Consider the image of Svidrigailov Arkady Ivanovich. This hero is one of the main characters in the psychological novel Crime and Punishment by F. M. Dostoevsky (a portrait of the author is presented in the article). Fedor Mikhailovich published this work in 1866. It was published in the journal "Russian Herald". And this work was created in the period from 1865 to 1866.
The image of Luzhin and Svidrigailov is united by the fact that both of these heroes are Raskolnikov’s moral counterparts. Arkady Ivanovich personifies the decline of personality and spiritual degradation, which leads to the implementation of Rodion's philosophy, his view of the world.
External characteristic of Svidrigailov
Considering the image of Svidrigailov, we first describe his external features. In the work, Arkady Ivanovich is already more than 50 years old, but he looks much younger than his years. This is a broad-shouldered man of medium height, who dressed foppishly and looked like a "haggard gentleman." Arkady has a fresh, pleasant face, beard and hair still very thick, and his blue eyes look with a fixed, cold gaze. However, after some time, Raskolnikov found something terrible and unpleasant in this seemingly pretty face. Svidrigailov is a nobleman with connections, who is used to setting a goal and achieving it by any means. This is the image of Svidrigailov when he first met this hero. However, it is actually much more complicated, as you can see by reading this article to the end.
The inner world of Arkady Ivanovich
Continuing to describe the image of Svidrigailov, we turn to his inner world. A lot of gossip surrounds this hero, one worse than the other. The death of the wife of Martha accuses his society. He allegedly poisoned his wife, and also tortured and, ultimately, brought to the suicide of Philip, his servant, beat the girl.
Dunya, Rodion's sister, with whom this nobleman is in love, also feels the danger emanating from this person. Svidrigailov says about himself that he is a person deprived of norms and principles, who acts of his own free will and will. He does not build justifiable theories to conceal his actions, like Luzhin. Arkady Ivanovich bluntly says that he is a "lecherous and idle" man.
Comparative characteristics of two heroes - Svidrigailov and Raskolnikov
The image of Svidrigailov, briefly described above, is largely revealed due to its comparison with Rodion Raskolnikov. Thanks to his abilities, experience, money, Arkady Ivanovich already has what Rodion can only dream of - "independence from people and absolute freedom." This hero has long been able to step over murder, debauchery, deceit. Raskolnikov could envy Svidrigailov’s cold prudence and restraint during the crime, since Arkady Ivanovich never makes stupid mistakes, sentimentality does not give in. And the student suffers from all this. Rodion is tormented in his soul, gathers all his moral strength in order to silence his conscience. Arkady Ivanovich no longer felt even hints of guilt and torment of conscience. He does not care about past sins, as well as dirty deeds committed by him recently. All this complements his image. Svidrigailov Arkady Ivanovich used to live various crimes, enjoy their own baseness.
Arkady Ivanovich has long crossed moral boundaries, the abyss of the spiritual fall of this hero is truly great. His only life principle is to ruthlessly pluck the "flowers of pleasure", and then throw them "into the roadside ditch." Arkady was the first to notice that he had a lot in common with Rodion. However, there is one important difference - Svidrigailov erased the border between sin and morality, and Rodion did not. The student is panicked by the fact that evil and good are the same. And for Svidrigailov, this is a vital truth.
Positive sides of Svidrigailov
Representing his immoral image, Dostoevsky at the same time attaches great importance to the good deeds committed by them. Their Svidrigailov performs even more than all the positive characters combined. After all, Arkady secured the future not only for his children, but also for the Marmeladov’s orphans. He longs to arrange Sonya’s fate, to get her out of this “maelstrom”.
Svidrigailov offers Raskolnikov money so that he fled to America. He also promises to pay the debts of Katerina Ivanovna. The bright side of this hero in relations with Dunya also prevails. After all, Arkady Ivanovich, after the girl severely refused him, no longer looked for a meeting with her, did not harm Sonya. Svidrigailov’s “broad” nature is endowed with a strange ability to be noble and vile at the same time. In his soul there is no clear line between evil and good.
The tragic bifurcation of the inner world of Arkady Ivanovich
The life position of Arkady Ivanovich is explained in the work to some extent by the tragic split of his personality. He, like Rodion, painfully perceives the imperfection of this world, its orders, based on injustice and falsehood. But Svidrigailov’s rebellion, on the other hand, has no positive charge.
He does good deeds only "out of boredom," because he does not require any infringement of his desires or suffering material assistance to people. Only to the void, and not to self-realization, does the hero bring his theory of “strong personality”.
Aversion to life and suicide
Arkady Ivanovich, despite the complete absence of moral principles in him, feels an aversion to life. This hero wants to run away from this, he takes risks, kills, and then sits in prison, then agrees to escape to America or fly in a balloon. However, the severity of a meaningless existence puts pressure on one’s shoulders and depresses. Everywhere he is haunted by vulgarity, "bath with spiders" scares eternity. It is not surprising, therefore, that Svidrigailov, fed up with life, decides to commit suicide. His soul is almost dead, so a shot from a revolver was logical.
What does the fate of Svidrigailov teach?
An important role in the work is played by the image of Svidrigailov. “Crime and Punishment” is a novel that teaches us that permissiveness, absolute freedom do not lead to emancipation, as Rodion secretly hoped, but, on the contrary, to devastation, a feeling of narrowing of living space.
A warning to Raskolnikov is the fate of Arkady Ivanovich. The characteristic of the image of Svidrigailov shows that his chosen path is false. It leads only to spiritual emptiness. The fate of this hero teaches with a negative example the truth that Sonya adheres to - one must accept Christ and be cleansed in order to truly become free.