American Association of Teachers of Slavic and East European Languages

First-Versus Third-Person Narration in Crime and Punishment

Author(s): Gary Rosenshield
Source: The Slavic and East European Journal, Vol. 17, No. 4 (Winter, 1973), pp. 399-407
Published by: American Association of Teachers of Slavic and East European Languages
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First-versusThird-PersonNarrationin Crimeand Punishment

of Wisconsin,Madison
GaryRosenshield,University

Increasingattentionhas been given duringthe last two decades to the

characteristicsand differing effectsof first-and third-person narration,'
but relativelylittleworkhas been done on thisproblemin connectionwith
Crimeand Punishment.2 Yet Crimeand Punishment is particularlyrelevant
to this question,since Dostoevskij's notebooks,showingthat he began
to writethe novel in the firstperson,make possiblea detailed comparison
of the two pointsof view in one and the same work.The presentstudyat-
temptsto assess the consequencesof thisswitchfromfirst-to third-person
narrationby comparinga representative passage fromthe notebookswith
an almostidenticalpassage fromthe publishedversionof the novel.3The
notebooks indicate Dostoevskij considered four first-personplans: a
memoirwrittenby Raskol'nikov,his confessionrecordedeightdays after
the murder,his diary begun five days afterthe murderand presumably
finishedon the eighthday, and a mixedformin whichthe firsthalf was
in the formof a memoirand the second half in the formof a diary.4Of
these,onlythe diary,apparentlythe earliestplan, containspassages which
can be fruitfully comparedwith the finalversion;consequently,the pas-
sage selected for analysis comes fromit.5
In many descriptivepassages the contrastin point of view does not
resultin significantly differenteffects.For example,in the Marmeladov
tavernscene and in certainscenes relatingto Razumixin,Raskol'nikovis
essentiallya passive observerand not the prismthroughwhichthe events
are refracted.In the passage chosen for comparison,however (Raskol'-
nikov's escape fromthe scene of the crime),he is an active participant,
and the differences characteristicof the two formsof narrationcan be
examined.Both passages quoted below begin at the point whereRaskol'-
nikov has stolen down the stairsand succeededin puttingsome distance
betweenhimselfand the scene of the crime.
Diary:How did I haveenoughstrengthFinal Version: But meanwhilehe in no
forthat!My strengthwas leavingme so way dared to increasehis pace, although
quicklythat I was beginningto lose con- about a hundredpaces still remainedbe-
sciousness. Recalling now in detail all forethefirstturn."Shouldn'tI slip into

SEEJ, Vol. 17, No. 4 (1973) 399

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400 SlavicandEast EuropeanJournal

that happenedthere,I see that I have al-
most forgottennot only how I walked
alongthestreets,but evenwhichstreets.
I rememberonly that I returnedhome
fromthe completelyopposite direction.
I still rememberthat minutewhenI got
to V. Prospect,but afterthat I remem-
ber little. As in a dream I remember
someone'sshoutnearme: "You're really
soused." I was probably very pale or
reeling.(p. 431.)
some gatewayand wait it out on a stair-
way where I'm not known? No, that
would be disastrous! But shouldn't
I throw the ax away somewhere?
Shouldn'tI take a cab? Disaster! Disas-
ter!"
At last the side street.Half dead he
turnedinto it; here he was alreadyhalf
saved and he understoodit: less sus-
picion-besides, a crowdwas busy mill-
ing about and he lost himselfin it like a
grain of sand. But all these torments
had so weakened him that he could
hardly move. Sweat poured down in
drops; his neck was all wet. "You're
really sousedl" someone shouted at
him, as he came out onto the bank of a
canal. (70-71.)

The diarywaswritten onlyfivedaysafterthemurder, yeta consider-

able temporaland psychological distanceseemsto separateRaskol'nikov
fromtheevents,sincetheconsciousness ofthenarrating selfis emphasized
at the expenseofthe experiencing self.The surprise withwhichRaskol'-
nikovviewshis escapesuggests thathe lookson hisformer selfalmostas
an alienbeing,whichhe has leftbehindorlongovercome. In thefirstand
thirdsentenceshe pauses to recordhis presentimpressions of his past
deeds.The twoadverbs"now"and "there"indicatethetimedifferential
separating the experiencingand remembering selves,as do the different
tensesoftheverbs:I remember; I returned. The nextfewlinesdescribe
thehaze through whichRaskol'nikov remembers theescape,and he must
makea logicaldeduction abouthisappearanceand behaviorbasedon the
remarkofa passer-by. Asidefromhisuncertainty, thesestatements again
drawattention to the distanceseparating himfromhis experience. The
diaryversionofCrimeand Punishment apparently aimedat a dramatiza-
tionof the criminal's consciousnessafterhis crimeand afterhe had ex-
perienced themajoreventswe associatewiththefinalversion.The drama
ofconsciousness in thediaryformresultsfromthenarrator's confrontation
withhispastand hisattemptto understand itssignificanceforhispresent
situation."
In contrastto the diarythe finalversionfocuseson thetimeof the
eventsthemselves and upon Raskol'nikov'sconsciousness as he experi-
encesthem,thereby enhancingthedramaofhis escapeand creating psy-
chologicalimmediacy. The bodieshave alreadybeendiscovered, yetRas-
kol'nikovis stilla hundredpaces fromsafety.The readerfeelsthe sus-
pense,as it were,no lessthanRaskol'nikov himself. At thesametimethe
readeris exposeddirectlyto Raskol'nikov'sperceptions and emotions

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 Narrationin Crimeand Punishment 401

duringthe escape. As in the diary,past and presenttensesare here set in

immediatejuxtaposition,but the effectsare diametricallyopposed. In
the diary this alternationof tenses emphasizes the temporal difference
separatingnarratorand actor,whilein the finalversionboth the present
tense of the interiormonologueand past tense of the surrounding narra-
tive describethe same momentin time. Moreover,the abrupt staccato
of the interiormonologuefocuseseven greaterattentionon the events as
Raskol'nikov experiencesthem, furthercontributingto psychological
immediacy.In addition,the finalversion'ssecondparagraphbeginswitha
short phrase which keeps the experiencingRaskol'nikov's consciousness
beforethe reader while advancingthe action ("At last the side street").
This phraseis a definitecontinuationof Raskol'nikov'spoint of view; the
word nakonecfunctionshere as an adverb and an exclamation,recording
his recognitionof and reliefat the sightofthe side street.Several moments
beforeRaskol'nikov could hardly restrainhimselffrombreakinginto a
run; nowhe has finallyreacheda pointofsafety.Althoughtheactionmoves
apace, no break in the consciousnessof the hero occurs at this crucial
moment.
Certain distinguishing characteristicsof first-personand third-person
narrationare also reflectedin the structureof the paragraphsthemselves.
In the diaryattentionis directedtowardthe special mannerin whichthe
events are remembered.The orderof events is not determinedby their
chronology, but by Raskol'nikov'simperfectrecollectionof and emotional
responseto the murder:"I rememberonly... I was probablyvery pale
or reeling."This confusiondramatizesthe tribulationsRaskol'nikov ex-
periencesin comingto termswithhis actions.The third-person narration,
on the otherhand, uses the paragraphto increasethe drama and speed of
thenarrativeand to depicta consciousnessexperiencing realityin a chrono-
logical continuum. The events are in
thus reported chronologicalorder,
and, as we can see, everystatementis qualifiedand causally relatedto its
predecessor.In addition,the readergets an accountof Raskol'nikov'scon-
sciousnesswhichis at all timescorrelatedto his progresstowardhis room.
The cryptic,agitatedphrase"less suspicion,"the adverb "besides," and the
comparison Raskol'nikovto a grain of sand are in fact Raskol'nikov's
of
own reasonsforfeelingnear safety.The physicaldescriptionsof Raskol'-
nikovalso conveysomethingofhis highlyperturbedstate. He is bathed in
perspirationand is walkingas ifin a drunkenstupor.In each sentencethe
interrelationof action, consciousness,and emotionis recorded.
The intensityand immediacyof the experienceare heightenedin this
versionby the staccato rhythmof some ofthe sentences.Most statements
are brief,and in severalcases, almosttelegraphic:"Vot i pereulok,men'se
podozrenij." In contrast,the first-person narrationof the diary consists
of comparativelymoreeven and longerphrases: "Recalling now in detail

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402 Slavic and East EuropeanJournal

all that happenedthere,I see that I have almostforgotten

not onlyhow I
walked along the streets,but even which streets." This statement,ob-
viously made at a distance fromthe events, enforcesour impressionof
their studied reconstruction, therebydrawingattentionaway fromthe
time of the murder.The centerof interestremainsthe remembering nar-
rator.
The third paragraph in the final version contains material largely
absentfromthe diary:
He was scarcelyconsciousof his surroundings
now; the furtherhe went,the
worseit got. He remembered,however,that suddenly,comingout on the canal, he
had takenfrightbecause fewpeople werearoundand he was moreconspicuous,and
he almostturnedback intothe side street.Thoughhe could hardlystand,he never-
thelessmade a detourand arrivedhomefroman entirelydifferent direction.(p. 71.)
This passage seems merelyto carry the narrativeforwardto Raskol'-
nikov's arrivalat his lodgings.The second sentence,however,introduces
an unexpectedelementof temporaldistancewiththe word"remembered."
It indicatesthat the crimeis a past event not only forthe narratorbut
for Raskol'nikov as well. In contrastto the diary, where the narrative
ranges freelyon two temporalplanes, this shiftin temporalperspective
occurs so inconspicuouslythat no appreciable deflationof the suspense
results.
Several other passages of reminiscencein Crime and Punishment
indicatethat Dostoevskij never abandoned completelyhis plan of includ-
ing some degreeof temporaldistancingbetweenthe remembering and ex-
periencing Raskol'nikov. Throughout the novel the narrator repeatedly
alludes to a time when Raskol'nikov recollectsthe events that occurred
to him before,during,and afterthe murder.'Moreover,passages such as
the followingindicatethereis a definitedifference betweenthe two Ras-
kol'nikovs.The remembering Raskol'nikovhas learnednot only the facts
of his past experiencesbut perhapsalso theircauses,leadingus to the con-
clusionthat he is ultimatelya morematureindividual,possessedof much
self-knowledge.
A strangetimebegan forRaskol'nikov.It was as if a foghad fallenover him
and imprisonedhim in an inescapableand oppressivesolitude.Recallingthis time
later, aftermuchtimehad alreadypassed, he surmisedthat his consciousnesshad
sometimescloudedover,as it were,and thatit had so continued,withsomeintervals,
rightup to the finalcatastrophe.He was positivelyconvincedthat he had been mis-
taken about manythingsthen,forinstance,about the timeand durationof certain
events.In any case, as he rememberedsubsequentlyand triedto clarifyhis memories
to himself,he learnedmanythingsabout himself,guided by information received
fromothers.(p. 339.)

The questionof the functionof the double time perspectivein Crime

and Punishmentis beyondthe scope of thisstudy.We may mention,how-
ever,its crucialrole in motivatingthe eventsof the epilogue.Since a time

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 Narrationin Crimeand Punishment 403

period extendingmuch beyondthe eventsof the novel proper is implied

fromthe very beginning,Raskol'nikov's conversionin Siberia no longer
seems a mere afterthought but ratherthe real source of what is a story
about a reformed sinner.Like the scene in whichSonja reads of Lazarus'
rising from the dead, these passages of reminiscencepointtowardRaskol'-
nikov's eventual transformation into anotherself. When the focus is on
the experiencingself,such passages are rathershort and inconspicuous,
so as not to retardthe actionand destroythe suspense.Wherethe narrator
has come to a temporaryrestingpoint as in the example above, the pas-
sages are more analytical and leisurelyand significantly longer.
The generalconclusionswe have reached thus far regardingpoint of
view in the diaryand finalversionapply, althoughin a less strikingman-
ner,to the nextportionof narrativein the two versions.
Diary: I came to my sensesupon enter- Final Version: Nor was he fully con-
ing the gate of our house. No one was scious whenhe passed throughthe gate-
there.But I was hardlyin a condition way of his house; at any rate he had al-
any longerto feel fear or take precau- readystartedup thestairsand onlythen
tions. I was just about to start up the rememberedabout the ax. But now a
stairs, but suddenlyI rememberedthe very importanttask stood beforehim:
ax. It reallyhad to be replaced,it was a replacingthe ax and doing it as incon-
matterof the greatestimportance,but I spicuouslyas possible.Of course,he was
even forgotabout this, shatteredas I no longercapable of realizingthat per-
was. Oh God, what difficultiesthere haps it would be much better for him
were!Only by a miracledid everything notto put the ax back in its formerplace
come about in such a way that I passed at all, but to throwit, even if later on,
throughall thosehorrorsundetected.(p. into someoneelse's yard. (p. 71.)
431.)
The diaryversioncontinuesto move on two temporalplanes,focusing
on the remembering narrator'sconsciousness,while the third-person nar-
rationconcentrateson the timeof the eventsthemselves,incorporating the
workings of Raskol'nikov's consciousnessdirectly into their depiction.
However,the paragraphfromthe finalversionis not an exampleof pure
objectivenarration,since the narratorrevealshimselfin his ironicevalua-
tion of Raskol'nikov's mental condition.Despite Raskol'nikov's obvious
bungling,the narratorcannot resistundercuttinghis exalted Napoleonic
view of himselfby pointingout his ineptitudeand lack of clear thinking
in a timeof crisis.But this commentary does not detractmeasurablyfrom
the immediacyof the events.The reasonforthis is to be foundin the na-
ture of third-personnarrationand in Dostoevskij's particularhandlingof
it. The narratorformulatesa solutionto the problemof the ax in words
which Raskol'nikov himselfmighthave used, had he been in full com-
mand of himself.Consequently,the readerfeelsthat Raskol'nikov'spoint
of view has not been completelyreplacedby that of the narrator.Further-
more,the narratormakesthisstatementas ifit werefact,not commentary;

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404 Slavic and East EuropeanJournal

he does not say that Raskol'nikov "should have realized" but that Ras-
kol'nikov "was no longercapable of realizing."In effectDostoevskij has
it both ways: this statementtransmitsthe narrator'sevaluative com-
mentarywhile advancing the action as effectively as the objectivelyde-
scriptivestatements surroundingit.
Althoughthe narrator'sevaluative commentaries on Raskol'nikovare
generally more indirectthan with other characters,there are instances
wherehis ironicanalyses of Raskol'nikov's attitudetowardhis crimeare
as damningas his more explicitstatementsabout Lulin's motives. One
such passage occurs early in the novel; Raskol'nikov is still unconvinced
that he will go throughwiththe murder.
But in themeanwhile,it wouldseem,all analysis,in thesenseofthemoralresolution
ofthe question,had been completed:his casuistryhad becomesharpas a razor,and
he finallycould no longerfindconsciousobjectionsin his ownmind.But in the last
resorthe simplydid not believehimselfand stubbornly, slavishly,gropingly sought
objectionsin all directions,as ifsomeonewereforcinghimand drawinghimto do so.
The last day, however,whichhad arrivedso unexpectedlyand at a blow decided
everything, had acted upon himin an almostentirelymechanicalmanner.It was as
if someonehad taken him by the hand and drew him along, irresistibly,blindly,
withunnaturalpower,and withoutobjections.It was as if a piece ofhis clothinghad
caughtin the wheel of a machineand was beginningto drag him in. (p. 59.)
The narratortrenchantlyimpugnsRaskol'nikov's resolutionof the moral
problemsraisedby murderby equatingit withcasuistryand by suggesting
a connectionbetween such twistedideas and the contemplatedmurder
throughthe comparisonof this casuistrywith a razor. He also mocks
Raskol'nikov's inflatedillusionsabout his mentaland physicalcapacities
by showingthat he is not a superman,shapingeventsand controllinghis
destiny,but rathera passive object led submissivelyto destruction.The
day decidesthe courseof events,not Raskol'nikov.
The finalsectionsof the diaryand publishedversionare quite similar;
thesequenceofeventsis almostthe same in both,and oftenthephraseology
is identical.
Diary: Having descendedagain toward Final Version: But everythingturned
the gate I saw that the doorto the care- out well. The door to the caretaker's
taker's roomwas closed but not locked. room was closed but not locked, so it
So the caretakerwas eitherin or some- seemed most likely that the caretaker
place verynearbyin theyard.But I had was in. But he had already lost the
already lost the ability to reason and ability to reason anythingthroughto
controlmyselfto such an extentthat I such an extent that he approachedthe
approachedthedoordirectly,wentdown caretaker'sdoor directlyand opened it.
the threesteps to the caretaker'sroom, If the caretakerhad asked him, "What
and openedthe doorwide.WhatwouldI do you want?" he would perhaps have
have said to the caretaker if he had simplygiventhe ax to him.But the care-
asked, "What do you want?" I would takerwas again not in, and he managed
have said nothing,I wouldn'thave been to lay the ax in its former
positionunder
able to answerat all, and so I wouldhave the bench;he even coveredit witha log

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 Narrationin Crimeand Punishment 405

givenmyselfaway by my strangelook. as before. Afterwardshe met no one,

But the caretakerwasn't in. I took out
the ax and put it in its formerplace
underthelittlebench,coveringit witha
log just as it lay before.I rememberas
in a dream that I was even happy and
pleased when I finishedwith the ax.
Then I went out, closed the door, and
went to my room. I met no one, not a
solitarysoul, rightup to myapartment.
The landlady'sdoorwas closed. Once in
myroomI immediatelythrewmyselfon
thebed. I didn'tgo to sleep,but fellinto
a tranceor semitrance,because if some-
one had comeintomyroomat thattime,
I would have instantlyjumped up and
begun to scream.Scraps and fragments
of thoughtsswarmedin my head in a
veritablewhirlwind. But I don't remem-
ber a single one of them. (431-32.)
not a solitarysoul, rightup to his own
room; the landlady's door was closed.
Once in his room,he threwhimselfon
the sofajust as he was. He didn't sleep,
but lay therein a trance.If someonehad
come into his roomthen,he would have
instantly jumped up and begun to
scream. Scraps and fragmentsof some
vague thoughtswere simply swarming
in his head, but despite his effortshe
could neitherlatch on to nor fixon a
singleone. (p. 71.)

Althoughthe phraseologyof the two passages is oftenthe same, their

effectsare not. In the diary we are constantlyaware of Raskol'nikov's
presentrecognitionof his almosttotal loss of controlin the past. The ten-
sion arisingfromthis vacillationbetweenthe remembering and experienc-
ingselvesdiffuses suspenseand divides the reader'sattention.Althoughone
can detect a note of commentary in some of the finalversion'ssentences,
the third-person formacquires concentrationand momentumby minimiz-
ing here the ironic distance betweennarratorand character.Moreover,
the eliminationof the diarist's commentarycontributessubstantiallyto
the pace and drama of Raskol'nikov's miraculousescape.
Many reasons probably contributedto Dostoevskij's discardingof
first-person narrationin Crime and Punishment.The fusion of a novel
about alcoholismwith a psychologicalaccount of a crimesoon extended
over a broad canvas,includingcharacters,episodes,and backgroundmate-
rial that could not be presentedeasily or objectivelythroughthe distort-
ing prismof Raskol'nikov's consciousness.8 Third-personnarrationcould
obviously overcome these limitationswhile makingpossiblean ironicdis-
tancing between narrator and character which enrichedthe presentation
of Raskol'nikov'sstory.Yet despite the several advantages of the third-
personform,it was apparentlyDostoevskij's interestin dramatizingRas-
kol'nikov'sconsciousnessas he planned,perpetrated,and sufferedforhis
crimethat tippedthe balance againstthe variousfirst-person experiments
in the notebooks.This new concentration on the experiencingselfallowed
the elementof suspense,almost absent in the diary form,to play a vital
role. But suspensein Crimeand Punishmentis of coursemuch morecom-

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406 Slavic and East EuropeanJournal

plex than that characteristicof the commondetective story,since it is

almost totally psychological.Relevant here are Dostoevskij's difficulties
in plottingthe novel's conclusiondue to his inabilityto resolveto his own
satisfactionthe enigmaof Raskol'nikov's complexpersonality.The ques-
tion that intriguesus is not whethercircumstanceswill permitRaskol'-
nikov to carryout his criminalintentions,but whetherhe will ever come
to a finaldecision; not whetherevidence will turn up against him, but
whetherhe will choose to confessor commitsuicide. By presentingmost
of the actionfromthe experiencing Raskol'nikov'spointof view, Dostoev-
skij inducesus to commiseratewith the murderer'sanxietyand suffering
while appreciatingtheirrole in the resolutionof the plot.
More important,an experiencingRaskol'nikov was needed to illus-
trate the existentialsignificance
of the novel's title. Raskol'nikov's crime
does not end or,forthat matter,beginwiththe murder,just as his punish-
mentneitherbeginsnor ends withhis deportationto Siberia. If the crime
is rootedin intellectualprideand atheism,thenRaskol'nikovis in a state
of sin beforethe novel begins and remainsso until his conversionin the
epilogue.Similarly,thereis no timewhenhe is not beingpunishedin some
way forhis crime.Indeed, Raskol'nikov'sphysical,spiritual,and mental
conditionare no betterbeforethe murderthan after.Focusingon the ex-
periencingselfnot only makes the presentationof the murdermorevivid
and powerful,but it dramatizesthroughoutthe novel the psychological,
philosophical,and social implicationsof the crime and its concurrent
punishment.By being placed in contact with Raskol'nikov duringthese
events,we understandand feeldirectlythe enormityof his crimeand the
hell of his punishment,particularlyhis great suffering. Sufferingis what
Raskol'nikovand Sonja sharein common,and it is the meansto his salva-
tion. The dramatizationof Raskol'nikov's suffering in the novel proper
helps us to understand fullythe great price he will have to pay for the
happinessultimatelyawaitinghim, according to the narrator'sprophecy
in the epilogue.Here as elsewherethird-person narrationis instrumental
in making vivid and concretewhat is diffuseand turbid in the diary,
therebytransforming a confusedreminiscenceinto a drama with an exis-
tential impact as disquietingas anythingDostoevskij wrote.

NOTES

1 For someofthemajorstudiesin thisarea, see NormanFriedman,"Point ofView

in Fiction: The Developmentof a CriticalConcept," PMLA, 70 (1955),1160-89;
WayneBooth,"Distance and Point-of-View: An Essay in Classification,"Essays
in Criticism,11 (1961),60-79; BertilRomberg,Studiesin theNarrativeTechnique
of theFirst-person Novel,trans.Michael Taylor and Harold H. Borland (Stock-
holm:Almquist& Wiksell,1962);Franz K. Stanzel,TypischeFormendesRomans,

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 Narrationin Crimeand Punishment 407

2nd ed. (Kleine Reihe, 187; G6ttingen:Vandenhoeck& Ruprecht,1965); Dorrit

Cohn,"NarratedMonologue:Definitionofa FictionalStyle," Comparative Litera-
ture,19 (1966),97-112;Kiite Hamburger,Die LogikderDichtung,2nd ed. (Stutt-
gart: E. Klett, 1968).
2 Althoughno one has discussedthisquestionin detail,mostscholarsassumethat
Dostoevskijmade a wisechoicein switchingfromfirst-to third-person narration.
For a representative sample of such views,see JuliusMeier-Graefe,Dostoevsky:
The Man and His Work,trans.HerbertH. Marks (New York: HarcourtBrace,
1928), 112; G. I. ulkov, Kak rabotalDostoevskij(M.: Sov. pisatel', 1939), 135;
Ralph E. Matlaw, The BrothersKaramazov:NovelisticTechnique(Musagetes,2;
The Hague: Mouton, 1957), 36; Johannesvan der Eng, Dostoevskijromancier:
Rapportsentresa visiondu mondeetses proctdks (SP&R, 13; The Hague:
litteraires
Mouton,1957),80; L. P. Grossman,"Dostoevskij-xudoinik,"in Tvorcestvo Dosto-
evskogo, ed. N. L. Stepanov (M.: AN SSSR, 1959),389; L. P. Grossman,Dostoevskij
(M.: Molodaja gvardija, 1962), 345-56; G. M. Fridlender,RealizmDostoevskogo
(M., L.: AN SSSR, 1964), 169; L. D. Opul'skaja, "Istorija sozdanija romana,"
in F. M. Dostoevskij,Prestupleniei nakazanie,ed. L. D. Opul'skaja and G. F.
Kogan (Literaturnyepamjatniki; M.: Nauka, 1970), 688. Fyodor Dostoevsky,
The Notebooks forCrimeand Punishment, ed. and trans.Edward Wasiolek (Chi-
cago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 1967),9-10, 100-02,is the only workI have come
across that treatsin some detail the relativemeritsof the first-person narration
ofthenotebookplans and the third-person narrationofthe finalversion.
3 The Opul'skaja-Koganeditionis the sourceforbothpassages. Page references to
this editionare precededin the notes by the abbreviationCP. Translationsare
based on thiseditionand are my own.
4 Crimeand Punishment was Dostoevskij's mostatypicalnovel withrespectto its
creativeevolution.In generalhe workedout the narrativestructureof his novels
beforethedetailsofcharacterization and plot. In Crimeand Punishment, however,
long afterthesematterswerewell established,Dostoevskij was stillexperiment-
ing withpoint of view. A Raw Youth(Podrostok)is the othermajor novelwhere
the evidenceindicatesDostoevskijexperiencedproblemswithnarration.Never-
theless,the novel's narrativestructurewas decidedupon ratherearlyin Dosto-
evskij's workon the novel. For relevantmaterialin the notebooksdealingwith
thenarrativestructureofA Raw Youth,see F. M. Dostoevskij vrabotenad romanom
"Podrostok,"ed. A. S. Dolinin (M.: AN SSSR, 1965),73,74,80,92,95-98,111,112,
114,135,139,144-48,161,162,173,177,180,194,212.
5 There are about 55 pages of runningtextforthe diaryplan and about 19 forthe
confessionplan. See CP, 431-85,505-23.
6 "A GentleSpirit" (Krotkaja),NotesfromtheUnderground, and A Raw Youthare
the mostprominentexamplesin Dostoevskij's work.
7 Othersuch statementsin the finalversioncan be foundin CP, 14,51-54,56, 62,
64, 75, 87, 93, 94, 127,272,308,339,358,403.
8 Dostoevskij's intentionto writea novel called The Drunkards(P'janen'kie) is
recordedin a letterdated 8 June1865to A. K. Kraevskij,editorof Otecestvennye
zapiski. See F. M. Dostoevskij, Pis'ma, ed. A. S. Dolinin, vol. 1 (M.: GIXL,
1928),408. The plan fora story(povest')on crimeis developedin the roughdraft
of a letteraddressedto M. N. Katkov, editorofRusskijvestnik.This roughdraft
can be found in Iz arxiva Dostoevskogo:Prestupleniei nakazanie, neizdannye
materialy, ed. I. I. Glivenko(M., L.: GIXL, 1931),160-62.

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