Family Looks Best in Photos. The Raskolnikov Family Relationships in Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s Novel, Crime and Punishment

Abstract

This paper aims to analyses the dynamics within the Raskolnikov family and the relationships among its individual members in Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s novel, Crime and Punishment.

The study employs psychoanalytic methods inspired by Jacques Lacan and Carl Gustav Jung, along with hermeneutics.

As social beings, humans have formed familial structures throughout history, with the family serving as a fundamental and crucial social unit. Parents play a pivotal role in shaping their children’s behavior, moral principles, and overall development. Acting as role models, parents influence their children’s character, defense mechanisms, and worldview. Siblings, too, contribute significantly to the development of interpersonal skills, teaching compromise, negotiation, and responsibility. The Raskolnikov family, marked by the absence of their father due to suicide, has faced challenges affecting Pulcheria, Rodion, and Avdotya. Despite their difficult circumstances, poverty, and various problems, each family member displays respect, care, and a willingness to make sacrifices for others. They prioritize the well-being of others without expecting reciprocity. Rodion’s crime disrupts his relationships with his mother and sister, leading to their deterioration. However, ultimately, the fate of each character concludes on a positive note.