Crime and punishment considered by many as the magnum opus of Dostoevsky, graphically essays the tragic tale of murder, guilt, suffering and redemption, unfolding in an utmost dismal setting of St. Petersburg of the mid-19th century.
The central character of the story is Rodion Romanovitch Raskolnikoff , a man with little means oftener found lost in reverie gets possessed with an idea, a theory of his own about ‘ extraordinary men being above the law’, and in order to bring ‘’ new thoughts ‘’ into the society they have a moral license or authority to even deprive a man from his basic right to live . He then sets out to put his theory into practice and as a consequence murders an old woman. The story gyrates around this murder.
Through raskolnikoff Dostoevsky provides an in-depth exploration of the psychology of a criminal. The inner world of Raskolnikoff, with all of its doubts, deleria, second-guessing, fear, and despair, is the heart of the story. Dostoevsky does not lay emphasis on the actual repercussions of the murder but the way the murder forces Raskolnikoff to deal with tormenting guilt. Indeed, by focusing so little on Raskolnikoff’s imprisonment, he seems to suggest that the actual punishment by law is much less terrible than the stress and anxiety of trying to avoid this punishment. Further through the portrayal of extreme guilt, suffering accompanied with love Dostoevsky paves the way for raskolnikoff’s redemption from the crime committed
Not only raskolnikoff but other characters especially the soft and timid Sonia, the beautiful and strong-willed Dounia, the quite enigmatic Svidrigailoff , the shrewd and astute magistrate Porphyrius are also very eloquently painted by the author.
The novel has all the ingredients of an engrossing read.