crime & punishment discussion quote
A quote that I read in Crime and Punishment that I think we should definitely discuss is found in Chapter V of Part II when Razumihin is discussing the person who killed the two women without knowing that it is Raskolnikov and he says, "it's clear that it was only a chance that saved him--and chance may do anything." I
think this is a really important quote to discuss because the ideas of chance
and coincidence play a huge role in the events of the novel, especially
regarding the crime. Rodya even goes so far as to make a series of “signs”
the basis of committing the murders. Characters, especially Rodya, often
attribute things to chance in what seems like a way to absolve themselves of
blame instead of taking ownership for their actions. Is it possible that the
emphasis on chance influences the outcome of the book? What else could this
pattern show about the mindsets of the main characters?
This is an interesting observation. Raskolnikov for most of the story seems to attribute his actions to chance and fate without ever fully taking ownership. I think the author sees the actions of the characters as unrelated to chance but he molds the characters to think there actions are fated to further prove Raskolnikov's depravity. This makes it harder for the reader to accept Rodya finding love and receiving a small sentence and it enables Dostoevsky to explain how no one deserves grace but even the worst of people receive it. This thought of actions are related to chance shows a mindset that some people had at the time and Dostoevsky addresses that and through his novel reveals that he believes that mindset is wrong.
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