Dostoevsky's novel "Crime and Punishment" became the main literary event second half of the 60s. XIX century. At first glance, ordinary Detective story about the murder of an old money-lender for the purpose of easy and quick profit turned into a very deep philosophical reflection about the limits of human freedom and the conditions of life in modern author capital Petersburg.
The concept and idea of the novel
The novel was conceived by Dostoevsky during his time in Siberian penal servitude. For participation in the Petrashevsky rebellion, the writer was sentenced to death penalty, but in last moment by order of the emperor, the execution was replaced by exile and hard labor. Not being able to write, Dostoevsky had enough time to form an idea and outline a rough plan for the development of the plot.
"Crime and Punishment" - a description of the history of moral transformation strong personality, indifferent to social conventions and devoid of self-reflection. Characteristic is the frequent mention of the great people of the past, especially Napoleon, with whom Raskolnikov openly compares himself. "Crime and Punishment", in addition, raises another topic: this strong personality commits a crime not only to prove one's self-sufficiency, but also for the sake of the possibility of instant enrichment. These two aspects formed the basis of Dostoevsky's idea.
Sources when writing
When writing the novel, the author used both his previous experience in the genre of the novel, and real events. The following components can be noted that made up the work:
- Unfinished novel "Drunk". It was his characters and storylines that served as the basis for describing the life of the Marmeladov family.
- The crime of the Old Believer, otherwise, the schismatic Gerasim Chistov, a resident of Moscow. In order to rob Chistov, he entered the apartment of two elderly women and, confronting them, hacked them both to death with an axe.
The structure of the work and its content
The novel consists of six chapters and an epilogue. Lots of storylines and wide circle issues raised hinder attempts to compressed form describe the content of the work. Analysis of psychology and behavior characters in a given situation became calling card Dostoevsky, which can already be seen from the first novel from his Pentateuch - Crime and Punishment.
Part 1: plot and characteristics of the characters
Since the first parts are the beginning of the plot and the exposition of the main characters of the novel, it is advisable to present their contents by chapters:
Part 2: developments
The events described in the second part are especially important to understand the essence of the novel:
Part 3: detective component
The further content of the work "Crime and Punishment" is completely devoted to the detective component.
Raskolnikov demands that his sister cancel the wedding, but she refuses. After a tense conversation, mother and Dunya return to the hotel, where Razumikhin visits them the next morning. They discuss the current situation, in particular, Pulcheria Alexandrovna asks for advice on what to do with Luzhin's request to visit them in Raskolnikov's absence. Dunya believes that brother must attend the meeting.
Sonya comes to Raskolnikov's apartment to invite him to the funeral. Mother and sister already know that the young man gave all his money to Marmeladov's funeral, and they are aware of Sonya's position in society. Despite this, Raskolnikov officially introduces them to each other, and Dunya even bows to Sonya.
After that, Raskolnikov goes to the police to find out how he can get the pawned things. During the conversation, it becomes clear that he is also a suspect. Investigator Porfiry Petrovich recalls that earlier Raskolnikov published an article on the division of people into ordinary and extraordinary, including those with the right to kill.
Upon his return, Raskolnikov runs into a man outside his house who calls him a murderer. Nerves young man at the limit, he has a third nightmare in which he beats the old woman with an ax, but she does not die, but laughs incessantly. Raskolnikov tries to escape, but the crowd surrounding him prevents this. Waking up, he finds Svidrigailov in his room.
Part 4: Resurrection of Lazarus
Svidrigailov's goal is to meet Dunya, and Raskolnikov must help him. Rodion refuses and a little later, together with Razumikhin, he goes to his mother, where Luzhin is already. He is annoyed by the violation of his wishes, makes a scandal, after which Dunya drives the groom away.
After that, Raskolnikov visits Sonya. Finding the Gospel, open on the page, which tells about the resurrection of Lazarus, he asks the girl to read this story to him. When Sonya fulfills the request, Raskolnikov bows to her and promises to tell the next day who killed the pawnbroker and her sister. But before the story, he again comes to the police for things, and is faced with the attempts of the investigator to trick him into pleading guilty. In his hearts, Raskolnikov demands that he be openly called guilty, but Porfiry Petrovich does not do this. A previously arrested dyer is accidentally brought into the office, who confesses to the murder.
Part 5: Luzhin's revenge and Raskolnikov's confession
Luzhin wants to take revenge on Raskolnikov for the disrupted wedding and throws 100 rubles into Sonya's pocket. The Marmeladovs arrange a funeral, to which no one came. Gradually, a quarrel boils between Katerina Ivanovna and the landlady over the invitees, and in its midst Luzhin appears. He accuses Sonya of stealing, and the money, of course, is found in the girl's pocket. Lebezyatnikov, Luzhin's neighbor, claims that he personally saw him put money in his pocket, but the landlady didn't care kicks out the whole family.
Raskolnikov stays with Sonya and lets her know that he is the killer. The girl is sympathetic to this and promises to go to hard labor with him if he confesses. The conversation is interrupted by the news that Katerina Ivanovna has gone mad and is begging along the streets with her children. Sonya and Raskolnikov try to stop the woman, but she is overtaken by a fatal attack of consumption. Svidrigailov agrees to pay for the funeral, citing the fact that he heard all the conversations of Sonya and Raskolnikov.
Part 6: denouement
The investigator comes to Raskolnikov's apartment and directly declares that he considers him a murderer. Porfiry Petrovich offers to turn himself in in two days. During this time, Rodion meets with Svidrigailov, from whom he learns that he is very much in love with his sister, but there can be nothing between them.
After the conversation, Svidrigailov comes to Duna and says that her brother is a killer. He offers to organize an escape and help financially if she agrees to be his mistress. Dunya tries to leave, but the door is locked. Then the girl shoots at Svidrigailov, but misses. After that, he releases Dunya. Shocked by what happened, Svidrigailov gives Sonya the money that she and Raskolnikov will need in hard labor, rents a hotel room and shoots herself to death from Dunya's revolver.
Raskolnikov says goodbye to his mother, sister and Sonya, kisses the ground at the crossroads and confesses to the murder. After that, he goes to the police, where he repeats his confession.
Epilogue
Raskolnikov is serving his sentence in Siberian penal servitude. Sonya, as promised, went after him. Dunya and Razumikhin got married, and Pulcheria Alexandrovna soon died of longing for her son. Raskolnikov keeps himself apart from the rest of the prisoners, all free time spending in thought about how mediocre he disposed of his life.
The idea of the novel
Objective reality, the living conditions of people living in the first half of the nineteenth century, are closely connected with the history of the creation of Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment. In the work, the writer tried to express his thoughts about actual problems contemporary society. He calls the book a novel - a confession. “My whole heart will rely with blood on this novel,” the author dreams.
The desire to write a work of this kind appeared in Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky in hard labor in Omsk. The hard life of a convict physical fatigue did not prevent him from observing life and analyzing what was happening. Being convicted, he decided to create a novel about a crime, but he did not dare to start work on a book. A serious illness did not allow making plans and took away all moral and physical forces. The writer managed to bring his idea to life only a few years later. Over the years, several other famous works: "Humiliated and Insulted", "Notes from the Underground", "Notes from the House of the Dead". The issues raised in these novels will be reflected in Crime and Punishment.
Dreams and harsh reality
Life unceremoniously intervened in Dostoevsky's plans. Creating a great novel took time, and financial situation worsened every day. In order to earn money, the writer suggested that the journal Otechestvennye Zapiski publish a short novel, The Drunk Ones. In this book, he planned to draw public attention to the problem of drunkenness. The storyline of the story was supposed to be connected with the stories of the Marmeladov family. The main character is an unfortunate drunkard, dismissed official. The editor of the magazine put forward other conditions. The stalemate forced the writer to agree to sell the publishing rights for a negligible price. complete collection of their essays and, at the request of the editors, write in a short time new novel. So suddenly began hasty work on the novel "Crime and Punishment".
Starting work on a piece
Having signed the contract with the publishing house, F. M. Dostoevsky managed to improve his affairs at the expense of the fee, relaxed and succumbed to temptation. An enthusiastic player, he did not manage to cope with his illness this time either. The result was disastrous. The rest of the money is lost. Living in a hotel in Wiesbaden, he could not pay for light and meals, he did not end up on the street only at the mercy of the owners of the hotel. To finish the novel on time, Dostoevsky had to hurry. The author decided to briefly tell the story of one crime. The main character is a poor student who decided to kill and rob. The writer is interested psychological condition person, "the process of crime". The plot was moving towards a denouement when, for some unknown reason, the manuscript was destroyed.
creative process
The feverish work began anew. And in 1866 the first part was published in the journal "Russian Messenger".
The time allotted for the creation of the novel was coming to an end, and the writer's plan only expanded. The life story of the protagonist is harmoniously intertwined with the story of Marmeladov. To meet the requirements of the customer and avoid creative bondage, F. M. Dostoevsky interrupts work for 21 days. During this time, he creates a new work called "The Player", gives it to the publisher and returns to the creation of "Crime and Punishment". The study of the criminal chronicle convinces the reader of the relevance of the problem. “I am convinced that my story partly justifies the present,” wrote Dostoevsky. Newspapers reported that there was an increase in cases of young people becoming murderers. educated people like Rodion Raskolnikov. The printed parts of the novel were a great success. This inspired Dostoevsky, charged him with creative energy. He is finishing his book in Lublin, on his sister's estate. By the end of 1866, the novel was completed and published in Russkiy Vestnik.
diary of painstaking work
Studying the history of the creation of the novel "Crime and Punishment" is impossible without the writer's draft notes. They make it possible to understand how much work and painstaking work on the word was invested in the work. The creative idea changed, the range of problems expanded, the composition was rebuilt. In order to better understand the character of the hero, Dostoevsky changes the form of the narrative in the motives of his actions. In the final third edition, the story is told in the third person. The writer preferred "a story from himself, and not from him." It seems that main character lives his independent life and is not subject to its creator. The workbooks tell how painfully long the writer himself is trying to understand the motives for Raskolnikov's crime. Unable to find an answer, the author decided to create a character in which "two opposite characters alternate in turn." In Raskolnikov, two principles are constantly fighting: love for people and contempt for them. It was not easy for Dostoevsky to write the finale of his work. “Inscrutable are the ways in which God finds man,” we read in the writer’s draft, but the novel itself ends differently. It keeps us thinking, even after the last page has been read.
ON THE PLAN OF THE NOVEL "CRIME AND PUNISHMENT"
Creating in "Crime and Punishment" a new form of the Russian novel, Dostoevsky synthesized in it many different types of features of this novel - from the tabloid, criminally adventurous to the tragedy novel. Such a genre synthesis allowed the writer, as he intended, "to rummage through all the questions in the novel" Ibid., p. 415. - both social, and moral, and philosophical. Here the most important themes of his work were organically connected. The theme of social oppression, the theme of violence, moral decay in the individual and society, the theme of money sounded with new force in one choir. The world of meek and suffering heroes joined the world strong natures, with manifestations of titanic will and powerful passions.
The solution of these problems required colossal work. It probably began during the years of hard labor, when Dostoevsky's attention was captured by sharp moral contrasts. Here, still unknown sides of human nature were revealed to the writer, powerfully attracted thought and imagination. Behind the facts of this kind were phenomena public life, questions about why the enormous spiritual forces found an outlet in transgressing moral and criminal laws, how such a character developed.
From the idea that arose at that time, but never realized, the idea of a certain novel-confession, Dostoevsky gradually moves towards new ideas and a broad embodiment of the questions that worried him. In 1865, he informs the editor of the magazine "Russian Messenger" Katkov new plan story, in which the idea, plot and main face of "Crime and Punishment" are clearly outlined.
And the author informed the publisher A. Kraevsky that the new novel would be connected with the current question of drunkenness. This story grew in volume, absorbed all the new events, faces, storylines, including the materials of the previously conceived novel The Drunk Ones, which gave features to the image of Marmeladov.
As the journalism and literature of the 1860s testify to this, at the time of the breaking of serfdom and the capitalization of the moribund noble way of life, public morality fluctuated sharply: criminal offenses, greed and money, drunkenness and cynical selfishness - all this was associated with direct attacks on traditional Orthodox morality. by radical social forces.
The theme of "Drunk", presumably, was quickly assessed by him as narrow, devoid of not so much social as philosophical sharpness - he felt the relative poverty of his plan, his idea.
The Vremya magazine often published reports on criminal trials in the West. It was Dostoevsky who published a report on a criminal case in France. A certain Pierre Lacener, a criminal who did not disdain theft and who eventually killed some old woman, declared himself in his memoirs, poems, etc. "an ideological killer", "a victim of his age." Having renounced all moral "shackles", the criminal carried out the willfulness of the "man-god", to which they called revolutionary democrats, driven by a sense of class revenge on the "oppressors" of the people.
Raznochinskaya democracy, headed by Belinsky, Chernyshevsky, Dobrolyubov and many others, introduced into public consciousness atheistic and socialist ideas. In 1863, the novel by N.G. Chernyshevsky "What to do?", which contained a real program of action to break the foundations of the state with the help of revolutionary violence, to replace the universal moral values(Christian) class.
Dostoevsky was deeply disturbed by the problem of the human will encroaching on a crime, the theoretical justification of which he saw in the teachings of Chernyshevsky. Thus, we see two super-tasks that prompted Dostoevsky to create his most perfect work - moral decay in society and the onset of socialist-atheistic ideas.
Dostoevsky perfectly mastered by this time three fundamental truths: individuals, even if the best people, do not have the right to rape society in the name of their personal superiority; he also understood that public truth is not invented by individual minds, but is rooted in the feeling of the whole people, and, finally, he understood that this truth has a religious significance and is necessarily connected with the faith of Christ, with the ideal of Christ.
Dostoevsky is resolutely imbued with distrust of all hypotheses about the rights of "strong", "special" individuals, supposedly freed from responsibility to people for their "extraordinary" "superhuman" deeds. At the same time, the type of a strong personality is becoming more and more clear to him - as an artistically impressive, exceptional, but at the same time real phenomenon, fully historically expressed in the theory of socialists and in the practice of socialist-terrorist groups. This is that "fantastic" person who seems to him more real than all realities, this great image for the novel - realistic "in the highest sense." Dostoevsky was blinded by the brilliance of the idea to combine the history of the Marmeladov family with the history of the "man-god" - a socialist. See more details: E.A. Abeltin, V.I. Litvinov "Crime and Punishment" F.M. Dostoevsky in context modern study classics. Abakan, 1999.
The Marmeladov family should become the reality on the basis of which the ugly philosophy of a “strong personality” grows. This family and all its surroundings can appear as a realistic background and a convincing explanation of the deeds and thoughts of the protagonist-criminal. In the creative combinations of the writer, a complex plot array is formed, which includes urgent issues modern morality, philosophy.
Unresolvable questions arise before the killer, unsuspected and unexpected feelings torment his heart. God's truth, earthly law takes its toll, and he ends up being compelled to denounce himself. Forced to die in hard labor, but to join the people again. the law of truth and human nature took theirs. The criminal himself decides to accept the torment in order to atone for his deed.
We see that many motivating forces lurking in the soul and thoughts of the artist participated in the maturation and shaping of the idea of the novel. But the main task took shape extremely clearly - to rebuff the precepts of Chernyshevsky's novel "What Is To Be Done?", to debunk the dead-end and immoral socialist theory, taking its manifestation in the most extreme version, in the most extreme development, beyond which it is no longer possible to go. This was well understood by the critic N. Strakhov, who argued that the main objective novel - to debunk the "unfortunate nihilist" (as Strakhov called Raskolnikov).
The counterbalance to the ideas of Chernyshevsky-Raskolnikov should be the Orthodox christian idea, which should indicate the way out of the theoretical impasses of the protagonist.
Thus, in 1865, Dostoevsky faced two plans, two ideas: one plan is the world of “poor people”, where real life, real tragedy, real suffering. Another idea is a "theory", contrived only with the help of reason, divorced from real life, from real morality, from the "divine" in man. The theory created in the “split” (Raskolnikov) with people and therefore extremely dangerous. Where there is neither divine nor human, there is satanic.
It should be noted that Soviet literary criticism completely denied the vitality of Raskolnikov's theory and declared the very figure of Raskolnikov to be far-fetched. Here the social-party order is clearly visible: to take the “theory” of Rodion Raskolnikov away from the ideas of socialism (sometimes Raskolnikov’s views were interpreted as petty-bourgeois), and to put the hero himself as far as possible from Chernyshevsky with his “special person”.
Dostoevsky nurtured the idea of his new novel for six years. During this time, “Humiliated and Insulted”, “Notes from dead house"and" Notes from the Underground ", main theme which were the stories of poor people and their rebellion against existing reality.
The origins of the work
The origins of the novel date back to the time of F. M. Dostoevsky's hard labor. Initially, Dostoevsky conceived the idea of writing Crime and Punishment in the form of Raskolnikov's confession. The writer intended to transfer the entire spiritual experience of hard labor to the pages of the novel. It was here that Dostoevsky first encountered strong personalities, under the influence of which a change in his former convictions began.
“In December, I will start a novel ... Do you remember, I told you about one confession-novel that I wanted to write after everyone else, saying that I still have to go through it myself. The other day I made up my mind to write it at once. All my heart with blood will rely on this novel. I conceived it in hard labor, lying on the bunk, in a difficult moment of sadness and self-destruction ... "
As can be seen from the letter, we are talking about a work small volume- lead. How then did the novel come about? Before the work appeared in the final edition that we are reading, the author's intention changed several times.
Early summer of 1865. In dire need of money, Fyodor Mikhailovich offered a novel that had not yet been written, but in fact, just an idea for a novel, to the Otechestvennye Zapiski magazine. Dostoevsky asked for an advance payment of three thousand rubles for this idea from the publisher of the magazine A. A. Kraevsky, who refused.
Despite the fact that the work itself did not exist, the name “Drunken” had already been invented for it. Unfortunately, little is known about the intention of the Drunks. Only a few scattered sketches dated 1864 have survived. Also preserved is a letter from Dostoevsky to the publisher, which contains a description of the future work. She gives serious reason to believe that the entire storyline of the Marmeladov family entered Crime and Punishment precisely from the unfulfilled plan of the Drunks. Along with them, the wide social Petersburg background, as well as the breath of a large epic form, entered the work. In this work, the author initially wanted to reveal the problem of drunkenness. As the writer emphasized, “not only the question is analyzed, but all its ramifications are presented, mainly pictures of families, the upbringing of children in this environment, and so on. etc."
In connection with the refusal of A. A. Kraevsky, who was in dire need, Dostoevsky was forced to conclude an enslaving contract with the publisher F. T. Stellovsky, according to which, for three thousand rubles, he sold the right to publish the complete collection of his works in three volumes and undertook to write for him a new novel of at least ten sheets by November 1, 1866.
Germany, Wiesbaden (late July 1865)
Having received the money, Dostoevsky distributed the debts, and at the end of July 1865 he went abroad. But the monetary drama did not end there. During five days in Wiesbaden, Dostoevsky lost everything he had at roulette, including his pocket watch. The consequences were not long in coming. Soon the owners of the hotel where he stayed ordered not to serve him dinner, and after a couple of days they also deprived him of the light. In a tiny room, without food and without light, "in the most painful position", "burned by some kind of internal fever", the writer began work on the novel Crime and Punishment, which was destined to become one of the most significant works of world literature.
In early August, Dostoevsky abandoned the plan for The Drunk Ones and now wants to write a story with a criminal plot - "a psychological report of one crime." Her idea is this: a poor student decides to kill an old pawnbroker, stupid, greedy, nasty, whom no one will regret. A student could finish his education, give money to his mother and sister. Then he would go abroad, become honest man and "made amends for the crime." Usually such crimes, according to Dostoevsky, are committed ineptly, and therefore there is a lot of evidence, and the criminals are quickly exposed. But according to his plan, “quite randomly” the crime succeeds and the killer spends almost a month at large. But “here,” writes Dostoevsky, “the whole psychological process of the crime unfolds. Unresolvable questions arise before the killer, unsuspected and unexpected feelings torment his heart ... and he ends up being forced to report on himself. Dostoevsky wrote in letters that there are a lot of crimes in Lately it is developed, educated young people who do it. This was written about in contemporary newspapers.
Prototypes of Rodion Raskolnikov
Dostoevsky was aware of the case Gerasim Chistova. This man, 27 years old, a schismatic, was accused of killing two old women - a cook and a laundress. This crime took place in Moscow in 1865. Chistov killed the old women in order to rob their mistress, the petty bourgeois Dubrovina. The bodies were found in different rooms in pools of blood. Money, silver and gold things were stolen from the iron chest. (newspaper "Voice" 1865, September 7-13). Crime chronicles they wrote that Chistov killed them with an axe. Dostoevsky also knew about other similar crimes.
Another prototype is A. T. Neofitov, Moscow professor world history, a relative on the maternal side of Dostoevsky's aunt, the merchant's wife A.F. Kumanina and, along with Dostoevsky, one of her heirs. Neofitov was involved in the case of forgers of tickets for a 5% internal loan (here Dostoevsky could draw the motive of instant enrichment in the mind of Raskolnikov).
The third prototype is a French criminal Pierre Francois Lacener, for whom killing a person was the same as "drinking a glass of wine"; justifying his crimes, Lacener wrote poems and memoirs, proving in them that he was a “victim of society”, an avenger, a fighter against social injustice in the name of revolutionary idea allegedly suggested to him by utopian socialists (an account of the Lacener trial of the 1830s can be found on the pages of Dostoevsky's journal Vremya, 1861, No. 2).
"Creative Explosion", September 1865
So, in Wiesbaden, Dostoevsky decided to write a story in the form of a confession of a criminal. However, in the second half of September, a "creative explosion" occurs in his work. IN workbook writer, an avalanche-like series of sketches appears, thanks to which we see that two independent ideas collided in Dostoevsky's imagination: he decided to combine storyline"Drunken" and the form of confession of the killer. Dostoevsky preferred a new form - a story on behalf of the author - and in November 1865 burned the original version of the work. Here is what he writes to his friend A.E. Wrangel:
“... It would be difficult for me now to describe to you my whole present life and all the circumstances in order to give you a clear understanding of all the reasons for my long silence ... Firstly, I am sitting at work like a convict. It's that... big novel in 6 parts. At the end of November much was written and ready; I burned everything; now you can admit it. I didn't like it myself. New form, the new plan carried me away, and I began again. I work day and night… The novel is a poetic thing, it requires peace of mind and imagination to be fulfilled. And creditors torment me, that is, they threaten to put me in jail. I still haven't settled with them and I still don't know for sure - will I settle it? … Understand what my concern is. It breaks the spirit and heart, ... and then sit down and write. Sometimes it's impossible."
"Russian Messenger", 1866
In mid-December 1865, Dostoevsky sent the chapters of the new novel to Russkiy Vestnik. The first part of Crime and Punishment appeared in the January 1866 issue of the magazine, but work on the novel was in full swing. The writer worked hard and selflessly on his work throughout 1866. The success of the first two parts of the novel inspired and inspired Dostoevsky, and he set to work with even greater zeal.
In the spring of 1866, Dostoevsky planned to leave for Dresden, stay there for three months and finish the novel. But numerous creditors did not allow the writer to go abroad, and in the summer of 1866 he worked in the village of Lublin near Moscow, with his sister Vera Ivanovna Ivanova. At this time, Dostoevsky was forced to think about another novel, which was promised to Stellovsky when concluding an agreement with him in 1865.
In Lublin, Dostoevsky drew up the plan for his new novel, The Gambler, and continued to work on Crime and Punishment. In November and December, the last, sixth, part of the novel and the epilogue were completed, and at the end of 1866 the Russian Messenger completed the publication of Crime and Punishment.
Three notebooks with drafts and notes to the novel have been preserved, in fact, three handwritten editions of the novel, which characterize the three stages of the author's work. Subsequently, all of them were published and made it possible to present creative laboratory writer, his hard work over every word.
Of course, work on the novel was also carried out in St. Petersburg. Dostoevsky rented an apartment in a large tenement house in Stolyarny Lane. Small officials, artisans, merchants, and students mainly settled here.
From the very beginning of its inception, the idea of a "ideological killer" fell into two unequal parts: the first - the crime and its causes, and the second, the main one - the effect of the crime on the soul of the criminal. The idea of a two-part concept was reflected both in the title of the work - "Crime and Punishment", and in the features of its structure: of the six parts of the novel, one is devoted to the crime and five to the influence of the committed crime on Raskolnikov's soul.
Draft notebooks "Crime and Punishment" allow you to trace how long Dostoevsky tried to find an answer to main question novel: why did Raskolnikov decide to kill? The answer to this question was not unambiguous for the author himself.
IN original intention story it is a simple idea: to kill one insignificant harmful and rich creature in order to make many beautiful but poor people happy with his money.
In the second edition of the novel Raskolnikov is depicted as a humanist, burning with the desire to stand up for the “humiliated and insulted”: “I am not the kind of person to allow defenseless weakness to a scoundrel. I will intervene. I want to step in." But the idea of killing because of love for other people, killing a person because of love for humanity, is gradually “overgrown” with Raskolnikov’s desire for power, but he is not yet driven by vanity. He seeks to gain power in order to fully devote himself to serving people, he longs to use power only to commit good deeds: “I take power, I get power - whether money, power or - not for evil. I bring happiness." But in the course of his work, Dostoevsky penetrated deeper and deeper into the soul of his hero, discovering behind the idea of killing for the sake of love for people, power for the sake of good deeds, the strange and incomprehensible "idea of Napoleon" - the idea of power for the sake of power, dividing humanity into two unequal parts: the majority - "creature trembling" and the minority are "rulers" who are called to govern the minority, standing outside the law and having the right, like Napoleon, to overstep the law in the name of necessary goals.
In the third, final, edition Dostoevsky expressed the “ripened”, finished “idea of Napoleon”: “Can one love them? Can you suffer for them? Hatred for humanity...
Thus, in creative process, in comprehending the concept of "Crime and Punishment" two opposing ideas collided: the idea of love for people and the idea of contempt for them. Judging by the draft notebooks, Dostoevsky faced a choice: either keep one of the ideas, or keep both. But realizing that the disappearance of one of these ideas would impoverish the idea of the novel, Dostoevsky decided to combine both ideas, to portray a man in whom, as Razumikhin says about Raskolnikov in the final text of the novel, "two opposite characters alternate in turn."
The finale of the novel was also created as a result of intense creative efforts. One of the draft notebooks contains the following entry: “The finale of the novel. Raskolnikov is going to shoot himself. But this was the finale only for Napoleon's idea. Dostoevsky, on the other hand, sought to create an ending for the “idea of love,” when Christ saves a repentant sinner: “The vision of Christ. He asks for forgiveness from the people. At the same time, Dostoevsky understood perfectly well that such a person as Raskolnikov, who combined two opposite principles in himself, would not accept either the court of his own conscience, or the court of the author, or the court of law. Only one court will be authoritative for Raskolnikov - " supreme court", the court of Sonechka Marmeladova.
That is why in the third, final, edition of the novel, the following entry appeared: “The idea of the novel. Orthodox view, in which there is Orthodoxy. There is no happiness in comfort, happiness is bought by suffering. This is the law of our planet, but this direct consciousness, felt by the life process, is such a great joy that you can pay for years of suffering. Man is not born to be happy. Man deserves happiness, and always suffering. There is no injustice here, because the knowledge of life and consciousness is acquired by the experience of "for" and "against", which must be dragged on oneself. In the drafts, the last line of the novel looked like: "Inscrutable are the ways in which God finds man." But Dostoevsky ended the novel with other lines that can serve as an expression of the doubts that tormented the writer.
The history of the creation of the novel "Crime and Punishment" by F. M. Dostoevsky
The history of the creation of the novel "Crime and Punishment"
Abeltin E.A., Litvinova V.I., Khakassky State University them. N.F. Katanov
Abakan, 1999
In 1866, the journal "Russian Messenger", published by M.N. Katkov, published a manuscript of Dostoevsky's novel, which has not survived to our time. The surviving notebooks of Dostoevsky give grounds to assume that the idea of the novel, its theme, plot, and ideological orientation did not take shape immediately, most likely, two different creative ideas united later:
1. On June 8, 1865, before leaving abroad, Dostoevsky proposed to A.A. Kraevsky - the editor of the journal "Domestic Notes" - the novel "Drunken": "it will be connected with the current question of drunkenness. Not only the question is analyzed, but all its ramifications are also presented, mainly pictures of families, the upbringing of children in this environment, and so on. There will be at least twenty sheets, but maybe more.
The problem of drunkenness in Rus' worried Dostoevsky throughout his creative way. Soft and unhappy Snegirev says: "... in Russia, drunken people are among us and the kindest. The most good people we have the most drunk. Good people become in an abnormal state. What is normal person? Wicked. Good people drink, but good people also do bad things. The good ones are forgotten by society, the evil ones rule life. If drunkenness flourishes in a society, this means that the best are not valued in it. human qualities"
In the Writer's Diary, the author draws attention to the drunkenness of the factory workers after the abolition of serfdom: "The people got drunk and drank - first with joy, and then out of habit." Dostoevsky shows that even with a "huge and extraordinary change" not all problems are solved by themselves. And after the "break" the correct orientation of people is necessary. Much here depends on the state. However, the state actually encourages drunkenness and an increase in the number of taverns: “Almost half of our current budget is paid for by vodka, i.e. in today's fashion, people's drunkenness and people's depravity - that is, the whole people's future. We, so to speak, are paying with our future for our majestic budget of a European power. We cut down the tree at the very root in order to get the fruit as soon as possible.
Dostoevsky shows that this comes from the inability to manage the economy of the country. If a miracle happened - people all at once stop drinking - the state would have to choose: either force them to drink by force, or - financial collapse. According to Dostoyevsky, the cause of drunkenness is social. If the state refuses to take care of the future of the people, the artist will think about him: “Drunkenness. Let those rejoice in him who say: the worse, the better. There are many of these now. We cannot see the poisoned roots of people's strength without grief. This entry was made by Dostoevsky in drafts, but in essence this idea is stated in the "Diary of a Writer": "After all, the people's strength is drying up, the source of future wealth is dying, the mind and development are pale - and what will modern children of the people endure in their minds and in their hearts? grown up in the filth of their fathers."
Dostoevsky saw the state as a hotbed of alcoholism and, in the version presented to Kraevsky, wanted to tell that a society where drunkenness flourishes and the attitude towards it is condescending is doomed to degeneration.
Unfortunately, the editor of Otechestvennye Zapiski was not as far-sighted as Dostoevsky in determining the causes of degradation. Russian mentality and refused the offer of the writer. The idea of "Drunk" remained unfulfilled.
2. In the second half of 1865, Dostoevsky set to work on a “psychological report of one crime”: “The action is modern, this year. A young man expelled from the university students, a tradesman by birth and living in extreme poverty ... decided to kill an old woman, a titular adviser who gives money for interest. The old woman is stupid, deaf, sick, greedy ... evil and seizes someone else's eyelids, tormenting her housekeepers in her younger sister". In this version, the essence of the plot of the novel "Crime and Punishment" is clearly stated. Dostoevsky's letter to Katkov confirms this: “Insoluble questions confront the killer, unsuspected and unexpected feelings torment his heart. God's truth, earthly law take their toll, and he ends up being forced to denounce himself. Forced to die in penal servitude, but to join the people again. The laws of truth and human nature have taken their toll."
Upon returning to St. Petersburg at the end of November 1855, the author destroyed the almost completely written work: “I burned everything. A new form (a novel-confession of a hero. - VL), a new plan carried me away, and I started again. I work day and night, and yet I work little.” From that time on, Dostoevsky decided in the form of a novel, replacing the first-person narrative with a narrative from the author, his ideological and artistic structure.
The writer liked to say about himself: "I am a child of the century." He really was never a passive contemplator of life. "Crime and Punishment" was created on the basis of Russian reality of the 50s of the XIX century, magazine and newspaper disputes on philosophical, political, legal and ethical topics, disputes between materialists and idealists, followers of Chernyshevsky and his enemies.
The year of the publication of the novel was special: on April 4, Dmitry Vladimirovich Karakozov made an unsuccessful attempt on the life of Tsar Alexander II. started mass repression. A.I. Herzen spoke about this time in his Bell in the following way: “Petersburg, followed by Moscow, and to some extent all of Russia are almost in a state of war; arrests, searches and torture go on unceasingly: no one is sure that tomorrow he will not fall under the terrible Muravyov court ... "The government oppressed student youth, censorship achieved the closure of the Sovremennik and" Russian word».
Dostoevsky's novel, published in Katkov's magazine, turned out to be an ideological opponent of the novel What Is To Be Done? Chernyshevsky. Arguing with the leader of revolutionary democracy, opposing the struggle for socialism, Dostoevsky, nevertheless, with sincere sympathy treated the participants in the "split of Russia", who, in his opinion, being mistaken, "selflessly turned into nihilism in the name of honor, truth and true good while revealing the kindness and purity of their hearts.
Criticism immediately responded to the release of Crime and Punishment. Critic N. Strakhov noted that "the author took nihilism in its most extreme development, at that point, beyond which there is almost nowhere to go."
M. Katkov defined Raskolnikov's theory as "an expression of socialist ideas."
DI. Pisarev condemned Raskolnikov's division of people into "obedient" and "rebels", reproached Dostoevsky for calling for humility and humility. And at the same time, in the article “The Struggle for Life,” Pisarev stated:
“Dostoevsky's novel made a profoundly amazing impression on readers thanks to the correct mental analysis that distinguishes the works of this writer. I radically disagree with his convictions, but I cannot but recognize in him a strong talent capable of reproducing the most subtle and elusive features of everyday life. human life and its internal process. He notices painful phenomena with particular aptness, subjects them to the most rigorous assessment, and seems to experience them for himself.
What was the first step in writing the novel? Its outcome? The story "Drunk", issues of raising children in families of alcoholics, the tragedy of poverty, lack of spirituality, and so on. The story remained unfinished because Kraevsky refused to publish Dostoevsky.
What is fundamentally new included new version novel? The earliest drafts of the work date back to July 1855, the latest - to January 1866. Analysis of drafts allows us to state:
first-person narration replaced by author's narration;
not a drunkard is brought to the fore, but a student, driven by the environment and time to the point of murder;
the form of the new novel is defined as the protagonist's confession;
the number of characters has been significantly expanded: the investigator, Dunya, Luzhin and Svidrigailov are represented by psychological twins of Raskolnikov;
developed various episodes and scenes from the life of St. Petersburg.
What elements and images of "Drunk" found artistic expression in the 2nd version of the novel?
the image of a drunken Marmeladov;
tragic pictures the life of his family;
description of the fate of his children;
In what direction did Raskolnikov's character develop?
In the original version of the novel, the narration is in the first person and is a confession of a criminal, recorded a few days after the murder.
The form of the first person made it possible to explain some of the "oddities" in Raskolnikov's behavior. For example, in the scene with Zametov: “I was not afraid that Zametov would see that I was reading this. On the contrary, I even wanted him to notice that I was reading about it ... I don’t understand why I was drawn to risk this bravado, but I was drawn to risk it. With anger, perhaps with animal anger that does not reason. Rejoicing at the fortunate coincidence, the “early Raskolnikov” reasoned: “It was an evil spirit: how else could I overcome all these difficulties.”
In the final text, the hero says the same words to Sonya after his confession. There is a noticeable difference in the characterization of the hero. In the second version, where the narration is already in the third person, the humanity of his intentions is more clearly traced: thoughts of repentance come immediately after the commission of the crime: “And then, when I become a noble, benefactor of all, a citizen, I will repent. He prayed to Christ, lay down and slept.
Dostoevsky did not include an episode in the final text - Raskolnikov's reflection after a conversation with Polenka: “Yes, this is a complete resurrection,” he thought to himself. He felt that life was broken at once, hell ended and another life began ... he was not alone, not cut off from people, but with everyone. Resurrected from the dead. What happened? The fact that he gave his last money - is that it? What nonsense. Is this girl? Sonya? - Not that, but all together.
He was weak, he was tired, he almost fell. But his soul was too full.
Such thoughts are premature for the hero, he has not yet drunk the cup of suffering in order to be healed, so Dostoevsky transfers the description of such feelings to the epilogue.
The first manuscript describes the meeting with the sister and mother differently:
“Nature has mysterious and wonderful outcomes. In a minute he was squeezing them both in his hands and he had never experienced a more impetuous and enthusiastic sensation, and in another minute he was already proudly aware that he was the master of his mind and will, that he was no one’s slave and that consciousness again justified his. The disease is over panic fear».
Dostoevsky does not include this passage in the final text, as it destroys ideological orientation. Raskolnikov should be completely different: a meeting with loved ones, as well as a conversation in the office, are the cause of his fainting. This is a confirmation that human nature is unable to endure the severity of the crime and reacts to external influences in its own way. She no longer obeys reason and will.
What is the relationship between Raskolnikov and Sonya in various options novel?
Dostoevsky carefully developed the nature of the relationship between the characters. According to an early plan, they fell in love with each other: “He is on his knees in front of her:“ I love you. She says: "Surrender yourself to the court." IN final version The heroes were united by compassion: “I didn’t bow to you, I bowed to all human suffering.” Psychologically, this is more deeply and artistically justified.
In a different tone, the scene of Raskolnikov's confession to Sonya initially sounded: “She wanted to say something, but kept silent. Tears burst from her heart and broke her soul. “And how could he not have come?” she added suddenly, as if illumined ... “Oh, blasphemer! God, what is he saying! You departed from God, and God struck you with deafness and dumbness, betrayed you to the devil! Then God will send you life again and resurrect you. He resurrected Lazarus by a miracle! and you will be resurrected ... Dear! I will love you... Honey! rise! Go! repent, tell them... I will love you forever and ever, you unfortunate one! We are together... together... together we will rise again... And God bless... Will you go? Will you go?
Sobs stopped her frantic speech. She embraced him and, as it were, froze in this embrace, she did not remember herself.
In the final text, the feelings of the characters are just as deep and sincere, but more restrained. They don't talk about love. The image of Sonya now sometimes merges for him with the image of Lizaveta killed by him, causing a feeling of compassion. He sees her future tragically: “to throw himself into a ditch, to fall into crazy house... or go into debauchery, which intoxicates the mind and petrifies the heart. Dostoevsky knows more and sees beyond his hero. At the end of the novel, Sonya is saved by faith, deep, capable of working miracles.
Why is the image of Sonya and Svidrigailov more fully revealed in the final version of Crime and Punishment?
As a result of his experiment, Raskolnikov came to the conclusion that the path of a "strong personality" who seeks power through "blood in conscience" is erroneous. He is looking for a way out and stops at Sonya: she also stepped over, but found the strength to live. Sonya trusts in God and waits for deliverance and wishes the same for Raskolnikov. She correctly understood what happened to Rodion: “What are you, that you did this to yourself!” Suddenly the word “hard labor” flies from her lips, and Raskolnikov feels that the struggle with the investigator has not ended in his soul. Suffering reaches him supreme power, "some kind of eternity was foreseen on an arshin of space." Svidrigailov also spoke of such eternity.
He, too, stepped "over the obstacles", but seemed calm.
In the drafts, the fate of Svidrigailov was decided by Dostoevsky differently: “A gloomy demon from which he cannot get rid of. Suddenly, the determination to expose oneself, all the intrigue, repentance, humility, leaves, becomes a great ascetic, humility, a thirst to endure suffering. He betrays himself. Link. Asceticism".
In the final version, the outcome is different, more psychologically justified. Svidrigailov departed from God, lost his faith, lost the possibility of "resurrection", but he could not live without it.
In what did Dostoevsky's contemporaries see the relevance of Crime and Punishment?
Since the end of the 1950s, newspapers in St. Petersburg reported with alarm about the increase in crime. Dostoevsky to some extent used some facts from the criminal chronicle of those years. Thus, “the case of student Danilov” became widely known in its time. V. for profit, he killed the usurer Popov and his maid. The peasant M. Glazkov wanted to take his guilt upon himself, but was exposed.
In 1865, newspapers reported on the trial of the merchant's son G. Chistov, who had hacked to death two women and seized their wealth in the amount of 11,260 rubles.
Great impression on Dostoyevsky, he tried Pierre Lacener (France), a professional killer who tried to present himself as a victim of an unjust society, and his crimes as a form of fighting evil. At trials, Lacener calmly stated that the idea of becoming a murderer in the name of revenge was born in him under the influence of socialist teachings. Dostoevsky spoke of Lacener as “a phenomenal, mysterious, terrible and interesting personality. Low sources and cowardice in the face of need made him a criminal, and he dared to present himself as a victim of his age.
The scene of the murder committed by Raskolnikov is reminiscent of the murder of an old woman and her son who happened to be in the apartment by Lacener.
Dostoevsky took a fact from life, but tested it with his life. He triumphed when, while working on Crime and Punishment, he learned from the newspapers about a murder similar to Raskolnikov's crime. “At the same time,” recalls N. Strakhov, “when the book “Russian Messenger” was published with a description of Raskolnikov’s misconduct, news appeared in the newspapers about a completely similar crime that had occurred in Moscow. A student murdered and robbed a moneylender, and apparently did so out of a nihilistic conviction that all means were permitted to correct an unreasonable state of affairs. I don’t know if the readers were amazed by this, but Fyodor Mikhailovich was proud of such a feat of artistic divination.
Subsequently, Dostoevsky more than once put in one line the names of Raskolnikov and the murderers approaching him from the newspaper chronicle. He made sure that "Gorsky or Raskolnikov" did not grow out of Pasha Isaev. Gorsky is an eighteen-year-old high school student, out of poverty, who slaughtered a family of six for the purpose of robbery, although according to reviews “he was a remarkably mentally developed young man who loved reading and literary pursuits».
With extraordinary sensitivity, Dostoevsky was able to single out individual, personal facts, but testifying to the fact that the "primordial" forces had changed the direction of their movement.
Bibliography
Kirpotin V.Ya. Selected works in 3 volumes. M., 1978. T.Z, pp. 308-328.
Fridlender G.M. Dostoevsky realism. M.-L. 1980.
Basina M.Ya. Through the dusk of white nights. L. 1971.
Kuleshov V.I. Life and work of Dostoevsky. M. 1984.
