Abstract

The Psychology of Guilt and Redemption in Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Abbas Jaafar Mutar

Volume: 15 Issue: 2 2025

Abstract:

The paper takes Fyodor Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment as a point of departure to think about guilt and redemption within the human being. In Raskolnikov, the presence and absence of these conflicting forces of guilt and redemption bring everyone together. No one can stand outside Raskolnikov's guilt and redemption. What makes Crime and Punishment relevant in today's world is simply that it is a portrayal of the human psyche. In order for the human being to relate to another and to contribute fully to his family, his work, or his community, he needs to find ways to explore these otherwise opposing drives. It is essentially a task of finding the proper economic model that accommodates and largely explains the psychological makeup of the human agent. This paper ventures an exposition of the ongoing relationship between guilt and redemption and in that way hopes to provide yet another window into the heart of Crime and Punishment. The Russian literary tradition is, in a certain way, educational. In Crime and Punishment, the relationship between the painful emotion of guilt and the endearing emotion of redemption is explored thoroughly and in a very convincing way. The paper begins with an exploration of Raskolnikov's circumstances of guilt and redemption. With this, the formal argument of the paper is introduced and begins. A final section concludes the paper. This section reflects on the main themes discussed throughout the essay, particularly focusing on how guilt influences the characters' paths to redemption .The exploration of guilt in Dostoevsky's narrative reveals how the characters grapple with their moral failings, ultimately leading them towards a quest for redemption. By examining key moments in the text, we can understand the psychological complexities that drive their actions and the profound impact of guilt on their decision-making processes .

Back Download

References

• Ali, I., Basheer, A. A., Mbianda, X. Y., Burakov, A. E., Galunin, E., Буракова, И. В., Mkrtchyan, É. S., Ткачев, А. Г., & Грачев, В. А. (2019). Graphene based adsorbents for remediation of noxious pollutants from wastewater. Environment International, 127, 160–180. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2019.03.029
• Anderson, R. B. (1977). Crime and punishment: Psycho-myth and the making of a hero. Canadian-American Slavic Studies, 11(4), 523–531. https://doi.org/10.1163/221023977x00566
• Bénézech, M. (2018). Crime et châtiment de Dostoïevski: Une lecture comportementale du double homicide de Raskolnikov. Annales Médico-psychologiques, 176(7), 646–650. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amp.2018.02.002
• Chase, L. J., & Kneupper, C. W. (1974). A literary analog to conflict theories: The potential for theory construction. Speech Monographs, 41(1), 57–62. https://doi.org/10.1080/03637757409384401
• Garber, K. D. (1976). A psychological analysis of a Dostoyevsky character: Raskolnikov’s struggle for survival. Perspectives in Psychiatric Care, 14(1), 14–18. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6163.1976.tb00869.x
• Kakridis, Y. (2004). Raskol’nikov’s paradox. Zeitschrift für Slawistik, 49(4), 455–469. https://doi.org/10.1524/slaw.2004.49.4.455
• Marques, P. N. (2020). A psychological analysis of an anti-psychological novel: Reading Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment with Vygotskian spectacles. Language and Text, 7(1), 40–56. https://doi.org/10.17759/langt.2020070103
• Rudicina, A. F. (1972). Crime and myth: The archetypal pattern of rebirth in three novels of Dostoevsky. PMLA/Publications of the Modern Language Association of America, 87(5), 1065–1074. https://doi.org/10.2307/461183
• Santangelo, G. (1974). The five motives of Raskolnikov. Dalhousie Review. https://dalspace.library.dal.ca/handle/10222/59741
• Sharma, S. D. (2017). The guilt full morality: A study on the consciousness of the protagonists of Fyodor Dostoyevsky with reference to Crime and Punishment. International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development, 1(6), 864–867. https://doi.org/10.31142/ijtsrd7140