Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment strikes at the very heart of conventional notions of morality and meaning. What is good, and what is evil, if there is no God to say so? At the center of Dostoyevski’s moral drama is its protagonist Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov, an impoverished Petersburg student who believes he has found the solution to all his problems: robbery and murder. Raskolnikov, acting under the influence of new, radical political and social theories, experiences what Dostoyevsky termed “ideological intoxication,” believing that he can justify any action—even those that spit in the face of traditional definitions of good and evil. As he climbs the stairs to murder an elderly pawnbroker, he believes that he has transcended from mere mortal to a demi-god unfettered by the shackles of society’s rules. But can we ever truly escape the psychological consequences of moral transgression? And what is the cost, both personal and social, of believing that one is exempt from all legal and moral frameworks?
In this course we will address these questions by reading the entirety of Crime & Punishment (in Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky’s translation) and discussing the historical and ideological underpinnings of Dostoevsky’s novel. We will examine the political currents of 19th century Russia which lead a generation of young men to question the moral foundations of society itself. Throughout the course, we will attend to the intellectual and moral drama that animates the novel: Do ‘Right’ and ‘Wrong’ exist? Is reason anterior to deeper psychic impulses, and can ideas alone motivate individuals as well as whole peoples? Is anyone ‘above the law’? And does crime ever truly pay?
“Fyodor Dostoyevski: Crime and Punishment” will also run in-person at Tribeca Therapy, starting Wednesday, June 4th.
