Comparing Raskolnikov And Dostoyevsky

In the early nineteenth century, the extraordinary man theory, or the “Übermensch”, was widely introduced to the public. Two philosophers, Georg Hegel and Freiderich Neitzsche, brought up two points of this theory. While both philosophers believed that there were a certain, select handful of extraordinary people in the world that were above the laws of ordinary men and did not have to submit to their moral code, the philosophers disagreed on the motivation of the extraordinary man. Hegel believed that the "Übermensch" could ignore the laws as long as his actions benefited the human race. On the other hand, Neitzsche believed that the superman could break the laws to benefit his own self.

In Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment, the so-called

theory plays an important role in the novel. It often stems each character’s belief system and reasoning for their actions. Raskolnikov, psychologically torn from poverty but still intelligent, believes himself to be exempt from the laws of ordinary men, grasping onto the beliefs Hegel and Neitzsche. It is this credo that makes him believe he has the right to murder Alyona Ivanovna. For that because Raskolnikov submits himself to the ideals of “Übermensch”, he is damaged and unable to realize the his true motive behind the murder wasn’t mankind or being extraordinary but rather him himself unable to realize his own “over-step” of the boundaries of civilization.

In a way, Raskolnikov follows both sides of the argued theory.

In the first five parts, Raskolnikov takes a Hegelian view of his crime believing he is doing mankind a service by removing the dishonest and unfair pawnbroker. He doesn’t, at the time, realize the true evil inside of him. In the starting of the book when he does meet Alyona, he unfairly describes her, noting her as a “diminutive, withered up old woman” as if to convince the readers not to worry or care about her fate. In fact that is the last time the readers even hear of the pawnbroker being described as a “woman”. Furthermore afterwards the event of her murder is described as “that” like Raskolnikov, not even in his thoughts, can say he murdered the two

women.
“The old woman was a mistake perhaps, but she’s not the point!

The old woman was merely a sickness . . . I was in a hurry to step over . . . it wasn’t a human being I killed, it was a principle! So I killed the principle, but I didn’t step over, I stayed on this side . . . All I managed to do was kill. And I didn’t even manage that, as it turns out . . .”

Raskolnikov, armed with the Hegelian point of view, sees as killing the women as beneficial to the survival of mankind. While internally justifying his sanity, even in this text with the moments of losing pace in thought and exaggerations of exclamation one can that he is finding it hard to grasp onto what he has done and is not ready to admit to himself yet his wrongdoing. He even justified to himself why he wouldn’t get caught, even forcing out the phrase “A hundred suspicions don't make a proof.” that he was somehow born with the ability to be better than everyone else even at murdering another human

being.

Part six was the first time that Raskolnikov admits to himself that his ultimate motive was Neitzschean. He finally admits to himself it was only his ego and drive that made him want to kill Alyona.
“Yes, that's what it was! I wanted to become a Napoleon that is why I killed her.... Do you understand now?"
Raskolnikov urge to being like a Napoleon stems from the extraordinary man, being that Napoleon was actually considered an extraordinary man, because Raskolnikov wanted that power he had and wanted to revered even well having had done an act as grizzly as killing someone with an axe.
"Go at once, this very minute, stand at the cross-roads, bow down, first kiss the earth which you have defiled, and then bow down to all the world and say to all men aloud, 'I am a murderer!' Then God will send you life again. Will you go, will you go?",
Sonia sees this and thinks that the only true cure from the devastation of the Neitzchean theory of the superman is to repent all the horror he committed. Which he didn’t in the way she wanted but actually helped him confess “It was I killed the old pawnbroker woman and her sister
Lizaveta with an axe and robbed them.”

The extraordinary man theory is rather a lesson than a type of man. Dostoevsky shows that the extraordinary man is false and no man is exempt from the bonds of civilization and no man could every act horrifically without remorse. He proves that men aren’t able to kill with actually damaging themselves in return.