- What do you make of Porfiry’s injunction to Rodya, “There is an idea in suffering”
- Suffering brings you closer to God—Porfiry as a more spiritual character
- The Russian element—something of a cultural basis—suffering
- Like there is a “thought process” in suffering—Nikolai’s religious background brings him to the false admission
- The “idea” in suffering—to pursue an action despite the sense of consequence
- Porfiry encouraging Rodya to persevere despite the suffering he’s enduring
- Rodya suffers because he thinks he alone is capable of determining his fate—his false perception of being a superman
- Rodya is extraordinary for confessing (Sonya as the most extraordinary character in the book—like Rodya’s conscience)—because of Sonya, Rodya confesses
- Rodya confesses for a selfish cause (peace for himself)—
- Being extraordinary is living by your conscience—Rodya is influenced by Sonya—earlier, gets the idea of the murders from the students in the tavern—
- Following the superman theory he becomes a monster
Rodya is a paradox in many ways… - What is the purpose (message) of the book? To challenge the idea of the superman—
- Porfiry and Razuhimin do not “over-step” (thus, couldn’t be superman characters)
- Svid represents the id as Rodya represents the ego and Sonya is the super-ego
- Is true redemption voluntary or can it be achieved through force?
- Will Rodya ever be redeemed?
- Rodya embarks on the road to redemption, but it’s not all a matter of his own making—Sonya and Porfiry put him on the path
- Rodya won’t ever deserve Sonya—
- We are seeing signs of rebirth…
- How do we define redemption in terms of C&P?
- Redemption--being fully atoned for what’s been wrongfully done
- Society plays a role in redemption—how what you’ve effected others
- You must be honest with yourself in order to be redeemed—Svid is unable to do this—accounts for his demise
- Is forgiveness redemption?
- Is suffering necessary for redemption?
- Sonya’s suffering is what life has done to her, not imposing her will upon others (as does Rodya)
- Sonya asks Rodya why he commits his sin…
- Sonya bears the burden of others, while Rodya burdens others
