Crime And Punishment Foils

Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment was written in a regimented Russian society at a time when individuals were judged not by their character, but by their class and accordance with social institutions. The characters and foils in the novel vary in their social status as well as in their morals. Several characters that society respects for their position are shown to have little virtue, while others that are shunned are illustrated to be virtuous human beings. Thus Dostoevsky suggests that individuals must look beyond a person’s social status to value them as a person, in doing condemning the institutions that society holds dear. In the novel, characters are used to criticize the superficiality of the political institutions of the time. Luzhin

The development of characters, while endorsing Christianity, questions practices that dehumanize certain individuals while promoting less worthy people. The pawnbroker Alyona Ivanovna and Sonia act as foils for one another – one representing a morally flawed woman who is well respected, and the other representing a virtuous girl who is shunned for the sacrifices she makes for her family. When Raskolnikov overhears two men talking of the pawnbroker in a bar, it is revealed that all her money is willed to a monastery rather than her impoverished sister so that “prayers might be said for her in perpetuity” (67). This suggests that, much as Luzhin becomes engaged to Dounia so that he might appear nobler, Alyona uses religion for her own personal gain rather than to help others. Yet her social status and the fact that she obeys religious customs ensures that Alyona is respected by society. Furthermore, the pawnbroker is characterized as a parasitic woman. When he kills her, Raskolnikov brings “the blunt side [of the axe] down on her head” (80). The use of the blunt end of the weapon rather than the sharp end suggests that he has rid the world of a pest, much as one would stomp on an insect. This is an effective use of this symbol, as when the religious Lizaveta is murdered, “the axe fell with the sharp edge” onto her head (83). In this way,

In the context of the novel, it is accepted that as a prostitute, Sonia is immoral and not a good Christian. It is therefore very effective for Dostoevsky to present her as a friend to Raskolnikov, the protagonist who undergoes a Christ-like redemption. When he goes to her apartment, it is mentioned that Raskolnikov “[kisses Sonia’s] foot” (320). This image is reminiscent of when Jesus kisses the feet of his disciples, and suggests that despite her profession, Sonia is worthy of respect. Furthermore, whenever God is mentioned, she becomes delirious with “suddenly flashing eyes” when she rhetorically asks what she would be without God (323). It is clear that Sonia believes she would be nothing without religion, and her faith in God is illustrated at its height when she reads the story of Lazarus. Her passion throughout the passage is fanatical, and finally culminates when she sinks “into a feverish sleep and [dreams] … of reading the gospel” (330). In making Sonia such a religious person, despite her hardships, and virtuous despite her profession, Dostoevsky characterizes Sonia as a Mary Magdalene-like figure. In doing so, the work causes a very religious Russian society to return to their basic beliefs and turn away from the façade of religion that is practiced by individuals like Alyona for personal