Morally Ambiguous Characters in Fyodor Dostoevskys Crime and Punishmen

Often times in literature, we are presented with quintessential characters that are all placed into the conventional categories of either good or bad. In these pieces, we are usually able to differentiate the characters and discover their true intentions from reading only a few chapters. However, in some remarkable pieces of work, authors create characters that are so realistic and so complex that we are unable to distinguish them as purely good or evil. In the novel Crime and Punishment, Fyodor Dostoevsky develops the morally ambiguous characters of Raskolnikov and Svidrigailov to provide us with an interesting read and to give us a chance to evaluate each character. Svidrigailov is one of the most unfathomable characters in Crime and Punishment. As the novel goes on, Svidrigailov’s pursuit of Dunya progresses into sheer harassment. After eavesdropping on Raskolnikov’s confession to Sonya, he uses his newly acquired information to lure Dunya into his room. Svidrigailov proceeds to promise help to Raskolnikov if she will give him her hand in marriage. He then threatens to rape her when she tries to run away. Right when Svidrigailov appears to be purely evil, he surprises us all when his rational side kicks in and allows Dunya to leave. Although he may seem to be the cold-hearted villain of the book, his good deeds cannot go unnoticed. It cannot be forgotten that he is willing to give Dunya the three thousand rubbles in his wife’s will and offers ten thousand rubbles to help Dunya because he thinks her marriage will be a disadvantage to her in the end. Once Katerina Ivanonva dies, Svidrigailov also promises to pay for t he funeral arrangements and to provide for the children, who will be sent to an orphanage. Although... ...ing to compensate for them. As his guilt is almost done eating him inside and out, Raskolnikov finally admits and with a new love, he points his life in a whole new direction. Svidrigailov’s moral ambiguity seems to play a smaller part in the whole picture than Raskolnikov’s, making a subplot for the story and adding details to make it more exciting. If these characters were both purely evil, and had no guilt whatsoever, this would be simply a boring story of unhinged men. Adding both good and evil sides to an individual adds a little something extra to the story that distinguishes it from many other pieces of literature. Aside from adding to the storyline, these morally ambiguous characters give students a chance to practice their skill at analyzing characters and think for themselves, forming their own outlooks on the characters and the book as a whole.