Image result for crime and punishment
Image result for crime and punishment raskolnikovCrime and Punishment is full of questions and interesting statements but the epilogue ends differently than the reader would likely imagine.  The quote that I believe is very important to the overlying message occurs near the end of the epilogue. On page 549 Dostoevsky writes, "Infinite happiness lit up in her eyes; she understood, and for her there was no longer any doubt that he loved her, loved her infinitely, and that at last the moment had come..... They wanted to speak but could not.  Tears stood in their eyes.  They were both pale and thin, but in those pale sick faces there already shone the dawn of a renewed future, of a complete resurrection into a new life.  They were resurrected by love; the heart of each held infinite sources of life for the heart of the other."  The epilogue is quite touching and is not filled with pride and evil and insanity like most of the story.  It does provoke the question of whether a man who committed crimes and acted as Raskolnikov did actually deserves grace and the right to love.  Dostoevsky is showing that he believes that everyone deserves to have friends and grace even those who commit the worst of crimes.  For some of us that is hard to fathom and comprehend as why someone like Raskolnikov could murder one person and then murder another person to cover up that murder and in the end find love and a reason to live.  The point Dostoevsky makes is that no one is perfect and therefore why would someone deserve grace over someone else when in fact no one is without blame.  The epilogue also shows the reader that there is a reason to live even for those who have hit rock bottom.  Rodya had nothing to live for when he was flooded by guilt but once he confessed and got rid of his guilt he was able to see that there is a reason to live and that the people around him care about him.  These questions and themes are worth discussing because we see them even today in life and they are overlying themes in the novel.

Comments

  1. I really think love is a huge theme in this book and how it redeems Raskolnikov is a great way to show how important it is. We see Rodya commit awful acts, but still finds happiness in the end thanks to the love of his friends and family. It is also interesting that you point out how this scene lacks the evil and insanity that usually surrounds Rodya. It reminds me of 1 John 4:18 which says, "Perfect love drives out fear. For fear has to do with punishment..." I believe Sonya's perfect love drove out Rodya' fear of punishment. I agree that when people hit rock-bottom, only love and giving up your pride will save you.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Behind the Lyrics: Propinquity (Instrumental)

Behind the Lyrics: The Secret Place

Behind the Lyrics: A Little Piece of Heaven