Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov, the protagonist in Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s novel Crime and Punishment is a penniless Russian ex-student who undergoes a psychological downfall after murdering his landlord Alyona Ivanovna and her sister. Throughout the novel Dostoyevsky utilizes specific numbers correlating with Raskolnikov’s mental state. Numerous numbers in the text have religious significance due to Dostoyevsky’s firm religious beliefs. The reiteration of the number two in the novel symbolizes the growing estrangement of Raskolnikov from society.
In the Bible the two water’s, earthly waters and heavenly waters were separated by God on the second day. When the number two is used Raskolnikov is Another biblical number with significance is seven which means perfection. Dostoyevsky often uses this number to give insight on the detailed plans which form is Raskolnikov’s brain. Raskolnikov was “about seven years old”(67) when he left his house for his studies, which reflect on the age being perfect for his departure.
The age seven could also represent the normal and perfect mindset Raskolnikov had before leaving his house due to the different meaning of seven which can be a full cycle. Raskolnikov leaving the house at this age represents the start of his independent life which he started off with a perfect mindset. Before the murder of Alyona, Raskolnikov states that there are “exactly seven-hundred thirty”(? ) steps from __ to __. This number is found very early in the book which suggests that there are other reason to why Raskolnikov went crazy not only the regret he had killing the two women.
Seven hundred thirty is the precise number which Raskolnikov counted from ___ to which conveys that he had already planned the murder much time before it actually took place. Which could bring the argument up that Raskolnikov’s murder of Alyona was not a crime. Which means that the only crime he committed in part one of the book is the killing of Alyona’s sister. Raskolnikov’s immaculate eye for details can be seen throughout Crime and Punishment, he is able to distinguish a person’s age by just looking at them.
Universality is an idea which can briefly be distinguished in Crime and Punishment, this idea is related to the number four. As Raskolnikov read his mother’s letter the number one hundred and twenty is mentioned many times. His mother, Pulcheria Alexandrovna’s pension is written to be one hundred and twenty roubles. In the bible this number represents a period of waiting, it also relates to the idea of captivity. Which we can interpret as the captivity of Pulcheria and Dunya, Raskolnikov’s sister. The one hundred twenty rouble pension symbolizes the captivity the two women are facing back home.
Indirectly this affects Raskolnikov’s mental state. His mother’s low pension is the reason why Dunya is forced to make Luzhin, by which Raskolnikov is angered by. Before reading his mother’s letter Raskolnikov trapped himself in his room but after finishing it he decides to break free to his mental barrier which would not let him go outside and exits his room. The amount 25 roubles can also be seen throughout the novel. It can represent redemption and grace. As mentioned before Raskolnikov seems to be aware of details around him which suggest that he is a very cunning criminal.
He plans out everything is his head. Raskolnikov is always aware of the immaculate details around him. When going to kill Alyona he had a detailed plan laid out so that he could kill her and leave with her valuables. He did not consider Alyona’s sister walking in. At this unexpected guest he did the only thing he could think of which was to kill her too. Which is why I believe that in Raskolnikov’s mind he thought that killing Alyona was justifiable, which is why his crime was killing her sister. After committing the crime he got his punishment which lead him to kill many others.
After committing the crime Raskolnikov was not the same. Instead of using precise numbers as he used to before he starts estimating many of the things around him. Raskolnikov is losing his mind. He has started to ignore the important details after the murder and focus of useless ones. No sense of mercy was left in him while he killed many innocent people. As before we was hesitant to kill Alyona but after the two murders he stopped thinking of who to murder and just proceeded to kill. After the murder he stopped thinking of the consequences of his actions.
Before the murder of Alyona and her sister Raskolnikov has a very detail oriented person who kept in mind everything that the other person was doing. But after the murder he started to estimate and not pay attention to details. Which suggests that after the two murders Raskolnikov did experience a psychological downfall which caused him to think irrationally and to not think of what the outcomes would be of his actions. Another prominent difference between Raskolnikov before the murder and after it which also relates to detail is which details he looks at and which he doesn’t.
By the end of the book Raskolnikov starts to pay attention in detail to inanimate objects instead of actual people. Before he would always describe a person by his or her age but by the end of the book _ In part _chapter _ Raskolnikov briefly mentions his age as being “twenty-two” (? ). Dostoyevsky’s choice to make his protagonist this age is very representative. In the bible the number twenty two represents disorganization. Raskolnikov’s brain is disorganized at this age, he does not know what he is doing he has killed many innocent people and has even gotten arrested.
He himself does not know how to organize his life. Sonia’s age is of importance too. Though not directly stated Sonia is thought to be eighteen years old, and the number eighteen in the bible represents bondage. Sonia is bonded to Raskolnikov, she has put the duty onto herself to help Raskolnikov escape his own mind and convert him. In this novel Sonia is a very religious person, despite having a yellow card. Dostoyevsky’s choice to make her eighteen shows the important Christianity played in his life.
As an author he believes that the only way Raskolnikov could escape his punishment is though God. Sonia helps Raskolnikov became more religious by offering him crosses in Siberia. Raskolnikov is sentenced to eight year in Siberia. This number represents a new beginning or recreation. Dostoyevsky’s choice to make Raskolnikov’s sentence eight years is implying that after fulfilling his sentence Raskolnikov will become a new person. He will learn that even his murdering Alyona was wrong and that he should better himself to live a better life with Sonya.