Raskolnikov's Dreams

Even before Raskolnikov kills Alyona Ivanovna, he contemplates a great deal about committing the crime. After he makes a trial run to Alyona Ivanovna’s house to get a feel for what he has to do to kill her, he leaves in a deeply distraught state. Raskolnikov clearly is not a man who can easily commit murder, because when he is outside on the street, he exclaims, “Could such horror really come into my head? But then, what filth my heart is capable of!...” He’s so disgusted with himself, that “…he did not know where to flee from his anguish.” Later, this underlying theme of self-doubt emerges to haunt Raskolnikov’s frail and sensitive subconscious in a terrible nightmare.

Raskolnikov’s self-disproval is further reinforced by yet another dream that Raskolnikov has later in the book. In this dream we are exposed to Raskolnikov’s true hatred toward the old pawnbroker, because he only tries to kill her, for Lizaveta wasn’t even in the dream. He gets excited about killing her, and thinks that the woman is “‘Afraid!’”. This bold statement shows that he thinks she’s scared, empowering him so he can vengefully kill her. He strikes her repeatedly on the head, “but at every blow of the axe…the laughing grew stronger and louder,”. The laughter epitomizes his own self laughing at himself, almost saying that he didn’t really kill her, that she will always be there to haunt him. If Raskolnikov was indeed above the law, such a dream would not be invoked in the first place. The fact that he has another dream about Alyona Ivanovna proves that he is a weakling, and certainly not above the law.

Later in the dream little Rodya witnesses the poor horse’s violent beating. This not only serves as an omen of what’s to come, (he kills Alyona Ivanovna and her sister), but also makes a point about Raskolnikov’s true feelings towards violence. After the horse is severely beaten to death, Rodya touchingly “…throws his arms around her dead, bleeding muzzle, and kisses it,…” , but there is nothing he can do. This moving scene demonstrates that it would be exceedingly hard for even the grown Raskolnikov to raise his hand at someone. Despite Rodya’s reluctance towards aggression, he ends up killing Alyona Ivanovna and her sister. Raskolnikov’s inner feelings about violence are overshadowed by the evil within him, which prompts him to kill.

Shortly aft

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