Dostoevsky’s Petersburg through the Eyes of a Contemporary Schoolgirl

Abstract

In the tenth grade we read Dostoevsky’s novel Crime and Punishment, where several real-life places in St. Petersburg are described. Few names of these places are written in full; the very fact that the action takes place in a designated place indicates realism and affects the characteristics (and sometimes the meaning) of it. However, Dostoevsky “encrypts” some of the addresses. In order to find the places not directly indicated, I decided to follow the footsteps of the heroes of this work, and after getting acquainted with the research on the topography of the novel, I went to St. Petersburg. After studying various archives, maps, and other sources, I was able to find the house of the Marmeladov family, which is not indicated in academic works. This study demonstrates a way of reasoning leading to an unambiguous conclusion and opening new meanings in the novel Crime and Punishment, such as the way of Raskolnikov’s thought, the reasons why Dostoevsky settled his characters on a certain street, and so on.

Keywords

• dostoevsky
• crime and punishment
• topography
• marmeladov
• marmeladov’s house
• places of events
• meaning
• streets
• street names
• house