Crime and Expression

Abstract

In this chapter I argue that the narrative of Crime and Punishment somewhat inadvertently functions as an extended commentary on the nature of agency. My claim, that is, is that each of Dostoevsky’s characters, including Raskolnikov at various points in time, represents a plausible approach to understanding the ways in which an agent relates to his deeds. Dostoevsky dramatizes these relations as ending in sometimes spectacular failures, with the result that narrative events become difficult to characterize in intentional terms. Raskolnikov, oddly, switches among all these forms of relationship, but does not arrive at a satisfactory connection to his actions until he is able to recognize himself in his deeds. The drama of Crime and Punishment thus functions as an argument for treating agency as expressive, and so a matter of realizing in the world deeds that are rationally responsive and adequate to one’s own understanding of them.