Crime and Punishment - Madness

Raskolnikov's spiritual journey that is the heart and theme of Crime and Punishment ends with the redemption that would not have been possible without the theory and its resultant transgression, without his madness. Even as he feels guilt and even compassion, his outer, theoretical mind shuts it all out. This duality of character creates a conflict that Dostoevsky presents clearly to the reader, evidence of the fact that something inside Raskolnikov's head is not quite right. " As Dickinson writes, however, his madness is great sense, if looked at correctly. So, there was a "divine sense" in his theory in that it allowed him to obtain what he lacked the whole time: religion. His name, Raskolnikov, hints at this from its root in Russian. As his life becomes focused on this theory increasingly, his outer demeanor transforms to fit his own image of an "extraordinary" man: a cold, unfeeling statue of a man without conscience or emotion, "not of flesh but of bronze" (238). The theory states that extraordinary men can, and indeed should, "overstep… certain obstacles" to obtain a goal that would benefit the masses of humanity. n his theory, all of humanity is divided into two categories: "ordinary men have to live in submission," and "have no right to transgress the law" while "extraordinary men have a right to commit any crime and to transgress the law in any way" (225). He violates the most precious moral, the value of human life, and becomes an unfeeling monster willingly and purposefully. His theory is based upon ideas that have some merit, which the few must sometimes suffer for the greater benefit of all. Even immediately after his crime, he does not admit that what he has done is wrong, but rather the feeling builds up like a smoldering pile of oily rags inside him until it Sonia kindles it with her eternal love for him. His theory destroys his life, drives him to the furthest reaches of isolation and moral transgression, spurning his family and his friends in favor of "uttering a new word.

Raskolnikov is undoubtedly no ordinary man. "

A very visible effect of this theoretical existence is the division of his mind and being into two distinct characters.