Rodion Raskolnikov
Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov(pre-reform Russian:Родіонъ Романовичъ Раскольниковъ;post-reform Russian:Родион Романович Раскольников,romanized:Rodión Románovich Raskólʹnikov,IPA:[rədʲɪˈonrɐˈmanəvʲɪtɕrɐˈskolʲnʲɪkəf]) is the fictionalprotagonistof the 1866 novelCrime and PunishmentbyFyodor Dostoyevsky.The name Raskolnikov derives from the Russianraskolnikmeaning "schismatic" (traditionally referring to a member of theOld Believer movement). The nameRodioncomes from Greek and indicates an inhabitant ofRhodes.
Raskolnikov is a young ex-law student living inextreme povertyinSaint Petersburg.He lives in a tinygarretwhich he rents, although due to a lack of funds has been avoiding payment for quite some time. He sleeps on a couch using old clothes as a pillow, and due to lack of money eats very rarely. He is handsome and intelligent, though generally disliked by fellow students. He is devoted to his sister (Avdotya Romanovna Raskolnikova) and his mother (Pulkheria Alexandrovna Raskolnikova).
Plot[edit]
An impoverished student with a conflicted idea of himself, Raskolnikov (Rodya as his mother calls him) decides to kill a corrupt pawnbroker, Alyona Ivanovna, with whom he has been dealing, with the idea of using the money to start his life all over, and to help those who are in need of it. It is later revealed that he also commits the murder as justification for his pride, as he wants to prove that he is "exceptional" in the wayNapoleonwas. He commits the murder, but he is so nervous during the crime that he makes a few mistakes, and he is afraid that he will be caught.
Raskolnikov finds a small purse on Alyona Ivanovna's body, which he hides under a rock without checking its contents. After he confesses to the destitute,pious prostituteSofya Semyonovna Marmeladova, she guides him towards turning himself in to the police. Raskolnikov is sentenced to exile inSiberia,accompanied by Sofya Semyonovna, where he experiences a psychological and spiritual rebirth.
Cinema and television[edit]
In film, Raskolnikov was portrayed for the first time byDerwent Hall Cainein the1917 silent filmdirected byLawrence B. McGill.Gregori Chmaraportrayed him in another silent adaptationRaskolnikov,directed byRobert Wiene(1923). He was portrayed byPeter LorreinJosef von Sternberg'sHollywood film version(1935), byJohn Hurtin a 1979BBCmini-series adaptation, byPatrick Dempseyin a 1998 television movie, and byGeorgy Taratorkin(1969),John Simm(2002),Crispin Glover(2002). The character of Michel inRobert Bresson'sPickpocket(1959) is based on Raskolnikov.Paul Schrader,who wroteTaxi Driver(1976), was in turn inspired by Bresson's Michel character to createTravis Bickle,Robert De Niro's antihero.[1]Woody Allen's 2005 British psychological thrillerMatch Pointis partly intended as a debate withCrime and Punishment:protagonist Chris Wilton (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) is seen early on reading the book and identifying with Raskolnikov.[2]
References[edit]
- ^Johnston, Sheila (22 April 2018)."Film-makers on film: Paul Schrader".The Telegraph.London, England:Telegraph Media Group.Retrieved16 July2018.
- ^Goyios, CharalamposLiving Life as an Opera Lover: On the Uses of Opera as Musical Accompaniment in Woody Allen'sMatch Point,Senses of Cinema,Issue 40. Retrieved 21 January 2012.