My tryst with the Russian literature starts in my school days. 'NCBH - New Century book house' is a famous book shop (still is!) in Town hall road in Madurai, which also happened to be the distributor of the erstwhile Soviet publications of Raduka, Progress, Mir and many more. Many of which books are usually very cheap and used to be of very high quality. I still have most of the books I got from these days. So, it was through this that I got my introduction to Dostoevsky, Pushkin, Sholokov, Gogol, Turgenev, Chekov and of course, Tolstoy.
Except for Pushkin and Chekov, it was mostly reading way above my reading level. But I persisted. Names like Anoska, Natalya, Aksinia, Sofya,Masha use to mesmerize the mind. And a lot of my thinking evolved with these masters.
I must've read 'Crime and punishment' around this time. The date on the book says 1992 (I mark the books with the date I purchased them). And it must've been a drudging read as well.
I picked up Dostoevsky - after the initial days - again during my first years in US. 'The brothers Karamazov', 'Demons', 'The Idiot' and 'White nights' were all read in quick succession and Dostoevsky , the prober of human souls became an all-time favorite.
The image that always comes to mind the moment I think of 'Crime and Punishment' is that of Raskolnikov, rushing off after murdering the old pawn broker, Alyona. I, somehow, formed an image of this scene and it always retains itself in mind.
It is probably the most vital moment of the story. Raskolnikov falls further in life from here and the moral quandary he finds himself in - becomes messier day by day. His love with Sofya, the prostitute, who teaches him the Christian virtues is another strange affair. Though fallen in the eyes of the society, Sonya is a much better human being than everyone around her and the conflict of values - personal vs the society - cannot be more in contrast.
Raskolnikov keeps dreaming of sequences - his soul is in torment of the murder and thievery he has committed - though the right way forward seems obvious, he has to struggle with himself to get to do the right thing. The terrible cost of doing the right thing is always in front of him, stopping him from doing it.
Dunya, his sister, who was ready to marry the wrong person for the sake of her family, comes in contrast with the values of Raskolnikov and at times, disgust him. His nihilistic view of the world is shaken by the values of the women around him - Dunya and Sofya.
Sofya tries to make him do the right thing - confess the crime but it is difficult for him to do. This personal struggle of being himself is the crux of the story.
'Crime and Punishment' still evokes a strong reaction when read. I found the morally flawed Raskolnikov to be a reflection of self and the torments he puts himself into was very familiar. The hero is me. The book raises a lot of questions about the definition of the morality and the struggle to conform.
Dunya was ready to marry for gain and considers herself to be making a sacrifice for the family. Raskolnikov feels disgusted at this and stop her from that madness. What is the moral stance for one here? what is the part of society that put Dunya in that position? - questions, questions and more questions - there are no simple answers here.
This is the first book that had a deep psychological impact on me. It made me think, question and put to test all the beliefs, I've had. It made me look at the society's morality in disgust and norms as rotten. A lot of the conditions of the 19th century Russian society are still in force here and a lot worse still pervades the society. How do you figure the right from the wrong? Is it even binary?
Except for Pushkin and Chekov, it was mostly reading way above my reading level. But I persisted. Names like Anoska, Natalya, Aksinia, Sofya,Masha use to mesmerize the mind. And a lot of my thinking evolved with these masters.
I must've read 'Crime and punishment' around this time. The date on the book says 1992 (I mark the books with the date I purchased them). And it must've been a drudging read as well.
The image that always comes to mind the moment I think of 'Crime and Punishment' is that of Raskolnikov, rushing off after murdering the old pawn broker, Alyona. I, somehow, formed an image of this scene and it always retains itself in mind.
It is probably the most vital moment of the story. Raskolnikov falls further in life from here and the moral quandary he finds himself in - becomes messier day by day. His love with Sofya, the prostitute, who teaches him the Christian virtues is another strange affair. Though fallen in the eyes of the society, Sonya is a much better human being than everyone around her and the conflict of values - personal vs the society - cannot be more in contrast.
Raskolnikov keeps dreaming of sequences - his soul is in torment of the murder and thievery he has committed - though the right way forward seems obvious, he has to struggle with himself to get to do the right thing. The terrible cost of doing the right thing is always in front of him, stopping him from doing it.
Dunya, his sister, who was ready to marry the wrong person for the sake of her family, comes in contrast with the values of Raskolnikov and at times, disgust him. His nihilistic view of the world is shaken by the values of the women around him - Dunya and Sofya.
Sofya tries to make him do the right thing - confess the crime but it is difficult for him to do. This personal struggle of being himself is the crux of the story.
'Crime and Punishment' still evokes a strong reaction when read. I found the morally flawed Raskolnikov to be a reflection of self and the torments he puts himself into was very familiar. The hero is me. The book raises a lot of questions about the definition of the morality and the struggle to conform.
Dunya was ready to marry for gain and considers herself to be making a sacrifice for the family. Raskolnikov feels disgusted at this and stop her from that madness. What is the moral stance for one here? what is the part of society that put Dunya in that position? - questions, questions and more questions - there are no simple answers here.
This is the first book that had a deep psychological impact on me. It made me think, question and put to test all the beliefs, I've had. It made me look at the society's morality in disgust and norms as rotten. A lot of the conditions of the 19th century Russian society are still in force here and a lot worse still pervades the society. How do you figure the right from the wrong? Is it even binary?
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