I like your reasoning, John. Helps me see that the "He" is him, Fyodor, in his not knowing. what has happened to himself.
I just don't know if I can quite forgive the proselytizing, especially so sneakily subconscious-bating under the pillow. Nor consider that artistic restraint.
Maybe life hadn't just stepped into the place of theory, but rather put a pillow over it and suffocated it.
Note: Wonder what George "A Swim in A Pond in the Rain" Saunders would think of this. :-))
Thank you for sharing your lovely Sunday morning village “mind path” stroll with Fyodor and Simone. So brilliant that I had to “call over” historian Lucy Worsley, so that she could share with you, and your readers, her Isaac Asimov “mic drop” at the end of this 90 second excerpt from her BBC Radio 3 interview yesterday with Jools Holland, that seems, on many levels, of a piece with your readings and thoughts this morning.
What I recall of reading the novel, about 40 years ago, was a terrible feeling of unexpiated guilt, and having to remind myself that I had not, in fact, committed a terrible crime. As a work of art, it had a power over me that I hadn’t experienced before and haven’t since.
I loved Crime and Punishment and Raskolnikov is one of my favorite characters. Read it in college. Now I'm going to have to reread it with a newer, more mature perspective. Thanks for the interesting take.
Did not realize Fydor and I are relatable and aligned (read C&P exactly 30 years ago). I was a much better practicing educator when I could walk back into theory on demand.
Thank you John! Crime & Punishment is one of my very favorite works of literature and, I believe, a truly groundbreaking masterpiece. I found so much of it compelling and suspenseful reading. I consider any suffering experienced working through the text as something which aligns the reader more closely with Raskolnikov’s tortured state of mind and suffering and is a small price to pay for knowing greatness. I recommend reading "Crime and Punishment: A Timeless Psychological Masterpiece," by Daniel Ross Goodman (https://voegelinview.com/crime-punishment-timeless-psychological-masterpiece/),
which dismantles the view set forth by a Saul Bellow character (Artur Sammler) that Crime & Punishment is somehow a mere middlebrow "low-ceiling masterpiece."
So the reason people like Lord Dampnut are not able to good deeds (except as an unintended side effect) is because they have no empathy or capacity to connect with positive energy. He can't see it, feel it, touch it and truly lives in another reality. Are we criticizing a blind man for painting with the wrong palette? I had not considered that perspective. Thanks.
John, did you happen to read "Backsliding" bye Meghan O'Gieblyn in the July '26 Harpers? She mentions Simone Weil in her memoir. It inspired me to go to my local book store and order Gravity and Grace. Meghan's memoir has profoundly impacted me, as she and I share some experiences.
I grew up watching the TV shows of the time, The Donna Reed Show, My Three Sons, Father Knows Best, Andy Griffith Show, Even Combat and 12 O'Clock High. They were all morality plays. Every episode dealt with a problem and was solved by the patriarch or Star within each episode in a morally correct manner.
True they were just TV shows but they provided a moral compass.
Yes there were Civil Rights issues and Race Riots and Vietnam,but people knew what the moral north pole was.
Today we live in a Crime and Punishment era.
Today the compass is broken.
victims are vilified.
Our leader swoons over immoral autocrat in a effort to gain money and power.
America used to be the bright shinning light on the hill, no more.
I'm too impatient to spend time with the classic Russian authors' complexity so I appreciate that you worked in Simone Weil's premise of "developing the capacity to receive grace." This makes me wonder how familiar she was with John Wesley's concept of prevenient grace. (This article refers to "Weil’s concept of attention as a pathway to grace" - https://reference-global.com/article/10.2478/holiness-2025-0010). And this - happily- brings me back to Mary Oliver 💗 "Instructions for living a life: Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it." (“Sometimes”) -OR- “I don't know exactly what a prayer is / I do know how to pay attention” ("The Summer Day") ☺️
I like your reasoning, John. Helps me see that the "He" is him, Fyodor, in his not knowing. what has happened to himself.
I just don't know if I can quite forgive the proselytizing, especially so sneakily subconscious-bating under the pillow. Nor consider that artistic restraint.
Maybe life hadn't just stepped into the place of theory, but rather put a pillow over it and suffocated it.
Note: Wonder what George "A Swim in A Pond in the Rain" Saunders would think of this. :-))
Hi John (and Anne!)
Thank you for sharing your lovely Sunday morning village “mind path” stroll with Fyodor and Simone. So brilliant that I had to “call over” historian Lucy Worsley, so that she could share with you, and your readers, her Isaac Asimov “mic drop” at the end of this 90 second excerpt from her BBC Radio 3 interview yesterday with Jools Holland, that seems, on many levels, of a piece with your readings and thoughts this morning.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dc6fThJIryv/?stkn=MXI4bWRnc2FxeTJraQ==l
What I recall of reading the novel, about 40 years ago, was a terrible feeling of unexpiated guilt, and having to remind myself that I had not, in fact, committed a terrible crime. As a work of art, it had a power over me that I hadn’t experienced before and haven’t since.
I had this exact same feeling
I loved Crime and Punishment and Raskolnikov is one of my favorite characters. Read it in college. Now I'm going to have to reread it with a newer, more mature perspective. Thanks for the interesting take.
Did not realize Fydor and I are relatable and aligned (read C&P exactly 30 years ago). I was a much better practicing educator when I could walk back into theory on demand.
Makes me feel like I maybe ought to read Crime and Punishment.
Thank you for the spoiler alert! I will not read this post or the comments.
Your reasoning and writing are soothing to my soul. Thank you
I took an entire class on Dostoevsky in college. I enjoyed reading the authors who influenced him. Gogol’s “The Nose” was a favorite.
I’m glad you decided to write this. I look forward to your insight. Thank you
Thank you John! Crime & Punishment is one of my very favorite works of literature and, I believe, a truly groundbreaking masterpiece. I found so much of it compelling and suspenseful reading. I consider any suffering experienced working through the text as something which aligns the reader more closely with Raskolnikov’s tortured state of mind and suffering and is a small price to pay for knowing greatness. I recommend reading "Crime and Punishment: A Timeless Psychological Masterpiece," by Daniel Ross Goodman (https://voegelinview.com/crime-punishment-timeless-psychological-masterpiece/),
which dismantles the view set forth by a Saul Bellow character (Artur Sammler) that Crime & Punishment is somehow a mere middlebrow "low-ceiling masterpiece."
1) trying to bend science into metaphors makes my head hurt.
2) Crimes and Misdemeanors was the scariest movie I’ve seen bc not everyone has Raskolnikov’s problem & they walk among us - even inside us.
So the reason people like Lord Dampnut are not able to good deeds (except as an unintended side effect) is because they have no empathy or capacity to connect with positive energy. He can't see it, feel it, touch it and truly lives in another reality. Are we criticizing a blind man for painting with the wrong palette? I had not considered that perspective. Thanks.
John, did you happen to read "Backsliding" bye Meghan O'Gieblyn in the July '26 Harpers? She mentions Simone Weil in her memoir. It inspired me to go to my local book store and order Gravity and Grace. Meghan's memoir has profoundly impacted me, as she and I share some experiences.
I didn't, but I will go find it.
I grew up watching the TV shows of the time, The Donna Reed Show, My Three Sons, Father Knows Best, Andy Griffith Show, Even Combat and 12 O'Clock High. They were all morality plays. Every episode dealt with a problem and was solved by the patriarch or Star within each episode in a morally correct manner.
True they were just TV shows but they provided a moral compass.
Yes there were Civil Rights issues and Race Riots and Vietnam,but people knew what the moral north pole was.
Today we live in a Crime and Punishment era.
Today the compass is broken.
victims are vilified.
Our leader swoons over immoral autocrat in a effort to gain money and power.
America used to be the bright shinning light on the hill, no more.
I'm too impatient to spend time with the classic Russian authors' complexity so I appreciate that you worked in Simone Weil's premise of "developing the capacity to receive grace." This makes me wonder how familiar she was with John Wesley's concept of prevenient grace. (This article refers to "Weil’s concept of attention as a pathway to grace" - https://reference-global.com/article/10.2478/holiness-2025-0010). And this - happily- brings me back to Mary Oliver 💗 "Instructions for living a life: Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it." (“Sometimes”) -OR- “I don't know exactly what a prayer is / I do know how to pay attention” ("The Summer Day") ☺️