*Spoilers for the book Crime and Punishment ahead*
The story of Crime and Punishment, published in 1866 in Russia, was written by Fyodor Dostoevsky. It is set in St. Petersburg, Russia and focuses on the impoverished student Rodion Romavitch Raskolnikov. Dostoevsky is famously known for using psychological and philosophical ideas in his books such as existentialism which I will expand on in The Psychological Genre. In Crime and Punishment, these ideas are explicitly clear to see. At the beginning of the story, Raskolnikov is having an internal moral debate on whether or not he should kill the pawnbroker named Alyona Ivanovna. He is at an extreme crossroad: either he could murder the pawnbroker and steal her money, or he could simply forgot that he ever had the idea of murder. Raskolnikov continues to go back and forth with this idea in his head, calling the idea "It", almost never fully mentioning the idea. During this time, he also meets a strange man named Marmeladov who talks much about his daughter, Sonia, and his second wife, Katernina Ivanovna. He also receives a letter from his mother, Pulcheria, describing his sister's, Dounia's, engagement to a man named Luzhin, along with having advancements made on her by the married man Svidrigailov. Raskolnikov also dreams of gruesome things during this time such as a horse being beaten to death, and he decides finally to give up on this fantasy. When he learns of the perfect opportunity to kill her, however, he decides to go through with "It". He ends up killing both Alyona and her sister along with not successfully stealing anything. He managed to pull of the crime perfectly with absolutely no way of anyone knowing.
After murdering the two women and having to go to the police department right after for dues, Raskolnikov falls severely ill for days. During this time, a doctor and Raskolnikov's best friend, Razumihin, take care of him. He also has an unpleasant conversation with Dounia's fiance Luzhin. Raskolnikov later witnesses Marmeladov die, and he gives Katerina Ivanovna a sum of money for his funeral. Later, Raskolnikov demands that Dounia not marry Luzhin. They agree to have a talk, the next night. Before then, Raskolnikov has a discussion about philosophical ideas like what is criminality with detective Porfiry, and Raskolnikov becomes nervous that the detective may be suspicious of him. He runs into Svidrigailov who offers to pay a huge sum of money to marry Dounia, but Raskolnikov vehemently refuses.
That night, Luzhin, Raskolnikov, Pulcheria, Dounia, and Razumihin all talk about numerous topics for a while. The conversation escalates, and Dounia eventually breaks off the engagement. After this, Raskolnikov visits Sonia's apartment. The next morning, Raskolnikov visits Porfiry, who is again playing psychological games with Raskolnikov. Right when it seems he is about to confess, a man named Nikolai barges in and claims to be the murderer. After this, Raskolnikov goes to Marmeladov's funeral dinner party where Luzhin accuses Sonia of stealing from him earlier. This is disproved by Raskolnikov's account of how desperate Luzhin is to get Dounia back. Katerina Ivanovna, however, get so mad that she practically goes insane. She drags the younger children through the streets making them perform to get money. She soon collapses and dies while doing this. Svidrigailov then offers to pay for the children and the funeral. Raskolnikov then confesses to Sonia that he was the murderer. Later, Porfiry tells Raskolnikov that he doesn't believe Nikolai, and he straight up accuses Raskolnikov of the murders. He just doesn't have enough proof yet, but he promised he would have it and arrest him within days.
Raskolnikov then has a talk with Svidrigailov, who appears to be unwell mentally. Later, Svidrigailov manages to get Dounia alone and threatens to rape her, but he changes his mind and lets her go. Not long after, Svidrigailov kills himself. Raskolnikov finally decides to confess, and he visit all of his friends and family beforehand. He goes to the police station and confesses.
Time skips by to Raskolnikov in prison in Siberia. We learn that his trial went very well because of numerous reasons, and he only has to serve eight years. Sonia moves to the town where he is located, and later Razumihin and Dounia marry and move up there. Pulcheria died not long after Raskolnikov was arrested. He is delirious and sick for about the first full two years, but he comes to accept his crime and move on. He realizes that he truly feels remorse, and that he truly loves Sonia. After these realizations, he begins to have genuine hope for the future.
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