Why does raskolnikov kill the pawnbroker

His first explanation is that he simply wanted to rob the pawnbroker for her money. He then rejects this explanation by recalling that he really did not need or want the money. He did not steal out of hunger and, though he did want to help his mother, he did not steal for his family.

We should also recall that he treats money quite casually, having given money to three others: a vulnerably drunken girl, Marmeladov, and Katerina Ivanovna. After the murder, he is mentally destroyed. Raskolnikov not only killed the pawnbroker, but with her he also killed himself. His crime brought no change except the bludgeoning guilt that overpowered him completely. The only way left to bring back Raskolnikov to life was religion and his love Sonia who makes him confess in the end.

He starts as a rationalist, utilitarian who aims to murder to fulfill multiple reasons. Primarily, his search for a reason to fill the crushing void in his life. The characteristic nihilism bogs him down to the extent that he must kill to bring meaning back to his empty life. This guilt finally overcomes Raskolnikov, and his further acceptance of this guilt leads to him finally understanding the extent of his actions, coming to terms with his crime.

He fails to become the great man he had hoped he would be; he ended up on the erronous side of the law and kills an innocent woman who haunts him. You are commenting using your WordPress. You are commenting using your Google account. You are commenting using your Twitter account. You are commenting using your Facebook account. Notify me of new comments via email. Notify me of new posts via email.

January 5, centreforneweconomicstudies Book Reviews Leave a comment. By Arjun Badola The novel, Crime and punishment, is written by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky who shows us the plight of an ordinary person and the effect on his psyche after he commits a murder. Like this: Like Loading Leave a Reply Cancel reply Enter your comment here Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:.

Email required Address never made public. Suddenly, and almost miraculously, everyone has enough money to do what he or she needs to do.

One can interpret this sudden change either as an unrealistic deus ex machina—an obvious contrivance on the part of the author to salvage a seemingly hopeless situation for his or her characters—or as hopeful evidence of the power of faith, or at least good luck, to make the most important things in life possible. Does it affect the plausibility of the narrative? How does it affect the pacing? Crime and Punishment abounds with coincidences. Although he is extremely reluctant to kill Alyona before he overhears the conversation, one can argue that he truly desires to kill her and is simply waiting for a sign that he is fated to do so.

Support for this claim can be found in the fact that when he overhears that Alyona will be alone at home the next evening, he senses that circumstances support his decision to commit the murder. The coincidence of Raskolnikov coming across the just-injured Marmeladov, on the other hand, makes no statement on his character.