Rodion Raskolnikov

Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov (Russian: Родиóн Ромáнович Раскóльников; IPA: [rəˈdʲɪˈon rɐˈmanəvʲɪtɕ rɐˈskolʲnʲɪkəf]) is the fictional protagonist of Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. The name Raskolnikov derives from the Russian raskolnik meaning "schismatic" (traditionally referring to a member of the Old Believer movement). The name "Rodion" comes from Greek and indicates an inhabitant of Rhodes.

Raskolnikov is a young ex-law student living in extreme poverty in Saint Petersburg. He lives in a tiny garret which he rents, although due to a lack of funds has been avoiding payment for quite some time. He sleeps on a couch using old clothes as a pillow, and due to lack of money eats very rarely. He is handsome and intelligent, though generally disliked by fellow students. He is devoted to his sister (Avdotya Romanovna Raskolnikova) and his mother (Pulkheria Alexandrovna Raskolnikova).

In Crime and Punishment, Raskolnikov murders a pawnbroker, Alyona Ivanovna, with an axe, intending to use her money for good causes. He justifies his actions by referring to a theory he has developed of the "great man". Raskolnikov believes that people are divided into the "ordinary" and the "extraordinary": the ordinary are the common rabble, the extraordinary (notably Napoleon) do not have to follow the moral codes that apply to ordinary people since they are meant to be great men. An extraordinary man would not need to think twice about his actions. At the novel's opening, Raskolnikov has been contemplating this theory for months, only speaking of it to his (now deceased) fiancée. However, he is revealed to have written an article expounding his theory in an academic journal, insisting on anonymity through the use of his initials in its byline. Raskolnikov believes himself to be a "great man" and is thus, in his view, "allowed" to commit murder. However, his plan goes wrong; before he is able to make his escape from the pawnbroker Alyona Ivanovna's flat, her meek-tempered half-sister (Lizaveta Ivanovna) arrives and stumbles across the body. Raskolnikov, in a panic, murders the pawnbroker's sister as well, a crime which he consistently contemplates very little in comparison to his musings on the initial murder. The fact of the murders themselves does not particularly torment him; what torments him is the fact that he has not "transgressed", and that he was not able to be the "great man" he had theorized about.

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