Crime and Punishment (1866) by Fyodor Dostoevsky is an outstanding psychological and religious novel, delving into the intricacies of the human soul through the development of its characters, each of whom become entangled in religious experience. This project explores the novel's deep characters using E.M. Forster's concept of round characters, specifically the protagonist Raskolnikov's psychological dualism, and spiritual struggle culminating in Orthodox Christian ideas of liberation. The study uses close reading informed by Bakhtin's polyphonic narrative to explore how Dostoevsky creates complex characters as repositories for theological and philosophical debates. The character's name Raskolnikov is a name that derives from the Russian raskolnik meaning schismatic, traditionally referring to adherence or non-adherence to the Russian Orthodox Church. Drawing on the relationship system of the novel, including especially that between Rodion and Sonia Marmeladova, who embodies divine wisdom (sophia), and Svidrigailov, who represents nihilistic despair, the work considers how Dostoevsky attacks Western rationalism and at the same time supports the spiritual values of Orthodoxy. It is clear that Raskolnikov's crime involves a great deal more than murder: his crime is neither physical nor impersonal but symbolic self-annihilation mediated by self-disgust and spiritual alienation. He is saved by embracing his suffering, confessing, and receiving the divine grace represented by Sonia's unyielding faith. The comparable wrongdoings of various individuals Raskolnikov's murder, Sonia's prostitution, and Dunya's sacrificial betrothal are different reactions to moral compromise, consistent with a background of Orthodox thought. The study finds Crime and Punishment to be a theological novel that illustrates the victory of Orthodoxy over nihilism, with the rounded character as a vehicle for the examination of sin, suffering, and redemption in the human condition.
Takshila Bhadana (2024) studied this question.