Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - Impressions of Russian Literature - VI
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political progressionists were hateful to him, he has
manifested on this point an extraordinary discrimination.
He does not particularly deny the justice of
Raskolnikof’s reasoning, but shows that he is confused as to
his end, uncertain if it is really good or not. In
desperation he says to Sonya, a month after the deed, that he
has continually been uncertain. When he examines
himself he finds that in fact he has not committed murder to
support his mother nor to become a benefactor of
mankind, but in order to find out if he like the others was a
“louse,” not a man, that is, if he was in a position to
overstep the barriers or not. He is uncertain about his
end and uncertain about his inward authority to pursue
this indefinite end, which, according to his own theory,
only the elect are at liberty to use all means to attain.
When he for a whole day has tortured himself with
the question whether Napoleon would have done such
an act, he already felt dimly that he was not a
Napoleon.
Therefore he was wholly overwhelmed by the consequences
of the deed. He wished only to kill an old
monster; but that was hardly done before necessity
compelled him, to escape detection, to kill a poor, kindly
being who had never done harm to any mortal, nay, had
continually been a sacrifice for others. Since then he
has even been obliged to recognize Lisavieta’s spiritual
kinship to Sonya, whom he respects so greatly. He
says somewhere, “Oh, how I hate this wretched old
woman! I believe I could strike her down once more
if she awakened to life. But the poor Lisavieta! Why
must she come in! Strange that I almost not at all
think of her, just as if I had not killed her! Lisavieta!
Sonya! ... Ye poor things, ye mild women with timid
eyes, ... ye dear women, ... why do ye not weep?
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