Raskolnikov's first dream. The meaning of Raskolnikov's dreams

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

In the composition of F. M. Dostoevsky's "Crime and Punishment", Raskolnikov's dreams occupy the most important place, being an integral part of the construction of the work. Dreams in the novel are a reflection of the inner world of the hero, his ideas, theories, thoughts hidden from his consciousness. This is an important component of the novel, which gives the reader the opportunity to penetrate into the inner world of Raskolnikov, to understand the very essence of his soul.

Dreams in psychology

The study of a person's personality is a very subtle science, balancing between precise settings and philosophical conclusions. Psychology often operates with such mysterious and ambiguous categories as "consciousness", "unconscious", "psyche". Here, to explain the actions of a person, his inner world, sometimes hidden even from the patient himself, is dominant. He drives his immoral thoughts and feelings deep inside, ashamed to admit them not only to others, but even to himself. This causes mental imbalance, contributes to the development of neurosis and hysteria.

ForTo unravel the state of a person, the true causes of his moral suffering, psychologists often use hypnosis or unraveling dreams. It is a dream in psychology that is an expression of the unconscious in the human psyche, his repressed "I".

Sleep as a method of psychoanalysis in the novel

Dostoevsky is a very subtle psychologist. He seems to turn the souls of his characters inside out in front of the reader. But he does this not explicitly, but gradually, as if painting a picture in front of the viewer, in which everyone should see special patterns. In the work "Crime and Punishment" a dream is a way of revealing Raskolnikov's inner world, his experiences, emotions and thoughts. Therefore, it is so important to determine the content of Raskolnikov's dreams, their semantic load. It is also necessary in order to understand both the novel itself and the personality of the hero.

Church and tavern

During the entire work, Rodion Romanovich dreams five times. More precisely, three dreams and two semi-delusions occurring on the verge of consciousness and unreality. Raskolnikov's dreams, the brief content of which allows you to catch the deep meaning of the work, allow the reader to feel the internal contradictions of the hero, his "heavy thoughts". This happens in the case of the first dream, in which the hero's internal struggle is going on to some extent. This is a very important point. This is a dream before the murder of an old pawnbroker. It needs to be focused on. This is a backbone episode, from which, like a stone,launched into the water, waves disperse on each page of the novel.

Raskolnikov's first dream is a product of a morbid imagination. He sees him in his "room" after he met a drunk girl on the boulevard. The dream brings Rodion back to his distant childhood, when he lived in his hometown. Life there is so simple, ordinary and boring that even on holidays nothing can dilute the “gray time”. Moreover, Raskolnikov's dream was portrayed by Dostoevsky in gloomy, repulsive tones. The contrast is created only by the green dome of the church and the red and blue shirts that belong to drunk men.

In this dream, there are two places that are opposed to each other: a tavern and a church in a cemetery. The church in the cemetery is a certain symbol: as a person begins his life in the church, so he ends it there. And the tavern, in turn, is associated by Rodion with malice, meanness, ossification, drunkenness, filth and depravity of its inhabitants. The fun of the inhabitants of the tavern, both in those around them and in the smallest Rody, causes only fear and disgust.

And these two centers - a tavern and a church - are not accidentally located at a short distance from each other. By this, Dostoevsky wants to say that a person, no matter how disgusting he may be, can at any moment stop his low life and turn to the all-forgiving God. To do this, you just need to start a new, “clean” life, a life without sins.

Old childhood nightmare

Let us now turn not to the symbols of this dream, but to Rodion himself, whoin a dream plunged into the world of his childhood. He relives a nightmare he witnessed in early childhood: Rodion, together with his father, goes to the cemetery to visit the grave of his little brother, who died at the age of 6 months. And their path ran through a tavern. At the tavern stood a draft horse, which was harnessed to a cart. The drunken owner of the horse came out of the tavern and began to invite his friends for a ride on the cart. When the old horse did not budge, Mikola began whipping it with a whip, which he then exchanged for a crowbar. After several blows, the horse dies, and Rodion, seeing this, rushes at him with his fists.

First dream analysis

It is this dream in the novel "Crime and Punishment" that is the most important component of the entire novel. It allows readers to see the murder for the first time. Only the murder is not conceived, but real. The first dream contains a meaning that carries a huge semantic and symbolic load. It clearly demonstrates where the hero developed a sense of injustice. This feeling is the product of Rodion's quest and mental suffering.

Only one in the work "Crime and Punishment" Raskolnikov's dream is a thousand-year experience of oppression and enslavement of each other by people. It reflects the cruelty that governs the world, and an incomparable longing for justice and humanity. This idea with amazing skill and clarity F. M. Dostoevsky was able to show in such a short episode.

Raskolnikov's second dream

It is interesting that after Raskolnikov sawthe first dream, he no longer sees dreams for a long time, except for the vision that visited him before the murder - a desert in which there is an oasis with blue water (this is a symbol: blue is the color of hope, the color of purity). The fact that Raskolnikov decides to drink from the source suggests that all is not lost. He can still give up his “experience”, avoid this terrible experiment, which should confirm his crazy theory that killing a “harmful” (bad, mean) person will certainly bring relief to society and make the life of good people better.

On the edge of the unconscious

In a feverish fit, when the hero does not think much because of delirium, Raskolnikov sees how Ilya Petrovich allegedly beats the owner of his apartment. It is impossible to single out this episode, which took place in the second part of the novel, as a separate dream, since it is more “delusions and auditory hallucinations”. Although this to some extent suggests that the hero anticipates that he will be a "renegade", "outcast", i.e. subconsciously knows that he will be punished. But also, perhaps, this is a game of the subconscious, which speaks of the desire to destroy another “trembling creature” (the owner of the apartment), who, like the old pawnbroker, is not worthy, according to his theory, to live.

Description of Raskolnikov's next dream

In the third part of the work, Rodion, who has already de alt with Alena Ivanovna (also killing the innocent Lizaveta Ivanovna), has another dream, gradually turning into delirium. Another dream of Raskolnikovlike the first one. This is a nightmare: the old pawnbroker is alive in her dream, and she responds to Raskolnikov's fruitless attempts to kill herself with laughter, laughter "ominous and unpleasant." Raskolnikov tries to kill her again, but the hubbub of the crowd, which is clearly unfriendly and vicious, does not allow him to do the job. Dostoevsky thus shows the torment and throwing of the protagonist.

Psychoanalysis of the author

This dream fully reflects the state of the hero, who was "broken", as his experiment showed him that he is not able to step over people's lives. The laughter of the old woman is a laugh at the fact that Raskolnikov turned out to be not a "Napoleon", who can easily juggle human destinies, but an insignificant and ridiculous person. This is a kind of triumph of evil over Raskolnikov, who failed to destroy his conscience. Purely compositionally, this dream is a continuation and development of Raskolnikov's reflections on his theory, according to which he divided people into "trembling creatures" and those who "have the right." This inability to step over a person will lead Rodion to the line, to the opportunity to “reborn from the ashes” in the future.

Last dream

The last dream in the novel "Crime and Punishment" by Raskolnikov is another kind of half-asleep-half-delusion in which one must look for hope for the possibility of the hero's rebirth. This dream saves Rodion from the doubts and searches that tormented him all the time after the murder. last dreamRaskolnikov is a world that must disappear due to illness. As if there are spirits in this world who are endowed with a mind, who have a will that can subjugate people, making them puppets, possessed and crazy. Moreover, the puppets themselves, after infection, consider themselves truly smart and unshakable. Infected people kill each other like spiders in a jar. After the third nightmare, Rodion is healed. He becomes morally, physically and psychologically free, healed. And he is ready to follow the advice of Porfiry Petrovich, ready to become the "sun". He is thus approaching the threshold beyond which lies a new life.

In this dream, Raskolnikov looks at his theory with completely different eyes, now he sees that it is inhuman, and regards it as dangerous for the human race, for all of humanity.

Healing

Thus, Raskolnikov rethought his whole life, dramatically changing his worldview. The main achievement of Raskolnikov is his rejection of an untenable theory. His victory is that he was able to free himself from delusions. The hero gradually approached spiritual and moral perfection, i.e. passed the path, although difficult, painful and filled with suffering, but still purifying and spiritually regenerating. Dostoevsky's suffering is the path to true happiness.

Final chord

The article outlined Raskolnikov's dreams briefly and concisely, but as accurately as possible, without losing important points. These dreams are very important in the content of the work. They, like a thread, connect the events in the novel. The descriptions of dreamscontribute to the fact that the reader is extremely concentrated on the plot twists and turns, on the system of images that the author introduces. The hero's daydreams prepare the reader for subsequent scenes and are of great importance for understanding the basic ideas of the novel. They are also significant for the work in artistic and visual terms.

In addition, dreams are very important because they help determine the psychological state of Rodion, his feelings and emotions. The author, through the dreams of the protagonist, conducts an important psychological analysis. Raskolnikov's dream, in which he sees himself as a child, allows us to understand his spiritual well-being. He then tried to balance his distaste for killing a horse with the sensations of actually killing him, which he planned. Perhaps, if he had listened to his feelings, he could have avoided the internal split, which became a terrible tragedy for him. In addition, the first dream clearly makes it clear to the reader that Raskolnikov is not a lost person, that compassion and a desire to protect the weak are inherent in him. This allows you to look at the "despicable killer" from a different angle.

Dreams in the novel have their separate functions and moods in each specific episode of the novel, but their general purpose is unchanged. The meaning of Raskolnikov's dreams is to reveal the main idea of the work. The idea that tells us that every person is a value cannot be divided into "lice" and "useful". An idea that shows that no one "has the right" to decide human destinies. An idea that testifies to how heavy the torment isconscience.

Many writers used dreams in their works, but few were able to achieve what F. M. Dostoevsky. The way he subtly, deeply, and at the same time vividly described the psychological state of the character with the help of a dream amazes not only the layman, but also true connoisseurs of literature.