Semyon Zakharovich Marmeladov is one of those unfortunate characters in the novel who often find themselves powerless in the face of life’s circumstances and such base people as, for example, Luzhin.

Raskolnikov meets Marmeladov in a tavern, where the latter talks about the dire situation his family is in, which is why his daughter Sonya had to go to the panel. This story is touching kind heart Raskolnikov, but he draws the wrong conclusions from him: the conversation with Semyon Zakharovich only strengthens Rodion’s intention to kill the old money-lender.

Dostoevsky describes Marmeladov as a man who is already over fifty. Semyon Zakharovich does not stand out with his appearance: he is of average height, has a heavy build, has a large bald spot and the face of a typical drunkard. His eyes are small, but at the same time intelligence and animation shine in them and, at the same time, madness flashes through them. That is, Dostoevsky wants to say with this description that, despite his gray appearance and drunken face, Semyon Zakharovich is a bearer of such qualities as kindness, intelligence, and sacrifice. As it turned out later, all these qualities were more than passed on to him eldest daughter- Sonya. But drunkenness does its job, and Marmeladov appears before the readers as a dying man who is aware of his fall, but can no longer do anything about it. Being drunk, he falls under a horse, and on the same day he dies in Sonya's arms.

Previous part:

Raskolnikov
The scene is St. Petersburg, summer 1866.

Our main character: Raskolnikov Rodion Romanovich is a law student who dropped out of school a few months ago due to lack of money. He lives in a very small closet, with a landlady whom he had not paid for a long time and owed money.

Rodion is remarkably handsome, tall, slender, but dressed in almost rags and has not eaten for the second day. He went out into the hot, dusty stone sack of St. Petersburg, into a quarter that was disgusting to him, full of drinking bars and drunkards.

For the last month, he has not been able to get the thought of crime out of his head.

He conceived a terrible thing - the murder and robbery of an old woman-pawnbroker, whose occupation is to lend a certain amount of money on the security of various things of jewelry nature for several months. And every month take 10% for storage. And when the term expired, or the interest was not paid, the old woman sold the pledged item.

Rodion calls his thoughts about murder fantasies and does not believe that he will decide on this, although he thinks through every detail, and now he was going to her, to the old woman, for the last check.

A month ago he brought the old woman a silver ring, and today he brought her a silver watch, for which she only gives one and a half rubles, which infuriates Rodion. Moreover, taking into account the interest paid, it only comes out to a ruble and fifteen kopecks. He carefully watched how and where the old woman took out the keys, listened to what she opened in the next room and remembered.

After monetary calculations and a short reflection, Rodion tells the old woman that he will soon bring her a silver cigarette case as collateral, and with that he leaves.

Raskolnikov left the old woman exclaiming to himself that his idea was dirty, disgusting, and he regretted that he had been thinking about it for a whole month. He decided to give it up.

Raskolnikov is poor. He's been hatching murder plans for a month now. Is it really just because of poverty? When meeting with the old woman, when his “fantasy” suddenly met reality, Raskolnikov characterizes this as a dirty, disgusting act, and decides to abandon his plan.

Marmeladov's story

On his way home, Raskolnikov goes into a tavern to buy himself a glass of cold beer and a cracker. Strictly speaking, this is the first time he’s entered a tavern. Although he usually avoided the company of people, he suddenly became interested in one guest of the tavern, and he, in turn, became interested in him.

It was Marmeladov. His essence boiled down to the fact that he was a drunkard. Marmeladov is a retired official, about fifty, of heavy build, with a large bald spot. A certain enthusiasm flashed in his eyes, perhaps there was meaningfulness and intelligence, but also a bit of madness. He looked at those around him in the tavern with boredom and a bit of disdain, but he looked at Raskolnikov with great interest, to whom he addressed such an ornate speech:

Do I dare, my dear sir, to address you with a decent conversation? For although you are not in a significant position, my experience distinguishes you as an educated person and unaccustomed to drink. I myself have always respected education combined with heartfelt feelings, and, in addition, I am a titular councilor. Marmeladov is such a surname; titular advisor. Dare I ask, would you like to serve?

Marmeladov told his story. That he drinks not for fun, but only for sorrow, for the desire for suffering.

A month ago, his wife was beaten by Lebezyatnikov, and he was lying drunk. It was already the fifth night that he spent the night (homeless) on the Neva, on hay barges. That his daughter lives on a Yellow Ticket (a prostitute’s passport with the marks of doctors and the chief of police)

Marmeladov considers himself a pig, a scoundrel. He told about his wife - Katerina Ivanovna, the daughter of a staff officer, educated and well-mannered. Since childhood, her breasts were weak and prone to consumption (tuberculosis), and that he drank away her stockings, not even her shoes - her stockings. I drank away the goat's fluff scarf (and this winter she caught a cold and started coughing up blood)

That three small children from Katerina Ivanovna’s first marriage also live with them, as well as adult daughter from Marmeladov's first marriage.

The wife was brought up in a noble aristocratic institution. The lady is hot, proud and unyielding. She washes the floor herself and sits on black bread, but she won’t allow herself to be disrespected. That’s why Mr. Lebezyatnikov didn’t want to let go of his rudeness, and when Lebezyatnikov beat her up for it, it was not so much from the beatings as from feeling that she went to bed.

That Katerina Ivanovna’s first husband was an infantry officer, whom she loved excessively. But he started playing cards, was put on trial and died. And although in the end he beat her, and she didn’t let him off the hook, she still remembers him with tears. After his death, she found herself in such hopeless poverty that, educated and well-mannered, with a well-known surname, she married him, Marmeladov, because she had nowhere else to go.

That at first he didn’t drink, but when he lost his job, not through his own fault, but due to a change in staff, he started drinking. And after long disasters and wanderings, a year and a half ago, they found themselves in St. Petersburg, where he got a place, and lost it through his own fault, for he reached the point.

He talked about his daughter Sonechka, a meek, unrequited creature with a pale, thin face. Marmeladov claims that an honest girl, without special talents, tirelessly doing laundry, washing and sewing, will earn no more than 15 kopecks a day.

And then somehow Katerina Ivanovna, a lady, although full of generous feelings, but a hot-tempered and irritated lady, one day walked around the room and wringing her hands, and with red spots on her cheeks from illness, exclaimed: “You live, you parasite, with us, eat and drink and use the heat" [Marmeladov comments: what do you eat and drink there when even the kids don’t see the crust for three days.] And here I lie, drunk, and Sonya says in her meek voice: “Well, Katerina Ivanovna, should I really do such a thing?”

And Daria Frantsevna, a malicious woman and known to the police many times, had already come three times through the owner to invite her to the brothel.

And Katerina Ivanovna answers her with a laugh: “Well, what should we protect? Eco treasure!”

Here Marmeladov especially notes that “But don’t blame, don’t blame, dear sir! For this was not said in common sense, but with excited feelings, in illness and with the crying of children who had not eaten, and it was said more for the sake of insult than in the exact I mean.."

And then at about six o’clock, Sonechka got up, put on a scarf, put on a burnusik and left the apartment, and at nine o’clock she came back. She came straight to Katerina Ivanovna, and silently laid out thirty rubles on the table in front of her. She didn’t utter a word at the same time, if only she looked, but she only took our large draped green scarf, completely covered her head and face with it, and lay down on the bed, facing the wall, only her shoulders and body were shaking... And then Katerina Ivanovna, also neither Without saying a word, she went up to Sonya’s bed and stood at her knees all evening, kissed her feet, didn’t want to get up, and then they both fell asleep together, hugging... And Marmeladov, as before, in the same form and lay there... drunk, sir.

Since then, due to one unfavorable incident and a report from ill-intentioned persons, Sofya Semyonovna was forced to receive a yellow ticket and move to live separately. And Sonechka comes to them now more at dusk, and relieves Katerina Ivanovna, and delivers the means within her power..

Five weeks ago, Marmeladov got up in the morning, raised his hands to the sky and went to his former boss. He listened to everything, even shed a tear, and said: “Well, Marmeladov, since you have deceived my expectations... I once again take you on my personal responsibility, remember, go!” I returned home, and as Marmeladov announced that he had been enlisted in the service again and was receiving a salary, God, what happened then!..

Marmeladov: “As soon as they both found out, Katerina Ivanovna and Sonechka, it was as if I had moved to the kingdom of God. It used to be that I lay there like cattle, only cursing! And now: they walk on tiptoe, calming the children down: “Semyon Zakharych is tired at work, resting, shh.” !" They give me coffee before the service, they boil the cream! They started getting real cream, do you hear! And a full set of uniforms: boots, calico shirtfronts, a uniform - all this is eleven and a half - and they just got it somewhere?

“When, six days ago,” Marmeladov says further, I brought my first salary – twenty-three rubles and forty kopecks – in full, she called me a little one: “Little thing, she says, you’re such a thing!” And alone, sir, do you understand? Well, what kind of beauty does it seem to me, and what kind of husband am I? No, she pinched her cheek: “You’re such a little thing!” -- speaks."

And throughout that entire heavenly day of my life and that entire evening, I myself carried on in my fleeting dreams: that is, how I will arrange all this, and dress the children, and give her peace of mind, and return my only-begotten daughter from dishonor to the bosom of the family. .. And much, much... It is permissible, sir. Well, my lord (Marmeladov suddenly seemed to shudder, raised his head and looked intently at his listener), well, and the next day, after all these dreams, in the evening, I was cunningly deceived, like a thief in night, stole the key from Katerina Ivanovna’s chest, took out what was left of the salary he brought, 12 rubles, and that’s it, look at me! The fifth day from home, and there they are looking for me, and the service is over, and the uniform lies in the tavern near the Egyptian Bridge, in exchange for which he received this robe... and it’s all over!

Marmeladov hit his forehead with his fist, clenched his teeth, closed his eyes and sat there for a minute, then his face suddenly changed and he said with feigned slyness:

And today I was at Sonya’s, I went to ask for a hangover! Hehehehe! - Did she really give it? - someone shouted from the side of those who entered, shouted and laughed at the top of his lungs. “This very half-shtof, sir, was bought with her money,” Marmeladov pointed to the bottle of vodka that he drank during the story, “I took out thirty kopecks, the last, all that was... She didn’t say anything, just silently She looked at me... It’s not like this on earth, but there... they grieve for people, cry, but don’t reproach, don’t reproach! And it’s more painful, sir, more painful, sir, when they don’t reproach you!.. Thirty kopecks, yes, sir. But now she needs them too, huh? What do you think, my dear sir? After all, she must now observe cleanliness. This cleanliness costs money, it’s special, you know? Do you understand? Well, you can buy sweets there too, because you can’t, sir; starched skirts, a fancy shoe of sorts, so that you can show off your legs when you have to cross a puddle.

Do you understand, do you understand, sir, what this purity means?

[Here we recall the description of a brothel during the day from Kuprin’s story “The Pit”, where unwashed, unkempt women wander aimlessly from corner to corner, only in the late afternoon they iron, wash, starch, blush, restore a kind of “cleanliness” in order to plunge her back into the dirt debauchery.]

Well, here I am, the blood father, and stole these thirty kopecks for my hangover! And I drink, sir! And he’s already drunk, sir!.. Well, who would feel sorry for someone like me? huh? Do you feel sorry for me now, sir, or not? You say, sir, is it a pity or not? Hehehehehehe! He wanted to pour it, but there was nothing left. The half-staff was empty.

Why should I feel sorry for you? - shouted the owner, who found himself again next to them.

There was laughter and even curses. Those who listened and those who did not listen laughed and cursed, looking only at one figure of a retired official.

- Sorry! why feel sorry for me!- Marmeladov suddenly cried out, standing up with his hand outstretched forward, in decisive inspiration, as if he had just been waiting for these words. -- Why be sorry, you say? Yes! There's no reason to feel sorry for me! I need to be crucified, crucified on a cross, and not pitied! But crucify him, judge, crucify him, and, having crucified him, have pity on him! And then I myself will go to you to die, because I don’t thirst for fun, but for sorrow and tears!.. Do you think, seller, that this half-damask of yours has become a delight for me? I looked for sorrow, sorrow at its bottom, sorrow and tears, and tasted it, and found it; and the one who took pity on everyone and who understood everyone and everything will take pity on us; he is the only one, he is the judge. She will come that day and ask: “Where is the daughter who was an evil and consumptive stepmother, who betrayed herself to strangers and young children? Where is the daughter who took pity on her earthly father, an obscene drunkard, without being horrified by his atrocities?” And he will say: “Come! I have already forgiven you once... I have forgiven you once... And now your many sins are forgiven, because you loved so much...” And he will forgive my Sonya, forgive me, I already know that will forgive... I felt it just now, as she had, in my heart!.. And she will judge and forgive everyone, both the good and the evil, and the wise and meek... And when he has finished with everyone, then he will say to us: “Come out, he’ll say, and you too! Come out drunk, come out weak, come out drunk!” And we will all go out without shame and stand. And he will say: “You pigs! The image of the beast and its seal; but come you too!” And the wise will say, the wise will say: “Lord, why do you accept these?” And he will say: “That is why I accept them, the wise ones, because I accept them, the wise ones, because not one of these himself considered himself worthy of this...” And he will stretch out his hands to us, and we will fall down... and cry... and that’s all we'll understand! Then we will understand everything!.. and everyone will understand... and Katerina Ivanovna... and she will understand... Lord, yes kingdom come your!

And he sank down on the bench, exhausted and exhausted, not looking at anyone, as if forgetting his surroundings and deep in thought. His words made some impression; Silence reigned for a minute, but soon the same laughter and curses were heard:

Reasoned!
- I lied!
- Official!

And so on and so forth. Then Raskolnikov takes Marmeladov home. Without entering the room, he pushes Rodion forward, and he collapses on his knees in the doorway. At first, Katerina Ivanovna does not notice her husband, and thinks that Rodion has come to someone else, because... the room is a walk-through room, but then he sees him and a scandal breaks out, to which the whole house comes running. Katerina Ivanovna screams and pulls her husband by the hair, but he doesn’t resist at all.

Raskolnikov quickly leaves. As he leaves, he puts his hand in his pocket, scoops up as much copper money as he can from the ruble he exchanged at the tavern, and inconspicuously places it on the window. Then, already on the stairs, he comes to his senses and wants to turn back.

“What kind of nonsense have I done,” he thinks, “here they have Sonya, but I need it myself.” But having judged that it is already impossible to take it back and that, after all, he would not have taken it anyway, he waves his hand and goes to his apartment. “Sonya also needs fudge,” he continues, walking down the street, and grins sarcastically, “this cleanliness costs money...

Hey Sonya! What a well, however, they managed to dig! and enjoy it! That's why they use it! And we got used to it. We cried and got used to it. A scoundrel of a man gets used to everything!”

He thinks about it. - Well, what if I lied? If a person is really not a scoundrel, the whole person in general, the entire human race, that is, it means that everything else is prejudices, just false fears, and there are no barriers, and that’s how it should be!..

Marmeladov is a drunkard. He is a burden to his family. His wife and children are starving, his daughter was forced to sell herself to a brothel to help the family, and he himself is dragging the last thing out of the house. He even drank through his wife's stockings. I drank the scarf, although it is consumptive and susceptible to disease. At one point, when Sonya becomes a prostitute, Marmeladov gathers his remaining strength, appeals to the pity of his former boss and finally gets a job. However, only until his first payday, when his weakness takes its toll and he collapses to the bottom of the glass, drinking away both his salary and his uniform.

Marmeladov is very weak. But not physically weak, no. He still worked for one month and received a salary, therefore he can work even now. But he is weak in spirit. He can't overcome his drinking. To encourage him to have a brief glimpse, his daughter had to go to the panel. But he can’t send one daughter to the panel every month, in order to somehow motivate himself, and he doesn’t have that many of them. And if he cannot overcome his weakness, then he is a complete person. Nothing will change with him, he has already outlived his usefulness.

Weakness of spirit, is it bad? In other words, is this a sin on Marmeladov’s part? Maybe it's just his personal business, to drink or not to drink? The answer to the question of what is personal and what is public is usually quite vague, but in this case it is clear - Marmeladov’s weakness is criminal: his family is starving, and he steals the last thing from home.

Marmeladov admits that he is a pig and a scoundrel. In principle, this alone is good. He admits his sin, he sees it, he just cannot overcome it due to his weakness. Is that just good? Yes, since many people not only do not recognize their bad qualities, they do not even see them. This cannot be taken away from Marmeladov. In addition, Marmeladov argues quite soberly and morally throughout the monologue.

In addition, in the episode where he went to Sonya for money to cure his hangover, and where she brought him the last 30 kopecks for vodka, he felt a painful pang of conscience:

“She took out thirty kopecks, the last, all that was... She didn’t say anything, she just looked at me silently... It’s not like that on earth, but there... they grieve for people, cry, but don’t reproach, don’t reproach! And this It hurts, sir, it hurts, sir, when they don’t reproach! take away from themselves and give away the last. Again, is this in itself a good thing? Yes, this is good, the sacrifices of others are not obvious to everyone: there are people who live with the conviction that they are owed everything and take sacrifices for granted.

In the final part of his monologue, Marmeladov, quite sublimely, expressed the following thought: he considers himself and others like him unworthy of the Kingdom of the Lord, however, he hopes that he will be pitied and accepted in heaven only because he does not consider himself worthy of it . Are his hopes justified?

On the one hand, he admits that he is a sinner, he seems to have a conscience, but on the other hand, he is immensely weak in spirit, and this weakness of his is criminal. His children are starving, his daughter is in prison, and he is lying “drunk.”

What is the reason for this weakness? Marmeladov was born weak, did he become weak, or did the surrounding reality make him this way? Is it possible to do this, and how to make sure that the Marmeladov phenomenon does not exist in the world?

We will talk about Katerina Ivanovna and Sonechka later, but for now let’s note Raskolnikov’s last thought. He is amazed that the Marmeladov family lives on what Sonya brings with her “craft”: “Oh yes Sonya! What a well, however, they managed to dig! And they are using it! Well, they are using it! And they got used to it. They cried, and they got used to it. “The scoundrel-man gets used to it!”

And then he thinks, maybe this is really how it should be? What conscience, what morality, maybe it’s all just prejudice? A prejudice is when, for example, a person is afraid of thunder, but if you reasonably explain to him that it is just a sound, then he will stop being afraid of it. Maybe it’s the same here? Maybe condemnation of prostitution is also a prejudice? And there is no conscience or morality, and therefore you can kill, just to think through everything so that you don’t get caught? Raskolnikov captures this idea.

Essay “Characteristics and lessons of Marmeladov.” Analysis of the episode where Raskolnikov met with Marmeladov in a tavern. The tragedy of the Marmeladov family

The St. Petersburg images in the novel “Crime and Punishment” form a gloomy picture of the morals of the city bottom, which was observed by Dostoevsky’s contemporaries. The Marmeladov family is the most vivid gallery of characters illustrating the depth of the fall of poor people. All members of this family seem to have broken wings: they have fallen and cannot get up, they are only powerlessly tossing and turning on the ground. They could have been sleepy city dwellers who would not have attracted our attention, but their only breadwinner took to drinking and dragged his household to the bottom. It is Marmeladov who is to blame for the fact that his family has become poor and immoral. One of the main mysteries of the novel: why did he do it? Therefore, what interested me most in the work was the image former official Marmeladova.

It is noteworthy that the author gives this image great importance. The dialogue between Raskolnikov and Marmeladov in the tavern goes beyond the plot and tells us about something more important for Dostoevsky’s plan, and not for its implementation. The writer wanted to convey to us not a specific life story, but the entire horror of poverty, to which people simply turn a blind eye so as not to see how moral collapse comes after financial collapse.

It is from this moment that we begin to recognize Semyon Zakharovich. This man immediately attracted Raskolnikov's attention. In Marmeladov’s eyes “there seemed to be even enthusiasm shining—perhaps there was sense and intelligence—but at the same time there seemed to be a flicker of madness.” Marmeladov’s appearance revealed him as a poor alcoholic who had degenerated to the last degree. No one would have thought that he was once a titular councilor. Moreover, he even married a widow with three children, since he could provide them with a decent existence. But something broke in the hero’s heart: he began to drink and with his behavior drove his wife to consumption, and his only daughter to death. Rodion learns all this from Marmeladov in the tavern and is once again convinced of the correctness of his theory, because his victim profited from such terrible stories.

Why did Marmeladov drink himself to death? How did Marmeladov’s fate turn out? little man? I think the reason is his weakness of character. He took Katerina Ivanovna as his wife out of pity, he didn’t achieve much in the service, and to all the disasters that befell him, he reacted like this: “And I... was lying drunk, sir.” When his wife was beaten, he remained silent. When his daughter went to the panel, he endured it. Moreover, the hero cannot even remain idle without support; he needs a listener who will console him. All this indicates that the official lost his dignity while still in service, when he was pushed around in every possible way senior officials. They broke him, because everyday humiliating lack of rights dulls people, makes them indifferent to everything. As we see, he is not bad person: compassionate, kind and responsive to the grief of others. But the slave position destroyed his personality, and from this loss he began to drink uncontrollably and selflessly. There is nothing left of him, he is poor in spirit, because he has lost his dignity.

The theme of poverty and humiliation can be seen in many novels by F. M. Dostoevsky. In "Crime and Punishment" this story line associated with minor character named Semyon Zakharovich Marmeladov. Who is this hero and what is his life story?

Characteristics of Marmeladov

Semyon Zakharovich Marmeladov is a retired adviser, father of Sonya Marmeladova. He is already a middle-aged man over 50 years old. Despite his sloppy appearance and the image of a drunkard, the fire of life has not yet gone out in his eyes. The meeting with Raskolnikov takes place in a tavern, and the heroes immediately pay attention to each other. Marmeladov identified the student as an educated young man for whom drinking alcohol on a regular basis was unusual. Raskolnikov was surprised by the speech of the former official: it was ornate, correct and pleasant.

This is how the author describes Marmeladov: “He was a man over fifty, of average height and heavy build, with graying hair and a large bald spot, with a yellow, even greenish face swollen from constant drunkenness and with swollen eyelids, from behind which tiny eyes shone. like slits, but animated reddish eyes. But there was something very strange about him; there seemed to be even enthusiasm in his gaze—perhaps there was sense and intelligence—but at the same time there seemed to be a flicker of madness.”

Despite his terrifying financial situation, Marmeladov tries to remain human: he loves his own daughter Sonya, as well as three adopted children - Lida, Polya, Kolya. He teaches the kids to read and write and brings them sweets. He feels sorry for Sonya, who, out of hopelessness, had to take up a shameful occupation and considers himself guilty before her, but cannot do anything.

The inability to cope with his illness and resist drunkenness defines Marmeladov as a weak, weak-willed and spineless person. He understands that his bad habit could destroy his family, but, after holding out for only a month and regaining his rank, he again goes on a drinking binge.

The fate of Marmeladov

The reader learns about Marmeladov's fate when Raskolnikov first meets him. He himself tells the story of his life, analyzing the actions he committed. Semyon Zakharovich reports that he has an 18-year-old daughter who is forced to earn money through prostitution in order to provide for herself and her family. Sonya's mother died four years ago, but after some time Marmeladov remarried Ekaterina Ivanovna, a widow with three children. The main reason Such a decision becomes Marmeladov’s pity for Catherine, who lived in humiliating poverty, from which Semyon Zakharovich was going to save her. At that time, he was still in the provincial service and could provide for his family. But after being laid off, he couldn’t find anything to do and started drinking.

Marmeladov's life in the novel ends tragically under the hooves of a horse. Rodion Raskolnikov becomes a witness to this tragic event.

Marmeladov family

The Marmeladov family consists of Semyon Zakharovich Marmeladov, his wife Ekaterina Ivanovna, Marmeladov’s daughter Sonya and Marmeladov’s three adopted children. Ekaterina Ivanova is a woman from a decent family, but she was forced to live in squalid conditions after the death of her first husband. She is smart and educated, but when angry she can hit her drunken husband.

Sonya is a young girl forced to live on a “yellow ticket”. Despite her occupation, Sonya is morally and morally much higher than many seemingly pious people. It is she who is called upon to save Raskolnikov’s soul and help him find faith.

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Immortal image

Some heroes classical literature gain immortality, live next to us, this is exactly what the image of Sonya turned out to be in the novel “Crime and Punishment” by Dostoevsky. From her example, we learn the best human qualities: kindness, mercy, self-sacrifice. She teaches us to love devotedly and selflessly believe in God.

Meet the heroine

The author does not immediately introduce us to Sonechka Marmeladova. She appears on the pages of the novel when a terrible crime has already been committed, two people have died, and Rodion Raskolnikov has ruined his soul. It seems that nothing in his life can be improved. However, meeting a modest girl changed the hero’s fate and revived him to life.

The first time we hear about Sonya is from the story of the unfortunate drunken Marmeladov. In confession, he talks about his unhappy fate, about his starving family and gratefully pronounces the name of his eldest daughter.

Sonya is an orphan, the only one own daughter Marmeladova. Until recently, she lived with her family. Her stepmother Katerina Ivanovna, a sick, unhappy woman, was exhausted so that the children would not die of starvation, Marmeladov himself drank away his last money, the family was in dire need. Out of despair, the sick woman often became irritated over trifles, made scandals, and reproached her stepdaughter with a piece of bread. Conscientious Sonya decided to take a desperate step. In order to somehow help her family, she began to engage in prostitution, sacrificing herself for the sake of her loved ones. The story of the poor girl left a deep mark on Raskolnikov’s wounded soul long before he personally met the heroine.

Portrait of Sonya Marmeladova

A description of the girl's appearance appears on the pages of the novel much later. She, like a wordless ghost, appears on the threshold of her home during the death of her father, crushed by a drunken cab driver. Timid by nature, she did not dare enter the room, feeling vicious and unworthy. An absurd, cheap, but bright outfit indicated her occupation. “Meek” eyes, “a pale, thin and irregular angular face” and the whole appearance betrayed a meek, timid nature that had reached the extreme degree of humiliation. “Sonya was small, about seventeen years old, thin, but quite pretty blonde, with wonderful blue eyes.” This is how she appeared before Raskolnikov’s eyes, this is how the reader sees her for the first time.

Character traits of Sofia Semyonovna Marmeladova

A person's appearance can often be deceiving. The image of Sonya in Crime and Punishment is full of inexplicable contradictions. A meek, weak girl considers herself a great sinner, unworthy to be in the same room with decent women. She is embarrassed to sit next to Raskolnikov’s mother, and cannot shake hands with his sister for fear of offending them. Sonya can easily be offended and humiliated by any scoundrel, like Luzhin or the landlady. Defenseless against the arrogance and rudeness of the people around her, she is unable to stand up for herself.

A complete description of Sonya Marmeladova in the novel “Crime and Punishment” consists of an analysis of her actions. Physical weakness and indecision are combined in her with enormous mental strength. At the core of her being is love. For the love of her father, she gives him her last money for a hangover. For the sake of love for children, he sells his body and soul. For the sake of love for Raskolnikov, she follows him to hard labor and patiently endures his indifference. Kindness and the ability to forgive distinguish the heroine from other characters in the story. Sonya does not hold a grudge against her stepmother for her crippled life, and does not dare condemn her father for his weak character and eternal drunkenness. She is able to forgive and regret Raskolnikov for the murder of Lizaveta, close to her. “There is no one more unhappy than you in the whole world,” she tells him. To treat the vices and mistakes of people around you this way, you have to be a very strong and integral person.

Where does a weak, fragile, humiliated girl have such patience, endurance and inexhaustible love for people? Faith in God helps Sonya Marmeladova to survive herself and lend a helping hand to others. “What would I be without God?” – the heroine is sincerely perplexed. It is no coincidence that the exhausted Raskolnikov goes to her for help and tells her about his crime. The faith of Sonya Marmeladova helps the criminal to first confess to the murder he has committed, then sincerely repent, believe in God and start a new happy life.

The role of the image of Sonya Marmeladova in the novel

The main character of F. M. Dostoevsky’s novel “Crime and Punishment” is considered to be Rodion Raskolnikov, since the plot is based on the story of the hero’s crime. But it is impossible to imagine the novel without the image of Sonya Marmeladova. Sonya's attitude, beliefs, and actions reflect life position author. The fallen woman is pure and innocent. She fully atones for her sin with all-encompassing love for people. She is “humiliated and insulted”, not a “trembling creature” according to Raskolnikov’s theory, but a person worthy of respect, who turned out to be much stronger than the main character. Having gone through all the trials and suffering, Sonya did not lose the basic human qualities, did not change herself and suffered happiness.

Sonya's moral principles, faith, love turned out to be stronger than Raskolnikov's egoistic theory. After all, only by accepting the beliefs of his girlfriend does the hero gain the right to happiness. The favorite heroine of Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky is the embodiment of his most secret thoughts and the ideals of the Christian religion.

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