A Nihilistic Analysis of Crime and Punishment This article provides a comprehensive analysis, from a nihilistic perspective, of the novel Crime and Punishment. The document is divided into many sections, each with a self-explanatory title in capital letters, such as the section that immediately follows this sentence. THE MEANING OF MARMELADOV'S REMEMBRANCE SCENE Katerina Ivanovna must deal with a man who drinks his life away while his family starves. Marmeladov recounts their suffering by first describing the loss of their job. He states that, “…not through my fault but because of changes in the office [I lost my job], and then I touched it [alcohol]!” She has attempted to educate her daughter, but what little knowledge she has is nothing when she can't even raise money from Ivan Ivanitch Klopstock, a man for whom she has sewn six shirts. Katerina, fed up with her whole situation, yells at Marmeladov and is eventually driven to introduce her daughter to prostitution. At Darya Frantsovna's urging, Sonia begins her first night of prostitution only to return home and collapse on the bed. Marmeladov recounts his drunken state as he watched Katerina kneel before his daughter's bed and kiss her feet. Sonia's activity not only forces her to sacrifice her morals, but she is also forced to leave the family apartment by Mr. Lebeziatnikov. Sonia must then continue her life of prostitution by living in the Kapernaumovs' apartment. The Kapernaumovs are described as "very poor people, all with cleft palates". Marmeladov continually focuses on the fact that they all have cleft palates as he describes his daughters. This motif is used by Dostoevsky to bring out the theme of defamation of Sonia herself... middle of paper... murders? Raskolnikov denies these accusations because confessing them would be a demonstration of submission to Porfiry. Dostoevsky wants Raskolnikov to be seen as a respectable man who must decide his own path, to be led to confession through his own suffering. Raskolnikov approaches confession alone. After reaching the crossroads, "He knelt in the middle of the square, bowed to the ground, and kissed that dirty ground with bliss and ecstasy. He rose and bowed a second time." (Page 453, paragraph 2, line 1). Raskolnikov, after bowing and kissing the ground, experiences a wild rush of pleasure, a symbol of religious punishment. Works Cited Dostoevsky, Feodor. Crime and punishment. Trans. Jessie Coulson. Ed. Giorgio Gibian. New York: Norton, 1989.Frank, Joseph. Dostoevsky: The Miraculous Years, 1865-1871. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1995.