Crime and Punishment
A poor St. Petersburg student commits murder to test his theory that extraordinary individuals can justify immoral acts, but finds himself tormented by guilt and pursued by an astute investigator. Dostoevsky probes the psychology of guilt and redemption.
Crime and Punishment is the supreme psychological novel, pioneering exploration of criminal consciousness and moral culpability. It established the template for the modern detective novel and remains unsurpassed in depicting inner turmoil.
Written in post-emancipation Russia amid radical political movements and existential questioning, Crime and Punishment reflects the spiritual crises of modernizing Russian society.
Mass production and urbanization gave rise to the modern novel and the exploration of social inequality.