Crime and Punishment Essay

AP Literature
Erickson
3/25/13

Svidrigailov and Satan

Throughout the novel, Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky, The character Svidrigailov epitomizes hedonism and self-service; sometimes to the point of being equated to Satan. His entire life is dedicated to the search of pleasure and cares not for its source. He is willing to spend almost any amount of money on acquiring these goals. Even though he sometimes acts charitably,  he is quick to compensate for his acts of good with some other acts of gratuitous depravity. However, it can be said that when all has failed and when he realizes that his life has had little meaning, he is willing to do what he feels must be done. He takes his own life after coming to the conclusion that his own nihilistic approach to life, coupled with his shameless self-involvement, has done nothing to help his relationships with other people around him. It is Dounia’s rejection of him that makes him come to the realization that despite all of his acts of grandeur and his self-serving attitude, he is unable to acquire the one thing that he desires most of all; respect and admiration from a woman he has become infatuated with. It is this moment of clarity that brings Svidrigailov into the light.

    Much of Svidrigailov’s actions are in the service of himself; that being said, much of what Satan is tied to, is often predicated around some sort of hedonism. Satan is one to tempt others with desire or some other self-service. In order to get Eve to eat the apple, he told her it would give her knowledge and power. It is by this creed of avarice that Svidrigailov lived by, caring only for what he got out of his actions. It is for this reason that Svidrigailov gave the money to the Marmeladov’s family. He had hoped only for some sort of personal growth, as a result of his knowing that his actions prior had done naught but condemn him. But, he did not find his salvation in this, he had fallen too far, and found only one type of recourse; that being suicide.

His exposure to the truth, which is synonymous with light in many aspects, can be related to a quote from the bible "Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed" (John 3.20). Throughout the novel, Svidrigailov has been juxtaposed with darkness, especially just before his demise. The hotel can be seen as his last refuge from the truth that has been following him throughout the novel. He lives there in order to find some kind of peace from the anguish he has been experiencing as a result of his newfound cognizance. It isn’t until he leaves the hotel that he is able to find absolution. He leaves the dark of his past, having realized the true density of his actions and comes to the light where he faces retribution for his avarice and the harm that he has caused others in the name of self-service.

In the bible Satan falls, is bound, then released, fight in the last battle between good and evil, and then finally struck down, much like Svidrigailov.  Svidrigailov’s fall from heaven would be the mysterious death of the young girl he was involved with. He is bound by his wife like the cage in the bottomless pit. She does her best to keep him under control. During this time he is relatively quiet except for one incident where his wife was to blame for most of the pain. After the mysterious death of his wife the final reign of the beast is upon the world as he is now free from his cage. He travels to meet the main characters and tempts them to acting to his will with gifts, like the temptations of christ in the desert. In the final confrontation between good and evil, the vile Svidrigailov confronts the pure and innocent Dounia and is rejected by her.  This stands for the final confrontation that is spoke about in Revelations. After this final battle Svidrigailov uses the last bit of humanity to see what he has done, right all that he can and finally end it life. Svidrigailov casts himself into his own lake of fire. At last the adversary of Israel is defeated and Raskolnikov is able to turn himself in, the act of which had been called returning to israel.

In conclusion, Svidrigailov is evil incarnate in the flesh of man. Though he carries with him a perennial aura of dread throughout the novel, he also invites direct associations to darkness beyond the metaphysical. He breathes a stertorous miasma of impulsive, sadistic hedonism that weaves itself into multifarious forms of abuse, all corollary of his insular nihilism. He is everything brutal and corrupt in the human spirit raised to apotheosis: like Satan, he represents the nadir of mortal potential and the morbid cesspool on the margins of the mind that permeates one’s essence when empathy dilapidates and the self is elevated.