Crime and Punishment Summary and Review

Crime and Punishment Summary and Review by Fyodor Dostoevsky

This is the story of Raskolnikov, an impoverished and lonely university student. To improve his family’s living conditions and support himself, he robs and murders a selfish old woman. She is predatory and exploitative, amassing wealth and valuables as a loan shark. After the crime, he suffers excruciating remorse and inner torment. Raskolnikov becomes anxious and delirious. Finally, Sonia, a kindly and compassionate prostitute, inspires him to surrender to the authorities, and thus he experiences a tumultuous rebirth of the soul.