Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov

In the novel Crime and Punishment, to what extent does Fyodor Dostoyevsky use dialogue to reveal the foil between Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov and Arkady Ivanovich Svidrigailov? Dialogue is more than just two characters talking. It shows the personal thoughts and brings different perspectives of an idea together. It also depicts the characters, events and minor details of a story. Verbal information is only a small part of communication, body language plays a very important role in communication and is the part of a dialogue that reveals what a normal narration cannot. In Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment, the main character, Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov commits two murders and his foil, Arkady Ivanovich Svidrigailov, contrasts

Svidrigailov is the worst person in the whole novel, having committed murders, rape and seduction of married women simply for his own happiness. Svidrigailov has always lived a life of dissipation and nothingness and he has had “nothing on [his] hands…[he’s] been bored stiff.” (xxx) This metaphor of an empty hand is quite interesting because one knows that Svidrigailov is a wealthy man; therefore, it can be understood that money cannot buy the satisfaction that he longs for. He wished only to be entertained, either by women or a good time, in one example, he “can never remember without a laughter how [he] once seduced a lady who was devoted to her…principles.” (xxx) The tone of this dialogue is quite playful, which shows that Svidrigailov is able to talk about his malicious deeds confidently, having no regrets what so ever. The “laughter” is significant because it shows how he is detached from societal norms and find others’ suffering funny. Raskolnikov is weaker in a sense that he committed the crimes because he is tired of fighting through life and merely wishes to calm his anxiety, which comes mainly from his money problems. The pawn woman is able to pick up Raskolnikov’s nervousness and asks “why are you so pale? Look your hands are shaking!” (xxx) to which he replies “something I want to pawn…take a look.” (xxx) It is obvious that

A guard asks Svidrigailov before his suicide, “Vy you here, vat-z you doing?” (xxx) The dialogue shows that the guard is from a foreign country, which means that he is a stranger to Svidrigailov, showing that Svidrigailov received no help from the people around him. During his last minutes in life, Svidrigailov tells the guard that “if they ask questions, reply that I said I was going to America” (xxx) and then “Svidrigailov pulled the trigger.”(xxx) He mentions America in the beginning of the story, in the context that he wants Dunya, the lover that he desires, “to elope to America…with [him]”(xxx) This, however, never was able to come true, and the fact that Svidrigailov tells a stranger about it shows the significance this event holds in his mind. The exact suicide situation is not described by Dostoyevsky in the dialogue, which leaves a feeling of emptiness waiting for the readers’ own interpretation. Raskolnikov, on the other hand, was able to receive much support from the people on his way to redemption. He’s mother, sister, Sonya…and many other characters cared for his well being and wanted the best for him. As he goes up to the police station he is offered water, but “Raskolnikov brushed the water aside and quietly, in measured tones, but distinctly, said: ‘ I’m the person who murdered the old civil servant’s widow and her sister…”(xxx) The body language shown here is significant.