Marmeladov as Raskolnikov’s Mirror in Crime and Punishment

Introduction

In Crime and Punishment, the portrayal of Marmeladov not only delineates the existential issues felt by Raskolnikov but also exacerbates them. Porfiry marks Marmeladov as a parallel to Raskolnikov, serving as a mirror between the two. From a psychological perspective, the conception of Marmeladov suggests a dark predestination to evil for anyone who attempts to look beneath the facade of a dignified persona. It is through Marmeladov that Crime and Punishment’s central issue of man’s sense of abandonment, his existential anguish, and the feeling of helplessly overwhelming guilt is clarified. Such an understanding of suffering reflexively prolongs and multiplies Raskolnikov’s awareness of his own suffering and that of others by focusing on the scope of human suffering in general. The agony at the base of Marmeladov’s psyche is a reflection of existential themes and indicates the degree to which they saturate the willpower and ethics of the Russian man.

The writing of Crime and Punishment placed the author in a perfect position to both continue and expand upon the theme of alienation within a society that only fabricated mentality may completely invade. Raskolnikov and Marmeladov both occupy such a boundary and suffer for it. In terms of themes, Marmeladov serves principally as a reflection of Raskolnikov, a man who is metaphysically tangled in darkness. Indeed, his entire role in Crime and Punishment focuses on his spiritual agony and its projection onto Raskolnikov and, through their religiously disturbed state of mind, onto the whole of the Russian population.

Literary Analysis of Marmeladov and Raskolnikov

There are two protagonists in Crime and Punishment: Marmeladov, the grizzled, runaway father of a teenage girl who sells her body to make a living; and Raskolnikov, the resonant poseur who ruined his life penning an argument for murder as ethics. They polarize the book’s ideas and attitudes, but Marmeladov—he who doesn’t even merit an initial—is the only one to deserve optimism and interest. Raskolnikov forsakes honor for his transgressions while Marmeladov is thoroughly humiliated by them—though while visiting St. Petersburg to beg for forgiveness for his tarnish, he still mourns the lost, not squandered, wage with his town crossroads prostitute. He will die at the tram line in tatters with both boots.

Of course there are precisions: Raskolnikov is also tragically hangdog, beyond his chagrin even while trembled by it; Marmeladov is despondent, completely overrun, even when slobbering on his stunted, down-covered child. Most prominent of the connections made between the two men can be seen, naturally, in the authority of their answerability for their behaviors. But Raskolnikov is introduced as a free man while Marmeladov is being pulled from his duties, still long in arrears of their allowances, by illicit, junior associates. “Morally bankrupt” seems an obnoxious sobriquet to apply to anyone, but it is one whose consequences Marmeladov could, at least in purpose, comprehend and repudiate. Raskolnikov’s nihilism perishes his ability to be compelled by any order at all, prohibited and otherwise, and we see no scene in the text, not even in epistolary flashback, in which he smiles.

Parallels and Contrasts in the Characters' Lives

Both Raskolnikov and Marmeladov share some significant similarities in the struggles they face. Both characters have reservations about their actions and feel condemned or judged by themselves and others. They also both experience agonizing pain, whether physical or emotional. However, Raskolnikov responds to his pain by acting dismissive and immoral, while Marmeladov has resigned himself to the suffering that he believes is meant for him. Despite these parallels, there are also important differences in how they each choose to respond to their struggles.

Further, the younger man attempts to "drown" his horror "in drink" in both the literal sense—Raskolnikov is frequently drinking or drunk—and, by way of comparison, in the despair that ultimately allows him to hope for cosmic absolution. He knows only that it is easier to drink of the natural substance than it is to endure the spiritual agony alone and unvanquished. This difference creates a rift in the two distinct narratives of the characters, for suffering changes said characters’ already separate dispositions in the contra-consolation of two differing yet somewhat similar ideologies. Marmeladov freely compares the two ways of coping in the context of having been "punished" with the instruction of his own torment in drink counts bereavement and disbelief: "to weep, and then one turns cheerful again." Rodya abandons the same package of memories in doubles wrapped direly, his decision making a moral by the idealism ardently differing from that of his erstwhile landlady. Marmeladov turns instead for sanctuary among his careworn family, finding the same semi-cosmological excuse to behave amorally or "unharmed" in both the coerced lust for his former landlady and next-day remonstrances by his new "pious, thirteen-year-old boy."

Themes of Redemption and Suffering

Ultimately, Marmeladov's vision of redemption and his terrible suffering within the pages of the novel serve as a stark contrast to the principles examined by our former professor. Despite his love for his wife and children, for each member of his family, it is clear from the beginning of Raskolnikov's subsequent sufferings that Marmeladov is incapable of generating the slightest modicum of happiness, satisfaction, or tranquility. Throughout Crime and Punishment, Marmeladov speaks "desperately" and "shallowed." His first appearance turns into a paroxysm of laughter during which he aggressively forces a drunken prostitute to leave with him. Less than an hour later, he bemoans his "helpless" condition in front of Raskolnikov and walks aimlessly around the city. Although his preoccupation with his family and Raskolnikov's generosity have won him over, he still has only to describe "the intolerable burden that weighed on his soul." Indeed, Marmeladov's appearance as the irreparably shattered everyman articulates the rather bleak view of the human condition that the rest of Dostoevsky's novel illustrates.

If suicide is to be eliminated as an option to overcome life's misery, Dostoevsky offers an alternative strategy. Marmeladov's death becomes a catalyst for Raskolnikov's redemption and highlights the essential force of human suffering. This thread of suffering connects Raskolnikov, Marmeladov, and Sonya throughout Crime and Punishment, suggesting that suffering can lead to redemption. Ultimately, the presence of Marmeladov and Raskolnikov's actions place suffering at the heart of the text, emphasizing its role as a consequence of moral issues in a sinful world.