Crime And Punishment Feminist Analysis

The social status of women has changed drastically over the course of history. The different viewpoints that male characters in Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment have about women parallel the changing status of women through history. The succession of opinions given by Raskolnikov, Svidrigailov, Luzhin, and Lebeziatnikov concerning women are aligned with the improvement in women’s social status over time. Dostoyevsky’s use of women as a motif in Crime and Punishment serves to signify Raskolnikov’s progression from a self-absorbed
Ubermensch to a more reasonable humane man, promoting the theme that egocentrism will not result in ultimate success.

Raskolnikov initially thought of women as damsels in distress. He held the opinion that men
Raskolnikov was initially an egocentric Ubermensch; he believed that all his actions built a more successful future and dismissed opposing interests as naive. Equally selfish was Luzhin, a man who “was morbidly given to self-admiration, [and] had the highest opinion of his intelligence and capacities…what he loved and valued above all was the money he had amassed by his labor…that money made him the equal of all who had been his superiors” (Dostoyevsky 243). Luzhin was not born of noble rank, but worked his way up to his status; his work, instead of humbling him, caused him to develop a conceited disposition. Luzhin eventually fell from gentlemanly status when Dounia broke off their engagement after being warned by Raskolnikov. Luzhin’s attempt at framing Sonia for theft signaled his ultimate degradation while promoting Lebeziatnikov to a more honorable status. Lebeziatnikov, who believed in women’s rights and enlightenment, became a hero by exposing Luzhin’s malignant plot, conveying Dostoyevsky’s belief that success and fortune come to those who are