Enter the mind of a murderer and follow him through the streets of St. Petersburg as he commits the perfect crime—and discovers that perfection is impossible. Read Dostoevsky’s masterpiece of psychology and redemption completely free online.
Published in 1866, Crime and Punishment is the novel that made Dostoevsky’s international reputation and remains, for many readers, his greatest work. It is a detective story without a detective, a philosophical novel without abstract philosophy, a religious novel without easy faith. It is, above all, a journey into the mind of a man who believes he is extraordinary—and discovers that he is merely human.
Rodion Raskolnikov is a former student, living in poverty in St. Petersburg. He has developed a theory: that certain extraordinary men are above morality, justified in breaking the law for the sake of a higher purpose. To test his theory, he murders an old pawnbroker. He also kills her sister, who stumbles upon the scene. Then he must live with what he has done.
The novel follows Raskolnikov through the days after the murder. He is not caught—the police suspect him but cannot prove anything. He is caught by something worse: his own conscience. He suffers, confesses, and is sent to Siberia. There, through the love of Sonya, a prostitute who has kept her faith, he begins the long road to redemption.
On this page, you can experience the novel that defined modern psychology before psychology existed. We offer the complete 1866 text for online reading.
Book Info
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Title | Crime and Punishment |
| Author | Fyodor Dostoevsky |
| Year of Publication | 1866 |
| Genre | Novel, Psychological Fiction, Philosophical Fiction |
| Language | English Translation (Original: Russian) |
| Legal Status | Public Domain Worldwide |
| Format | Online Reading |
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Hear the axe fall and the conscience rise. Begin Dostoevsky’s masterpiece by entering Raskolnikov’s garret interactively below.
This preview introduces the former student, his theory, and the old pawnbroker. However, the full, devastating narrative—the murder, the investigation, the suffering, the confession, and the beginning of redemption—is available in the complete text for our subscribers.
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About the Novel Crime and Punishment
Crime and Punishment is a novel about ideas and their consequences. Raskolnikov’s theory is not an afterthought; it is the engine of the plot. He murders not for money—though he is poor—but to prove a point. The point is wrong, and the proof destroys him.
Raskolnikov
Raskolnikov is one of the great creations of literature. He is intelligent, sensitive, capable of kindness. He is also arrogant, isolated, convinced of his own superiority. His crime is an act of philosophy, and his punishment is the collapse of that philosophy. He suffers not from guilt—he feels little guilt—but from the discovery that he is not extraordinary after all.
The Theory
Raskolnikov divides humanity into two categories: ordinary people, who must obey the law, and extraordinary people, who are above the law. Napoleon is his model: a man who killed thousands and is remembered as a hero. Raskolnikov wants to be Napoleon. He discovers that wanting is not enough.
Sonya
Sonya is Raskolnikov’s opposite and his salvation. She is a prostitute, forced into the streets to support her family. She has suffered everything and kept her faith. She reads the story of Lazarus to Raskolnikov; she follows him to Siberia; she loves him when he cannot love himself. She is the novel’s image of redemptive suffering.
Porfiry Petrovich
The investigating magistrate is the novel’s most brilliant creation. He suspects Raskolnikov from the beginning, but he has no proof. He plays with Raskolnikov, teases him, tempts him. He knows that the real punishment is not prison but conscience, and he waits for conscience to do its work.
St. Petersburg
The city is almost a character in the novel. It is hot, crowded, dirty. It is a place of poverty and desperation, of taverns and brothels, of ideas that fester in garrets. Dostoevsky’s St. Petersburg is the physical embodiment of Raskolnikov’s mental state: feverish, oppressive, unreal.
The Dream
Raskolnikov dreams of a horse beaten to death. The dream is the novel’s central image: the innocent sufferer, the helpless victim, the cruelty of the strong. Raskolnikov is the beater in the dream, and he is also the horse. He cannot escape the image; it returns and returns.
The Epilogue
The novel’s epilogue is controversial. Some readers find it forced, a concession to conventional morality. Others see it as the necessary completion of Raskolnikov’s journey. In Siberia, in prison, he begins to change. Sonya’s love, the hard labor, the long silence—these work a transformation. The epilogue does not show us the transformation; it shows us its beginning. The rest is silence.
Why Read the Novel Crime and Punishment Today?
Because it asks the questions that will not go away. What is justice? What is guilt? What is redemption? Can a bad act be justified by a good end? Is there such a thing as an extraordinary person? Dostoevsky does not answer these questions; he embodies them in a man who kills an old woman and must live with what he has done.
FAQ
Is this novel difficult to read?
It is long and dense, but it is not difficult. Dostoevsky’s prose is direct, his psychology is compelling, his plot is gripping. Readers who persist are rewarded.
Is Raskolnikov meant to be sympathetic?
Yes and no. He is a murderer; we cannot forget that. But he is also a human being, suffering, struggling, capable of change. Dostoevsky asks us to hold both truths at once.
Is this a religious novel?
It is a novel about religious questions, but it is not a religious tract. Dostoevsky was a believer, but his belief was hard-won, tested by doubt. The novel reflects that testing.
How long is it?
Approximately 500 pages in standard editions. It is a substantial novel, but it reads quickly.
Can I read it on my phone?
Yes, but give yourself time. This is not a novel to rush; it is a novel to inhabit.