The Poetics and Semantics of a Character’s Gaze in Dostoevsky’s Novel Crime and Punishment

Abstract

This article argues that Fyodor Dostoevsky was a literary genius, capable of portraying the inner lives of his characters not only through verbal techniques — such as monologue, dialogue, and free indirect speech — but also through non-verbal means, vividly expressing his unique emotional style. The focus is primarily on the poetics and semantics of the gaze. In Dostoevsky’s novel Crime and Punishment, the gaze plays a pivotal role both in depicting characters’ emotions and in creating the novel’s intensely charged atmosphere. The article highlights the significance of the gaze in the novel and its rarity in world literature. Particular attention is given to the semantics of narrowed gaze. The visual behaviors of the characters are also examined as crucial elements of what Vladimir Toporov termed “fiction economy.” These behaviors contribute to the generation of symbolic imagery, such as the recurring image of the wall. The symbolic nature of the wall is analyzed in detail toward the end of the article. The observations presented demonstrate Dostoevsky’s exceptional artistry, challenging the widely held view of his artistic weaknesses — a perspective shared by Bunin, Nabokov, and other notable Russian writers.

Keywords

• dostoevsky
• crime and punishment
• psychologism
• non-verbal semiotics
• gaze
• poetics
• symbolism
• emotional expressive style
• baroque
• symbol.