Crime and Punishment

Only those capable of spiritual independence are worthy of great undertakings. Like Napoleon, who did not hesitate to open fire on an unarmed crowd, Raskolnikov, who admires the great man, places himself above ordinary mortals. The theoretical considerations that drive him to kill an old pawnbroker coexist in conflict within the hero's mind and constitute the very essence of the novel. For Raskolnikov, the crime he is about to commit is merely an act of justice towards humanity in general and the poor who have been exploited in particular. "We accept being criminals so that the earth may finally be covered with innocent people," Albert Camus would later write. But this ideal of humanity clashes with the sense of superiority that animates the hero; as a "superman," he places himself beyond good and evil. Conceived with a cold-bloodedness tinged with mysticism, the murder nevertheless ends in failure. The meager spoils cannot satisfy his ideal of justice, while the crime, far from elevating him above the masses, lowers him among men. Raskolnikov will eventually surrender and accept his sentence, thereby achieving purification. Crime and Punishment is the novel of human degradation, the essential work of the master of Russian literature. — Lenaïc Gravis and Jocelyn Blériot