Schuld und Sühne

Fjodor Michailowitsch Dostojewski

Impoverished former student Rodion Raskolnikov lives in isolation in Saint Petersburg and persuades himself that exceptional people may cross moral law before committing a violent crime. His theory then falters under fear and guilt, while encounters with compassionate Sonya, investigator Porfiry, and his family tie him to a world he tried to reject. Dostoevsky explores poverty, conscience, self-justification, justice, and the possibility of moral renewal.