Crime and punishment story creation plot. The history of the creation of "Crime and Punishment

The idea of ​​the novel "Crime and Punishment" F.M. Dostoevsky hatched for six years: in October 1859 he wrote to his brother: "In December I will start a novel ... do you remember, I told you about one confession - a novel that I wanted to write after all, saying that I still have to go through it myself. The other day I completely decided to write it immediately ... My whole heart will put blood into this novel. I conceived it in hard labor, lying on the bunk, in a difficult moment ... "- judging by the letters and notebooks of the writer, we are talking about the ideas of "Crime and Punishment" - the novel originally existed in the form of Raskolnikov's confession. In Dostoevsky's draft notebooks there is such an entry: "Aleko killed. The consciousness that he himself is unworthy of his ideal, which torments his soul. This is a crime and punishment" (we are talking about Pushkin's "Gypsies").

The final plan is formed as a result of the great upheavals that Dostoevsky experienced, and this plan combined two originally different creative ideas.

After the death of his brother, Dostoevsky finds himself in dire financial need. The threat of a debtor's prison looms over him. Throughout the year, Fyodor Mikhailovich was forced to turn to St. Petersburg usurers, interest-bearers and other creditors.

In July 1865, he offered the editor of Otechestvennye Zapiski A. A. Kraevsky a new work: "My novel is called" Drunk "and will be in connection with the current question of drunkenness. Not only the question is being analyzed, but all its ramifications are presented, mainly paintings families, the upbringing of children in this environment, and so on ... and so on. Due to financial difficulties, Kraevsky did not accept the proposed novel, and Dostoevsky went abroad to focus on creative work away from creditors, but even there history repeats itself: in Wiesbaden, Dostoevsky loses everything at roulette, right down to his pocket watch.

In September 1865, addressing the publisher M.N. origin and living in extreme poverty, out of frivolity, out of shaky concepts, succumbing to some strange, "unfinished" ideas that are in the air, he decided to get out of his bad situation at once. He decided to kill an old woman, a titular adviser who gives money for interest ... in order to make her mother, who lives in the county, happy, to save her sister, who lives as a companion with some landowners, from the voluptuous claims of the head of this landowner family - claims that threaten her with death, complete the course, go abroad and then be all her life honest, firm, unswerving in the fulfillment of the "humane duty to mankind", than, of course, "the crime will be atoned for", if one can only call the press this act of stupidity against an old woman, deaf, stupid, angry and sick, who herself does not know why she lives in the world and who in a month, perhaps, would have died of herself ...

He spends almost a month before the final catastrophe. There are no suspicions on him and cannot be. This is where the whole psychological process of crime unfolds. Unresolvable questions arise before the killer, unsuspected and unexpected feelings torment his heart. God's truth, earthly law takes its toll, and he ends up being compelled to denounce himself. Forced to die at hard labor, but to join the people again, the feeling of openness and separation from humanity, which he felt immediately after the commission of the crime, tormented him. The law of truth and human nature took their toll. The criminal himself decides to accept the torment in order to atone for his deed ... "

Katkov immediately sends the advance payment to the author. F. M. Dostoevsky has been working on the novel all autumn, but at the end of November he burns all drafts: "... a lot was written and ready; I burned everything ... a new form, a new plan carried me away, and I started again."

In February 1866, Dostoevsky informed his friend A.E. Wrangel: “Two weeks ago the first part of my novel was published in the January book of the Russian Messenger. It is called Crime and Punishment. I have already heard many enthusiastic reviews. There are bold and new things".

In the autumn of 1866, when "Crime and Punishment" was almost ready, Dostoevsky began again: under a contract with the publisher Stelovsky, he had to submit a new novel by November 1 (we are talking about "The Gambler"), and in case of failure to fulfill the contract, the publisher will receive the right for 9 years "for free and as it pleases" to print everything that will be written by Dostoevsky.

By the beginning of October, Dostoevsky had not yet begun to write The Gambler, and his friends advised him to turn to the help of shorthand, which at that time was just beginning to enter into life. The young stenographer Anna Grigorievna Snitkina, invited by Dostoevsky, was the best student of the St. Petersburg shorthand courses, she was distinguished by an extraordinary mind, a strong character and a deep interest in literature. The Gambler was completed on time and handed over to the publisher, and Snitkina soon becomes the writer's wife and assistant. In November and December 1866, Dostoevsky dictated to Anna Grigorievna the last, sixth part and epilogue of "Crime and Punishment", which are published in the December issue of the magazine "Russian Messenger", and in March 1867 the novel is published as a separate edition.

F. M. Dostoevsky nurtured the idea of ​​the novel “Crime and Punishment” for six years: in October 1859 he wrote to his brother: “In December I will start the novel. do you remember, I told you about one confession - a novel that I wanted to write after all, saying that I still needed to

Survive. The other day I made up my mind to write it at once. All my heart with blood will rely on this novel. I conceived it in hard labor, lying on the bunk, in a difficult moment. ”- judging by the letters and notebooks of the writer, we are talking about the ideas of “Crime and Punishment” - the novel originally existed in the form of Raskolnikov's confession. In Dostoevsky's draft notebooks, there is such an entry: “Aleko killed. The consciousness that he himself is unworthy of his ideal, which torments his soul. Here is a crime and a punishment” (we are talking about Pushkin’s “Gypsies”).

The final plan is formed as a result of great upheavals that

Dostoevsky survived, and this plan combined two originally different creative ideas.

After the death of his brother, Dostoevsky finds himself in dire financial need. The threat of a debtor's prison looms over him. Throughout the year, Fyodor Mikhailovich was forced to turn to St. Petersburg usurers, interest-bearers and other creditors.

In July 1865, he offered the editor of Otechestvennye Zapiski, A. A. Kraevsky, a new work: “My novel is called The Drunkards and will be in connection with the current question of drunkenness. Not only the question is analyzed, but all its ramifications are also presented, mainly pictures of families, the upbringing of children in this environment, and so on. etc." Due to financial difficulties, Kraevsky did not accept the proposed novel, and Dostoevsky went abroad to focus on creative work away from creditors, but even there history repeats itself: in Wiesbaden, Dostoevsky loses everything at roulette, right down to his pocket watch.

In September 1865, addressing the publisher M. N. Katkov to the Russky Vestnik magazine, Dostoevsky outlined the idea of ​​the novel as follows: “This is a psychological account of one crime. The action is modern, this year. A young man, expelled from the university students, a tradesman by birth and living in extreme poverty, out of frivolity, out of shakyness in concepts, succumbing to some strange, “unfinished” ideas that are in the air, decided to get out of his bad situation at once. He decided to kill an old woman, a titular adviser who gives money for interest. in order to make his mother, who lives in the county, happy, to save his sister, who lives as a companion with some landowners, from the voluptuous claims of the head of this landowner family - claims that threaten her with death, to complete the course, go abroad and then all his life to be honest, firm , unswerving in the fulfillment of the “humane duty to humanity”, which, of course, will already “make atonement for the crime”, if only this act against an old woman, deaf, stupid, evil and sick, who herself does not know why she lives in the world and who in a month, perhaps she would have died of herself.

He spends almost a month before the final catastrophe. There are no suspicions on him and cannot be. This is where the whole psychological process of crime unfolds. Unresolvable questions arise before the killer, unsuspected and unexpected feelings torment his heart. God's truth, earthly law takes its toll, and he ends up being compelled to denounce himself. Forced to die at hard labor, but to join the people again, the feeling of openness and separation from humanity, which he felt immediately after the commission of the crime, tormented him. The law of truth and human nature took their toll. The criminal himself decides to accept the torment in order to atone for his deed. “

Katkov immediately sends the advance payment to the author. F. M. Dostoevsky works on the novel all autumn, but at the end of November he burns all the drafts: “. much was written and ready; I burned everything. a new form, a new plan carried me away, and I started anew.”

In February 1866, Dostoevsky informed his friend A.E. Wrangel: “Two weeks ago the first part of my novel was published in the January book of Russkiy Vestnik. It's called Crime and Punishment. I've already heard a lot of rave reviews. There are bold and new things there.”

In the autumn of 1866, when “Crime and Punishment” was almost ready, Dostoevsky began again: under a contract with the publisher Stelovsky, he had to submit a new novel by November 1 (we are talking about “The Gambler”), and in case of failure to fulfill the contract, the publisher will receive the right for 9 years, "for free and as it pleases" to print everything that will be written by Dostoevsky.

By the beginning of October, Dostoevsky had not yet begun to write The Gambler, and his friends advised him to turn to the help of shorthand, which at that time was just beginning to enter life. The young stenographer Anna Grigorievna Snitkina, invited by Dostoevsky, was the best student of the St. Petersburg shorthand courses, she was distinguished by an extraordinary mind, a strong character and a deep interest in literature. The Gambler was completed on time and handed over to the publisher, and Snitkina soon becomes the writer's wife and assistant. In November and December 1866, Dostoevsky dictated to Anna Grigorievna the last, sixth part and epilogue of Crime and Punishment, which are published in the December issue of the Russky Vestnik magazine, and in March 1867 the novel is published as a separate edition.

Essays on topics:

1. “Crime and Punishment” is a novel by Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky, first published in 1866 in the Russkiy Vestnik magazine. In the summer of 1865,...
2. When F. M. Dostoevsky was in hard labor, he encountered there not only political criminals, but also criminals -...
3. The world of the main characters of the novel "Crime and Punishment" by F. M. Dostoevsky is the world of little people lost in a big city, who...
4. Dostoevsky's novel "Crime and Punishment" is an unusual work. It does not contain an author's voice that would indicate to readers what his ...
5. The humanism of Dostoevsky's novel "Crime and Punishment" is revealed in different aspects. First of all, the entire content of the novel is permeated with the humanistic idea of ​​compassion. It...
6. The Bible is a book known to all mankind. Its influence on the development of world artistic culture is great. Biblical stories and images inspired writers...
7. It is well known that the novel "Crime and Punishment" is on the list of the most read works on earth. The relevance of the novel increases with each new generation, ...

The history of the creation of "Crime and Punishment" by Dostoevsky quite interesting, and before reading the novel it is better to familiarize yourself with it.

"Crime and Punishment" history of creation

In the autumn of 1865, having lost all his money in the casino, unable to pay his debts to creditors, and trying to help the family of his brother Mikhailovich, who died in July 1864, Dostoevsky plans to write a novel with the central image of the Marmeladov family called Crime and Punishment. The case of Pierre-Francois Lacener, a French intellectual murderer who believed that society was to blame for his deeds, prompted the topic of Dostoevsky's murder.

The novel was printed in parts from January to December 1866. Dostoevsky worked hard on the novel, in a hurry to add fresh chapters to each regular book of the magazine. Soon after the end of the publication of the novel in the journal, Dostoevsky publishes it in a separate edition: “A novel in six parts with an epilogue by F. M. Dostoevsky. Revised edition." For this edition, Dostoevsky made significant reductions and changes in the text: three parts of the magazine edition were converted into six parts, and the division into chapters was also partially changed.

Dostoevsky's philosophical thought in the novel "Crime and Punishment" concerns "the problems of good and evil, freedom and necessity, crime and moral responsibility, revolution, socialism, the philosophy of history and the state," writes Corr. Piksanov, Nikolay Kiryakovich.

The idea of ​​the novel "Crime and Punishment"

Researchers of the writer's work suggest that the idea of ​​the novel "Crime and Punishment" originated with F.M. Dostoevsky in hard labor. This is confirmed by his letter to his brother, dated October 9, 1859, in which there are the following lines: “In December I will start a novel (...) All my heart with blood will rely on this novel.

I conceived it in hard labor, lying on the bunk, in a difficult moment of sadness and self-decomposition. In the same letter, the genre of the future work was also announced for the first time: a novel-confession.

Dostoevsky nurtured the idea of ​​his new novel for six years. During this time, "Humiliated and Insulted", "Notes from the House of the Dead" and "Notes from the Underground" were written, the main theme of which was the history of poor people and their rebellion against the existing reality.

The origins of the work

The origins of the novel date back to the time of F. M. Dostoevsky's hard labor. Initially, Dostoevsky conceived the idea of ​​writing Crime and Punishment in the form of Raskolnikov's confession. The writer intended to transfer the entire spiritual experience of hard labor to the pages of the novel. It was here that Dostoevsky first encountered strong personalities, under the influence of which a change in his former convictions began.

“In December, I will start a novel ... Do you remember, I told you about one confession-novel that I wanted to write after everyone else, saying that I still have to go through it myself. The other day I made up my mind to write it at once. All my heart with blood will rely on this novel. I conceived it in hard labor, lying on the bunk, in a difficult moment of sadness and self-destruction ... "

As can be seen from the letter, we are talking about a work of a small volume - a story. How then did the novel come about? Before the work appeared in the final edition that we are reading, the author's intention changed several times.

Early summer of 1865. In dire need of money, Fyodor Mikhailovich offered a novel that had not yet been written, but in fact, just an idea for a novel, to the Otechestvennye Zapiski magazine. Dostoevsky asked for an advance payment of three thousand rubles for this idea from the publisher of the magazine A. A. Kraevsky, who refused.

Despite the fact that the work itself did not exist, the name “Drunken” had already been invented for it. Unfortunately, little is known about the intention of the Drunks. Only a few scattered sketches dated 1864 have survived. Also preserved is a letter from Dostoevsky to the publisher, which contains a description of the future work. She gives serious reason to believe that the entire storyline of the Marmeladov family entered Crime and Punishment precisely from the unfulfilled plan of the Drunks. Along with them, the wide social Petersburg background, as well as the breath of a large epic form, entered the work. In this work, the author initially wanted to reveal the problem of drunkenness. As the writer emphasized, “not only the question is analyzed, but all its ramifications are presented, mainly pictures of families, the upbringing of children in this environment, and so on. etc."

In connection with the refusal of A. A. Kraevsky, who was in dire need, Dostoevsky was forced to conclude an enslaving contract with the publisher F. T. Stellovsky, according to which he sold the right to publish a complete collection of his works in three volumes for three thousand rubles and undertook to write for his new novel of at least ten sheets by November 1, 1866.

Germany, Wiesbaden (late July 1865)

Having received the money, Dostoevsky distributed the debts, and at the end of July 1865 he went abroad. But the monetary drama did not end there. During five days in Wiesbaden, Dostoevsky lost everything he had at roulette, including his pocket watch. The consequences were not long in coming. Soon the owners of the hotel where he stayed ordered not to serve him dinner, and after a couple of days they also deprived him of the light. In a tiny room, without food and without light, "in the most painful position", "burned by some kind of internal fever", the writer began work on the novel Crime and Punishment, which was destined to become one of the most significant works of world literature.

In early August, Dostoevsky abandoned the plan for The Drunk Ones and now wants to write a story with a criminal plot - "a psychological report of one crime." Her idea is this: a poor student decides to kill an old pawnbroker, stupid, greedy, nasty, whom no one will regret. A student could finish his education, give money to his mother and sister. Then he would go abroad, become an honest man and "make amends for the crime." Usually such crimes, according to Dostoevsky, are committed ineptly, and therefore there is a lot of evidence, and the criminals are quickly exposed. But according to his plan, “quite randomly” the crime succeeds and the killer spends almost a month at large. But “here,” writes Dostoevsky, “the whole psychological process of the crime unfolds. Unresolvable questions arise before the killer, unsuspected and unexpected feelings torment his heart ... and he ends up being forced to report on himself. Dostoevsky wrote in his letters that a lot of crimes in recent times are being committed by developed, educated young people. This was written about in contemporary newspapers.

Prototypes of Rodion Raskolnikov

Dostoevsky was aware of the case Gerasim Chistova. This man, 27 years old, a schismatic, was accused of killing two old women - a cook and a laundress. This crime took place in Moscow in 1865. Chistov killed the old women in order to rob their mistress, the petty bourgeois Dubrovina. The bodies were found in different rooms in pools of blood. Money, silver and gold things were stolen from the iron chest. (newspaper "Voice" 1865, September 7-13). Criminal chronicles wrote that Chistov killed them with an axe. Dostoevsky also knew about other similar crimes.

Another prototype is A. T. Neofitov, Moscow professor of world history, maternal relative of Dostoevsky's aunt merchant A.F. Kumanina and, along with Dostoevsky, one of her heirs. Neofitov was involved in the case of forgers of tickets for a 5% internal loan (here Dostoevsky could draw the motive of instant enrichment in the mind of Raskolnikov).

The third prototype is a French criminal Pierre Francois Lacener, for whom killing a person was the same as "drinking a glass of wine"; justifying his crimes, Lacener wrote poems and memoirs, proving in them that he was a “victim of society”, an avenger, a fighter against social injustice in the name of a revolutionary idea allegedly suggested to him by utopian socialists (an account of the Lacener trial of the 1830s can be found on the pages Dostoevsky's magazine "Time", 1861, No. 2).

"Creative Explosion", September 1865

So, in Wiesbaden, Dostoevsky decided to write a story in the form of a confession of a criminal. However, in the second half of September, a "creative explosion" occurs in his work. An avalanche-like series of sketches appears in the writer's workbook, thanks to which we see that two independent ideas clashed in Dostoevsky's imagination: he decided to combine the storyline of The Drunk Ones and the form of the killer's confession. Dostoevsky preferred a new form - a story on behalf of the author - and in November 1865 burned the original version of the work. Here is what he writes to his friend A.E. Wrangel:

“... It would be difficult for me now to describe to you my whole present life and all the circumstances in order to give you a clear understanding of all the reasons for my long silence ... Firstly, I am sitting at work like a convict. It's that... big novel in 6 parts. At the end of November much was written and ready; I burned everything; now you can admit it. I didn't like it myself. The new form, the new plan carried me away, and I started again. I work day and night… The novel is a poetic thing, it requires peace of mind and imagination to be fulfilled. And creditors torment me, that is, they threaten to put me in jail. I still haven't settled with them and I still don't know for sure - will I settle it? … Understand what my concern is. It breaks the spirit and heart, ... and then sit down and write. Sometimes it's impossible."

"Russian Messenger", 1866

In mid-December 1865, Dostoevsky sent the chapters of the new novel to Russkiy Vestnik. The first part of Crime and Punishment appeared in the January 1866 issue of the magazine, but work on the novel was in full swing. The writer worked hard and selflessly on his work throughout 1866. The success of the first two parts of the novel inspired and inspired Dostoevsky, and he set to work with even greater zeal.

In the spring of 1866, Dostoevsky planned to leave for Dresden, stay there for three months and finish the novel. But numerous creditors did not allow the writer to go abroad, and in the summer of 1866 he worked in the village of Lublin near Moscow, with his sister Vera Ivanovna Ivanova. At this time, Dostoevsky was forced to think about another novel, which was promised to Stellovsky when concluding an agreement with him in 1865.

In Lublin, Dostoevsky drew up the plan for his new novel, The Gambler, and continued to work on Crime and Punishment. In November and December, the last, sixth, part of the novel and the epilogue were completed, and at the end of 1866 the Russian Messenger completed the publication of Crime and Punishment.

Three notebooks with drafts and notes to the novel have been preserved, in fact, three handwritten editions of the novel, which characterize the three stages of the author's work. Subsequently, all of them were published and made it possible to present the writer's creative laboratory, his hard work on every word.

Of course, work on the novel was also carried out in St. Petersburg. Dostoevsky rented an apartment in a large apartment building in Stolyarny Lane. Small officials, artisans, merchants, and students mainly settled here.

From the very beginning of its inception, the idea of ​​a "ideological killer" fell into two unequal parts: the first - the crime and its causes, and the second, the main one - the effect of the crime on the soul of the criminal. The idea of ​​a two-part concept was reflected both in the title of the work, Crime and Punishment, and in the features of its structure: of the six parts of the novel, one is devoted to the crime and five to the influence of the committed crime on Raskolnikov’s soul.

The draft notebooks of "Crime and Punishment" allow us to trace how long Dostoevsky tried to find an answer to the main question of the novel: why did Raskolnikov decide to kill? The answer to this question was not unambiguous for the author himself.

In the original intention of the story it is a simple idea: to kill one insignificant harmful and rich creature in order to make many beautiful but poor people happy with his money.

In the second edition of the novel Raskolnikov is depicted as a humanist, burning with the desire to stand up for the “humiliated and insulted”: “I am not the kind of person to allow defenseless weakness to a scoundrel. I will intervene. I want to step in." But the idea of ​​​​killing because of love for other people, killing a person because of love for humanity, is gradually “overgrown” with Raskolnikov’s desire for power, but he is not yet driven by vanity. He seeks to gain power in order to fully devote himself to serving people, he longs to use power only to perform good deeds: “I take power, I get power - whether money, power or not for evil. I bring happiness." But in the course of his work, Dostoevsky penetrated deeper and deeper into the soul of his hero, discovering behind the idea of ​​killing for the sake of love for people, power for the sake of good deeds, a strange and incomprehensible “Napoleon’s idea” - the idea of ​​power for the sake of power, dividing humanity into two unequal parts: the majority is “a creature trembling" and the minority are "rulers" who are called to govern the minority, standing outside the law and having the right, like Napoleon, to overstep the law in the name of necessary goals.

In the third, final, edition Dostoevsky expressed the “ripened”, finished “idea of ​​Napoleon”: “Can one love them? Can you suffer for them? Hatred for humanity...

Thus, in the creative process, in comprehending the concept of Crime and Punishment, two opposite ideas collided: the idea of ​​love for people and the idea of ​​contempt for them. Judging by the draft notebooks, Dostoevsky faced a choice: either keep one of the ideas, or keep both. But realizing that the disappearance of one of these ideas would impoverish the idea of ​​the novel, Dostoevsky decided to combine both ideas, to portray a man in whom, as Razumikhin says about Raskolnikov in the final text of the novel, "two opposite characters alternate in turn."

The finale of the novel was also created as a result of intense creative efforts. One of the draft notebooks contains the following entry: “The finale of the novel. Raskolnikov is going to shoot himself. But this was the finale only for Napoleon's idea. Dostoevsky, on the other hand, sought to create an ending for the “idea of ​​love,” when Christ saves a repentant sinner: “The vision of Christ. He asks for forgiveness from the people. At the same time, Dostoevsky perfectly understood that such a person as Raskolnikov, who combined in himself two opposite principles, would not accept either the court of his own conscience, or the court of the author, or the court of law. Only one court will be authoritative for Raskolnikov - the "highest court", the court of Sonechka Marmeladova.

That is why in the third, final, edition of the novel, the following entry appeared: “The idea of ​​the novel. Orthodox view, in which there is Orthodoxy. There is no happiness in comfort, happiness is bought by suffering. This is the law of our planet, but this direct consciousness, felt by the life process, is such a great joy that you can pay for years of suffering. Man is not born to be happy. Man deserves happiness, and always suffering. There is no injustice here, because the knowledge of life and consciousness is acquired by the experience of "for" and "against", which must be dragged on oneself. In the drafts, the last line of the novel looked like: "Inscrutable are the ways in which God finds man." But Dostoevsky ended the novel with other lines that can serve as an expression of the doubts that tormented the writer.

The history of the creation of the novel "Crime and Punishment" by F. M. Dostoevsky

The history of the creation of the novel "Crime and Punishment"

Abeltin E.A., Litvinova V.I., Khakass State University. N.F. Katanov

Abakan, 1999

In 1866, the magazine "Russian Messenger", published by M.N. Katkov, published a manuscript of Dostoevsky's novel, which has not survived to our time. The surviving notebooks of Dostoevsky give grounds to assume that the idea of ​​the novel, its theme, plot, and ideological orientation did not take shape immediately, most likely, two different creative ideas united later:

1. On June 8, 1865, before leaving abroad, Dostoevsky suggested to A.A. Kraevsky - the editor of the journal Otechestvennye Zapiski - the novel "Drunk": "it will be connected with the current question of drunkenness. Not only the question is dealt with, but all its ramifications are presented, mainly pictures of families, the upbringing of children in this environment, and so on. Lists will at least twenty, but maybe more.

The problem of drunkenness in Russia worried Dostoevsky throughout his career. The soft and unhappy Snegirev says: “... in Russia, drunk people are the kindest among us. The kindest people we have are the most drunk. People become kind in an abnormal state. What is a normal person? good. The good people are forgotten by society, the evil ones rule life. If drunkenness flourishes in a society, this means that the best human qualities are not valued in it. "

In the Writer's Diary, the author draws attention to the drunkenness of the factory workers after the abolition of serfdom: "The people got drunk and drunk - first with joy, and then out of habit." Dostoevsky shows that even with a "huge and extraordinary change" not all problems are solved by themselves. And after the "break" the correct orientation of people is necessary. Much here depends on the state. However, the state actually encourages drunkenness and an increase in the number of taverns: "Almost half of our current budget is paid for by vodka, i.e., in the current way, people's drunkenness and people's debauchery - therefore, the whole people's future. We, so to speak, with our future pay for our majestic budget of a European power. We cut the tree at the very root in order to get the fruit as soon as possible. "

Dostoevsky shows that this comes from the inability to manage the economy of the country. If a miracle happened - people all at once stop drinking - the state would have to choose: either force them to drink by force, or - financial collapse. According to Dostoyevsky, the cause of drunkenness is social. If the state refuses to take care of the future of the people, the artist will think about it: "Drunkenness. Let those who say: the worse, the better, rejoice in it. There are many of them now. We cannot see the roots of people's strength poisoned without grief." This entry was made by Dostoevsky in drafts, but in essence this idea is stated in the "Diary of a Writer": "After all, the people's strength is drying up, the source of future wealth is dying, the mind and development are turning pale - and what will the modern children of the people endure in their minds and in their hearts? grown up in the filth of their fathers."

Dostoevsky saw the state as a hotbed of alcoholism and, in the version presented to Kraevsky, wanted to tell that a society where drunkenness flourishes and the attitude towards it is condescending is doomed to degeneration.

Unfortunately, the editor of Otechestvennye Zapiski was not as far-sighted as Dostoevsky in determining the reasons for the degradation of the Russian mentality and refused the writer's proposal. The idea of ​​"Drunk" remained unfulfilled.

2. In the second half of 1865, Dostoevsky set to work on a "psychological report of one crime": "The action is modern, this year. A young man, expelled from university students, a bourgeois by birth and living in extreme poverty ... decided to kill an old woman , a titular adviser who gives money for interest. The old woman is stupid, deaf, sick, greedy ... evil and seizes someone else's age, torturing her little sister in her housekeepers. " In this version, the essence of the plot of the novel "Crime and Punishment" is clearly stated. Dostoevsky's letter to Katkov confirms this: "Unresolvable questions arise before the murderer, unsuspected and unexpected feelings torment his heart. God's truth, earthly law take their toll, and he ends up being forced to report on himself. Forced, even to die in penal servitude, but to join the people again. The laws of truth and human nature have taken their toll."

Upon his return to St. Petersburg at the end of November 1855, the author destroyed the almost completely written work: “I burned everything. nights and yet I work little. From that time on, Dostoevsky decided in the form of a novel, replacing the first-person narrative with a narrative from the author, his ideological and artistic structure.

The writer liked to say about himself: "I am a child of the century." He really was never a passive contemplator of life. "Crime and Punishment" was created on the basis of Russian reality of the 50s of the XIX century, magazine and newspaper disputes on philosophical, political, legal and ethical topics, disputes between materialists and idealists, followers of Chernyshevsky and his enemies.

The year of the publication of the novel was special: on April 4, Dmitry Vladimirovich Karakozov made an unsuccessful attempt on the life of Tsar Alexander II. Massive repressions began. A.I. Herzen spoke of this time in his Kolokol as follows: “Petersburg, followed by Moscow, and to some extent all of Russia, are almost in a state of war; arrests, searches and tortures go on unceasingly: no one is sure that he tomorrow will not fall under the terrible Muravyov court ... The government oppressed student youth, censorship achieved the closure of the journals Sovremennik and Russkoye Slovo.

Dostoevsky's novel, published in Katkov's magazine, turned out to be an ideological opponent of the novel What Is To Be Done? Chernyshevsky. Arguing with the leader of revolutionary democracy, opposing the struggle for socialism, Dostoevsky, nevertheless, with sincere sympathy treated the participants in the "split of Russia", who, in his opinion, being mistaken, "selflessly turned into nihilism in the name of honor, truth and true good while revealing the kindness and purity of their hearts.

Criticism immediately responded to the release of Crime and Punishment. Critic N. Strakhov noted that "the author took nihilism in its most extreme development, at that point, beyond which there is almost nowhere to go."

M. Katkov defined Raskolnikov's theory as "an expression of socialist ideas."

DI. Pisarev condemned Raskolnikov's division of people into "obedient" and "rebels", reproached Dostoevsky for calling for humility and humility. And at the same time, in the article "The Struggle for Life" Pisarev stated:

"Dostoevsky's novel made a profoundly amazing impression on readers thanks to the correct mental analysis that distinguishes the works of this writer. I radically disagree with his convictions, but I cannot but recognize in him a strong talent capable of reproducing the most subtle and elusive features of everyday human life and its internal process. He notices painful phenomena with particular aptness, subjects them to the most rigorous assessment, and seems to experience them on himself.

What was the first step in writing the novel? Its outcome? The story "Drunk", issues of raising children in families of alcoholics, the tragedy of poverty, lack of spirituality, and so on. The story remained unfinished because Kraevsky refused to publish Dostoevsky.

What fundamentally new did the new version of the novel include? The earliest drafts of the work date back to July 1855, the latest - to January 1866. Analysis of drafts allows us to state:

first-person narration replaced by author's narration;

not a drunkard is brought to the fore, but a student, driven by the environment and time to the point of murder;

the form of the new novel is defined as the protagonist's confession;

the number of actors has been significantly expanded: the investigator, Dunya, Luzhin and Svidrigailov are represented by psychological doubles of Raskolnikov;

developed various episodes and scenes from the life of St. Petersburg.

What elements and images of "Drunken" found artistic expression in the 2nd version of the novel?

the image of a drunken Marmeladov;

tragic pictures of the life of his family;

description of the fate of his children;

In what direction did Raskolnikov's character develop?

In the original version of the novel, the narration is in the first person and is a confession of a criminal, recorded a few days after the murder.

The form of the first person made it possible to explain some of the "oddities" in Raskolnikov's behavior. For example, in the scene with Zametov: “I was not afraid that Zametov would see that I was reading this. On the contrary, I even wanted him to notice that I was reading about it ... I don’t understand why I was drawn to risk this bravado, but I was tempted to take risks, out of anger, perhaps out of animal anger that doesn't reason." Rejoicing at the fortunate coincidence, the "early Raskolnikov" reasoned: "It was an evil spirit: how else could I overcome all these difficulties."

In the final text, the hero says the same words to Sonya after his confession. There is a noticeable difference in the characterization of the hero. In the second version, where the narration is already being conducted in the third person, the humanity of his intentions is more clearly traced: thoughts of repentance come immediately after the commission of the crime: "And then, when I become a noble, benefactor of all, a citizen, I will repent. I prayed to Christ, lie down and sleep."

Dostoevsky did not include an episode in the final text - Raskolnikov's reflection after a conversation with Polenka: "Yes, this is a complete resurrection," he thought to himself. cut off from people, but with everyone. Resurrected from the dead. What happened? The fact that he gave away his last money - is that what? What nonsense. This girl? Sonya? "Not that, but all together.

He was weak, he was tired, he almost fell. But his soul was too full."

Such thoughts are premature for the hero, he has not yet drunk the cup of suffering in order to be healed, so Dostoevsky transfers the description of such feelings to the epilogue.

The first manuscript describes the meeting with the sister and mother differently:

“Nature has mysterious and wonderful outcomes. A minute later he squeezed them both in his hands and never before had he experienced a more impetuous and enthusiastic sensation, and in another minute he was already proudly aware that he was the master of his mind and will, that no one he is not a slave, and that consciousness has again justified him. The illness has ended - the panic fear has ended.

Dostoevsky does not include this passage in the final text, as it destroys the ideological direction. Raskolnikov should be completely different: a meeting with loved ones, as well as a conversation in the office, are the cause of his fainting. This is a confirmation that human nature is unable to endure the severity of the crime and reacts to external influences in its own way. She no longer obeys reason and will.

How does the relationship between Raskolnikov and Sonya develop in different versions of the novel?

Dostoevsky carefully developed the nature of the relationship between the characters. According to an early plan, they fell in love with each other: “He is on his knees in front of her: “I love you.” She says: “Surrender to the court.” In the final version, the characters were united by compassion: “I did not bow to you, I bowed to all human suffering.” Psychologically it is more deeply and artistically justified.

The scene of Raskolnikov's confession to Sonya originally sounded in a different tone: "She wanted to say something, but kept silent. Tears burst from her heart and broke her soul. "And how could I not come?" - she added suddenly, as if illuminated ... " Oh blasphemer! God, what is he saying! You departed from God, and God struck you with deafness and dumbness, betrayed you to the devil! Then God will send you life again and resurrect you. He resurrected Lazarus by a miracle! and you will be resurrected ... Dear! I will love you ... Honey! rise! Go! repent, tell them ... I will love you forever and ever, you, unfortunate one! We are together...together...together we will resurrect...And God bless... Will you go? Will you go?

Sobs stopped her frantic speech. She embraced him and, as it were, froze in this embrace, she did not remember herself.

In the final text, the feelings of the characters are just as deep and sincere, but more restrained. They don't talk about love. The image of Sonya now sometimes merges for him with the image of Lizaveta killed by him, causing a feeling of compassion. He sees her future tragically: "to throw himself into a ditch, fall into a lunatic asylum ... or go into debauchery, which intoxicates the mind and petrifies the heart." Dostoevsky knows more and sees beyond his hero. At the end of the novel, Sonya is saved by faith, deep, capable of working miracles.

Why is the image of Sonya and Svidrigailov more fully revealed in the final version of "Crime and Punishment"?

As a result of his experiment, Raskolnikov came to the conclusion that the path of a "strong personality" who seeks power through "blood in conscience" is erroneous. He is looking for a way out and stops at Sonya: she also stepped over, but found the strength to live. Sonya trusts in God and waits for deliverance and wishes the same for Raskolnikov. She correctly understood what happened to Rodion: "What are you, that you did this to yourself!" Suddenly, the word "hard labor" flies from her lips, and Raskolnikov feels that the struggle with the investigator has not ended in his soul. His suffering reaches the highest strength, "some kind of eternity was foreseen on a yard of space." Svidrigailov also spoke of such eternity.

He also stepped "over the obstacles", but seemed calm.

In the drafts, Dostoevsky decided the fate of Svidrigailov differently: "A gloomy demon, from which he cannot get rid of. Suddenly, the determination to expose himself, all the intrigue, repentance, humility, leaves, becomes a great ascetic, humility, a thirst to endure suffering. He betrays himself. Exile. Asceticism. "

In the final version, the outcome is different, more psychologically justified. Svidrigailov departed from God, lost his faith, lost the possibility of "resurrection", but he could not live without it.

How did Dostoevsky's contemporaries see the relevance of "Crime and Punishment"?

Since the end of the 1950s, newspapers in St. Petersburg reported with alarm about the increase in crime. Dostoevsky to some extent used some facts from the criminal chronicle of those years. So the "case of student Danilov" became widely known in its time. In order to gain money, he killed the usurer Popov and his maid. The peasant M. Glazkov wanted to take his guilt upon himself, but was exposed.

In 1865, newspapers reported on the trial of the merchant's son G. Chistov, who had hacked to death two women and seized their wealth in the amount of 11,260 rubles.

Dostoevsky was greatly impressed by the trial of Pierre Lacener (France), a professional murderer who tried to present himself as a victim of an unjust society, and his crimes as a form of struggle against evil. At trials, Lacener calmly stated that the idea of ​​​​becoming a murderer in the name of revenge was born in him under the influence of socialist teachings. Dostoevsky spoke of Lacener as "a phenomenal, mysterious, terrible and interesting personality. Low sources and cowardice in the face of need made him a criminal, and he dared to present himself as a victim of his age."

The scene of the murder committed by Raskolnikov is reminiscent of the murder of an old woman and her son who happened to be in the apartment by Lacener.

Dostoevsky took a fact from life, but tested it with his life. He triumphed when, while working on Crime and Punishment, he learned from the newspapers about a murder similar to Raskolnikov's crime. “At the same time,” recalls N. Strakhov, “when the Russky Vestnik book was published describing Raskolnikov’s misconduct, news appeared in the newspapers about a completely similar crime that had occurred in Moscow. Some student killed and robbed a usurer, and, by all indications, he did it out of a nihilistic conviction that all means are allowed to correct the unreasonable state of affairs. I don’t know if the readers were amazed by this, but Fyodor Mikhailovich was proud of such a feat of artistic divination. "

Subsequently, Dostoevsky more than once put in one line the names of Raskolnikov and the murderers approaching him from the newspaper chronicle. He made sure that "Gorsky or Raskolnikov" did not grow out of Pasha Isaev. Gorsky, an eighteen-year-old high school student, out of poverty, slaughtered a family of six for the purpose of robbery, although according to reviews "he was a remarkably mentally developed young man who loved reading and literary pursuits."

With extraordinary sensitivity, Dostoevsky was able to single out isolated, personal facts, but testifying to the fact that the "primordial" forces had changed the direction of their movement.

Bibliography

Kirpotin V.Ya. Selected works in 3 volumes. M., 1978. T.Z, pp. 308-328.

Fridlender G.M. Dostoevsky realism. M.-L. 1980.

Basina M.Ya. Through the dusk of white nights. L. 1971.

Kuleshov V.I. Life and work of Dostoevsky. M. 1984.