Resurrection of Lazarus in Dostoevskys Crime and Punishment :: Dostoevsky Crime and Punishment

Resurrection of Lazarus in villainy and Punishment In Dostoevskys Crime and Punishment, Raskalnikov undergoes a period of extreme psychological upheaval. By comparing this death and rebirth of Raskalnikovs psyche to the story of the resurrection of Lazarus, Dostoevsky emphasizes non only the gravity of his crimes, but also the importance of borrowing of vice. From the act when Raskalnikov murders the old woman, his personality begins to change drastically. Dostoevsky challenges the reader to understand the madness which ensues by first demonstrating that the ideas and convictions to which Raskalnikov clung died along with the women. While the reader struggles with this realization, Dostoevsky incorporates the Biblical legend of Lazarus as a symbolic mirror for Raskalnikovs mind. By connecting the two, the reader encounters the foreshadowing of a rebirth of morals and beliefs, though what form this may assume remains cryptic. As references to Lazarus continue to occur, the feeling of parallelism increases in intensity. Just as Raskalnikov slowly struggled through and through madness, Lazarus lay dying of a terrible disease. When Lazarus last dies, Raskalnikov mimes this by teetering on the edge of insanity, the death of the mind. Eventually Sonya begins to pull Raskalnikov grit to reality by relieving a portion of his guilt. As his Christ figure, she accomplishes this by providing the moral and spiritual sturdiness which Raskalnikov lost after his debasement during the murders. Sonya affects him not by active manipulation, but via her basic character, just as Christ personified his beliefs through the manner in which he lived his life. No matter what Raskalnikov says or does to her, she accepts it and looks to perfection to forgive him, just as Jesus does in the Bible. This eventually convinces Raskalnikov that what he did was in fact a crime and that he must atone for it and"seek atonement". Through this realization, Raskalnikov decides he must redeem himself not only in the eyes of the law, but in the eye of idol as well. By foreswearing his old philosophy and accepting his guilt, Raskalnikov again mirrors Lazaruss acceptance of Jesus as his savior. While Lazarus accepts his new life through his rebirth, Raskalnikov acknowledges his guilt and therefore allows his mind to begin life anew.