are words about the need for compassion, Christian love between people, about which J.A.T. Robinson, in Being Honest to God, says the following: “One love can allow itself to be completely guided by the situation itself, because love has, as it were, an internal moral compass that allows it to intuitively enter into the need of another as into its own. She alone can completely open up to this situation, or rather, the person in this situation, open up completely and unselfishly, without losing her direction or her unconditionality. Only love is capable of implementing an ethic of radical responsibility, assessing each situation from the inside, and not on the basis of ready-made regulations and laws. According to Tillich, “love alone can be transformed according to the specific requirements of each individual or social situation, without losing its eternity, its dignity and its unconditional value.” Therefore, this is the only ethics that provides firm support in a rapidly changing world and yet remains absolutely free in relation to all changes in the situation and above all changes. She is ready in every moment, in every new situation, to see a new creation of the hand of God, requiring its own response - perhaps completely unprecedented" [Robinson, 1993, p. 82-83]. It is this compassion - love that Marmeladov does not find in the world around him, and Sonya does not find this either, but she, guided by an “inner compass”, which allows her to internally enter into the needs of another, assessing the situation from the inside, without relying on the regulations and laws that make it In the eyes of people, Raskolnikova is a criminal, capable of compassion and love. Therefore, “When...I went with a yellow ticket, and then I also went...” [T. 5, p.53] - says Marmeladov: not seeing another possibility in the world of connecting with people in compassion and love, Marmeladov “goes” with Sonya, goes in the spiritual sense of the word, that is, does not leave her alone - he has compassion for her, understanding that no one else will give her this Christian love, just as no one except her will give it to him. The religious philosopher I. Ilyin explains the meaning of love for an Orthodox person this way: “There is one force that has the calling to guide, root and communicate spiritual objectivity to all abilities - this is the heart, the power of love and, moreover, spiritual love for truly beautiful and precious objects. The matter of life choice and, moreover, the correct and final choice is a matter of spiritual love. He who loves nothing and serves nothing on earth remains an empty, barren and spiritually dead being. He does not have a higher and more powerful leadership in his life and all his forces remain, as it were, at a crossroads. But since life requires movement and does not tolerate stagnation, his abilities begin to live an unauthorized and unbridled life.

His sensual sensations become self-sufficient and dissolute; thinking develops mechanically, coldly and turns out to be, in all its straightforward sequence, hostile to life and destructive (such is the deductive thinking of semi-educated people! Such is the all-destructive analysis of skeptics!). In the life of a person with an empty and dead heart, an instinct greedy for pleasure dominates. His will becomes harsh and cynical; imagination - frivolous and creatively sterile. For in the highest and final authority, all issues of human destiny are resolved by love. Only love can answer a person’s most important questions in life: what is worth living? what is worth serving? what to fight with? what to defend? Why go to death? - And all other mental and physical powers of a person are ultimately nothing more than faithful and capable servants of spiritual love... This is how the highest spiritual organs of a person are formed. Love transforms imagination into objective vision, into heartfelt contemplation, from which religious faith grows. Love fills thought with living content and gives it the power of objective evidence. Love roots the will and turns it into a powerful organ of conscience. Love purifies and sanctifies instinct and opens its spiritual eye” [Ilyin, 2005].

Without turning to the judgments of religious philosophers, it would be difficult to understand the true meaning of the presence of the image of Sonya Marmeladova in the novel Crime and Punishment. The whole essence of the heroine is permeated with religious feeling, therefore, against her background, the essence of each hero who comes into contact with Sonya, who enters into any contact with her, on the one hand, becomes clearer, and the depth of the heroine’s spiritual world is most fully revealed, on the other. This is most clearly manifested in the relationship between Sonya and Rodion Raskolnikov. Even before meeting Sonya, Raskolnikov “learns” about the possibility of human self-sacrifice; in this regard, it is no coincidence that, leaving Marmeladov’s house for the first time of his visit, the hero secretly leaves money to the Marmeladov family. This money plays the symbolic role of “secret alms,” which Archimandrite Raphael (Karelin) writes about as true, comparing it with the ostentatious virtues squandered by the “new schismatics,” for whom “alms are fed by pride, accompanied by the beat of drums, and proclaimed” [ Archimandrite Rafail (Karelin), 2001].

This symbolic meaning of the alms left by Raskolnikov is actualized in comparison with what Raskolnikov knows about Sonya - about her quiet self-sacrifice, perceived as a sinful fall. After meeting Sonya Marmeladova, a new stage began in Raskolnikov’s spiritual development. Without abandoning his “idea,” he began to immerse himself more and more in the atmosphere of divine compassion, self-denial, purity, of which Sonya was the personification and bearer. The hero sees her for the first time on the day of Marmeladov’s death. Dostoevsky, describing Sonya who came to her father’s house, shows her through the perception of Raskolnikov, who “was strange at her sudden appearance in this room, among poverty, rags, death and despair” [T. 5, 542]. The word “strange” in conveying the hero’s feelings is noteworthy, because Sonya herself “was also in rags...” [T. 5, p. 542]. What seemed strange to the hero, what surprised him? A closer look at Sonya’s behavior in comparison with the behavior of the crowd that came running to watch the official’s death will help answer these questions. Describing the behavior of the crowd, Dostoevsky resorts to the words “public” [T. 5, 542], “spectators” [T. 5, p. 542], “scene” [T. 5, p. 542], emphasizing that for the people who came running, the tragedy that played out in the family was nothing more than a performance; that people are attracted by entertainment, they have no sympathy: “... the residents, one after another, pushed back to the door with that strange inner feeling of contentment that is always noticed, even in the closest people, in the event of a sudden misfortune with their neighbor, and from which not a single person is spared, without exception, despite even the most sincere feeling of regret and sympathy” [T. 5, p. 542]. Sonya “... looked as if lost, not conscious, it seemed, of anything, having forgotten about her silk, indecent, colored dress, bought from fourth hands, with a long and funny tail, and an enormous crinoline that blocked the entire door,<…>a thin, pale and frightened face looked out with an open mouth and eyes motionless in horror...” [T. 5, p. 542]. The comparison reveals the contrast in the perception of the tragic event by the crowd and Sonya, this makes her appearance strange for Raskolnikov, but he himself only feels this difference without analyzing the situation. However, this sensory experience pushes Raskolnikov, unexpectedly for himself, to approach the widow and express compassion to her. The way the hero speaks confusingly to Katerina Ivanovna (he seems to be selecting words, his speech is filled with incomplete sentences: “... Let me now... contribute... to repaying my debt to my late friend. Here... twenty rubles, if this can serve you in help, then... I... in a word, I’ll come in - I’ll definitely come in... I’ll probably come back tomorrow... Farewell! unites himself with him, which is also unexpected for him in a situation where he shuns people. These feelings, almost forgotten by Raskolnikov, were able to come to life after he saw Marmeladov’s death in the arms of “humiliated, murdered, dishonored and ashamed, humbly awaiting her turn to say goodbye. with his dying father" [Vol. 5, p. 542] Sonya. All this seemed to reveal for Raskolnikov the possibility of “spiritual contemplation” [Ilyin, 2005], which is possible, according to I. Ilyin, only as a result of the acquisition of love [ibid.] .

Raskolnikov suddenly felt the fullness of life, felt liberation from the “all-decaying analysis” that had hitherto permeated his entire consciousness: “He went down quietly, slowly, all in a fever and, without realizing it, full of one, new, immense sensation of a sudden surge of full and powerful life. This feeling could be similar to the feeling of a person sentenced to death, to whom forgiveness is suddenly and unexpectedly announced” [T. 5, p.543]. Then he heard Polenka catching up with him with a request from Sonya: “She came running with an errand, which, apparently, she really liked.

Listen, what is your name?.. and also: where do you live? - she asked in a hurry, in a breathless voice. He put both hands on her shoulders and looked at her with some happiness. He was so pleased to look at her - he didn’t know why...

Do you love sister Sonya?

I love her the most!..

Will you love me?

Instead of answering, he saw the girl’s face approaching him and her plump lips naively reaching out to kiss him. Suddenly, her arms, thin as matchsticks, clasped him tightly, her head bowed to his shoulder, and the girl began to cry quietly, pressing her face to him tighter and tighter...

Do you know how to pray?

Oh, yes, we can! Has long been; I, being so big, pray to myself silently, and Kolya and Lidochka, together with their mother, pray out loud; first they will read the “Virgin Mary”, and then another prayer: “God, forgive and bless sister Sonya,” and then again: “God, forgive and bless our other dad, because our older dad has already died, and this one is different to us, and we pray about that too.

Polechka, my name is Rodion; Someday pray for me: “and the servant Rodion” - nothing more.

“I will pray for you all my future life,” the girl said warmly and suddenly laughed again, rushed to him and hugged him tightly again” [T. 5, p.543]. This scene can be perceived as the beginning of Raskolnikov's resurrection. Sonya, without knowing it, restored his faith in life, faith in the future. Raskolnikov first received a lesson in selfless Christian love, love for sinners. A “new man” woke up in him, living the divine side of his nature. True, the hero’s spiritual enlightenment did not last long - the awakened vital energy with its light went into the darkness of his delusions. But it is important that the ability for love and compassion, which is in Raskolnikov, “reached out” to the light, feeling the presence of Sonya’s living soul.

During their first conversation, when the hero asks Sonya: “Should Luzhin live and do abominations or should Katerina Ivanovna die? How would you decide: which of them should die? - she replies with bewilderment: “But I can’t know God’s providence...” [T. 5, p. 212]. What is the meaning of this answer? Words about God's providence speak of a fundamentally different approach to man: for Raskolnikov, people are either “trembling creatures” or “lords”; for Sonya, every person is God’s creation, and his life is in the power of the Creator, to whom he himself is responsible for that whether he lived it with dignity. And everything that befalls a person - grief, loss, suffering - should contribute to the implementation of God's providence, the divine plan of the creator, aimed at one goal - the improvement of his creation. Therefore, the intervention of someone else’s will is unacceptable here, it is tantamount to a crime and, of course, will be punished. How? The worst thing is a violation of one’s harmony with the world, a feeling of loneliness, isolation from people, terrible pangs of conscience. The state experienced by the hero after the murder is the punishment, the torment that is completely understandable to Sonya, so she exclaims in horror after listening to Raskolnikov: “you... did it to yourself” [T. 5, p. 611]. The heroine perceives the confession very keenly, with all her soul, suffering immensely for him, the author notes this in stage directions: “she cried out with suffering,” “she said with suffering,” “she threw herself on his neck, hugged him and squeezed him tightly with her hands, lapped her sobs.” , “screamed, clasping her hands” [T. 5, p. 611]. She immediately understood the tragedy of the situation: “No, you are no more unhappy than anyone in the whole world now!” [T. 5, p.611]. Having listened to Raskolnikov’s ideas, Sonya is transformed - previously timid, silent, now she objects, convinces hotly, argues passionately: “her eyes... suddenly sparkled,” “... looking at him with a fiery gaze, stretching out her hands to him in desperate prayer” (T .6). An unprecedented strength suddenly appears in her. Everything that Sonya will now say sincerely, from the heart, will be remembered by Raskolnikov later, in moments of severe mental torment in hard labor, and will help him take the path of spiritual rebirth. She speaks about the innermost, rethought and re-felt many times. After listening to the excited confession, Sonya intuitively immediately understood that a terrible substitution of values ​​had occurred: the true, Godly in Raskolnikov’s soul was replaced by the devil: a rational, cold, soulless theory, this gloomy catechism became his faith. That is why she surprisingly accurately immediately names the reason for the crime: “You walked away from God, and God struck you down and handed you over to the devil! .." [T. 5, p. 611]. And Raskolnikov himself internally also understands this: “... I know that the devil was dragging me” [T. 5, p. 611]. Sonya is absolutely clear and the only way of salvation is through repentance and atonement through suffering. But she, without hesitation, says: “We will suffer together; together we will bear the cross” [T. 5, p. 612]. The heroine understands that if he came to her, it means that her help is necessary - Raskolnikov alone, obsessed with pride, with a soul torn between faith and unbelief, cannot bear this suffering. And at the same time, she must atone for her sin.

After confessing to the murder, Raskolnikov “looked at Sonya and felt how much of her love he had...” [T. 5, p. 613]. What kind of love is this? Compassionate, merciful, Christian, seeing in him a stumbled person, love that will lead Sonya to hard labor to save him, silent, unobtrusive love, not requiring answers. And Raskolnikov involuntarily begins to feel the transformative power of this feeling: he more than once catches himself thinking about Sonya and talking and arguing with her. So, going to Svidrigailov, he thinks “and why would he go to Sonya now?.. Sonya represented an inexorable sentence, a decision without change. It’s either her way or his” [T. 5, p. 613]. Even after the murder, the hero still goes his own way, he still cannot give up the idea that itself pushed him to commit a crime. Having put on Sonya’s cross, she goes to the police station to confess what she has done and suddenly stops, amazed: “Do I love her? No, no? I had to catch myself on something, slow down, look at the person!..” [T. 5, p. 613]. The hero is still pushing away thoughts about her, but “suddenly” remembers her words about repentance, and we become witnesses to the beginning of the process of spiritual rebirth - we see the beginning of the process of destruction of the “old” man in Raskolnikov: “He suddenly remembered Sonya’s words: “Go to the crossroads.” , bow to the people, kiss the ground, because you have sinned against it, and tell the whole world out loud: “I am a murderer!..” He trembled all over, remembering this... he rushed into the possibility of this whole, new, full sensation. It suddenly came to him like a fit: it ignited in his soul with one spark and suddenly, like fire, it engulfed everything.

Everything was mixed up in him at once, and tears flowed. As he stood, he fell to the ground...” [T. 5, p.614]. However, the hatred that has been accumulated for so long and reverently, the cultivated pride cannot be overcome so quickly and simply - a long and painful period must pass - already in hard labor Raskolnikov continues to remain faithful to his theory, seeing his crime only in the fact that he was unable to “transcend”, however, we already see from the short moments of the “new man” coming to life in him that God chose Raskolnikov and even gave him a guide - Sonya, since “Christianity says: you can improve yourself, but it is impossible to get to God - until He Himself comes to you "[Men, 1990]. Christian Sonya knows this. She helps Raskolnikov with continuous thoughts about him, prayer, unnoticeable care (with her help his work was made easier, etc.), a timid handshake, and the fact that she patiently endured his “contemptuous and rude treatment” [T. 5, p. 587], by the fact that he could constantly feel her presence here, next to him, in hard labor. Raskolnikov had the opportunity to see how she lived all these long months next to him in hard labor. He sees that she is directed, as before, outward - towards people.

First of all, having become accustomed from her youth to living by her own labor, she works, although Svidrigailov’s money probably made it possible for a normal existence: “... she does sewing, and since there is no milliner in the city, she has even become necessary in many houses...” [T . 5, p.579]. The meaning of her existence is given by her concern for Raskolnikov; her monthly letters to Duna and Razumikhin are filled with thoughts only about him; it is characteristic that there is not a word about herself in these letters: about her hopes, dreams, mood, feelings.

It is significant that the convicts, who disliked Raskolnikov, fell in love with Sonya; in the city “she managed to acquire... some acquaintances and patronage” [T. 5, p. 581], relatives, wives and mistresses of the prisoners “knew her and went to see her” [T. 5, p. 582]. The convicts themselves “everyone already knew her, they also knew that she followed him, they knew how she lived, where she lived” [T. 5, p.583], seeing her, “Everyone took off their hats, everyone bowed: Mother Sofia Semyonovna, you are our mother, tender, sick!..” [T. 5, p.585]. What attracted them to Sonya? Did they know her past? The author does not say this, but it is possible that it was, in such an environment it is usually difficult to hide anything. But this voluntary sacrifice and suffering, which made Sonya’s soul responsive to the grief of strangers, is her simplicity. Modesty, the desire to do good to her neighbors - to all the people whom God sends on her path, attracted these “rude branded convicts” to her [T. 5, p.585], here, in hard labor, she quite naturally turns from Sonechka Marmeladova into “Sofia Semyonovna,” “mother” [T. 5, p.585]. These observations lead Raskolnikov to reflections and significant discoveries: he can no longer look at convicts as “ignoramuses” and “slaves” (as the exiled Poles considered them) and despise them (like a former officer and two seminarians), he “clearly saw that these ignoramuses are in many ways much smarter than these same Poles” [T. 5, p.586]. For the first time, Raskolnikov saw a person in those whom he was accustomed to consider “trembling creatures.” It is still a long way to go to recognize the hero in oneself and in every person as God’s creation, but this is the first step on this path - Sonya’s path. Further illness, a terrible delusional dream about trichinae - these are signs of a crisis, which must inevitably be followed by spiritual recovery, and it is connected precisely with Sonya. We have already said that after this the convicts’ attitude towards Raskolnikov suddenly changed, that he began the “transition” from the “kingdom of the dead” to the world of the living, having gained the freedom that the hero felt precisely in hard labor, and this transition began with the help of Sonya, because that, apparently, Raskolnikov, according to God’s providence, needed a “guide.” Here it is necessary to return to the interpretation of the meaning of freedom for communion with God by the religious philosopher I. Ilyin, who wrote: “True religiosity is free, but free through God and in God; true religiosity has divine revelation as its content, but it accepts it with a free heart and lives in it without forced love” [Ilyin, 2004, p. 147]. Raskolnikov's heart had to be freed from the anger and hatred that pierced him, generated by an unfree mind enclosed in the framework of a cold idea. Liberation is possible only through repentance, which can come to Raskolnikov as a result of free choice, since, according to I. Ilyin, “The religious maturation of the human soul is defined as its liberation to objectivity and in the Subject and, therefore, as a search, acquisition and free assimilation of divine revelation. It can be expressed this way. Every person has the inalienable right to freely turn to God, to seek God’s perception, to realize it, to cleave to God with heart, thoughts, will and deeds, and to determine his life by this turn. This is natural law - for it expresses the nature and essence of the spirit; this is an unconditional right - for it does not fade away under any conditions; it is inalienable - for it is given by God and inviolable for man, and whoever tries to “take away” it tramples on the law of God and the life of the human spirit; it is inalienable - for a person cannot renounce it, and if he renounces it, then his renunciation will not weigh in the face of God. This right in no way denies the church, its calling, its merits, or its competence; but it indicates to the church its main task: to educate its sons for a free, independent and objective perception of God” [Ilyin, 2004, p. 147]. This is the role of “educator” that Sonya Marmeladova plays in the life of Rodion Raskolnikov: he has the opportunity to see in her face objectively, and not hear abstractly, manifestations of love and compassion, the ability for quiet, “secret” self-sacrifice. Therefore, the hero has the freedom to find within himself the living roots of faith. Raskolnikov, analyzing everything he saw in life, prone to rational speculation, could not come to faith “because he was brought up that way from childhood” - faith had to be the result of his personal experience, his free choice, but for this Sonya was needed, personifying such a choice in real life, capable of maintaining faith “not only in public and for people, but in the loneliness of the darkness of the night, fierce danger, overwhelming sea, snowy desert and taiga, in the final loneliness of imprisonment and undeserved execution” [Ilyin, 2004, With. 147], as I. Ilyin says about true believers.

The last pages of the novel are imbued with an excitedly growing melody of love, hope, and renewal. Unable to visit Raskolnikov during her illness, Sonya often came under the hospital windows “to stand in the courtyard for a minute and look at the ward windows at least from a distance” [T. 5, p. 647], and an extraordinary thing happened to the hero, who accidentally saw her: “Something seemed to happen at that moment in his heart...” [T. 5, p. 647]. And when he read her note, “his heart beat strongly and painfully” (T. 6). What do these details say? A revived heart—a refuge of love—is a sure sign of human rebirth. At the end of the novel “on a clear and warm day” [T. 5, p. 647] Raskolnikov was sent to work for the first time after illness, everything happens everyday, habitually, but we see that the hero bears little resemblance to his former self - he sits on logs on the river bank, listens to a song coming from the other bank, looks at the wide and deserted river : “... Raskolnikov sat, looked motionless, without looking up; his thought turned into contemplation; he didn’t think about anything, but some kind of melancholy worried and tormented him” [T. 5, p. 648]. I. Ilyin writes: “Man is born first of all for contemplation: it elevates his spirit and makes him an inspired person; if he can use these wings correctly, he will be able to fulfill his calling on earth. And so we must wish for humanity that it understands its calling and that it restores in itself this wondrous, inspiring ability of contemplation. But this means that humanity must begin a great, restructuring renewal of the soul and spirit: it must reconsider the structure of its culture-creating acts, recognize their historical inconsistency, replenish them, improve them and open for themselves new paths to all the great God-given objects. This is the only opportunity to get out of the modern crisis and begin spiritual recovery; this is the only way to stop the modern slide into the abyss and begin a period of revival and recovery” [Ilyin, 2004, p. 167]. Note that it is not “thought”, but feeling (“longing”) that excites and torments him now, this means that cold rationality, skepticism, generated by rational unbelief, have lost their strength - the hero’s soul has awakened and makes its awakening known through feeling aching melancholy. Perhaps, judging by the fact that Raskolnikov now has the Gospel under his pillow, this feeling of melancholy is the beginning of spiritual recovery. It was Sonya, who came to the shore at such a timely moment, who helped this feeling, which had been accumulating for so long and hidden somewhere deep in the soul, break through. If we look at her through the eyes of Raskolnikov, and this is exactly how Dostoevsky shows her, we will see that the girl is wearing her old green scarf (“Green is the Christian emblem of faith, the supposed color of the Holy Grail in the Christian version of the legend. Green is found as the color of the Trinity, Revelation and early Christian art - the color of the cross and sometimes the clothes of the Virgin Mary" [Tresidder, 2001, p. 108]), thin and pale after illness, "smiles warmly and joyfully at him, but, as usual, timidly extends her hand" [T. 5, p. 646]. It seems that only now the hero realized how much Sonya did to save him. Usually Raskolnikov “met her as if with annoyance” [T. 5, p. 646], now “he cried and hugged her knees” [T. 5, p. 646]. The tears in Raskolnikov’s eyes at Sonya’s knees, apparently, are true repentance, to which he came thanks to the awakened feelings, the love that the girl was able to revive in him.

A year and a half ago, Raskolnikov bowed at Sonya’s feet for her great human suffering, for the fact that she “killed and betrayed herself in vain” [T. 5, p. 212]. Why is this roll call of scenes needed in the composition of the novel? Raskolnikov’s tears are tears of gratitude for faith in him, for patience and love, this is a sincere recognition of love and a belated understanding that a sacrifice made for people is never in vain... In Sonya’s eyes “endless happiness shone” [T. 5, p. 646]. She realized that Raskolnikov “loves her, loves her endlessly, and that this moment has finally come” [T. 5, p. 646]. What is the meaning of this “finally”? For many months Sonya loved, but concealed this feeling within herself, not believing that she, the “great sinner,” could be loved. Dostoevsky showed when this feeling first arose in Sonya’s soul - it appeared back then, at the very first meeting, when she came to call Raskolnikov to the wake of her father, saw him, her mother, sister for the first time, and, going home, she wanted to be left alone as soon as possible, to “think, remember, comprehend every word spoken, every circumstance. Never, never had she felt anything like this. A whole new world unknown and dimly descended into her soul” [T. 5, p. 646]. What contributed to the development of this feeling? Raskolnikov’s confession, reading the Gospel, the feeling of the hero’s loneliness, his defenselessness and isolation from people and God and the fear that he will not endure the torment and commit suicide, and, probably, the belief that she will be the one who can help him. And this state of “endless happiness” [T. 5, p. 646], which the heroine experiences in the epilogue of the novel, is not a miracle, not an accident, it is a natural and hard-won reward for the fact that in the conditions of a poor, difficult, rough life she managed to survive, preserve a pure soul, love for people, faith in goodness. The phrase in the epilogue of the novel is noteworthy: “They decided to wait and endure.” Raskolnikov, who was previously impatient, he needed “all capital” at once, is ready to wait and endure - this is the influence of the wise, meek Sonya. The changes that took place in the hero’s soul were so noticeable that even “the convicts, his former enemies, already looked at him differently,” and he “even spoke to them himself, and they answered him kindly.” And finally, “something completely different” begins to develop in consciousness [T. 5, p. 646]. And to form a new view of the world, a new spiritual basis is needed, and therefore, quite naturally, “mechanically” the Gospel appears in the hands of the hero.

It is also important that during the entire period of hard labor Sonya never spoke to Raskolnikov about religion and did not “force” books on him, as he feared. He himself asked for the Gospel just before his illness, and she “silently brought him the book.” As was said above, you can only gain faith with a free heart; the path to faith is individual for each person, and he must go through it himself, through his own suffering. The hero makes the most important moral choice for his spiritual path, takes the first steps along Sonya’s path, but they are sanctified by her “friendly and joyful smile” [T. 5, p. 647], tireless prayer, great patience and love. Throughout her difficult life, she naturally leads the hero to the thought: “Can her beliefs not now also be my beliefs?” Sonya plays an equally important role in the fates of other characters in the novel.

We talked about how Sonya’s father, the official Marmeladov, when talking about his daughter to Raskolnikov, especially emphasized her meekness and ability to self-sacrifice. He felt guilty before his daughter and could not find sympathy, compassion and love in anyone but her. In the Christian worldview, a person should not die without repentance; repentance is his path to God. Therefore, it is important to turn once again to the description of Marmeladov’s last minutes before his death. The scene of Marmeladov's death is written very expressively, his physical suffering evokes deep sympathy from the reader. But the author’s attention is focused on what is happening in the hero’s soul, what experiences are filled with the last minutes of his life, as Marmeladov characterizes it. “Barefoot” Lidochka, his favorite, and the worst thing is that he saw his daughter in a prostitute’s colorful outfit, “humiliated,” killed, disheveled and ashamed, “humbly waiting for her turn to say goodbye to her dying father” [T. 5, p.53]. Dostoevsky writes: “Endless suffering was depicted in his face” [T. 5, p.53]. The pangs of conscience, the feeling of irredeemable guilt before his daughter and immeasurable love for her lead the hero to repentance: “Sonya! Daughter! Sorry!" [T. 5, p.53]. This scene is consonant in spirit with the biblical one (the repentance of the thief crucified next to Christ). For an atheist, the death of a person is the end of his life, for a believer it is a transition to another, spiritual state, eternal life. Marmeladov’s last words are addressed to his daughter after confession to the priest, that is, her forgiveness for him is true forgiveness, because in her face Marmeladov, like Raskolnikov later, saw an objective manifestation of love and compassion. Marmeladov saw the torment of Sonya, who was forced to go on a “yellow ticket”, saw her stepmother’s attitude towards her, but the decisive role here was played by the very 30 kopecks that her daughter gave him “for a hangover”: “She didn’t say anything, she just looked at me silently... . It’s not like this on earth, but there... they grieve for people, cry, but don’t reproach, don’t reproach! And it’s more painful, sir, more painful, sir, when they don’t reproach you!..” [T. 5, p. 34]. Marmeladov felt great patience and love in this look. In him, pathetic and lost, she saw a kind man who was tormented because Katerina Ivanovna did not love him (“Oh, if only she would take pity on me!”), a man who had “reached his breaking point.” And most importantly, I didn’t judge. Compassion and love, instead of condemnation, awaken in the hero a feeling of guilt, pangs of conscience, from which repentance is born before death, and in the context of the author's Orthodox worldview, a rebirth of the soul occurs. Has Sonya forgiven her father? The answer is contained in a surprisingly succinct phrase: “He died in her arms” [T. 5, p.53].

In Sonya’s room, her stepmother Katerina Ivanovna also dies, which, it would seem, should cause bitter resentment in the girl’s soul. From Raskolnikov’s point of view, this would be natural and logical, but he will never hear even an indirect reproach against his stepmother; on the contrary, the hero realizes with amazement that Sonya loves Katerina Ivanovna! It is Sonya who reveals to him the best qualities of Katerina Ivanovna: generosity, moral purity, the desire for justice, selflessness, sacrificial love for children, delicate taste and a sense of beauty. The tragedy forced Sonya to live separately from her family, but there was no break with her: “We are one, we live together.” She does not store rudeness, insults, even beatings of her stepmother driven to despair in her soul, but she judges herself very harshly, blaming herself for the fact that so many times she “brought her into tears” [T. 5, p.432]. The story of the lace collars and armbands knitted by Lizaveta surprisingly echoes those “thirty kopecks for a hangover.” As kind and sensitive as her father, she cannot forget how Katerina Ivanovna silently looked at her because Sonya “regretted giving them away”: “I acted cruelly! And how many, how many times have I done this...” [T. 5, p.432]. These remorse speaks about the height of moral demands on oneself and the great internal work that takes place in the soul of a girl striving to live like a Christian. Katerina Ivanovna herself appreciates what Sonya does for her children. We see a whole series of scenes in which the theme of guilt, suffering, and mental anguish of Katerina Ivanovna sounds. She dreams of opening a boarding school for noble maidens in her hometown, where Sonya will be her assistant, speaks at the wake, in front of everyone, about her meekness, patience, dedication, nobility, while crying and warmly kissing her stepdaughter. She is ready to stand up in her defense: she “rushed with her claws” at the nihilist Lebezyatnikov, who seduced Sonya; rushed to “rip off the cap” from Amalia Ivanovna when she “screamed something about a “yellow ticket”; after Luzhin accused Sonya of theft, she shouts: “You are stupid, stupid... but you don’t know yet, you don’t know what kind of heart this is.” what a girl this is! She'll take it, she will! Yes, she’ll take off her last dress, sell it, go barefoot, and give it to you if you need it, that’s what she’s like! She even received a yellow ticket, because my children were disappearing from hunger, she sold herself for us!” Therefore, it is no coincidence that Katerina Ivanovna dies in Sonya’s room. This scene is written amazingly quietly and simply: “So this is how you live, Sonya! I've never been to your place. .. happened...”, “We sucked you, Sonya...” - these words are consonant with Marmeladov’s cry: “Forgive me! Daughter! I’m sorry!”, although they sound less shrill, they speak no less strongly about the depth of Katerina Ivanovna’s sense of guilt. Thanks to Sonya’s patient love and meekness, both father and stepmother, before dying, try to atone for their guilt before her. Even the nihilist Lebezyatnikov, a supporter of free love, who tried to captivate the girl with the ideas of the commune, feels her purity and chastity. He discovered with amazement that Sonya is “fearfully chaste and bashful,” that he likes her, and he is ready to “wait and hope” - and that’s all. Without knowing it, Sonya conquered Raskolnikov’s mother and sister from the first meeting, coming to invite him to her father’s wake. Pulcheria Alexandrovna and Dunechka already knew about Sonya from Luzhin’s letter as a girl of “notorious behavior” and, seeing her, her mother “could not deny herself the pleasure” [T. 5, p. 167]: “... looked at Sonya and squinted slightly,” and Dunya “stared intently straight into the poor girl’s face and examined her with bewilderment” [T. 5, p. 167. Sonya is scared and ashamed among strangers, but when she saw the poverty in which Raskolnikov lived, she involuntarily exclaimed: “You gave us everything yesterday!” - and almost cried. It was with this ardent recognition of the nobility of their son and brother that she instantly won the hearts of both women. Pulcheria Alexandrovna, leaving, wanted to bow to her, and Dunya “bowed with an attentive, polite and complete bow” [T. 5, p.169]. And then both came to the conclusion that Luzhin was a “worthless gossip,” and she was “beautiful.” It also seems no coincidence that Sonya turned out to be closely acquainted with Lizaveta, Raskolnikov’s victim. Raskolnikov and the student, who tells the officer about her in the tavern, see this woman “quiet, meek, unrequited, agreeable, willing to do everything... and besides... constantly pregnant.” To Raskolnikov's question about her, Sonya answers sparingly, even reluctantly, as if not wanting to talk about something very personal. But it was Lizaveta who brought her the New Testament, an old used leather-bound book, which they “read and talked” together. Now Sonya wears Lizavetin’s copper cross, orders a memorial service for her in the church and remembers it in a way that those around her did not know: “She was fair... She will see God” (Vol. 5). Sonya has an amazing moral sense for kindness and truth, a rare ability to see in people, first of all, their best qualities, be it the Kapernaumov landlords (“The landlords are very good, very affectionate. .. And they are very kind...” [T. 5, p. 178]) or convicts.

After the death of Katerina Ivanovna, when it would seem that the situation for Sonya is completely hopeless (as Raskolnikov predicted), Svidrigailov unexpectedly arranges the fate of the children and Sonya. What is this: an accident, a miracle? Or maybe natural reward and faith, patience, love for people, trust in God’s providence? What trials did Sonya face during the events described in the novel? The discord in the relationship between father and stepmother and, as a consequence, the father’s drunkenness, the family’s plight, Katerina Ivanovna’s illness, the forced fall and mental suffering after it, the murder of Lizaveta, the death of the father, Luzhin’s accusation of theft, the death of the stepmother, experiences associated with Raskolnikov ( confession, trial, hard labor). And all this burden fell on the shoulders of the girl, whose physical weakness the author emphasizes more than once. Apparently, the source of her strength is her faith in God: “Why would I be without God?” [T. 5, p.212] - she says to Raskolnikov.

Thus, it becomes obvious that Sonya’s role in the novel is that of a “conductor” into the world of living faith, a “conductor” who performs the function of the church: a mediator in religion. According to I. Ilyin, “... any mediation in religion has as its main goal the direct connection of man with God. And if there were a Christian theologian who rejected this fundamental truth, then it would be enough to point him to the highest and most sacred act of Christian religiosity, the Sacrament of Communion, in which the believer has the opportunity to receive the Body and Blood of Christ in the most direct form available to earthly man: accept not by “perception”, not by sight, not by hearing, not by touch, but by tasting, directly introducing the Holy Mysteries into the bodily nature of a person - to the point of complete and indissoluble identification” [Ilyin, 2004, p. 171]. Timid, meek Sonya imperceptibly leads Raskolnikov, Marmeladov, Katerina Ivanovna, and other heroes of the novel with the aspiration of her pure soul and life to the realization of important eternal truths. Sonya teaches us to live “not in every way, but in the spirit”: to love people as they are and forgive them, to see God’s creation in every person and to trust God’s providence; to understand that by living this way, a person not only changes internally, but also, willingly or unwillingly, transforms everything around him with the light of his love.

Many researchers, in particular M. Bakhtin, noted that at the center of any of Dostoevsky’s novels, constituting its compositional basis, is the life of an idea and the character - the bearer of this idea. Thus, at the center of the novel “Crime and Punishment” is Raskolnikov and his “Napoleonic” theory about the division of people into two categories and the right of a strong personality to neglect laws, legal and ethical, in order to achieve his goal. The writer shows us the origin of this idea in the mind of the character, its implementation, gradual elimination and final collapse. Therefore, the entire system of images of the novel is constructed in such a way as to comprehensively outline Raskolnikov’s thought, to show it not only in an abstract form, but also, so to speak, in practical refraction, and at the same time convince the reader of its inconsistency. As a result, the central characters of the novel are interesting to us not only in themselves, but also in their unconditional correlation with Raskolnikov - precisely as with the embodied existence of an idea. Raskolnikov is in this sense, as it were, the common denominator for all the characters. A natural compositional technique with such a plan is the creation of spiritual doubles and antipodes of the main character, designed to show the disastrousness of the theory - to show both the reader and the hero himself.
Raskolnikov's spiritual doubles are Luzhin and Svidrigailov. The role of the first is the intellectual decline of Raskolnikov's idea, such a decline that will turn out to be morally unbearable for the hero. The role of the second is to convince the reader that Raskolnikov’s idea leads to a spiritual dead end, to the spiritual death of the individual.
Luzhin is a middle-class entrepreneur, he is a “little man” who has become rich, who really wants to become a “big man”, to turn from a slave into the master of life. These are the roots of his “Napoleonism,” but how similar they are to the social roots of Raskolnikov’s idea, its pathos of social protest of an oppressed individual in a world of the humiliated and insulted! After all, Raskolnikov is a poor student who also wants to rise above his social status. But it is much more important for him to see himself as a person superior to society in moral and intellectual terms, despite his social position. This is how the theory of two categories appears; both of them can only check their belonging to the highest category. Thus, Raskolnikov and Luzhin coincide precisely in their desire to rise above the position assigned to them by the laws of social life, and thereby rise above people. Raskolnikov arrogates to himself the right to kill the moneylender, and Luzhin to destroy Sonya, since they both proceed from the incorrect premise that they are better than other people, in particular those who become their victims. Only Luzhin’s understanding of the problem itself and methods are much more vulgar than Raskolnikov’s. But that's the only difference between them. Luzhin vulgarizes and thereby discredits the theory of “reasonable egoism.” In his opinion, it is better to wish the good for oneself than for others, one must strive for this good by any means, and everyone should do the same - then, having each achieved their own good, people will form a happy society. And it turns out that Luzhin “helps” Dunechka with the best intentions, considering his behavior impeccable. But Luzhin’s behavior and his entire figure are so vulgar that he becomes not only a double, but also the antipode of Raskolnikov.
His sister also becomes the antipode and, to some extent, Raskolnikov’s double. She does not consider herself a being of a higher rank than her brother, and Raskolnikov, making a sacrifice, precisely in this sense feels superior to those for whom he sacrifices himself. Dunechka, on the contrary, not only does not consider herself superior to her brother, she recognizes him as a being of a higher kind. Raskolnikov understands this well, which is why he so decisively rejects his sister’s sacrifice. In their attitude towards people, Dunya and her brother are antipodes. Even Svidrigailova Dunya does not consider herself inferior; she overcomes this temptation, being unable to shoot at a person, because in Svidrigailov she sees a person. Raskolnikov is ready to see a person only in himself.
The attitude towards other people and towards oneself is the spiral along which Dostoevsky unfolds the action of his novel. Raskolnikov is capable of not seeing a person in his neighbor, Svidrigailov is not able to see a person in anyone. This is how Raskolnikov’s idea is taken to the limit, to the point of absurdity. Raskolnikov wants to feel like a person for whom there is no morality in the world. He is convinced that there is nothing wrong either in adultery, or in the corruption of a young girl, or in eavesdropping on other people's conversations in order to use them in his own interests, blackmailing the victims. In response to Raskolnikov’s indignation over the overheard confession, Svidrigailov reasonably remarks that if you can “beat old women on the head with anything,” then why can’t you eavesdrop? Raskolnikov has nothing to object to this. And Svidrigailov becomes for Raskolnikoz some kind of embodiment of the dark principles of a world in which there are no moral prohibitions. But for some reason he is drawn to this dark beginning. Dostoevsky says that Svidrigailov somehow attracted Raskolnikov. And Raskolnikov goes to him, without even realizing why. But Svidrigailov’s words that all of eternity is some kind of dusty bathhouse with spiders shocked the hero, since he was very clearly able to imagine the logical end of the path, so expressively characterized by Svidrigailov, which he followed by killing the old woman. After such a moral disintegration of the soul, no rebirth of man is possible. After this, only suicide is possible. Dunya, throwing away the pistol, recognized Svidrigailov as a man - he does not see a man in himself.
Raskolnikov leaves Svidrigailov in horror. Having set foot on the path of evil, he is unable to follow this path to the end. After the last conversation with Svidrigailov, Raskolnikov will again go to Sonechka. In Raskolnikov’s eyes, she is brought closer to him by the fact that she “also crossed the line,” and he does not yet understand how different what each of them was able to cross, or rather, why each of them did it. Sonya Marmeladova embodies the bright beginning in the novel. She feels guilty and is aware of her own sinfulness, but she sinned to save the lives of her little brothers and sisters. “Sonechka, eternal Sonechka Marmeladova!” - Raskolnikov exclaimed when he learned about the proposed wedding of his sister and Luzhin. He perfectly feels and understands the similarity of motives that guide the actions of these women. From the very beginning, Sonya personifies the victim in the novel, which is why Raskolnikov tells her about his crime. And she, who justified and pitied Katerina Ivanovna, her drunken father, is ready to forgive and understand Raskolnikov - she saw a man in the killer. “What have you done to yourself!” - she says in response to his confession. For Sonya, Raskolnikov, having attempted the life of another person, raised his hand against the person within himself, against the person in general.
In Dostoevsky's novel, everything is closely connected, intertwined with each other. At the time of her death from an ax, the feeble-minded Lizaveta was wearing Sonechka’s cross. Raskolnikov wanted to kill only one moneylender, because he considered her life harmful to those around him, but he was forced to kill her sister too, and by raising his hand against Lizaveta, he thereby raises it against Sonechka and, ultimately, against himself. “I didn’t kill the old lady, I killed myself!” - Raskolnikov exclaims in anguish. And Sonya, who forgives Raskolnikov the man, does not forgive his destructive idea. Only in abandoning “this damned dream” does she see the possibility of resurrecting Raskolnikov’s soul. Sonya calls him to repentance; she reads him the famous Gospel episode about the resurrection of Lazarus, expecting a spiritual response. But Raskolnikov’s soul is not yet ready for this, he has not yet outlived his idea. Raskolnikov did not immediately realize that Sonya was right, only during hard labor did this realization come to him, only then was he able to truly repent, and his repentance becomes the last affirmation of Sonya’s rightness, while Raskolnikov’s idea turns out to be completely destroyed.
Thus, by bringing all the characters in the novel into relation with the main character, Dostoevsky achieves his main goal - to discredit the misanthropic theory born of the unjust world itself.

Many literary scholars note that Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky puts the idea and the character who bears this idea at the center of his works. Thus, the novel “Crime and Punishment” was no exception, in which the main role is played by a young man, the bearer of the “Napoleonic” theory. The essence of this teaching is that there are people who, in order to achieve their goals, can go beyond absolutely all the norms and laws adopted in society.

The writer shows all the stages of development of this concept: from its inception to its collapse. And the entire system of characters in the novel is selected in such a way as to more clearly show this very thought of Raskolnikov. That is why the rest of the heroes of the novel are in one way or another correlated with Rodion, the bearer of the main idea of ​​the novel. Accordingly, Dostoevsky uses the only logical method of composition in this case - the introduction of doubles and antipodes.

The heroes duplicating Raskolnikov are and. The first shows the reader that Rodion’s idea ultimately leads to spiritual death, to the extinction of the moral content of the human personality. And the second image serves to demonstrate the intellectual decline of his plans.

Luzhin is a small entrepreneur who, with the help of wealth, wants to achieve a position in society and become the master of life. How similar this is to Rodion, a poor student whose only desire is to rise above his social status.

Thus, these two twin heroes coincide in their desire to go beyond the position in society that was initially predetermined for them. In achieving this goal, Raskolnikov allows himself to kill the old pawnbroker, and Luzhin allows himself to destroy Sonya. Both have a fundamentally wrong message - they consider themselves better than other people, and in particular those whom they choose as their victims. It is only worth making a small excuse that the methods that Luzhin chooses are much more vulgar.

Rodion's antipode in the novel is his sister. She does not consider herself superior to her brother; on the contrary, she exalts him above herself. And Raskolnikov, of course, cannot help but notice this. But he categorically rejects his sister’s sacrifice.

Rodion and Dunya are opposites in terms of their attitude towards other people. The girl does not consider Svidrigailov, a morally degraded person, lower than herself; she sees in him the same person. The same cannot be said about Raskolnikov.

Another antipode is and, who realizes the sinfulness of her actions, but does it for the sake of her little brothers and sisters. She justifies and pities absolutely everyone; this girl has a bright beginning. Sonya, with her attitude to life, destroys Raskolnikov's theory. For her, by raising an ax to an old woman, he did not kill an elderly woman, he killed himself.

F. Dostoevsky's novel “Crime and Punishment” is a “psychological account of a crime” committed by Rodion Raskolnikov. And although the main character is Raskolnikov, the novel creates a whole system of images of his doubles and antipodes. All of them are complex and contradictory people. The ideas and principles of each of them are secretly or openly reflected in the thoughts and deeds of the hero himself.

Raskolnikov is the author of the theory of “blood according to conscience,” according to which, for the sake of the happiness of some people, you can destroy others. Dostoevsky develops this theory further, and then Raskolnikov’s “doubles” appear on the pages of the novel. “We are birds of a feather,” Svidrigailov tells Rodion, emphasizing their similarities.

What unites Raskolnikov with the “greats of this world” Pyotr Luzhin and Arkady Svidrigailov? Pyotr Petrovich Luzhin was painfully vain and narcissistic, the main principle of his life was “to love yourself, that everything in the world is based on personal interest.” Luzhin's economic theory is the logical conclusion of Raskolnikov's thoughts. It’s not for nothing that he says to Luzhin: “Bring to the consequences what you preached just now, and it will turn out that people can be slaughtered.”

Arkady Svidrigailov is a more complex nature. On the one hand, he is a criminal with several deaths on his conscience, on the other hand, he helps bury Marmeladov and arranges the fate of the orphans. But what does he have in common with Raskolnikov? What is similar is that he also considers himself an extraordinary person and also “crimes.” He does not kill anyone with an ax, but it is his fault that his wife Marfa Petrovna dies. Svidrigailov is not just an egoist, like Luzhin, not just a villain. He is also a cynic who rejects all moral laws of society. Svidrigailov is already on the other side of good and evil. All his actions and lifestyle lead to the justification of Raskolnikov’s idea. That's why they are "birds of a feather." It turns out that Raskolnikov wants to protect the disadvantaged from the Luzhins and Svidrigailovs, and his false theory brings him closer to these people.

Raskolnikov does not die like Svidrigailov, but through suffering and repentance he tries to return to people. Porfiry Petrovich and the “eternal Sonechka” help him in this. They are the antipodes of the hero in the novel.

Sonya Marmeladova, like Raskolnikov, broke the law - she became a prostitute and killed her soul. But she did it for the sake of her loved ones and committed a crime against herself and her conscience. Raskolnikov decided that “everything is permitted” to him and committed a crime against the old pawnbroker and her sister Lizaveta. Raskolnikov experiences pangs of conscience not because he killed innocent people, but because he turned out to be weak, a “louse,” a “trembling creature.”

Porfiry Petrovich, an investigator, an intelligent and subtle psychologist, refutes Raskolnikov’s theory about strong personalities. And if the “eternal Sonya” led the hero to “turn himself in,” then Porfiry Petrovich convinced Rodion that “you can run away from the law, but you can’t run away from yourself,” that moral torment is stronger than physical. And if a person has committed a crime, he must go through this torment. Pangs of conscience.

Raskolnikov’s “doubles” and antipodes emphasize the complexity and contradictoriness of his nature. His soul is split. There is a constant struggle between dark and light, good and evil. Dostoevsky convincingly showed us that even the most sinful and fallen can find their place in life. The great humanist shows in the novel the path to salvation for a lost soul.

Dostoevsky is the creator of the polyphonic novel, according to Bakhtin. Polyphony is polyphony. His characters seem to be calling each other out. The author surrounds Raskolnikov with people who vary certain thoughts of the protagonist. At the same time, the negative elements of his theory reflect “doubles”, and the positive ones – “antipodes”. The surname Raskolnikov is symbolic for Dostoevsky; it speaks of a split in the hero’s soul. The author surrounds Raskolnikov with people who vary in their minds certain thoughts of the protagonist, while

The negative elements of his theory are reflected by the so-called “doubles” (Luzhin, Lebezyatnikov, Svidrigailov), they are located on the left side of the slide, and the positive elements are antipodes (Razumikhin, Porfiry Petrovich, Sonya).

Luzhin cultivates in himself the theory of “reasonable egoism,” which underlies Raskolnikov’s “arithmetic constructions.” Being an adherent of “economic truth,” this businessman very rationally rejects sacrifice for the sake of the common good, asserts the helplessness of “individual generosity” and believes that concern for one’s own well-being is concern for “general prosperity.”

In Luzhin’s calculations, the intonations of Raskolnikov’s voice are quite perceptible, who, like his double, is not satisfied with “single” help that does not decide anything overall. Both of them “reasonably” find a victim to achieve their goals and at the same time theoretically justify their choice: a worthless old woman, as Raskolnikov believes. will die anyway, and the fallen Sonya, according to Luzhin, will still - sooner or later - steal. True, Luzhin’s idea does not lead him to the axe, but Raskolnikov easily completes the concept of his double: “But bring to the consequences what you preached just now, and it turns out that people can be slaughtered.” Luzhin cleanses Raskolnikov’s “arithmetic” of active compassion and altruistic orientation.

Raskolnikov’s antipode in relation to people is the altruist Razumikhin. It is necessary to make a reservation: he is rather the antipode not of Raskolnikov, but of Luzhin, standing on the opposite pole. The next “double” is the progressive Lebezyatnikov. He varies Raskolnikov’s nihilistic attitude towards the existing world order, moral and social foundations. Enthusiastically speaking out against such “prejudice” as “chastity and female modesty”, calling for the creation of communes, advocating the destruction of marriage ties, Lebezyatnikov discredits the ideas of the revolutionary democratic movement, the meaning of which he reduces to “warming up protest” in Russian life : “We have gone further in our beliefs. We are in denial no more!”

Porfiry Petrovich opposes the riot. In Lebezyatnikov, Raskolnikov’s rebellious element, rebelling against the unjust structure of the world, turns into a thin stream of meaningless and vulgar denials. Lebezyatnikov is a caricature of the main character. In Lebezyatnikov, the cult of protest takes the form of militant stupidity and compromises the rebellious spirit chosen by Raskolnikov. What Raskolnikov has in common with Porfiry Petrovich is that the main character denies the “Napoleons” the right to grumble against the existing world order; Porfiry Petrovich also opposes rebellion.

Svidrigailov goes the furthest: by stepping over other people’s lives, he also steps over his own conscience, that is, he fully corresponds to Raskolnikov’s idea of ​​a strong personality. But Svidrigailov crashes. “Arithmetic” is refuted by Svidrigailov’s “experiments”: he has more good deeds than other heroes of the novel, but, firstly, the good he has done cannot justify the crimes of the past, and secondly, it is not capable of reviving his sick soul. The conscience driven into the subconscious is eventually released and gives rise to suffocating nightmares. Svidrigailov is the chosen one who “crossed over” without moral torment, but at the same time did not become Napoleon. Svidrigailov’s life outcome is not only his suicide, but also the death of Raskolnikov’s idea, revealing the hero’s monstrous self-deception. Sonya Marmeladova offers the hero a path of repentance, a return to his native land, which he desecrated. She hands him a cypress cross - a symbol of return to faith. By isolating the components of Raskolnikov’s idea, reflected in the consciousness of the doubles and their “shifters,” we can imagine the system of images of heroes in the form of three pairs. Moreover, in each pair the central place will be occupied by that part of Raskolnikov’s idea that combines certain opposite principles.

The first “three” are Luzhin, Raskolnikov, Razumikhin. They solve issues related to human activity. Here the poles are egoism - altruism. Luzhin's rational egoism degenerates in Raskolnikov's consciousness into reasonable, and Razumikhin's altruism becomes singular.

The second “troika” – Lebezyatnikov, Raskolnikov, Porfiry. They look at social problems. If Lebezyatnikov denies moral and state norms, then Porfiry affirms the defense of the state and morality. And Raskolnikov, as always, “splits”: he asserts the right to protest of an extraordinary person and obedience to a “trembling creature”

Svidrigailov - Raskolnikov - Sonya consider universal human problems. If Svidrigailov professes inactivity, individualism, the cult of a strong personality, then Sonya professes deep faith, Christian humility, and philanthropy. Raskolnikov, as always, is somewhere in the middle: on the one hand, he preaches individualism and rebellion, and on the other, he seeks faith, and it is not for nothing that he asks Sonya to read lines from the Gospel.

The antagonist characters enter into dialogue through Raskolnikov’s consciousness. Through the consciousness of the protagonist, the heroes can look into each other: Sonya and Svidrigailov, each separately, expresses their point of view to Raskolnikov, thanks to which the reader sees their polarity. The consciousness of the central character becomes a kind of conductor of thoughts from one moral pole to another. Each pair of doubles and antipodes in the novel corresponds to a range of problems. For example, in the Luzhin-Razmuikhin series questions related to human activity for humans are raised. “I am for myself,” says Luzhin. “I am for others,” Razumikhin convinces. This dispute is a reflection of the main character’s split on a personal level – between selfishness and altruism. The next row is Lebezyatnikov-Porfiry Petrovich. Here the writer takes a close look at social problems: the denial of certain social and moral foundations is opposed to their defense. In Raskolnikov's world, this confrontation is manifested in the hero's vacillation between rebellion against the existing order and humility before it.

The problem of the third row, Svidrigailov - Sonya - is philosophical, universal. “Extraordinary” people are not the property of a certain era, they are born throughout the development of mankind. The code of permissiveness is relevant in all ages. The dispute between faith and unbelief, which began from time immemorial, continues to this day. Such a vertical construction makes the line of spiritual split of the protagonist immeasurable: Raskolnikov enters into a dispute with himself, the state and humanity - this is where the powerful scope of his conflict with the world comes from.

In Raskolnikov’s world, everything is brought to its extreme expression: Lebezyatnikov’s harmless protest degenerates into a terrible anarchic rebellion, Razumikhin’s individual goodness reaches an all-human scale, Luzhin’s petty “arithmetic” grows into a theory that pushes him to the axe. There is “too much” of everything in Raskolnikov: from the extreme degree of poverty to the monstrous power of a self-sufficient idea.

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