The Triumvirate welcomes you!
"The term triumvirate (from Latin, "of three men") is commonly used to describe a political regime dominated by three powerful individuals" (Wiki).
Use your computer skills and do some research about the history, design, climate, and topography of St. Petersburg. Why do you think Dostoevsky set this novel in this particular city?
So I looked it up online, and St. Petersburg has a mild, yet cold climate. In the winter, the average temperature is around 6 or 7 degrees Fahrenheit, and it only gets to be around 60 degrees in the summer. I also read that St. Petersburg also has a lot of freezing winds as well as snowfall.
I remember us talking in class how Dostoevsky was exiled to Siberia. Maybe this is where he got the idea for the setting in Crime and Punishment.... Both places have really cold climates and are pretty similar in general. Dostoevsky might not have wanted to actually use Siberia because he would be reminded of his years in prison. So he could have chosen somewhere similar. This way he still could imagine the climate. Or... not. I don't know I'm just guessing.
In my opinion St. Petersburg has an incredibly depressing temperament - in regards to nature, both physically and spiritually.
Summer is incredibly humid and hot as it is near the Baltic Sea while winter is very similar to Moscow weather which is cold enough to kill off history's two most famous armies attempting to bring Russia to its knees.
Saint Petersburg and Moscow are Mother Russia's two main cities which both referred to, throughout history, as its capitols.
You can read wikipedia to see that Peter the Great decided Russia needed a port city to basically import culture from the West i.e. English and French civilization which were both IDEAL ways to run countries. SO as a result of this culture importation purpose given to it, St. Petersburg became the center of enlightenment in Russia. It was the city of progress.
I think Dostoevsky chose the city because as the city of progress it was still ironically backwards for the majority people who lived within it very poorly like Raskolnikov. While the aristocratic Russians, running the country and putting the peasants to work, sit in their estates drinking champagne being waited upon by peasants and speaking in French of IDEAL people like Napoleon and how no laws apply to him, Rodion Romanovich is actually acting upon such IDEALS as those proposed by Western philosophers.
St. Petersburg is where Western empericist theories meet Russia's faithful ability to act. The heat of summer adds humidity and pressure to the story itself and can be felt searing Raskilnikov's brow as he ponders the IDEALS; he as a result suffers numerous mental breakdowns. The heat of St. Petersburg is at the end met by the cool calm suffering of Siberia, so the epilogue reveals the paradoxical nature of Russia and Raskolnikov's philosophical journey... but more on that later.
Dostoyevsky did live in St. Petersburg for a bit, though. Maybe it's the place where Dost. felt lost, like Raskolnikoff. He went to school there, as we have learned and shortly after he left he was sent to Siberia, where, like Raskolnikoff, he found began discovering himself.
St. Petersburg is a city that experiences extremely humid summers and drastic, long winters due to its location near the Baltic Sea -- prone to devastating cyclones. The average temp. in July is said to be about 72 degrees Fahrenheit, with a maximum summer temp. of about 93... Add extreme humidity on top of all that and you get a very unpleasant, sticky environment. (I’d take the Portland rain any day compared to that).
Historically -- and during the time Crime and Punishment was written -- it suffered from a large amount of poverty; also, it was known for having endured a lofty crime rate. Overall, it was very crowded, dense with people, as well as large Baroque-style buildings (the 18th century also gave rise to neoclassical buildings as well).
Right of the bat, we know the novel takes place towards the beginning of July:
“At the beginning of July, during and extremely hot spell, towards evening, a young man left the closet…” (1)
This opening environment, at the beginning of a humid and hot evening, suggests the feeling of a shortness of breath… like one normally feels in the midst of great humidity -- almost that sense of suffocation; no matter how hard you inhale, it seems as if you are getting no oxygen, nothing to satisfy your needs. This sort of relates to Raskolnikov, and his desperate attempts to obtain that one thing that will meet his mysterious, unknown desires.
The city itself is very symbolic and relates immensely to the crazed protagonist, Raskolnikov, who endures a raging battle with his conscience all throughout the novel. He is burdened by his thoughts, and at times feels suffocated and trapped… like he can’t breathe, constantly scorched by the heat of his awful actions. Just like the city of St. Petersburg -- overpopulated, dirty, cluttered, damaged, conflicted -- Raskolnikov’s mind is crowded, and littered with unwanted thoughts.
Topography/geography: Overall, it seems pretty flat (sea level). I found its highest point to be about 577 feet.
Just like Nick has mentioned, St. Petersburg is an extremely crowded/dirty/suffocating place. And I think this relates to Raskolnikov exactly. He's living int his place where he himself feels crowded and suffocated. He wants to do more, help more, but he can't. It's just like the room that he rents out which is extremely cramped and tiny.
And I also think that it's interesting that after Raskolnikov heard the men in the tavern, that was when he decided/solidified his thoughts that he wanted to kill her. The world would be a better place without her and because of that attitude, it also allows Raskolnikov to murder her kind of without any sense/reasoning. The attitude of the people of the place also relate to the atmosphere of a dark/cramped/depressing city.
And of course, like Nick mentioned, too much humidity is just unbearable.
When I think of St. Petersburg I think of the economic theory St. Petersburg paradox. The St. Petersburg paradox is "a classical situation where a naïve decision criterion (which takes only the expected value into account) would recommend a course of action that no (real) rational person would be willing to take." It was originally published in 1738. I think this is pretty interesting, though probably very unrelated to Crime and Punishment, because of how the paradox talks about an individual taking a course of action that seems entirely irrational, what Raskolnikov does. Anyways, moving on...
St. Petersburg was the capital of Russia up until the Russian Revolution in late 1817 or early 1918 I believe. And when one thinks of Russia they normally think of the harsh winters. St. Petersburg itself experiences several periods of uncomfortable weather throughout the year, including humidity even in the cool summer months.
In Crime and Punishment, it seems as though in one way or another, every character stuggles financially. In the end, poverty controls the lives of the characters and it seems fitting that such a tradegy occur in a society like St. Petersburg, depressing as it appears to be.
According to the Norton Critical edition of Crime and Punishment, St. Petersburg is a city of canals and bridges. The word "bridge" is mentioned 25 times in the Garnett translation. "Canal" is mentioned 22 times. Perhaps Dostoevsky wanted a city with many bridges and canals so he could use bridges or canals as symbols or recurring theme in his book.
he reason I think Dostoevsky set the novel in St. Petersburg was to give the novel its atmosphere and mood. After I did some reading at a very reliable internet resource called wik... I learned that there were a lot of emancipated slaves moving in to St. Petersburg around the time this novel was set. This led to the emergence of low income neighborhoods around the St. Petersburg area. Large numbers of people moving in, coupled with the industrial revolution meant that the city was packed and dirty. I think these attributes of the city gives the novel a melancholy feeling.
As many of you guys have said, Dostoevsky chose a dark, an impoverish, and a humid setting which three things that definitely gives a perfect setting for such a story as Crime and Punishment. The setting, in many ways, define the layout of Raskolnikov's mind. It's dark and "suffocating", as many of you guys have said. The contours of his psyche is reflects the city. The city is perfect for the mood that Dostoevsky was trying to make. The disgusting, weird, and dark feeling that you feel as he takes you into parts of the city is somewhat the same when he takes you into Raskolnikov's head.
So its been established that Saint petersburg, the western most city in Russia, has really crappy weather. It's cold, desolate, and constantly overcast. Im not convinced that Dostoevsky selected this city for its temperate characteristics. He's from Russia, so its logical he'd pick a Russian city. Don't almost all cities in russia have this kind of climate? One thing I did notice, though it has little to do with the city itself, is that Saint Peter is the keeper of the gates of heaven in the Bible. This brings up possibly a symbolic meaning to the city, because this is where the sins and deeds of Raskolnikov are committed, and judged. A common theme in the book is Raskolnikov's guilt, and rationalization of his crimes, but ultimately it is St.Petersburg that passes judgement. Just throwing that out there.
St. Petersburg is a dark, dismal, poverty stricken place that hosts Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment. I think this city is appropriate considering the fact that nearly every main character in the story experiences poverty to some extent. I think that this is one of the main points Dostoevsky wished to convey in his novel-- that during the time period and especially in the life of Raskolnikov, poverty is an overriding factor in nearly everyone's life. It is essentially the driving force behind Rodya's murdering Alyona and Lizaveta due to the fact that Rodya rationalizes the murders saying that Alyona was only a "louse" and that under his belief, his being above the law in pursuit of his ideas warrants the deaths of the two women.
Honestly, I think that if this story had taken place in a happy city with rich, pretentious people living a "happy life," the story wouldn't make much sense and wouldn't have near the impact as it does.
Also, Dostoevsky closes the book in the epilogue with Raskolnikov's eight year sentence to hard work in Siberia. Thus, creating a paradox between a hot, grimy place and a cool, almost chilling atmosphere.
With it being set in St. Petersburg, we the readers are trapped, which is maybe something Dostoevsky wished for us to feel. Maybe to feel more connected to Raskolnikov in the essence that he is trapped between confession and evading punishment along with his inability to escape the people that alienate him so much.
St. Petersburg is in a crowded, cold, and dirty city, which reflects a dismal and depressing environment like in Crime and Punishment. However, I couldn't help noticing the architecture of the old palaces and buildings. Their splendor and beauty is the only attempt to try to make the city look beautiful and powerful. however, the rulers who had once lived in there have destroyed this image because of their greed and corruption. I think Dostoevsky used St. Petersburg in the setting because of this feeling of despair and lost attempts to find hope.
A lot of the book takes place inside buildings, in small and cramped rooms that adds to the depressing and tight atmosphere that dominates the mood. Even when the setting takes place outside, there is not much of a different. It's still grimy and not refreshing at all. Also, I thought that it was ironic that the story takes place in the summer, and not in the winter when the whether is just cold and miserable and also when you would think most depressions would happen. Dostoevsky also contradicts the belief that Russia is a winter place with lots of snow and cold by placing the setting in the hot and humid weather.
As far as I can tell, this place used to be the capital. It's cold, large population density, the birth rate doesn't match the death rate (not now at least, god knows how much lower it was in the past), and the population is creates huge spikes once in a while. Then there is a matter of all the churches, appearently, everywhere. It really does not seem like a nice place to live.
It was named, obviously, after St. Peter, the Apostles under Jesus. And isn't Saint Peter the guardian/bouncer of the Gates of Heaven? Isn't this the guy who the Catholic church is built on? Odd, consitering that the main charature hacks up a woman with an ax. You would think someone would constantly remind him that he is being watched by every meaning of 'higher beings' in a city named after a guy who gives you the go ahead to Heaven.
I find it interesting on wiki that Dostoyevsky called St. Petersburg, “The most abstrack and intentional city in the world,” which like many other authors who have written on St. Petersburg, is emphasizing on the city’s artificiality. Peter the Great built Petersburg upon a vision. His dream became reality in a small time frame. This reminds me of Raskolnikov’s “Overman theory” that also became true. Unlike other European countries that grew gradually over time, St. Petersburg’s growth was rather forced, which gives it an air of artificiality. St. Petersburg was constructed in a highly rational manner. Peter the Great brought German Engineers to plan out the exact buildings, avenues, and streets. People come to this “ideal” city to improve their social status. But the harsh climate and the deep poverty due to the dramatic increase in population in the 1860s shatters the dream of many who come to this city. Raskolnikov was originally on the right track but is soon psychologically brought down by the depressing city that experiences extreme humidity in the short summer and long, cold winter. The city, symbolically and environmentally, serves as a good place to develop the Raskolnikov’s character.
As many people have mentioned before, St. Petersburg experiences conditions of extreme weather. In the winter, it is very cold and dreary, while in the summer it is very humid. Although I've never been to Russia, whenever I think of such a place like St. Petersburg, I imagine a dark and gloomy place. The darkness isn't simply a physical attribute contributed by the weather and run-down streets, but the darkness manifests itself in the society. One of the themes Dostoevsky emphasized was the extreme poverty that existed in the lower class. Such struggles are easily imagined in a place like St. Petersburg.
I got a concussion tonight and was in the hospital for the last two hours. I hope you will excuse me for not researching these questions. Reading Erik's comment's however, I can see the importance of St. Petersburg being the gateway to the West. This makes it a center for the philosophical revolution young Russians were having. Reading Megan's comment I learned the Dostoevsky actually lived in St. Petersburg for a while, so it would make sense he wrote about it because a lot of this book can be labeled autobiographical. I like the author's use of temperature as a metaphor to Raskolnikov.
"During the reign of Alexander I the Russian army successfully stopped Napoleons invasion of Russia and drove the french army back to Paris (1812-14)." http://www.cityvision2000.com/history/regularcity.htm
The mention of Napoleon here grabbed my attention and I considered this bit of history to be one of the reasons Dosteovsky included Napoleon in Crime and Punishment. Rodya considers himself at the beginning to be another Napoleon and it seems fitting that both Raskolnikov and Napoleon fail at what it is they are trying to accomplish.
I think the cold climate of the city definitely adds to the grim nature of the novel. St. Petersburg is also the most western major city in Russia which symbolizes the setting of the sun (an end) or a rebirth in that it was central to Russian westernization. I think in this case an appropriate interpretation would be that St.P lies at the border of Russia and Europe, the point where the Ottoman and European empires met the land of the Tsar. I think this division and example of interface is relevant to the novel's concepts in that the protagonist is constantly struggling at the junction of morality.
I think the concrete facts about the city don't need to be repeated but I think its worth noting that the author neglected many of the positive aspects of the city in favor of portraying a suffocating atmosphere that is as wretched as the internal struggle of the protagonist.
I think the main reason why Dostoevsky set Crime and Punishment in St. Petersburg was because of his own experiences there. Dostoevsky spent many years of his life in St. Petersburg and was therefore very familiar with this setting.
Also because Roskolnikov is displayed as a character that is on the verge of insanity, the depressing climate and impoverished people would be a perfect place to further magnify this insanity.
When I looked up St. Petersburg I found a lot of information that was similar to everyone. It was quite a cold desolate place that is slightly rotting with people who were extremely poor. St. Petersburg has a number of people in it, to the point of overpopulation and this was certainly conveyed in Crime and Punishment. Yet I also saw on the internet site I was on that this city was quite a political city that depended much on the law to keep it in shape with all of its people. St. Petersburg seemed to be the hubub of Politics and great change.
St. Petersburg is a city that is teeming with rich history. The city was created in 1703, during the Great Northern War. During thistime, Peter the Great was ruler of Russia (hence, the name St. Petersburg).
The design of the city is rather exact, as "no structure in the city [shall] be higher than the Winter Palace and prohibited spacing between buildings" (Wikipedia, St. Petersburg).
The climate, as many others have stated, is relatively mild and cold. The average temperature in the winter is regularly below 10 degrees Fahrenheit, and the temperature peaks out at around 60 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer. There is a great deal of snow in the city, as well as other forms of tundra-like weather.
I feel that Dostoevsky chose St. Petersburg for a variety of reasons. One of these is that St. Petersburg was a city of great progress, yet many of its citizens lived i great poverty, much like Raskolnikov and many of the other characters in the novel. I feel that Dostoevsky thought that his representation of society would help to bring awareness to the situation, as well as to showcase faults and merits of both the aristocracy and the impoverished.
I thought everyone brought up interesting reasons about why St. Petersburg was a fitting location for the novel from its structure to its weather.
I thought what was interesting about the city, was that it was a center for political change and a center for growth. The Decembrist revolt against Tsar Nicholas occurred at the senate square in 1825. When the emancipation of the slaves occurred in 1861 under Tsar Alexander, there was a massive influx of poor, rural immigrants. I think that changed the social dynamics to introduce more instances of the abject poverty and dismal conditions littered throughout the book
Besides the climate reminding me of going to Disneyland in Florida in mid-august and being drenched in your own sweat (as Raskolnikov often is), the buildings interested me more than the geography.
It sounds like there's an abundance of project-like housing where several poor families will occupy one living space. Everything sounds dirty and crusted within the apartments with barely any room to move. If the streets aren't crowded with projects, then there're taverns and "nunneries" filled with drunkards. They also seem to be filled with humidity and smoke. Raskolnikov travels over several bridges, indicating there're rivers and mosquitoes. This city sounds like the worst possible, haha.
I think everyone had some pretty good reasons why St. Petersburg was a great setting for Crime and Punishment. The cold and wintry weather is not really good for the people and gives the frigid feeling you get throughout a reading of the book.
Indeed St. Petersburg is a city of change and a city of progress. It is also a city of ornate and exceptional architecture as well. I think that the real reason that Dostoevsky chose St. Petersburg is because of all of this. St. Petersburg accurately represents so many different walks of life and views and that is why it is appropriate for this story.
27 comments:
Just watch the first 20 minutes of Anastasia.
So I looked it up online, and St. Petersburg has a mild, yet cold climate. In the winter, the average temperature is around 6 or 7 degrees Fahrenheit, and it only gets to be around 60 degrees in the summer. I also read that St. Petersburg also has a lot of freezing winds as well as snowfall.
I remember us talking in class how Dostoevsky was exiled to Siberia. Maybe this is where he got the idea for the setting in Crime and Punishment.... Both places have really cold climates and are pretty similar in general. Dostoevsky might not have wanted to actually use Siberia because he would be reminded of his years in prison. So he could have chosen somewhere similar. This way he still could imagine the climate. Or... not. I don't know I'm just guessing.
In my opinion St. Petersburg has an incredibly depressing temperament - in regards to nature, both physically and spiritually.
Summer is incredibly humid and hot as it is near the Baltic Sea while winter is very similar to Moscow weather which is cold enough to kill off history's two most famous armies attempting to bring Russia to its knees.
Saint Petersburg and Moscow are Mother Russia's two main cities which both referred to, throughout history, as its capitols.
You can read wikipedia to see that Peter the Great decided Russia needed a port city to basically import culture from the West i.e. English and French civilization which were both IDEAL ways to run countries. SO as a result of this culture importation purpose given to it, St. Petersburg became the center of enlightenment in Russia. It was the city of progress.
I think Dostoevsky chose the city because as the city of progress it was still ironically backwards for the majority people who lived within it very poorly like Raskolnikov. While the aristocratic Russians, running the country and putting the peasants to work, sit in their estates drinking champagne being waited upon by peasants and speaking in French of IDEAL people like Napoleon and how no laws apply to him, Rodion Romanovich is actually acting upon such IDEALS as those proposed by Western philosophers.
St. Petersburg is where Western empericist theories meet Russia's faithful ability to act. The heat of summer adds humidity and pressure to the story itself and can be felt searing Raskilnikov's brow as he ponders the IDEALS; he as a result suffers numerous mental breakdowns. The heat of St. Petersburg is at the end met by the cool calm suffering of Siberia, so the epilogue reveals the paradoxical nature of Russia and Raskolnikov's philosophical journey... but more on that later.
Dostoyevsky did live in St. Petersburg for a bit, though. Maybe it's the place where Dost. felt lost, like Raskolnikoff. He went to school there, as we have learned and shortly after he left he was sent to Siberia, where, like Raskolnikoff, he found began discovering himself.
Erik.. I like your input. You're great.
St. Petersburg is a city that experiences extremely humid summers and drastic, long winters due to its location near the Baltic Sea -- prone to devastating cyclones. The average temp. in July is said to be about 72 degrees Fahrenheit, with a maximum summer temp. of about 93... Add extreme humidity on top of all that and you get a very unpleasant, sticky environment. (I’d take the Portland rain any day compared to that).
Historically -- and during the time Crime and Punishment was written -- it suffered from a large amount of poverty; also, it was known for having endured a lofty crime rate. Overall, it was very crowded, dense with people, as well as large Baroque-style buildings (the 18th century also gave rise to neoclassical buildings as well).
Right of the bat, we know the novel takes place towards the beginning of July:
“At the beginning of July, during and extremely hot spell, towards evening, a young man left the closet…” (1)
This opening environment, at the beginning of a humid and hot evening, suggests the feeling of a shortness of breath… like one normally feels in the midst of great humidity -- almost that sense of suffocation; no matter how hard you inhale, it seems as if you are getting no oxygen, nothing to satisfy your needs. This sort of relates to Raskolnikov, and his desperate attempts to obtain that one thing that will meet his mysterious, unknown desires.
The city itself is very symbolic and relates immensely to the crazed protagonist, Raskolnikov, who endures a raging battle with his conscience all throughout the novel. He is burdened by his thoughts, and at times feels suffocated and trapped… like he can’t breathe, constantly scorched by the heat of his awful actions. Just like the city of St. Petersburg -- overpopulated, dirty, cluttered, damaged, conflicted -- Raskolnikov’s mind is crowded, and littered with unwanted thoughts.
Topography/geography: Overall, it seems pretty flat (sea level). I found its highest point to be about 577 feet.
Erik: cool analysis :)
Just like Nick has mentioned, St. Petersburg is an extremely crowded/dirty/suffocating place. And I think this relates to Raskolnikov exactly. He's living int his place where he himself feels crowded and suffocated. He wants to do more, help more, but he can't. It's just like the room that he rents out which is extremely cramped and tiny.
And I also think that it's interesting that after Raskolnikov heard the men in the tavern, that was when he decided/solidified his thoughts that he wanted to kill her. The world would be a better place without her and because of that attitude, it also allows Raskolnikov to murder her kind of without any sense/reasoning. The attitude of the people of the place also relate to the atmosphere of a dark/cramped/depressing city.
And of course, like Nick mentioned, too much humidity is just unbearable.
When I think of St. Petersburg I think of the economic theory St. Petersburg paradox. The St. Petersburg paradox is "a classical situation where a naïve decision criterion (which takes only the expected value into account) would recommend a course of action that no (real) rational person would be willing to take." It was originally published in 1738. I think this is pretty interesting, though probably very unrelated to Crime and Punishment, because of how the paradox talks about an individual taking a course of action that seems entirely irrational, what Raskolnikov does. Anyways, moving on...
St. Petersburg was the capital of Russia up until the Russian Revolution in late 1817 or early 1918 I believe. And when one thinks of Russia they normally think of the harsh winters. St. Petersburg itself experiences several periods of uncomfortable weather throughout the year, including humidity even in the cool summer months.
In Crime and Punishment, it seems as though in one way or another, every character stuggles financially. In the end, poverty controls the lives of the characters and it seems fitting that such a tradegy occur in a society like St. Petersburg, depressing as it appears to be.
According to the Norton Critical edition of Crime and Punishment, St. Petersburg is a city of canals and bridges. The word "bridge" is mentioned 25 times in the Garnett translation. "Canal" is mentioned 22 times. Perhaps Dostoevsky wanted a city with many bridges and canals so he could use bridges or canals as symbols or recurring theme in his book.
he reason I think Dostoevsky set the novel in St. Petersburg was to give the novel its atmosphere and mood. After I did some reading at a very reliable internet resource called wik... I learned that there were a lot of emancipated slaves moving in to St. Petersburg around the time this novel was set. This led to the emergence of low income neighborhoods around the St. Petersburg area. Large numbers of people moving in, coupled with the industrial revolution meant that the city was packed and dirty. I think these attributes of the city gives the novel a melancholy feeling.
You can write really well on what you best. Perhaps this is the casue to why Dostoevsky set Crime and Punishment in St. Petersburg.
I don't know about you guys but I rather like humidity.
As many of you guys have said, Dostoevsky chose a dark, an impoverish, and a humid setting which three things that definitely gives a perfect setting for such a story as Crime and Punishment. The setting, in many ways, define the layout of Raskolnikov's mind. It's dark and "suffocating", as many of you guys have said. The contours of his psyche is reflects the city. The city is perfect for the mood that Dostoevsky was trying to make. The disgusting, weird, and dark feeling that you feel as he takes you into parts of the city is somewhat the same when he takes you into Raskolnikov's head.
So its been established that Saint petersburg, the western most city in Russia, has really crappy weather. It's cold, desolate, and constantly overcast. Im not convinced that Dostoevsky selected this city for its temperate characteristics. He's from Russia, so its logical he'd pick a Russian city. Don't almost all cities in russia have this kind of climate?
One thing I did notice, though it has little to do with the city itself, is that Saint Peter is the keeper of the gates of heaven in the Bible. This brings up possibly a symbolic meaning to the city, because this is where the sins and deeds of
Raskolnikov are committed, and judged. A common theme in the book is Raskolnikov's guilt, and rationalization of his crimes, but ultimately it is St.Petersburg that passes judgement. Just throwing that out there.
St. Petersburg is a dark, dismal, poverty stricken place that hosts Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment. I think this city is appropriate considering the fact that nearly every main character in the story experiences poverty to some extent. I think that this is one of the main points Dostoevsky wished to convey in his novel-- that during the time period and especially in the life of Raskolnikov, poverty is an overriding factor in nearly everyone's life. It is essentially the driving force behind Rodya's murdering Alyona and Lizaveta due to the fact that Rodya rationalizes the murders saying that Alyona was only a "louse" and that under his belief, his being above the law in pursuit of his ideas warrants the deaths of the two women.
Honestly, I think that if this story had taken place in a happy city with rich, pretentious people living a "happy life," the story wouldn't make much sense and wouldn't have near the impact as it does.
Also, Dostoevsky closes the book in the epilogue with Raskolnikov's eight year sentence to hard work in Siberia. Thus, creating a paradox between a hot, grimy place and a cool, almost chilling atmosphere.
With it being set in St. Petersburg, we the readers are trapped, which is maybe something Dostoevsky wished for us to feel. Maybe to feel more connected to Raskolnikov in the essence that he is trapped between confession and evading punishment along with his inability to escape the people that alienate him so much.
St. Petersburg is in a crowded, cold, and dirty city, which reflects a dismal and depressing environment like in Crime and Punishment. However, I couldn't help noticing the architecture of the old palaces and buildings. Their splendor and beauty is the only attempt to try to make the city look beautiful and powerful. however, the rulers who had once lived in there have destroyed this image because of their greed and corruption. I think Dostoevsky used St. Petersburg in the setting because of this feeling of despair and lost attempts to find hope.
A lot of the book takes place inside buildings, in small and cramped rooms that adds to the depressing and tight atmosphere that dominates the mood. Even when the setting takes place outside, there is not much of a different. It's still grimy and not refreshing at all. Also, I thought that it was ironic that the story takes place in the summer, and not in the winter when the whether is just cold and miserable and also when you would think most depressions would happen. Dostoevsky also contradicts the belief that Russia is a winter place with lots of snow and cold by placing the setting in the hot and humid weather.
As far as I can tell, this place used to be the capital. It's cold, large population density, the birth rate doesn't match the death rate (not now at least, god knows how much lower it was in the past), and the population is creates huge spikes once in a while. Then there is a matter of all the churches, appearently, everywhere. It really does not seem like a nice place to live.
It was named, obviously, after St. Peter, the Apostles under Jesus. And isn't Saint Peter the guardian/bouncer of the Gates of Heaven? Isn't this the guy who the Catholic church is built on? Odd, consitering that the main charature hacks up a woman with an ax. You would think someone would constantly remind him that he is being watched by every meaning of 'higher beings' in a city named after a guy who gives you the go ahead to Heaven.
I find it interesting on wiki that Dostoyevsky called St. Petersburg, “The most abstrack and intentional city in the world,” which like many other authors who have written on St. Petersburg, is emphasizing on the city’s artificiality. Peter the Great built Petersburg upon a vision. His dream became reality in a small time frame. This reminds me of Raskolnikov’s “Overman theory” that also became true. Unlike other European countries that grew gradually over time, St. Petersburg’s growth was rather forced, which gives it an air of artificiality. St. Petersburg was constructed in a highly rational manner. Peter the Great brought German Engineers to plan out the exact buildings, avenues, and streets. People come to this “ideal” city to improve their social status. But the harsh climate and the deep poverty due to the dramatic increase in population in the 1860s shatters the dream of many who come to this city. Raskolnikov was originally on the right track but is soon psychologically brought down by the depressing city that experiences extreme humidity in the short summer and long, cold winter. The city, symbolically and environmentally, serves as a good place to develop the Raskolnikov’s character.
As many people have mentioned before, St. Petersburg experiences conditions of extreme weather. In the winter, it is very cold and dreary, while in the summer it is very humid. Although I've never been to Russia, whenever I think of such a place like St. Petersburg, I imagine a dark and gloomy place. The darkness isn't simply a physical attribute contributed by the weather and run-down streets, but the darkness manifests itself in the society. One of the themes Dostoevsky emphasized was the extreme poverty that existed in the lower class. Such struggles are easily imagined in a place like St. Petersburg.
I got a concussion tonight and was in the hospital for the last two hours. I hope you will excuse me for not researching these questions. Reading Erik's comment's however, I can see the importance of St. Petersburg being the gateway to the West. This makes it a center for the philosophical revolution young Russians were having. Reading Megan's comment I learned the Dostoevsky actually lived in St. Petersburg for a while, so it would make sense he wrote about it because a lot of this book can be labeled autobiographical. I like the author's use of temperature as a metaphor to Raskolnikov.
"During the reign of Alexander I the Russian army successfully stopped Napoleons invasion of Russia and drove the french army back to Paris (1812-14)." http://www.cityvision2000.com/history/regularcity.htm
The mention of Napoleon here grabbed my attention and I considered this bit of history to be one of the reasons Dosteovsky included Napoleon in Crime and Punishment. Rodya considers himself at the beginning to be another Napoleon and it seems fitting that both Raskolnikov and Napoleon fail at what it is they are trying to accomplish.
I think the cold climate of the city definitely adds to the grim nature of the novel. St. Petersburg is also the most western major city in Russia which symbolizes the setting of the sun (an end) or a rebirth in that it was central to Russian westernization. I think in this case an appropriate interpretation would be that St.P lies at the border of Russia and Europe, the point where the Ottoman and European empires met the land of the Tsar. I think this division and example of interface is relevant to the novel's concepts in that the protagonist is constantly struggling at the junction of morality.
I think the concrete facts about the city don't need to be repeated but I think its worth noting that the author neglected many of the positive aspects of the city in favor of portraying a suffocating atmosphere that is as wretched as the internal struggle of the protagonist.
I think the main reason why Dostoevsky set Crime and Punishment in St. Petersburg was because of his own experiences there. Dostoevsky spent many years of his life in St. Petersburg and was therefore very familiar with this setting.
Also because Roskolnikov is displayed as a character that is on the verge of insanity, the depressing climate and impoverished people would be a perfect place to further magnify this insanity.
When I looked up St. Petersburg I found a lot of information that was similar to everyone. It was quite a cold desolate place that is slightly rotting with people who were extremely poor. St. Petersburg has a number of people in it, to the point of overpopulation and this was certainly conveyed in Crime and Punishment.
Yet I also saw on the internet site I was on that this city was quite a political city that depended much on the law to keep it in shape with all of its people. St. Petersburg seemed to be the hubub of Politics and great change.
St. Petersburg is a city that is teeming with rich history. The city was created in 1703, during the Great Northern War. During thistime, Peter the Great was ruler of Russia (hence, the name St. Petersburg).
The design of the city is rather exact, as "no structure in the city [shall] be higher than the Winter Palace and prohibited spacing between buildings" (Wikipedia, St. Petersburg).
The climate, as many others have stated, is relatively mild and cold. The average temperature in the winter is regularly below 10 degrees Fahrenheit, and the temperature peaks out at around 60 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer. There is a great deal of snow in the city, as well as other forms of tundra-like weather.
I feel that Dostoevsky chose St. Petersburg for a variety of reasons. One of these is that St. Petersburg was a city of great progress, yet many of its citizens lived i great poverty, much like Raskolnikov and many of the other characters in the novel. I feel that Dostoevsky thought that his representation of society would help to bring awareness to the situation, as well as to showcase faults and merits of both the aristocracy and the impoverished.
I thought everyone brought up interesting reasons about why St. Petersburg was a fitting location for the novel from its structure to its weather.
I thought what was interesting about the city, was that it was a center for political change and a center for growth. The Decembrist revolt against Tsar Nicholas occurred at the senate square in 1825. When the emancipation of the slaves occurred in 1861 under Tsar Alexander, there was a massive influx of poor, rural immigrants. I think that changed the social dynamics to introduce more instances of the abject poverty and dismal conditions littered throughout the book
Besides the climate reminding me of going to Disneyland in Florida in mid-august and being drenched in your own sweat (as Raskolnikov often is), the buildings interested me more than the geography.
It sounds like there's an abundance of project-like housing where several poor families will occupy one living space. Everything sounds dirty and crusted within the apartments with barely any room to move.
If the streets aren't crowded with projects, then there're taverns and "nunneries" filled with drunkards. They also seem to be filled with humidity and smoke.
Raskolnikov travels over several bridges, indicating there're rivers and mosquitoes. This city sounds like the worst possible, haha.
I think everyone had some pretty good reasons why St. Petersburg was a great setting for Crime and Punishment. The cold and wintry weather is not really good for the people and gives the frigid feeling you get throughout a reading of the book.
Indeed St. Petersburg is a city of change and a city of progress. It is also a city of ornate and exceptional architecture as well. I think that the real reason that Dostoevsky chose St. Petersburg is because of all of this. St. Petersburg accurately represents so many different walks of life and views and that is why it is appropriate for this story.
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