The "devil's" chapter - it's not for nothing that it's 6.6 - practically "the number of the beast," whether it's 666 or 616. This is the most mystical chapter of the novel.
Wow! What an incredibly insightful analysis of this section—thank you so much, Dana. What stands out to me most in these last few chapters—and really throughout the entire novel—is how profoundly complex these characters are. We often encounter characters who have shades of good and evil, but rarely are their depths explored as thoroughly as they are in this work. How does a writer manage to do that so convincingly? I can’t think about any of our main characters without feeling deeply conflicted emotions about them.
The comparison you’ve drawn between Raskolnikov and Svidrigailov is fascinating. When I reread the novel, I think I might focus primarily on the role of faith in various characters’ lives. There’s so much to explore—Raskolnikov and Svidrigailov, Sonia and Dunya, Sonia and her father, Raskolnikov and Dunya… so many intriguing lenses to consider.
It's wonderful that you enjoyed it and felt that the characters are truly multifaceted—too complex to be fully captured in words. I'm amazed every time by how Dostoevsky managed to weave everything together, especially considering he published it chapter by chapter in a journal. Once the early chapters were printed, he couldn't go back to revise them. Despite typically writing quickly due to his habit of procrastination, he created something so rich that we can read it hundreds of times and still discover something new.
Svidrigailov is frequently described in literary criticism as Raskolnikov's double who chose a different path. Some scholars even suggest he is Raskolnikov's literal alter ego. Yet they make the same claim about Luzhin being Raskolnikov's double. I'm not particularly drawn to these theories. Instead, I find it more fascinating to explore the parallels between the characters' fates and personalities. For instance, I wrote very little about Sonya and her father, though there's much to ponder in what Dostoevsky left unsaid about their relationship.
Thank you, this is one of my favorite images in this project. Although the chapter is terrible in meaning, it's probably my favorite. I really like the interweaving of realities and mythology that slips through in Dostoevsky.
About the girl, it's not quite clear - it could be the same one, or they could be different, since Luzhin and Svidrigailov name different causes of death: either she hanged herself or drowned herself. So they might be different - if we follow the theory that there was a whole business, there could be many victims.
I actually think that the entire description of the hotel and the murder in front of the fireman is already Svidrigailov's delirium. Maybe it's his journey after death, or maybe it's the moment before suicide. This fireman Achilles appeared to me like someone from Lynch's films, who speaks incorrectly, slowly, like in the Red Room in Twin Peaks.
Wow! What an incredibly insightful analysis of this section—thank you so much, Dana. What stands out to me most in these last few chapters—and really throughout the entire novel—is how profoundly complex these characters are. We often encounter characters who have shades of good and evil, but rarely are their depths explored as thoroughly as they are in this work. How does a writer manage to do that so convincingly? I can’t think about any of our main characters without feeling deeply conflicted emotions about them.
The comparison you’ve drawn between Raskolnikov and Svidrigailov is fascinating. When I reread the novel, I think I might focus primarily on the role of faith in various characters’ lives. There’s so much to explore—Raskolnikov and Svidrigailov, Sonia and Dunya, Sonia and her father, Raskolnikov and Dunya… so many intriguing lenses to consider.
It's wonderful that you enjoyed it and felt that the characters are truly multifaceted—too complex to be fully captured in words. I'm amazed every time by how Dostoevsky managed to weave everything together, especially considering he published it chapter by chapter in a journal. Once the early chapters were printed, he couldn't go back to revise them. Despite typically writing quickly due to his habit of procrastination, he created something so rich that we can read it hundreds of times and still discover something new.
Svidrigailov is frequently described in literary criticism as Raskolnikov's double who chose a different path. Some scholars even suggest he is Raskolnikov's literal alter ego. Yet they make the same claim about Luzhin being Raskolnikov's double. I'm not particularly drawn to these theories. Instead, I find it more fascinating to explore the parallels between the characters' fates and personalities. For instance, I wrote very little about Sonya and her father, though there's much to ponder in what Dostoevsky left unsaid about their relationship.
Your essay gave great depth to this section. Thank you.
Thank you, this is one of my favorite images in this project. Although the chapter is terrible in meaning, it's probably my favorite. I really like the interweaving of realities and mythology that slips through in Dostoevsky.
About the girl, it's not quite clear - it could be the same one, or they could be different, since Luzhin and Svidrigailov name different causes of death: either she hanged herself or drowned herself. So they might be different - if we follow the theory that there was a whole business, there could be many victims.
I actually think that the entire description of the hotel and the murder in front of the fireman is already Svidrigailov's delirium. Maybe it's his journey after death, or maybe it's the moment before suicide. This fireman Achilles appeared to me like someone from Lynch's films, who speaks incorrectly, slowly, like in the Red Room in Twin Peaks.