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Delve into the intricate power dynamics of the characters in "Crime and Punishment" by Fyodor Dostoevsky as they navigate crime, punishment, and the pursuit of power in a complex web of intrigue and morality. From the unattractive aura of evil to the internal struggles for control, follow the gripping tale of Raskolnikov's descent into darkness and ultimate redemption. Witness the power play between confession and punishment, as characters grapple with their actions and the consequences of their choices.
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Power in Crime and Punishment Nina Mallery Morgan Gilbert
Murder of Alyona Ivannova and Lizafeta • unattractive “eyes sparkling w/ malice” • “The old woman was as always bareheaded. Her thin, light hair, streaked with grey, thickly smeared with grease, was plaited in a rat's tail and fastened by a broken horn comb which stood out on the nape of her neck” (80)- Indicates evil • Steals some goods but not many- only what he needed
Gives money to Marmeladov’s family • Drunk, tattered clothes • Alternates hatred for justification • He was a man over fifty, bald and grizzled, of medium height, and stoutly built. His face, bloated from continual drinking, was of a yellow, even greenish, tinge, with swollen eyelids out of which keen reddish eyes gleamed like little chinks. But there was something very strange in him; there was a light in his eyes as though of intense feeling—perhaps there were even thought and intelligence, but at the same time there was a gleam of something like madness (10) • Power to do good- wants to believe he is good
Sister’s engagement to Luzhin • “Almost from the first, while he read the letter, Raskolnikov's face was wet with tears; but when he finished it, his face was pale and distorted and a bitter, wrathful and malignant smile was on his lips” (41) • b. I won't have your sacrifice, Dounia, I won't have it, mother! It shall not be, so long as I am alive, it shall not, it shall not! I won't accept it!” (46)- protests that she will be forever indebted to fiancé- he does not want someone else to have power over her
Illness • Unconscious response to stress of murder • Losing control of body • Power given to Razuhmin
. Argues to free accused man- • Although against himself, his attempt do right thing- be good • Shows his loss of “power” over the police • Power to control the police investigation
Confessions in the story throughout • Atempts to gain power • Disbelief leads to a conscious loss of power • Constant consideration of confession • Razuhimin eye contact • “I was ambitious to become another Napoleon that was why I killed her.”
Final confession • Leads to Siberia • Police have power • punishment • Freedom • Visual loss of power • Final power over himself and life