Split Personality

Rodion’s personality changes multiple times. Rodion’s different personality switches were determined by the variety of Rodion’s different actions and an inner conflict of morals between two sides within him. After the murder of the pawnbroker and Lizaveta, a dark and rational side of Rodion triumphed over his contradicting side of caring and compassion. Immediately after the impression is left that Rodion is a heartless character, Dostoyevsky counters Rodion’s evil feat with multiple actions of good deeds. Rodion’s more darker and compelling side is what makes Rodion a feared and frightening character. Rodion’s thought process is viewed as a side completely driven by an intellectual rationalizing character that can murder in cold-blood. Rodion viewed the pawnbroker with the same opinion compared to the officer at the bar. “Senseless, worthless, spiteful, ailing, horrid old woman…” (Chapter I, part VI) these were the words from the officer that Rodion concurred. Rodion’s questions included, "Why does she live?" "Is she useful to anyone at all?" and the fact that the Pawnbroker beats Lizaveta, all added to the justification of the pawnbroker’s death.
In the beginning Rodion was contemplating if he should kill the pawnbroker but coincidental events and self-justifications pushed Rodion to ultimately, murder. After hearing the two young soldiers opinions on the pawnbroker, it crossed to Rodion that “why, just at the moment when he had brought away the embryo of his idea from the old woman, had he dropped at once upon a conversation about her?” (Chapter I, part VI) Along with hearing the conversation he saw the pawnbroker’s sister, Lizaveta at the Hay market away from her sister, hopefully meaning that the pawnbroker would be alone, and possibly avoid collateral damage. And the final event that happened before Rodion went to the Hay market was his dream. Within his dream he saw a horse that represented Lizaveta and the abuser being the pawnbroker. Self-justifications included Rodion’s “superman” theory with correlation with, “I wanted to become a Napoleon that is why I killed her.”(Chapter V, part IV) By murdering the pawnbroker he would be doing a favor to the world and to save Lizaveta from the oppression of her sister and become a “superman” comparable to Napoleon who is unbounded by moral restraints between right and wrong. By now, Rodion had thought he had enough justified reasons to kill the pawnbroker. Everything was falling into place for Rodion. Ironically after he killed the pawnbroker with the swing from the axe to the head, Lizaveta entered the scene of the murder. Without hesitation or thought, Rodion immediately slashed with the axe that “split at one blow all the top of the head.” (Chapter I, part VII)
After Rodion bloodied his hands, he performed charitable acts; these acts violate the intellectual side of his nature. These nice acts make Rodion viewed as compassionate and thoughtful. Examples of the different acts of kindness include helping the Marmeladov family in many different ways, helping his friend Razumihin put an end to his drinking problem and match Dounia to Razumihin. Rodion also assessed some of the other evil characters including Svidrigailov and Luzhin correctly. And his final act of kindness was in the epilogue. In the epilogue was when Rodion donated his money to another student and “rescued two little children from a house on fire.” (Epilogue)
Even though some of the acts had ulterior motive’s such as Rodion helping the Marmeladov family because of Sonia and Rodion confronting Luzhin because he saw him unfit to marry his sister they all came with good intentions. What Dostoyevsky contributed to making this story so interesting was the fact that Dostoyevsky effectively in good detail was able to describe the all the signs and inner conflicts that happened to Rodion physically and mentally. Starting with his Rodion’s physical aspect was the fact that Rodion throughout the entire story is sick. Dostoevsky stressed and reminded the reader that Rodion was constantly sick. Granted that Rodion’s way of living including his lifestyle of constantly going to different pubs to drink, disordered life and the horrible conditions of the city St. Petersburg as described by Rodion as, “airlessness, the bustle and the plaster, scaffolding, bricks, and dust all about him, and that special Petersburg stench” (Chapter I, part I), are all bad to his health, there is one more big factor. The one big factor is the fact that Rodion killed the pawnbroker and Lizaveta. The guilt adds to the idea that Rodion is hypochondriac. Interestingly in the epilogue after he leaves his past in St. Petersburg for the prison camp, Dostoyevsky suggests that Rodion got “better” (Epilogue) when he stayed at their hospital and was cured of his hypochondria. Other multiple conflicts within the story were all internal. After Rodion was described after he finally reached his small room after the murder, “he flung himself on the sofa just as he was- he did not sleep, but sank into blank forgetfulness… scraps and shreds of thoughts were simply swarming in his brain, but he could not catch at one.” (End of Chapter I part VI) it supported the fact that Rodion was restless because of the murder, left confused and was in deep conflict within himself. For a true “superman” would detach himself from these emotions even with the unplanned death of Lizaveta. If Rodion truly supported the justification of the murder and his excuse of being a “superman” he should have slept peacefully. Almost by fate almost after every charitable act Rodion does, his intellectual side gets the best of him and makes him regret his charitable acts. An example would be after visiting the Marmeladov’s family and learning of the death of Marmeladov, Rodion donated what little cash he had but later regretted when he left their house. Fortunately for Rodion, he had a huge supporter that was always there for him and would later be his wife, Sonya. Sonya was able to bring out the best of Rodion and make Rodion forget his ideas of the “superman” theory.

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