If my 14 year old self knew that at the age of 22 she would spend Friday evenings listening to in depth analysis of classical literature she’d jump of a building. But as 22 year old wholeheartedly enjoyed it. Unfortunately my russian is not strong enough to read it in original ( tried and failed miserably) so i am so happy i got to listen to all the details. I wish i could listen to every other classics such in depth analysis done by you. Thanks a lot.
The first time I read this book was for a Dostoyevsky class, and I went into it already knowing that *spoiler* he commits murder, but it was still quite the ride for me. Even though it's not in 1st person, it still felt like I was in his head. I am still blown away by the depth of this book, and as I am a Christian, the Christian themes resonate with me deeply. I wish more Christians would talk about this book.
I remember reading about two times when, thanks to Dostoevsky, Christianity became more common among young people. Once it happened when he was still alive and the second time when his books became more popular in the Soviet Union.
@@SophiaClefAre you insinuating that the book somewhat promotes Christianity ? I am inclined to think that that is not the case. The psychological and philosophical facets explored in the book are much more complex than that.
I agree, the book goes beyond that. Some readers resonated with the Christian elements of the novel on a personal level. Crime and Punishment is so rich and deep that it inspired me to make 6 videos on it and to spend endless nights exploring a lot of surprising subjects. Simple answers weren't doing it for me anymore. I would question and question and question. It helped me a lot. What effect did it have on you? Did it challenge you is some way?
I now understand your point clearly. Regarding the effect the book had on me: It was very alarming to see that even after murdering those women, Raskolnikov never truly felt remorse on a deeper level, nor did he acknowledge the value of the old woman's life. He lacked empathy for her until the end of the book. Despite the psychological anguish and legal punishment he endured, he maintained the belief that her life didn't matter and she deserved to die. This made me ponder how difficult, even hopeless, it would be to address or correct individuals like Raskolnikov in our society. (By the way, I was amazed by your admiration of Razumikhin in one of your videos. He was also my favorite character in the book. Cheers!)"
@@SarcasticSplendor The author was indeed a Christian. Perhaps if we gave more people the book Crime and Punishment to read, and fascilitated more discussion of it, it would be a start for helping the Raskolnikovs of our society. And if it's too difficult, perhaps we will need more abridged adaptations and graphic novel adaptations of it. There is one, but it changed the story's ending and the meaning of it, which is very sad.
I actually heard about you from Tristan who gave you a very kind shout out. I really love your analysis and you have made my understanding richer. You are an excellent presenter and brought me right back into the book.
Thank you so much for this! I just finished part 1 and looked for further analyses and got into your video. I wish I have words to express how amazed I am the way you present your ideas. 🥰
Thank you for such amazing analysis , somehow i lost interest in the middle of book and then watched your video and the way you explained really motivated me to read it again with same interest 🌟
I have just finished reading the book today. My second time, the first time was back at school. The book is astonishing and phenomenal! I stumbled upon your analyses by chance and really liked your way of presented facts and interesting detailed. I’m going to watch your entire series on the book. Thank you!
I finished this book last night. The plan was to finish it in a couple of days but it got intense and I couldn't stop. One thing that I am wondering its if Dostoevsky might have had bipolar disorder. I don't know if Rodya is a character based on his own experiences or someone else's. Rodya has severe fits of depression to the point where he stays in bed for days not doing anything. Then there is the other extreme where he walks around aimlessly, at times talking to himself, and even doing hand gestures while talking to himself. Then there is the irritability, the inability to maintain a linear thought process, and of course the grandiosity. At one point he compared himself to the Napoleon. I don't even know if the diagnosis existed back then. I also read the double and that book it's definitely describing someone who has lost touch with reality. Just an observation. Anyways. it's cool to see analysis of books from different perspectives. it's like finding hidden Easter eggs or looking at an Easter egg rom a different point of view.
I started the book with the knowledge that he was going to kill the old lady but not her step sister. I was so devastated! I love your analysis, my biggest concern reading this book was that I would miss out on a lot of key details or references that couldn’t be translated into the english version, so this was very helpful.
I’ve found that every analysis of Raskolnikov assigns more benevolence to him than I do. I find his “better” qualities to be a mask for his pathological inability to make anything he touches anything but worse. Like telling yourself you’re murdering an old lady to “liberate” her younger sister (who of course you murder without a second thought). I find him to be the ultimate darkness of the human condition. Most dark when believing themself good
This is exactly what I was looking for! I’m currently in my first read through, in my native tongue (Spanish). I see I’m missing out a lot of detail and nuance, be it out of dumbness and lack of attention or because it got lost in translation… I’m happy to have found someone who’s actually knowledgeable both in the content of the book and the original language, thank you very much for your work!! It will be a great guide as I read along
I watched your video on Chekhov a while back. I'm almost finished with my Croatian translation of Crime and Punishment (Zločin i Kazna) by Zlatko Crnković (one of the greatest literary translators our country has produced). The last quarter of the novel is incredibly intense: I've been thinking much about culminations in Dostoyevsky's major novels, everything ends in flames! The late Harold Bloom rightly termed Dostoyevsky an apocalyptic novels.
Amazing analysis, I didn't realise most of these subtleties! Also, one thing that did draw my attention was that he kills Alonya with the blunt part of the axe and Lizaveta with the sharp one. That is specified in the book, but I didn't find anyone on the internet addressing it...
Sophia, a wonderful review! I believe Dostoyevsky is difficult, both language and realities . Actually the word ‘batyushka’ in the 19th century was used by people of lower society when they appeal to people of higher society, their masters, irrespective of their age) Russian tsar was often called tsar-batyushka by his people. Kind of highest respect and love)
I wish I found your channel before. I started reading Crime and Punishment the same time you uploaded these videos and now watching your videos I realize I missed a lot of points. I'm certainly going to read C&P again and I'll get to these videos when I do.
Hello Sophia, this is one of my favorite classics and I’m reading it for third time. In would love for you to share with me the letter you mention at the beginning of the video, that Dostoevsky wrote to the journalist to try to convince him to publish it. How can I send you my information so you can send me the letter? Thank you very much!
If you scroll down the comments a little, I saw that she shared the letter with another commenter under the name Jaime ramirez who also asked for the letter.
im so luck to find your channel at the beginning, the quality of your videos you will lead this channel for more thosands of thousands subscribers in the future easily. greetings from brazil
Thank you 🤗 ! I don't tend to measure a channel's quality by the number of subscribers it has. At the moment, I'm more focused on getting rid of my camera anxiety.
I'm reading the book currently. Im on part 2 and ive watched this video like 3 times :'D. Also nietzche was known to draw alot of inspiration from Dostoyevsky, and during nietzches life he had a fit of insanity when he saw a man beating a work horse, at the sight of which, nietzche went mad and ran to the horse, hugged it and said 'i understand you' then he was scarred by that experience for the rest of his life. Would it be fair to say this was similar to Raskalnikov's dream about the mare?
Falling in love with Russian classics. First was 'Anna Karenina", and now am reading "crime and punisent". Still finding it a little puzzling about the naming system though, seems like all Russians have three names and they use them all at different places.
Being Russian knowing the culture and reading it in Russian seems amazing for this book a lot of thing you explain I don't recognize and I think it was a great analysis!
Not sure if you will see this but I would love to see a review/breakdown on Poor Folk and The Gambler . After watching your Crime and Punishment videos it helped me understand the book. If commission is needed please point me to the right direction in which to do so.
Thank you! I took the English translation of the letter from this book. I hope it helps. books.google.ro/books?id=AQGNDgAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false And here you can find the quote: shorturl.at/BDKVX
The eponymous "crime" of Crime & Punishment occurs in Chapter VII. When does the "punishment" happen-- in the Epilogue? In Siberia? Is the punishment something you've analyzed, Ms. Clef? If so, I'd love to hear your thoughts... Please direct me to the Part of your Analysis, (1 - 7) that digs into Dostoyevski's thoughts about punishment.
Amazing video! I loved every second of it. I also plan to be on excursion in Saint Petersburg. I’m so emotional when dealing with this book. Masterpiece!
Hi - great videos. About the word "batyushka" : I have several English translations of the book. There is one that uses the word "father." (It was translated by Oliver Ready.) Two of them use "dearie." One uses "mister." One uses "sir." One uses "my friend." And the strangest one, in my opinion, uses "my good man." Thanks for your hard work. Stephen from NYC
@@SophiaClef I found another one: Michael Scammell, from 1963, translates it as "m'lad," which is short for "my lad," and seems quite British. I haven't read all of the translations that I have. The only ones I've read all the way through are by David McDuff, Jessie Coulson, and Oliver Ready. And I really liked both Coulson and Ready. Thanks! Stephen from NYC
Thanks so much for sharing with us your thoughts. Could I have the letter in which dotogesky shares his first thoughts about Crime and Punishment?, in addition, I wonder if you have the list of the meanings of the names.
Unfortunately, I don't have a list of names and their meanings, but I discussed most of them throughout the videos (part 1-6), when they were more relevant to the point I was trying to make. Here is the only translation of the letter I could find: (The Notebooks for CRIME & PUNISHMENT): May I count on publishing my novel in your journal, The Russian Messenger? I’ve been writing it here in Wiesbaden for the past two months, and I’m [now] finishing it. It will be about five to six printer’s pages long. I’ve got about two week’s work still left, and perhaps a little more. In any case, I can say for sure that I will send it off to the editors of The Russian Messenger no later than a month from now. The idea of the novel [as much as I can tell] cannot possibly go against the thoughts tenor of your journal; on the contrary. This is a psychological account of a crime. [The action takes place at the present time, in this year.] A young man expelled from the university, a petty bourgeois by background, living in the most extreme poverty, decides out of lightheadedness and instability of thinking to extricate himself from his deplorable situation with one bold stroke. He has become obsessed with badly thought out ideas which happen to be in the air. He decides to kill an old woman, the wife of a titular counselor, a moneylender. She is a crazy, deaf, sick old woman; [she greedily charges exorbitant interest]; she is evil and lives on the blood and flesh of others, and torments her younger sister. “She is not good for anything,” “Why does she live?” “Does anyone need her?” etc. These questions unhinge the mind of the young man. He decides to kill her, to rob her, in order to make his mother happy, who is living in the provinces, and to save his sister, who is living as a companion to some gentry, from [the sensuous] advances of the head of this gentry family, advances that threaten her with ruin. Then he plans to finish his studies, go abroad and [then] [be] honest, and firmly immovable [in] the fulfilment of his “humanitarian duty toward mankind” for the rest of his life. [By which of course] “he will make up” for the slight crime, if you can call an act done to an old, deaf, crazy, evil and sick woman, who [doesn’t know herself why she is living] and who in a month perhaps would die anyway, a crime. Despite the fact that crimes of this kind are done with great difficulty, that is, the criminals [almost always] leave clues that are crudely apparent, traces, etc. [and they leave a great deal to chance, which almost always trips them up], he is able to do the deed, completely by chance, quickly and successfully. A month goes by from the time of the deed to the final catastrophe. [There are no suspicions of him nor can there be.] Then the psychological process of the crime unfolds. Unresolved questions arise before the murderer, unsuspected and unexpected feelings torment his heart. The truth of God and the law of nature take their own, and he finally feels forced to give himself up, [forced] in order to be once again part of humankind, even if it means perishing in prison. The feeling of isolation and separation from humanity which he felt immediately after committing the crime wear him down. [The law of truth and human nature have their effect (…) the convictions.] [The criminal] decides to take suffering on himself in order [even without being forced] to redeem his act. [However, it is hard for me to explain in full my thought.]1 [In addition] I hint at this thought in the novel, that [legal] punishment for a crime frightens a criminal much less than we think [the lawmakers in part] because the criminal himself [morally] demands it. I have seen this even among the most uneducated people [in cases of pure chance]. I wanted to express this precisely in an educated man, a man of the new generation, so that my thought would be clearer, more easily understood, and more apparent. Certain events, which have happened in the most recent past, have convinced me that my subject is not at all eccentric, [precisely because the murderer is an educated and even a well-disposed man]. I was told last year of a student in Moscow, who had been expelled from the university after some trouble in school, who decided to rob the post and to kill the mailman. There are still many traces in our newspapers of extraordinary instability in our ideas, which inspires horrible deeds. [That seminary student, for example, who met the girl, by agreement with her in a shed, and killed her and whom they arrested within an hour eating his breakfast, etc.] In short I am convinced that my subject matter is in part justified by our times. To be sure, in my analysis of the thoughts idea of my novel, I have neglected the whole structure of events. I’ll answer for its interest, but I don’t take it upon myself to judge its artistic realization. I’ve had to write too many [much too many] bad things, trying to meet a deadline, etc. [However], I haven’t written this piece in a hurry or in heat. I’m going to try, if only for myself, to finish it as best I can.
like a min in lol this is so ideal for what i was looking for. had the worry i was going to read more dov get halfway then forget about the book. perfect for a recap from what i just read tyty
Currently reading the newest translation by Oliver Ready, interestingly, he uses the word “father” when the pawnlady refers to Roskalnikov, and explains exactly the same thing you said in footnotes. I really enjoyed watching this as it brough to my attention details that i’ve missed. I very much enjoyed your review of “the master and margarita” so looking forward to to the rest of these c&p videos.
I guess you mean Tsar Gorokh (you can find him on Wikipedia too). His name literally means pea. On the first page of the novel Rodya remembers spending too much time thinking about "once upon a time". It's a word-play. The character substitutes words like fairytale or nonsense, but in this case it also stands for Napoleon. I think I explained that in part 3, if I remember correctly. I hope it helps!
Kudos on sharing the shades, backgrounds, layers and other "ornaments" of this magnum opus of Dostoevsky with the very same passion, vivacity, and intensity that's befitting Dostoevsky, Sophia. Not sure, whether the significance of the ubiquitous presence of "yellow" colors is to insinuate the "jaundiced" vision that's now surmounted and engulfed the very being of Raskolnikov, as he acts further on his plot. Also, this very "yellow" color, reminded me of its ubiquity in the Eastern Orthodox Liturgy, ikons, and the very sanctuary where the Liturgy is celebrated, as repeatedly he utters "My God," despite his estrangement from God as he had fallen from the depth of his faith, thanks to his elected choice? I really thank you for sharing quite a few points that I definitely missed to correlate, as part of my current (third) re-read of C&P. I am sure, I will be watching these videos again, for my next re-read. I am interested in getting Dostoevsky's long letter on this work and how can I get it?
Thank you for sharing your thoughts! I don't remember the collection I took the quote from (I usually find the quotes in Russian then I struggle to look for translations), but here's the translation I found in The notebooks for Crime and Punishment. I hope it helps. From a letter to M. N. Katkov M. N. May I count on publishing my novel in your journal, The Russian Messenger? I’ve been writing it here in Wiesbaden for the past two months, and I’m [now] finishing it. It will be about five to six printer’s pages long. I’ve got about two week’s work still left, and perhaps a little more. In any case, I can say for sure that I will send it off to the editors of The Russian Messenger no later than a month from now. The idea of the novel [as much as I can tell] cannot possibly go against the thoughts tenor of your journal; on the contrary. This is a psychological account of a crime. [The action takes place at the present time, in this year.] A young man expelled from the university, a petty bourgeois by background, living in the most extreme poverty, decides out of lightheadedness and instability of thinking to extricate himself from his deplorable situation with one bold stroke. He has become obsessed with badly thought out ideas which happen to be in the air. He decides to kill an old woman, the wife of a titular counselor, a moneylender. She is a crazy, deaf, sick old woman; [she greedily charges exorbitant interest]; she is evil and lives on the blood and flesh of others, and torments her younger sister. “She is not good for anything,” “Why does she live?” “Does anyone need her?” etc. These questions unhinge the mind of the young man. He decides to kill her, to rob her, in order to make his mother happy, who is living in the provinces, and to save his sister, who is living as a companion to some gentry, from [the sensuous] advances of the head of this gentry family, advances that threaten her with ruin. Then he plans to finish his studies, go abroad and [then] [be] honest, and firmly immovable [in] the fulfilment of his “humanitarian duty toward mankind” for the rest of his life. [By which of course] “he will make up” for the slight crime, if you can call an act done to an old, deaf, crazy, evil and sick woman, who [doesn’t know herself why she is living] and who in a month perhaps would die anyway, a crime. Despite the fact that crimes of this kind are done with great difficulty, that is, the criminals [almost always] leave clues that are crudely apparent, traces, etc. [and they leave a great deal to chance, which almost always trips them up], he is able to do the deed, completely by chance, quickly and successfully. A month goes by from the time of the deed to the final catastrophe. [There are no suspicions of him nor can there be.] Then the psychological process of the crime unfolds. Unresolved questions arise before the murderer, unsuspected and unexpected feelings torment his heart. The truth of God and the law of nature take their own, and he finally feels forced to give himself up, [forced] in order to be once again part of humankind, even if it means perishing in prison. The feeling of isolation and separation from humanity which he felt immediately after committing the crime wear him down. [The law of truth and human nature have their effect (…) the convictions.] [The criminal] decides to take suffering on himself in order [even without being forced] to redeem his act. [However, it is hard for me to explain in full my thought.]1 [In addition] I hint at this thought in the novel, that [legal] punishment for a crime frightens a criminal much less than we think [the lawmakers in part] because the criminal himself [morally] demands it. I have seen this even among the most uneducated people [in cases of pure chance]. I wanted to express this precisely in an educated man, a man of the new generation, so that my thought would be clearer, more easily understood, and more apparent. Certain events, which have happened in the most recent past, have convinced me that my subject is not at all eccentric, [precisely because the murderer is an educated and even a well-disposed man]. I was told last year of a student in Moscow, who had been expelled from the university after some trouble in school, who decided to rob the post and to kill the mailman. There are still many traces in our newspapers of extraordinary instability in our ideas, which inspires horrible deeds. [That seminary student, for example, who met the girl, by agreement with her in a shed, and killed her and whom they arrested within an hour eating his breakfast, etc.] In short I am convinced that my subject matter is in part justified by our times. To be sure, in my analysis of the thoughts idea of my novel, I have neglected the whole structure of events. I’ll answer for its interest, but I don’t take it upon myself to judge its artistic realization. I’ve had to write too many [much too many] bad things, trying to meet a deadline, etc. [However], I haven’t written this piece in a hurry or in heat. I’m going to try, if only for myself, to finish it as best I can.
@@SophiaClef Thanks a lot, Sophia. I do not have the book on "notebook on C&P" and so, thanks for sharing that. BTW, your videos are so infectious, that after I completed my reread of C&P this week (Sidney Monas translation), am starting another reread using Richard Pevear-Larissa Volokhonsky translation this weekend, just because am very much motivated by your pointers and I want to retrace them, once again. To that end, this time, am going to watch your videos before each part that am going to read. I can already visualize how that experience is going to be. So, thank you, once again!!!
@@RexArul I'm so glad to meet a fellow Crime and Punishment fant. The notebook is the manuscript. Dostoevsky was quite good at calligraphy and sketches so it's aesthetically pleasing, too. 😊
@@SophiaClef Thank you. Yep, how many ever times one reads C&P, it never bores or tires. Rather, it is lending itself with newer and newer perspectives. Also, thanks for that hat-tip about Dostoevsky's calligraphy and sketches. Not sure, whether they are available in the West. Will need to check. .
@@RexArul They are. I just typed "dostoevsky calligraphy" into Google. Some words and names are written in French, so you don't have to understand Russian to appreciate them.
Chapter 2 was just a drunken man telling his story in bar, while it gave commentary on the natural of alcoholism on how people who usually are concerned or form a strict household starts become more talkative when they are drunk, it was in end how the young man decides and later debated leaving some money in that guy's House
On a more substantial note, this is a really great analysis! I just finished the book and it left such an impression it's led me to binge analysis and yours is clearly the best IMO. I had forgotten about the horse scene and it's significance. I appreciate your work and look forward to part 2. PS. I'm American and am exceedingly jealous of your easy pronunciation of Russian names! Cheers!
@@maximiliano1761 Read Matt Taibi's Twitter Files, and note the congressional hearings just underway, with ironclad proof that Twitter, FB and YT discriminate against certain groups.
@@lastsonofthewest2444 I m not wasting time looking up political crackpots or partisan hacks. I am trying to improve myself, make money, support my family, raise my children right, and live a long time. I don't have time to waste going down that rabbit hole.
If my 14 year old self knew that at the age of 22 she would spend Friday evenings listening to in depth analysis of classical literature she’d jump of a building. But as 22 year old wholeheartedly enjoyed it. Unfortunately my russian is not strong enough to read it in original ( tried and failed miserably) so i am so happy i got to listen to all the details. I wish i could listen to every other classics such in depth analysis done by you. Thanks a lot.
This is a terrific video. Great insight! Thanks for making it!
The first time I read this book was for a Dostoyevsky class, and I went into it already knowing that *spoiler* he commits murder, but it was still quite the ride for me. Even though it's not in 1st person, it still felt like I was in his head.
I am still blown away by the depth of this book, and as I am a Christian, the Christian themes resonate with me deeply. I wish more Christians would talk about this book.
I remember reading about two times when, thanks to Dostoevsky, Christianity became more common among young people. Once it happened when he was still alive and the second time when his books became more popular in the Soviet Union.
@@SophiaClefAre you insinuating that the book somewhat promotes Christianity ?
I am inclined to think that that is not the case.
The psychological and philosophical facets explored in the book are much more complex than that.
I agree, the book goes beyond that. Some readers resonated with the Christian elements of the novel on a personal level. Crime and Punishment is so rich and deep that it inspired me to make 6 videos on it and to spend endless nights exploring a lot of surprising subjects. Simple answers weren't doing it for me anymore. I would question and question and question. It helped me a lot. What effect did it have on you? Did it challenge you is some way?
I now understand your point clearly. Regarding the effect the book had on me: It was very alarming to see that even after murdering those women, Raskolnikov never truly felt remorse on a deeper level, nor did he acknowledge the value of the old woman's life. He lacked empathy for her until the end of the book. Despite the psychological anguish and legal punishment he endured, he maintained the belief that her life didn't matter and she deserved to die. This made me ponder how difficult, even hopeless, it would be to address or correct individuals like Raskolnikov in our society. (By the way, I was amazed by your admiration of Razumikhin in one of your videos. He was also my favorite character in the book. Cheers!)"
@@SarcasticSplendor The author was indeed a Christian.
Perhaps if we gave more people the book Crime and Punishment to read, and fascilitated more discussion of it, it would be a start for helping the Raskolnikovs of our society.
And if it's too difficult, perhaps we will need more abridged adaptations and graphic novel adaptations of it. There is one, but it changed the story's ending and the meaning of it, which is very sad.
oh how this makes me wish i knew russian so i can indulge in this incredible book how it was meant,, beautiful analysis xx
I actually heard about you from Tristan who gave you a very kind shout out. I really love your analysis and you have made my understanding richer. You are an excellent presenter and brought me right back into the book.
Thank you! Tristan is really kind!
Wow! your ability to point out interesting elements of this novel is the most insightful I have ever heard. Thank You so much for sharing.
This is wonderful Sophia. This is the kind of bookish material I love and adore. Superb. Bravo.😃🎩❤
Thank you!
Thank you so much for this! I just finished part 1 and looked for further analyses and got into your video. I wish I have words to express how amazed I am the way you present your ideas. 🥰
Thank you so much for explaining the context to this foreigner! I love Raskolnikov, hes so relatable
Thank you for such amazing analysis , somehow i lost interest in the middle of book and then watched your video and the way you explained really motivated me to read it again with same interest 🌟
I have just finished reading the book today. My second time, the first time was back at school. The book is astonishing and phenomenal! I stumbled upon your analyses by chance and really liked your way of presented facts and interesting detailed. I’m going to watch your entire series on the book. Thank you!
I finished this book last night. The plan was to finish it in a couple of days but it got intense and I couldn't stop. One thing that I am wondering its if Dostoevsky might have had bipolar disorder. I don't know if Rodya is a character based on his own experiences or someone else's. Rodya has severe fits of depression to the point where he stays in bed for days not doing anything. Then there is the other extreme where he walks around aimlessly, at times talking to himself, and even doing hand gestures while talking to himself. Then there is the irritability, the inability to maintain a linear thought process, and of course the grandiosity. At one point he compared himself to the Napoleon. I don't even know if the diagnosis existed back then. I also read the double and that book it's definitely describing someone who has lost touch with reality. Just an observation.
Anyways. it's cool to see analysis of books from different perspectives. it's like finding hidden Easter eggs or looking at an Easter egg rom a different point of view.
I started the book with the knowledge that he was going to kill the old lady but not her step sister. I was so devastated!
I love your analysis, my biggest concern reading this book was that I would miss out on a lot of key details or references that couldn’t be translated into the english version, so this was very helpful.
I’ve found that every analysis of Raskolnikov assigns more benevolence to him than I do. I find his “better” qualities to be a mask for his pathological inability to make anything he touches anything but worse. Like telling yourself you’re murdering an old lady to “liberate” her younger sister (who of course you murder without a second thought). I find him to be the ultimate darkness of the human condition. Most dark when believing themself good
Greatest book ever written! This is one of the best analyses I’ve heard on here.
This is exactly what I was looking for! I’m currently in my first read through, in my native tongue (Spanish). I see I’m missing out a lot of detail and nuance, be it out of dumbness and lack of attention or because it got lost in translation… I’m happy to have found someone who’s actually knowledgeable both in the content of the book and the original language, thank you very much for your work!! It will be a great guide as I read along
I watched your video on Chekhov a while back. I'm almost finished with my Croatian translation of Crime and Punishment (Zločin i Kazna) by Zlatko Crnković (one of the greatest literary translators our country has produced). The last quarter of the novel is incredibly intense: I've been thinking much about culminations in Dostoyevsky's major novels, everything ends in flames! The late Harold Bloom rightly termed Dostoyevsky an apocalyptic novels.
Amazing analysis, I didn't realise most of these subtleties! Also, one thing that did draw my attention was that he kills Alonya with the blunt part of the axe and Lizaveta with the sharp one. That is specified in the book, but I didn't find anyone on the internet addressing it...
Thank you! I did address it if not here, then when I was discussing a different part of the book. 😊
Thank you so much for these well thought-out and beautiful analyses!
These have been a fantastic companion to the text!
My pleasure!
Every once in a while you can tell by listening to someone that they have a beautiful soul, you're one of those people.
This video is absolutely perfect for my Dutch assignment. You helped me a lot with this video and the part 2. Thank you!
Sophia, a wonderful review! I believe Dostoyevsky is difficult, both language and realities . Actually the word ‘batyushka’ in the 19th century was used by people of lower society when they appeal to people of higher society, their masters, irrespective of their age) Russian tsar was often called tsar-batyushka by his people. Kind of highest respect and love)
Thank you for your kindness!
I wish I found your channel before.
I started reading Crime and Punishment the same time you uploaded these videos and now watching your videos I realize I missed a lot of points.
I'm certainly going to read C&P again and I'll get to these videos when I do.
Hello Sophia, this is one of my favorite classics and I’m reading it for third time. In would love for you to share with me the letter you mention at the beginning of the video, that Dostoevsky wrote to the journalist to try to convince him to publish it. How can I send you my information so you can send me the letter? Thank you very much!
If you scroll down the comments a little, I saw that she shared the letter with another commenter under the name Jaime ramirez who also asked for the letter.
Fantastic analysis, can't wait to see the rest of them. Your smile and demeanor are soft and beautiful.
this was really really helpful and a super great analysis, thanks a lot for making this video 😊
im so luck to find your channel at the beginning, the quality of your videos you will lead this channel for more thosands of thousands subscribers in the future easily. greetings from brazil
Thank you 🤗 ! I don't tend to measure a channel's quality by the number of subscribers it has. At the moment, I'm more focused on getting rid of my camera anxiety.
@@SophiaClef you're right, subscribe RS is just a natural consequence
This was an amazing video. Glad you popped on my feed
I'm reading the book currently. Im on part 2 and ive watched this video like 3 times :'D.
Also nietzche was known to draw alot of inspiration from Dostoyevsky, and during nietzches life he had a fit of insanity when he saw a man beating a work horse, at the sight of which, nietzche went mad and ran to the horse, hugged it and said 'i understand you' then he was scarred by that experience for the rest of his life.
Would it be fair to say this was similar to Raskalnikov's dream about the mare?
As a child, Dostoevsky ‘witnessed’ a horse being beaten, and that impacted him much.
Maybe!
Is there a source for the inspiration of the horse scene by “Melancholia” by Victor Hugo ?
Great video. Such an insightful one. Keep going Sophie. 👏
Falling in love with Russian classics. First was 'Anna Karenina", and now am reading "crime and punisent". Still finding it a little puzzling about the naming system though, seems like all Russians have three names and they use them all at different places.
great video, very helpful to my understanding of the text and to my schoolwork
I wish I could find this kind of in-depth analysis for all great works of literature.
i cant help but notice that you look almost exactly like how i imagined Dunya to look while reading!
I am halfway through the book now. Really enjoying it.
Being Russian knowing the culture and reading it in Russian seems amazing for this book a lot of thing you explain I don't recognize and I think it was a great analysis!
Crazy! I just started reading the book yesterday! I'll come back and watch the video when I've finished chapter 7 :)
Synchronicity :)
Not sure if you will see this but I would love to see a review/breakdown on Poor Folk and The Gambler . After watching your Crime and Punishment videos it helped me understand the book. If commission is needed please point me to the right direction in which to do so.
This is very nice and insightful especially the way you analysed the murder of Liziveta. Didn't think of it that way earlier. Bravo!!
Loved your analysis you made me love dostoevsky and The novel even more so many things unpacked in such a great way 👍
I loved this. Thank you.
Does anyone have a link to the letter that she mentioned at the start where Dostoyevsky wrote about c&p to the publisher? Love this vid btw
Thank you! I took the English translation of the letter from this book. I hope it helps.
books.google.ro/books?id=AQGNDgAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
And here you can find the quote:
shorturl.at/BDKVX
The eponymous "crime" of Crime & Punishment occurs in Chapter VII. When does the "punishment" happen-- in the Epilogue? In Siberia? Is the punishment something you've analyzed, Ms. Clef? If so, I'd love to hear your thoughts... Please direct me to the Part of your Analysis, (1 - 7) that digs into Dostoyevski's thoughts about punishment.
This helps me understand the horse Dream so much better. Thank you for making such wonderfully helpful content!!
Amazing video! I loved every second of it. I also plan to be on excursion in Saint Petersburg. I’m so emotional when dealing with this book. Masterpiece!
Thank you! I'd love to go back to St. Petersburg.
Nobody told me that Crime and Punishment is a psychological thriller. And ohhhh I love the murder scene! This could be my sincere full 5 stars.
Awesome!
I don't know why but every time I read the book I always imagine Raskolnikov as a grumpy old man.
Hi - great videos. About the word "batyushka" : I have several English translations of the book. There is one that uses the word "father." (It was translated by Oliver Ready.) Two of them use "dearie." One uses "mister." One uses "sir." One uses "my friend." And the strangest one, in my opinion, uses "my good man." Thanks for your hard work.
Stephen from NYC
Thank you! Great research! Unfortunately, I don't have all the english translations.
@@SophiaClef I found another one: Michael Scammell, from 1963, translates it as "m'lad," which is short for "my lad," and seems quite British. I haven't read all of the translations that I have. The only ones I've read all the way through are by David McDuff, Jessie Coulson, and Oliver Ready. And I really liked both Coulson and Ready. Thanks!
Stephen from NYC
Thanks so much for sharing with us your thoughts. Could I have the letter in which dotogesky shares his first thoughts about Crime and Punishment?, in addition, I wonder if you have the list of the meanings of the names.
Unfortunately, I don't have a list of names and their meanings, but I discussed most of them throughout the videos (part 1-6), when they were more relevant to the point I was trying to make. Here is the only translation of the letter I could find: (The Notebooks for CRIME & PUNISHMENT):
May I count on publishing my novel in your journal, The Russian Messenger?
I’ve been writing it here in Wiesbaden for the past two months, and I’m [now] finishing it. It will be about five to six printer’s pages long. I’ve got about two week’s work still left, and perhaps a little more. In any case, I can say for sure that I will send it off to the editors of The Russian Messenger no later than a month from now.
The idea of the novel [as much as I can tell] cannot possibly go against the thoughts tenor of your journal; on the contrary. This is a psychological account of a crime. [The action takes place at the present time, in this year.] A young man expelled from the university, a petty bourgeois by background, living in the most extreme poverty, decides out of lightheadedness and instability of thinking to extricate himself from his deplorable situation with one bold stroke. He has become obsessed with badly thought out ideas which happen to be in the air. He decides to kill an old woman, the wife of a titular counselor, a moneylender. She is a crazy, deaf, sick old woman; [she greedily charges exorbitant interest]; she is evil and lives on the blood and flesh of others, and torments her younger sister. “She is not good for anything,” “Why does she live?” “Does anyone need her?” etc. These questions unhinge the mind of the young man. He decides to kill her, to rob her, in order to make his mother happy, who is living in the provinces, and to save his sister, who is living as a companion to some gentry, from [the sensuous] advances of the head of this gentry family, advances that threaten her with ruin. Then he plans to finish his studies, go abroad and [then] [be] honest, and firmly immovable [in] the fulfilment of his “humanitarian duty toward mankind” for the rest of his life. [By which of course] “he will make up” for the slight crime, if you can call an act done to an old, deaf, crazy, evil and sick woman, who [doesn’t know herself why she is living] and who in a month perhaps would die anyway, a crime.
Despite the fact that crimes of this kind are done with great difficulty, that is, the criminals [almost always] leave clues that are crudely apparent, traces, etc. [and they leave a great deal to chance, which almost always trips them up], he is able to do the deed, completely by chance, quickly and successfully.
A month goes by from the time of the deed to the final catastrophe. [There are no suspicions of him nor can there be.] Then the psychological process of the crime unfolds. Unresolved questions arise before the murderer, unsuspected and unexpected feelings torment his heart. The truth of God and the law of nature take their own, and he finally feels forced to give himself up, [forced] in order to be once again part of humankind, even if it means perishing in prison. The feeling of isolation and separation from humanity which he felt immediately after committing the crime wear him down. [The law of truth and human nature have their effect (…) the convictions.] [The criminal] decides to take suffering on himself in order [even without being forced] to redeem his act. [However, it is hard for me to explain in full my thought.]1 [In addition] I hint at this thought in the novel, that [legal] punishment for a crime frightens a criminal much less than we think [the lawmakers in part] because the criminal himself [morally] demands it.
I have seen this even among the most uneducated people [in cases of pure chance]. I wanted to express this precisely in an educated man, a man of the new generation, so that my thought would be clearer, more easily understood, and more apparent. Certain events, which have happened in the most recent past, have convinced me that my subject is not at all eccentric, [precisely because the murderer is an educated and even a well-disposed man]. I was told last year of a student in Moscow, who had been expelled from the university after some trouble in school, who decided to rob the post and to kill the mailman. There are still many traces in our newspapers of extraordinary instability in our ideas, which inspires horrible deeds. [That seminary student, for example, who met the girl, by agreement with her in a shed, and killed her and whom they arrested within an hour eating his breakfast, etc.] In short I am convinced that my subject matter is in part justified by our times.
To be sure, in my analysis of the thoughts idea of my novel, I have neglected the whole structure of events. I’ll answer for its interest, but I don’t take it upon myself to judge its artistic realization. I’ve had to write too many [much too many] bad things, trying to meet a deadline, etc. [However], I haven’t written this piece in a hurry or in heat. I’m going to try, if only for myself, to finish it as best I can.
I love your videos!
Hi Sophia. Really loved your analysis. I know you're going to talk about the theme of nowhere to go and you did. Subscribed :). Keep them coming
Thank you!
Thank you so much ❤ you are the best 🌸
Great analysis, thank you :)
You are so insightful, thank you very much ☺️
like a min in lol
this is so ideal for what i was looking for.
had the worry i was going to read more dov get halfway then forget about the book. perfect for a recap from what i just read tyty
great analysis, cant wait to see whats in store for next part
Currently reading the newest translation by Oliver Ready, interestingly, he uses the word “father” when the pawnlady refers to Roskalnikov, and explains exactly the same thing you said in footnotes. I really enjoyed watching this as it brough to my attention details that i’ve missed. I very much enjoyed your review of “the master and margarita” so looking forward to to the rest of these c&p videos.
It’s very interesting the meaning of the names. Is there any reference where I can find more about this?
I had to look for them in different places: the manuscripts, criticism and google, but I can write it here if you're interested.
@@SophiaClef PLEASE DOOOO
You should read a book on line. Love your voice and view on these.
What is the name of the Russian character that Raskolnikov spends his time thinking about? I found this interesting and would like to learn more!
I guess you mean Tsar Gorokh (you can find him on Wikipedia too). His name literally means pea.
On the first page of the novel Rodya remembers spending too much time thinking about "once upon a time". It's a word-play. The character substitutes words like fairytale or nonsense, but in this case it also stands for Napoleon. I think I explained that in part 3, if I remember correctly. I hope it helps!
I just finished the part 1 and boy was it intense 😅
I need an analysis of what those grade 10 students write lmao, perfect memeable material, whats the building where Rodya supposingly lives?
just finished part 1 pls no spoilers
Kudos on sharing the shades, backgrounds, layers and other "ornaments" of this magnum opus of Dostoevsky with the very same passion, vivacity, and intensity that's befitting Dostoevsky, Sophia. Not sure, whether the significance of the ubiquitous presence of "yellow" colors is to insinuate the "jaundiced" vision that's now surmounted and engulfed the very being of Raskolnikov, as he acts further on his plot. Also, this very "yellow" color, reminded me of its ubiquity in the Eastern Orthodox Liturgy, ikons, and the very sanctuary where the Liturgy is celebrated, as repeatedly he utters "My God," despite his estrangement from God as he had fallen from the depth of his faith, thanks to his elected choice? I really thank you for sharing quite a few points that I definitely missed to correlate, as part of my current (third) re-read of C&P. I am sure, I will be watching these videos again, for my next re-read.
I am interested in getting Dostoevsky's long letter on this work and how can I get it?
Thank you for sharing your thoughts! I don't remember the collection I took the quote from (I usually find the quotes in Russian then I struggle to look for translations), but here's the translation I found in The notebooks for Crime and Punishment. I hope it helps.
From a letter to M. N. Katkov
M. N.
May I count on publishing my novel in your journal, The Russian Messenger?
I’ve been writing it here in Wiesbaden for the past two months, and I’m [now] finishing it. It will be about five to six printer’s pages long. I’ve got about two week’s work still left, and perhaps a little more. In any case, I can say for sure that I will send it off to the editors of The Russian Messenger no later than a month from now.
The idea of the novel [as much as I can tell] cannot possibly go against the thoughts tenor of your journal; on the contrary. This is a psychological account of a crime. [The action takes place at the present time, in this year.] A young man expelled from the university, a petty bourgeois by background, living in the most extreme poverty, decides out of lightheadedness and instability of thinking to extricate himself from his deplorable situation with one bold stroke. He has become obsessed with badly thought out ideas which happen to be in the air. He decides to kill an old woman, the wife of a titular counselor, a moneylender. She is a crazy, deaf, sick old woman; [she greedily charges exorbitant interest]; she is evil and lives on the blood and flesh of others, and torments her younger sister. “She is not good for anything,” “Why does she live?” “Does anyone need her?” etc. These questions unhinge the mind of the young man. He decides to kill her, to rob her, in order to make his mother happy, who is living in the provinces, and to save his sister, who is living as a companion to some gentry, from [the sensuous] advances of the head of this gentry family, advances that threaten her with ruin. Then he plans to finish his studies, go abroad and [then] [be] honest, and firmly immovable [in] the fulfilment of his “humanitarian duty toward mankind” for the rest of his life. [By which of course] “he will make up” for the slight crime, if you can call an act done to an old, deaf, crazy, evil and sick woman, who [doesn’t know herself why she is living] and who in a month perhaps would die anyway, a crime.
Despite the fact that crimes of this kind are done with great difficulty, that is, the criminals [almost always] leave clues that are crudely apparent, traces, etc. [and they leave a great deal to chance, which almost always trips them up], he is able to do the deed, completely by chance, quickly and successfully.
A month goes by from the time of the deed to the final catastrophe. [There are no suspicions of him nor can there be.] Then the psychological process of the crime unfolds. Unresolved questions arise before the murderer, unsuspected and unexpected feelings torment his heart. The truth of God and the law of nature take their own, and he finally feels forced to give himself up, [forced] in order to be once again part of humankind, even if it means perishing in prison. The feeling of isolation and separation from humanity which he felt immediately after committing the crime wear him down. [The law of truth and human nature have their effect (…) the convictions.] [The criminal] decides to take suffering on himself in order [even without being forced] to redeem his act. [However, it is hard for me to explain in full my thought.]1 [In addition] I hint at this thought in the novel, that [legal] punishment for a crime frightens a criminal much less than we think [the lawmakers in part] because the criminal himself [morally] demands it.
I have seen this even among the most uneducated people [in cases of pure chance]. I wanted to express this precisely in an educated man, a man of the new generation, so that my thought would be clearer, more easily understood, and more apparent. Certain events, which have happened in the most recent past, have convinced me that my subject is not at all eccentric, [precisely because the murderer is an educated and even a well-disposed man]. I was told last year of a student in Moscow, who had been expelled from the university after some trouble in school, who decided to rob the post and to kill the mailman. There are still many traces in our newspapers of extraordinary instability in our ideas, which inspires horrible deeds. [That seminary student, for example, who met the girl, by agreement with her in a shed, and killed her and whom they arrested within an hour eating his breakfast, etc.] In short I am convinced that my subject matter is in part justified by our times.
To be sure, in my analysis of the thoughts idea of my novel, I have neglected the whole structure of events. I’ll answer for its interest, but I don’t take it upon myself to judge its artistic realization. I’ve had to write too many [much too many] bad things, trying to meet a deadline, etc. [However], I haven’t written this piece in a hurry or in heat. I’m going to try, if only for myself, to finish it as best I can.
@@SophiaClef Thanks a lot, Sophia. I do not have the book on "notebook on C&P" and so, thanks for sharing that. BTW, your videos are so infectious, that after I completed my reread of C&P this week (Sidney Monas translation), am starting another reread using Richard Pevear-Larissa Volokhonsky translation this weekend, just because am very much motivated by your pointers and I want to retrace them, once again. To that end, this time, am going to watch your videos before each part that am going to read. I can already visualize how that experience is going to be. So, thank you, once again!!!
@@RexArul I'm so glad to meet a fellow Crime and Punishment fant. The notebook is the manuscript. Dostoevsky was quite good at calligraphy and sketches so it's aesthetically pleasing, too. 😊
@@SophiaClef Thank you. Yep, how many ever times one reads C&P, it never bores or tires. Rather, it is lending itself with newer and newer perspectives. Also, thanks for that hat-tip about Dostoevsky's calligraphy and sketches. Not sure, whether they are available in the West. Will need to check.
.
@@RexArul They are. I just typed "dostoevsky calligraphy" into Google. Some words and names are written in French, so you don't have to understand Russian to appreciate them.
great video!!
Can you do this series about Karamazov brothers 🙏
Hello I just wanna say I like your aesthetic and vibes
Thank you!
im reading it too
I finished it too
Dam this had me tearing up icl
you're the best
What translation are you reading?
I read it in Russian, but I used Michael Katz and Pevear and Volokhonsky's translations for the videos.
@@SophiaClef thanks! I love your energy by the way!
who the hell dares to dislike this video ??
haha thank you!
On point thumbnail 👏
thank you!
A comment on the meaning of the word "sin". It is not just in russian that the word means to miss. In english, sinning is missing the mark in archery
Great one I love it how one is not flaunting her physical traits but her attributes as intellectual ones
There’s two Russian treasures in this video!
Chapter 2 was just a drunken man telling his story in bar, while it gave commentary on the natural of alcoholism on how people who usually are concerned or form a strict household starts become more talkative when they are drunk, it was in end how the young man decides and later debated leaving some money in that guy's House
I would also interpret it this way, if I hadn't read the rest of the novel.
@@SophiaClef indeed I have just started it, thanks for putting it in a way that don't spoil the further story
I'm in love!
On a more substantial note, this is a really great analysis! I just finished the book and it left such an impression it's led me to binge analysis and yours is clearly the best IMO. I had forgotten about the horse scene and it's significance. I appreciate your work and look forward to part 2.
PS. I'm American and am exceedingly jealous of your easy pronunciation of Russian names! Cheers!
Wow! Thank you! I spent a lot of time with the novel, mostly going back and forth between different scenes to understand if there's a connection.
Ur smile is very beautiful miss Sophia
You look like Matans sister who actually can name 10 books
How nice to see a non-degenerate, intelligent, cultured woman on TH-cam. So rare. Great novel, author and review!
Usually TH-cam gives you suggestions based on what you have previously looked for.
Degenerate, dumb, uncultured women???
@@maximiliano1761 I would never look for such trash, the algo is designed to infuriate the non-degenerate. it is programmed by leftists.
@@maximiliano1761 Read Matt Taibi's Twitter Files, and note the congressional hearings just underway, with ironclad proof that Twitter, FB and YT discriminate against certain groups.
@@lastsonofthewest2444 I m not wasting time looking up political crackpots or partisan hacks.
I am trying to improve myself, make money, support my family, raise my children right, and live a long time. I don't have time to waste going down that rabbit hole.
@@lastsonofthewest2444 also I don't want BS on my feed.
Will you marry me?
I’d love to get the letter that you’ve mentioned🫶