Crime and Punishment - Tsumi to Batsu (English) Crime and Punishment

A full-length novel by the Russian author Dostoevsky. It was published in the magazine "Russian News" in 1866. It is one of the greatest masterpieces of world literature. The story is set in the backstreets of St. Petersburg, which has the appearance of a modern city and is filled with people who, as Marmeladov, a minor official who appears in the story, "have nowhere to go."

In his morbid musings, the poor student Raskolnikov comes to the conclusion that the Napoleonic chosen few have the right to transgress society's moral laws for the sake of humanity, and he puts this idea into practice by killing an old woman who is a louse. However, this act unexpectedly leads him to discover his own wretchedness, frightened by a sense of guilt and tormented by a "sense of disconnection from humanity." Although he logically confronts the suspicions of the astute investigating judge Porfiry, he is unable to bear the weight of his guilt, and so he chooses Sonya, a "holy whore" who lives a life of self-sacrifice and suffering, as his confessor. Seeing an ugly projection of his own theory in the mysterious life and death of the immoral Svidrigailov, who absolutizes lust, he finally decides to turn himself in and is sent to Siberia.

Although the author appears to be attempting to condemn Western rationalism and revolutionary thought from the standpoint of his Christian faith, the work goes beyond such intentions and is a humanistic book that appeals to the smoldering desire for humanity to be restored in the stagnation of the times.Furthermore, the author's unique method, known as "realism of the soul," uses crime as a medium through which the novel questions the very foundations of human existence.

The entire work has a structure which can be likened to an intricate mechanical device, and the way in which myth, folklore, and literature from ancient times to the present are brilliantly reflected in the writing style makes this a work that represents the greatest achievement of the modern novel form.

[Takashi Egawa]

"Crime and Punishment" translated by Egawa Takashi (World Literature Collection 37, 1977, Gakken)" ▽ "Crime and Punishment" translated by Yonekawa Masao (Shincho Bunko)" ▽ "Solving the Mystery of 'Crime and Punishment' by Egawa Takashi (1986, Shinchosha)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

ロシアの作家ドストエフスキーの長編小説。1866年『ロシア報知』誌に発表。世界文学の最高傑作の一つ。近代都市の様相を帯び、作中に登場する小官吏マルメラードフのいうような「どこへも行き場のない」人々にあふれるペテルブルグの裏町が舞台である。

　貧乏学生ラスコーリニコフは病的な思索のなかで、ナポレオン的な選ばれた強者は人類のために社会の道徳律を踏み越える権利をもつとの結論に達し、「しらみ」のような金貸しの老婆を殺すことでこの思想を実践に移す。だがこの行為は、思いがけず罪の意識におびえ「人類との断絶感」に苦しむ惨めな自分を発見させる。敏腕の予審判事ポルフィリーの嫌疑には論理的に立ち向かいながらも、罪の重荷に耐えきれなくなった彼の心情は、自己犠牲と苦悩に徹して生きる「聖なる娼婦(しょうふ)」ソーニャを罪の告白の相手に選び、また情欲を絶対化する背徳者スビドリガイロフの謎(なぞ)めいた生と死に自己の理論の醜悪な投影をみて、ついに自首を決意し、シベリアに送られる。

　作者はキリスト教的信仰の立場から西欧合理主義、革命思想を断罪しようとしたかにみえるが、作品はそうした意図を超えて、時代の閉塞(へいそく)状況のなかでくすぶる人間回復への願望を訴えるヒューマニズムの書となっており、また「魂のリアリズム」とよばれるこの作家独自の方法は、犯罪を媒介にこの小説を人間存在の根本への問いかけとした。

　全編が精密なからくり装置にも例えられる構造をもち、神話、フォークロア、古今の文学が文体を通して一つの作品に反映されるみごとさは、この作品を近代小説形式の最高の達成ともしている。

［江川　卓］

『江川卓訳『罪と罰』（『世界文学全集37』1977・学習研究社）』▽『米川正夫訳『罪と罰』（新潮文庫）』▽『江川卓著『謎とき「罪と罰」』（1986・新潮社）』

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