Guilt #8

8. Does the fact that Roskolnikov never uses the money stole from the pawnbroker make him less - or - more - guilty? Why do you think he never recovers the stolen items or cash?

Guilt is guilt and guilty is guilty. Raskol apparently does the crime to either see if he can do it or to follow his destiny. Either way if he is thinking about it that way, it would seem that he thinks if he didn't use the loot, the guilt would be less or go away.

Murder is murder so it's how someone deals with the guilt of their crime. Robin Hood didn't think that he was stealing because he gave to the poor. Was he wrong.

I think he doesn't retrieve the loot because he thinks it's blood money.

I thought that he placed the money and jewels under a rock in a sense to cleanse himself of the crime, but as the novel went on I realized that he didn't really want the money, he wanted to prove to himself that he was extraordinary. It wasn't about the result, it was about the action.

On the surface I thought that getting rid of the loot was his way of clearing himself of the crime to the authorities. I don't think that he really felt that he would ever be ridden of the guilt. Even after confessing, there is a place to forgive yourself, and the only way that Raskol would have that is if Sonya forgave him. I think Raskol evolved to a person who could finally let the guilt go and love someone again.

You both make good points. I felt Raskol didn't use the money because he kept wanting to be removed from the act I agree with you both that it was 'dirty'r blood money and by hiding it some how cleansed him of the act or at lesast lessened it. he thought it and it was more honorable somehow to have committed the crime and then not used the $ He mentioned early on, that was was actually helping people by committing the murder and setting some people free. those that were in her debt.

I guess he did set some people free. I would be glad I didn't have to pay back the old pawnbroker.