The image of Svidrigailov in the novel Crime and Punishment will be considered in this article. This character in the work is the second spiritual “double” of Rodion Raskolnikov (the first is his sister’s failed groom). The image of Luzhin and Svidrigailov in the novel Crime and Punishment combines the principle of permissiveness.
Outwardly, according to the character we are interested in, they are with Rodion of the "same field of the berry." However, there are very significant internal differences between Raskolnikov and Svidrigailov. The second is a depraved, vicious person. He does not hide the fact that most of the acts committed by him were made as a result of pathological voluptuousness. The image of Svidrigailov in the novel Crime and Punishment can be supplemented by a number of other features.
Svidrigailov's attitude to good and evil
This character scoffs at morality. Svidrigailov admits to Raskolnikov that he is "a sinful man." The judgments of this hero about people, especially women, are deeply cynical. Svidrigailov is equally indifferent to good and evil. He is capable of doing both good deeds (for example, helping the children of Katerina Ivanovna and Sonya) and evil, for no apparent reason. Svidrigailov does not believe in the so-called "virtue", believing that any talk about her is hypocritical. This, in his opinion, is only an attempt to deceive others and himself.
Frankness with Raskolnikov
Svidrigailov and Raskolnikov are deliberately frank, even finding pleasure in “getting naked” and “naked” (expressions from the story “Doboevsky's Bobok”), telling Rodion about the most shameful facts of his biography. For example, he informs him that he was a cheater, and that he was “beaten,” about how Martha Petrovna, having bargained, bought him for 30 thousand pieces of silver, as well as about love affairs.
The idleness in which the hero lives
The image of Svidrigailov in the novel Crime and Punishment can be described as follows: he is characterized by absolute idleness. A brief biography of the character is as follows. This is a nobleman who served in the cavalry for two years, after which he “wandered” in St. Petersburg, and then married Marfa Petrovna and lived in the village with his wife. For him, debauchery is a substitute for the meaning of life, a more or less true thing, the only thing in this world that he appreciates. Svidrigailov argues that in lust there is at least something “permanent” based on nature. For this character, debauchery is the main occupation. Svidrigailov says that without this he would probably have shot himself. This is the image of Svidrigailov in the novel Crime and Punishment, a brief description of his life and work.
The mystery of Svidrigailov
This character is a mysterious man. He is very cunning and secretive, and also very smart, despite the buffoonery. To Raskolnikov, Svidrigailov seems to be either the “most insignificant” and “empty” villain in the world, or someone who can discover something new for Rodion. Arkady Ivanovich inspires that they are somewhat similar to the main character. However, the latter does not believe that there is a common between them. In addition, Svidrigailov was unpleasant to him, since he is a lie and a cunning, perhaps very angry.
"Demonic Halo" Svidrigailova
To many, this hero seems a terrible villain who is surrounded by an evil aura. Many rumors are circulating about his evil deeds. The image of Svidrigailov in the novel Crime and Punishment becomes a symbol of the source of misfortune for those around him. The Dunya was persecuted precisely because of this hero, he is also accused of the death of his wife, Martha Petrovna. Fear and disgust cause Svidrigailov in many people. Dunya speaks of him "almost with a shudder." Even the appearance of this character, his custom of pastime and his way of holding himself are “demonic”: a mask-like “strange” face, mysterious behavior, “prankster”, addiction to “cloacas” and cheating.
Svidrigailov - an ordinary person
However, the image of Svidrigailov in the novel Crime and Punishment is not so terrible . A summary of the work (or rather, reading the novel itself) will help you make sure of this. Under the "demonic" mask hides the most ordinary person. Svidrigailov cannot get rid of natural and simple human feelings. In it, one can guess the fear of pity, love, death. It is not even excluded that Arkady Ivanovich’s love for Dunechka could contribute to his moral transformation, if it were mutual. This person is even experiencing something like remorse. He has nightmares, ghosts from a past life.
Svidrigailov and Raskolnikov: similarities and differences
It is no coincidence that Svidrigailov compares himself with Rodion. Like Raskolnikov, he does not believe that the criminal can be morally reborn, that Rodion can find in himself "the power to stop." Svidrigailov, shortly before his death, thinks again of him. He believes that Rodion could become a "big rascal" over time, but for now "he wants to live too much." Svidrigailov is a hero who goes all the way to the crime, committing suicide.
Raskolnikov, therefore, is significantly different from him. The image of the heroes in the novel Crime and Punishment, as we have already noted, has only superficial similarities. Raskolnikov is capable, according to Porfiry Petrovich, of "resurrecting to a new life."
Rodion does not commit suicide, which proves that life has not lost its meaning, even if the hero himself believes otherwise. In Raskolnikov, the moral feeling does not die, although he is trying to "step over" it. Rodion cannot go past human suffering. This is proved by the episode with the girl on the boulevard, with a sick student and his father, the help of the Marmeladovs, and the rescue of children during a fire. This unintended, spontaneous, but quite obvious "altruism" consists in its fundamental difference from Svidrigailov. However, the very fact that Rodion’s ideas are close to the worldview of his “doubles” (the image of Luzhin and Svidrigailov in the novel Crime and Punishment) confirms that he is on the wrong track.