Crime and Punishment

The novel begins with Raskolnikov's belief that he is an extraordinary man, someone who is beyond conventional moral laws, and thus entitled to commit acts that others might consider immoral if they serve a greater good. He conceives a plan to murder Alyona Ivanovna, an old pawnbroker whom he views as a greedy, parasitic figure, believing that her death will free him from his poverty and allow him to do something meaningful with his life. He convinces himself that, like Napoleon or other great figures in history, he is above the law of morality and that his crime can be justified for the greater good.

However, after committing the murder, Raskolnikov's life unravels. The act of killing Alyona, far from elevating him, plunges him into a world of torment. He is not only physically repelled by the crime but mentally overwhelmed by guilt, as the moral fabric he has rejected now returns to haunt him. This internal conflict manifests in a series of hallucinations, feverish dreams, and encounters with people who begin to reveal the profound consequences of his crimenot just for his victim but for his own soul.