GUILT, PUNISHMENT, AND MORAL REDEMPTION IN FYODOR DOSTOEVSKY'S CRIME AND PUNISHMENT

Abstract

Fyodor Dostoevsky's landmark novel Crime and Punishment (1866) remains one of the most psychologically profound works in world literature. Set in the impoverished streets of St. Petersburg, the novel follows Rodion Raskolnikov, a destitute student who commits a premeditated murder and then endures a harrowing psychological collapse in its aftermath. Far more than a crime narrative, the novel is a deep exploration of guilt, moral philosophy, suffering, and spiritual redemption. This article examines the novel's central themes — the psychology of guilt, the failure of utilitarian rationalism, and the transformative power of suffering and human connection — arguing that Dostoevsky constructs a powerful moral vision in which genuine redemption is possible only through the honest confrontation of one's conscience and the embrace of shared human vulnerability.