Thursday, September 18, 2008

Raskolnikov

"Is it because it was a crime? What is meant by crime? My conscience is at rest. Of course, it was a legal crime, of course, the letter of the law was broken and blood was shed. Well, punish me for the letter of the law...and that's enough. Of course, in that case many of the benefactors of mankind who snatched power for themselves instead of inheriting it ought to have been punished at their first steps. But those men succeeded and so they were right, and I didn't, so I had no right to take that step.'
It was only in that that he recognized his criminality, only in the fact that he had been unsuccessful and had confessed it.'"

Raskolnikov realizes that what he did was wrong according to society and the state, but he never really admits that he sinned. While he does admit to being wrong, he admits to being wrong because he was not successful in getting away with what he did and for being caught, not because he believes he is morally wrong.

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