Crime and Punishment in the Works of Romano Guardini and Divo Barsotti

Abstract

The article is dedicated to the interpretation of Dostoevsky’s novel Crime and Punishment elaborated by two Catholic theologians: Romano Guardini (Religiöse Gestalten in Dostojewskijs Werk: Studien über den Glauben) and Divo Barsotti (Dostoevskij. La passione per Cristo). The analysis is preceded by a description of the structure of both works, and it is explained why they are worth of special mention among other pieces of research by Catholic authors on Dostoevsky. It is noticed that their interpretations give little space to Raskolnikov, his theory, and the reason for which he committed his crime. This part of the novel is considered mainly in the light of another character of Dostoevsky’s world, Ivan Karamazov. Remarkably, both authors find the key to the novel in the figure of Sonya Marmeladova. According to Barsotti she represents the presence of God as Wisdom of Love, while for Guardini her character alludes to the concept of “God’s children” and the Beatitudes Sermon. Sonya is the highest image of holiness in Dostoevsky’s work because she accepts all that is demanded from her to the point of giving herself, her body, and her honor; she lives in constant relation with that God who is incarnated in Christ. This is why the text of the Gospel plays a central role in the novel, as both authors notice. Another common element in the books is the attention paid to the story of the “yellow ticket” as an element endowed by Dostoevsky with a profound meaning, with the aim of emphasizing Sonya’s total dedication to the Other and the others.

Keywords

• crime and punishment
• sonya marmeladova
• catholic theology
• romano guardini
• divo barsotti
• theology and literature