The aim of this essay is to show that the protagonist of the Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky's novel Crime and Punishment is more open to change in his life than is often assumed by commentators. In the end of the novel the student Raskolnikov confesses the murder of two women, and he is sentenced to eight years in a prison colony. In a short scene Raskolnikov seems to experience a spiritual awakening, a "resurrection", with the words of the original text. The genuineness of that conversion, foretold in the epilogue, has been contested by critics. That negative assessment is a starting point for this essay. Is a new beginning, a spiritual restoration or even a resurrection, like in the biblical tradition, at all imaginable for Raskolnikov? I propose it is, based on my reading of the novel. I will especially look back on an episode before the main action of the novel starts. It concerns Raskolnikov's engagement to a young girl who died before the couple could get married. The story about the fiancée suggests that a more purposeful future for the main character - in contrast to who he seems to be in the novel - cannot be dismissed. One main argument for the spiritual transformation of Raskolnikov is an experience he has in the minutes before the resurrection scene. He envisions the biblical patriarche Abraham on his fields with grazing herds. I interpret this as a myth about possibilities. Abraham lives in the beginning of time and God gave him a mission. Abraham lives a long and full life. Life does not have to end in misery but can be meaningful and long also for Raskolnikov.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:uu-504178 |
| Date | January 2023 |
| Creators | Westling, Christer |
| Publisher | Uppsala universitet, Teologiska institutionen |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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