Crime and Punishment
Crime and Punishment��the buzzing and struggling of some large fly as it swooped and beat against the windowpane.� (Crime and Punishment, pg. 332)
In the novel Crime and Punishment by Fydor Dostoevsky the main character Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov consciously avoids truth and clarity of mind as he clings to his theory of the ordinary and extra-ordinary people, believing himself to be of the latter kind. He spends most of his time inside buildings in small rooms, thus avoiding to meet and talk to other people outside his petite world. Raskolnikov often evades looking through or at windows. However, often during conversations he instinctively walks towards windows while thinking about something else. This shows that his inside wants to be free and knows the truth about his place among others, while the conscious part of his mind is not able to comprehend that until the very end. His mind is like a �fly as it � [beats] against [a] windowpane� (pg. 332) longing to join the world out there, but not understanding this desire rationally yet.
Marmeladov�s room is �suffocatingly hot, but [Katerina] [has] not opened the windows� and in Alyona�s apartment �all the windows � [are] closed, in spite of the stifling heat� (pg 114) the day he commits the crime. In the former place he leaves money on the windowsill, while in the latter he takes money away. In both cases, however, the rooms are hot, and a feeling of an uncomfortable and unfriendly place is drawn in the reader's mind. Neither Raskolnikov's narrow room, Sonya's cheap apartment or Profiry's office, where the latter hints at the airlessness of the room and asks whether he shall �open a window� (pg. 404), seem very inviting either. However, these are the places where Raskolnikov spends most of his time talking to people. Later though, he himself observes, "�low ceilings and cramped rooms cramp the soul and mind�"(pg. 495) showing that he has started to understand his condition of suppression of his instincts and needs.
This also comes out when he, unconsciously, almost instinctively, walks to windows repeatedly while he is thinking of what to say. At Sonya's he walks "over to the window" (pg. 381) and comes "back after a moment or two" (pg. 381) having the changed the subject of their conversation. While reflecting he uses the conscious part of his brain and the usual suppression of his inner desires is neglected for a while. Therefore in moments like this his body follows its instincts and he moves to the window physically showing his...
To view the complete essay, you be registered.