Final Discussion topics for Monday

These are the passages & issues we'll address tomorrow during class. YOU MUST have your text with you. If you don't, you will receive no credit for participation in the discuss. And of course YOU MUST participate if you wish participation credit.

For Thursday's class, bring your complete notes from C&P discussions ready to turn in. Our entire class time will be turned over to parody composition and rehearsal.

Suffering, sacrifice and redemption and the Christian symbolism of the novel

A. Early on references to Christ appear in the novel. One of the earliest is in Pulcheria’s letter to Rodya telling him about Dunya. After he reads the letter we get a window into his thoughts: p. 40, Part I, Ch. 4 “It’s hard to ascend Golgotha” and p. 41 “Can it be that she’s secretly tormented by remorse at having agreed to sacrifice her daughter for the sake of her son.”

B. When Rodya first goes to Sonya’s he asks her to read the story of Lazarus—why? p. 326-329, Part IV, Ch. 4. (She must believe in the next life—her only hope; he needs to believe in resurrection in THIS life.)

C. Both Sonya and Lizaveta assume the form of complete innocents who sacrifice and suffer for others and at the moment that Rodya tells Sonya of the murders, she even appears as Lizaveta—p. 410-411 Part five, Ch. 4: “Again, as soon as he said this, a former, familiar sensation suddenly turned his soul to ice…the same childlike smile.” (suffer the little children?)

D. P.420-421 pivotal discussion beginning with “Was it the old crone I killed? Through “your whole life” Part five, Ch. 4 two pages from the end.

The symbolism of crosses and the crossroads and the need to suffer until he learns to connect to his fellow man and love are underscored even more in the confession scene, p. 522-525 Part six, Ch. 8.

E. Note Raskolnikov has sinned not so much against God as against humanity and the earth—and so his redemption must be achieved with people, on earth.

F. Water and air also have symbolic significance:

p. 114-115 Part two, Ch. 2 - loses his right to beauty & clean air

Throughout he can’t breathe—note Porfiry keeps coming back to his need for air and to embrace suffering p. 460-461 Part six, Ch. 2

Svidrigailov hates water—“never in my life have I liked water…landscapes” p.504

G. Note his suffering in prison is of a different sort—he still has not accepted love and connection and cannot be redeemed and freed from suffering until he does.

· p. 544: “This alone he recognized as his crime ... new vision of life.”

· p. 545: “But, generally, he came to be surprised…different nations”

· p. 546: “As for him, he was disliked and avoided by everyone.”

· p. 546: “Still another question…Little mother”

H. Discuss the suddenness of his “conversion”—like a flash of light. P. 549

“He was risen and he knew it…“ p.550