Topic > Raskolnikov's debate on the choice between Svidrigailov and Sonya

After discussing the possibility of confession with Porfiry in the sixth part of Crime and Punishment, Raskolnikov debates who to visit, Svidrigaylov or Sonya. Says about Sonya: Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay "She represented an irrevocable sentence, an immutable resolution. She must choose between his way and his" (391). There are two solutions that present themselves to Raskolnikov towards the end of the novel. He can choose the path that Svidrigaylov presents to him, run away; or accept Sonya's, to confess. On his way to Sonya from the bar, Svidrigaylov says to Raskolnikov: "...you'd better leave for America somewhere right away. Run away, young man! Maybe there is still time" (410). What Svidrigaylov actually means is: "Kill yourself, young man!" as in the conclusion of Svidrigaylov's subplot it is revealed that "running away" or "going to America" ​​actually means suicide. Doestoevsky uses Svridrigaylov's "escape" to convey to the reader that the only way to escape punishment, or suffering, is through death. Furthermore, Svidrigaylov's suicide represents the spiritual suicide that Raskolnikov would have committed if he had not atoned for his crime. Raskolnikov rejects this resolution offered by Svidrigaylov when he tells Dunya: "I wanted to make a final decision and found myself walking along the Neva2E several times... I wanted to end up there, but... I decided not to..." ( 437). As soon as he decides not to follow Svidrigaylov's path, he chooses to face his suffering courageously, surrendering immediately. The other of the two purposes Raskolnikov must choose between is to do what Sonya wants him to do. “Accepting suffering and achieving atonement through it: that is what you must do” (355). Raskolnikov says that he himself dies when he kills the pawnbroker, and by giving Raskolnikov the means by which to confess, Sonya is his resurrection. “And he that was dead went forth” (277), she read him the Bible, preaching to him that through spirituality and God, he too could rise from the dead. At the end of the novel, all the surrounding circumstances suggest Raskolnikov's resurrection. It's the right time of year: Rodya is ill during the end of Lent and Holy Week, and his personal resurrection occurs around Easter. It is both spring and early morning, and both times indicate renewal and rebirth. When Sonya returns from illness, they meet again and she finally frees him from living death. Sonya and Svidrigaylov not only represent the two possible conclusions of the novel, but also represent the two halves of Raskolnikov's divided consciousness. There is compassion, a spiritual need inherent in him, mirrored in Sonya. The traits shared by Sonya and Raskolnikov manifest themselves throughout the novel. He shows generosity in donating his last pennies to the Marmelodovs. He shows thoughtfulness when he saves the girl passed out on the bench. But the clearest evidence of Raskolnikov's hidden goodness lies in the mare's dream. This scene shows that Raskolnikov's emotional and kind-hearted side is disgusted by the idea of ​​murder, and ironically, the mare is killed in the same brutal and grotesque manner as the pawnshop and Lizaveta. The sympathy Rakolnikov shows for the horse and the way he carries out the murders further illustrate Raskolnikov's division. Svidrigaylov represents the theoretical side of Raskolnikov, the need to believe in his nihilistic theories. First, Svidrigaylov shows no guilt in beating his wife. Second, he claims no responsibility for the way he desires Dunya, “I am a tooman, et nihil humanum" (237). Svidrigaylov is the embodiment of nihilistic beliefs, as he places the blame for his actions on his environment or his biology. He blames his humanity for abusing women, saying that his will is too weak and that he was a victim of his desire for women. His acceptance of nihilistic ideas is illustrated by his approval of Raskolnikov's justifications for the murder, stating that the Russian people needed a "special genius" to preserve it. from the disaster (416). Furthermore, it is because Svidrigaylov and Sonya represent these two contradictions within Raskolnikov that he is so attracted to both of them “…maybe he didn't need Svidrigaylov but someone else, and Svidrigaylov had just arrived. Sonya? But what will bring him to Sonya now?" (391). He seeks Svidrigaylov because he has the same criminal traits as Raskolnikov and wishes to achieve Svidrigaylov's non-conformity to traditional social and religious values. Contrarily, he is attracted by Sonya's innate morality. The struggle by Sonya and Svidrigaylov for Raskolnikov's attention represents the battle between the two halves of his consciousness and, furthermore, the larger themes of Raskolnikov's battle between ideology and spirituality Connected to spirituality, suffering is an integral part of the role of each character in the novel. Sonya receives her education in suffering and self-sacrifice by being a prostitute for her family. Svidrigaylov says that Dunya is the kind of person who "hungers and thirsts to be tortured for someone" (401). he understands the importance of atonement and suffering, as he sees the value in Milkolka's fabricated confession. Furthermore, confession is necessary for Raskolnikov to receive his suffering, because when he fully admits the error of his crime; he must also admit to himself that he is not above the rest of society, and therefore must pay for what he has done. But what effect does the suffering that would be deemed necessary by many characters in the novel produce? The biography of Doestevsky's life published by Encyclopedia Britannica Online was eerily similar to that of Raskolnikov. He has been poor all his life; he always rushed to write to receive a salary. He continually suffered tragedy, death and epilepsy throughout his life. He was exiled to a Siberian prison for four years for his involvement with the Petrashevsky Circle, a group of intellectuals who discussed utopian socialism. In the Siberian prison he not only denounced the arrogance of his intellectual colleagues who wanted to burden the rest of society with their political ideas, but also developed a strong relationship with Russian Orthodoxy. The parallels between the life of the protagonist and that of the author seem to suggest another double: Raskolnikov and Doestoevsky. The conclusion on the effect of suffering can therefore only be reached through the study of Dostoevsky. Dostoevsky knows the healing power of suffering because he himself suffered immensely. In prison he wrote a novel based on his prison experiences, The House of the Dead. He told of the brutality of prison guards, of evil criminals who killed children, and of good souls among the filth. Dostoevsky's personal experience spoke when he underlined the importance of suffering in order to be redeemed, since it was precisely the suffering suffered during imprisonment that pushed him to move away from the romantic political ideas of the Petrashevsky Circle and to turn instead towards God, where he himself found the redemption. In Conclusion, Svidrigaylov and Sonya not only represent two opposite conclusions of Raskolnikov's story, but also reflect both halves of his divided consciousness. On the one hand Raskolnikov wants to believe the theories practiced by114752>.