'Must Discuss' Quote

In part six of Crime and Punishment, Dostoyevsky writes, "He suddenly remembered Sonya's words: 'Go to the crossroads, bow down to people, kiss the earth, because you have sinned before it as well, and say aloud to the whole world: "I am a murderer!"' He trembled all over as he remembered it. And so crushed was he my the hopeless anguish and anxiety of this whole time, and especially of the last few hours, that he simply threw himself into the possibility of this wholesome, new, full sensation. It came to him suddenly in a sort of fit, caught fire in his soul from a single spark, and suddenly, like a flame, engulfed him. Everything softened in him all at once, and the tears flowed. He simply fell to the earth where he stood..."

This quote is very significant both in the plot of the novel and in the development of Raskolnikov's character. It is from this moment on that the reader knows that he will eventually confess; even though he hesitates a few more times before confessing, he does confess at the end. The quote illustrates that Raskolnikov's confession is because of Sonya's encouragement. The fire symbolism within the quote is interesting because it contrasts so starkly with the symbolism of water in the rest of the book. The quote also frames Raskolnikov's confession as an act of him humbling himself, by having him kiss the earth. This is significant because a major roadblock to Raskolnikov's confession has been his pride. Why is this the moment he chooses to confess? Why does he still hesitate to confess to the police after this initial epiphany and confession?

Comments

  1. britt gesellSeptember 20, 2017 at 6:54 PM

    First of all, I love that you took note of that juxtaposition between the use of water and fire, that is such an interesting set of symbols in the novel. In answer to your questions, I think he chooses this moment to confess because he feels it is the only thing he has left to do if he wants to keep his life. He has already told Sonia and his mother to varying degrees about what he has done as a sort of accountability, so the only thing left to do is for Rodya to confess both to himself and to the authorities that he committed this crime. Another reason is that Rodya has become so overcome with his thoughts about his crime and the only way to get away from this cycle of pain and guilt and find the freedom associated with having his crime in the open. However, this is a very tough decision to act on once he has made it and even attempted to commit, and therefore it takes a bit of a process before Rodya can actually act on his new state of mind.

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