In Crime and Punishment, Raskolnikov preforms evil deeds of murder and is immeditely haunted by his actions, therefore relating to John Chapter 3, verse 19-20: “Men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.” Men in this case, like Raskolnikov, love the darkness and are often tempted by evil. Raskolnikov is one of these men and is so drawn to darkness that he commits two murders. One of which is premeditated and planned for Alyona while the other, that of Lizaveta (Alyona’s sister) is an “accident”. Alyona who is mean and wicked was murdered with the blunt in of the axe with much force and many hits. Lizaveta who is king, friendly, and innocent was murdered with one stroke to the skull with the sharp edge of the axe in a quick manner. These two separate murders can be seen as representative of the two different aspects of Raskolnikov’s character. Immediately after the murders, Raskolnikov is struck with horror and fear and is tempted to confess. He is so affected by his murders that he becomes very ill. His dread over the murders almost makes him confess several times. Relating back to verses 19-20 in John 3, Raskolnikov’s “regret” and impulse to confess could be his temptation to step into the light that is Jesus and redeem himself. After committing the murders, Raskolnikov also further destroys his bond with fellow men as well as with God. His relationship with God now can only be repaired through divine power or grace. While his bond to God is not permanent, he will need to reconcile with God and come out of his darkness. The darkness as mentioned in John 3 is representative of that broken or nonexistent bond to God, whereas the light is representative of Jesus and therefore if one chooses light over darkness they are choosing God. This hope of reconciliation with one’s faith and God makes me think about baptism and its cleansing of one’s evils and one’s deliberate decision to choose the light and be redeemed. Redemption for Raskolnikov would be the restoration of his humanity and his demons being left behind and destroyed in the healing water used in a baptism. Raskolnikov’s greatest evil that later spirals him into such a darkness that he commits murder is that of his separation from humanity and his isolation. The question that arises from me for the rest of this story is “how can Raskolnikov change and redeem himself from the evils he has committed- his isolation and of course his murders”?
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