View source for Rodion Raskolnikov

{{Short description|Protagonist of Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment}}
{{redirect|Raskolnikov}}
{{Family name hatnote|Romanovich|Raskolnikov|lang=Eastern Slavic}}
[[File:Boklevsky Raskolnirov1.jpg|thumb|Raskolnikov, drawn by [[Russians|Russian]] painter Pyotr Mikhaylovich Boklevskiy in 1880s]]

'''Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov''' ([[Reforms of Russian orthography|pre-reform Russian]]: {{lang|ru|Родіонъ Романовичъ Раскольниковъ}}; post-reform {{lang-rus|Родион Романович Раскольников|Rodión Románovich Raskólʹnikov|rədʲɪˈon rɐˈmanəvʲɪtɕ rɐˈskolʲnʲɪkəf}}) is the fictional [[protagonist]] of the 1866 novel ''[[Crime and Punishment]]'' by [[Fyodor Dostoyevsky]]. The name Raskolnikov derives from the Russian ''[[raskolnik]]'' meaning "[[Schismatic (religion)|schismatic]]" (traditionally referring to a member  of the [[Old Believers|Old Believer movement]]). The name ''[[Rodion]]'' comes from Greek and indicates an inhabitant of [[Rhodes]].

Raskolnikov is a young ex-law student living in [[extreme poverty]] in [[Saint Petersburg]]. He lives in a tiny [[garret]] which he rents, although due to a lack of funds has been avoiding payment for quite some time. He sleeps on a couch using old clothes as a pillow, and due to lack of money eats very rarely. He is handsome and intelligent, though generally disliked by fellow students. He is devoted to his sister (Avdotya Romanovna Raskolnikova) and his mother (Pulkheria Alexandrovna Raskolnikova).

==Plot ==
{{Main|Crime and Punishment#Plot}}
An impoverished student with a conflicted idea of himself, Raskolnikov (Rodya as his mother calls him) decides to kill a corrupt pawnbroker, Alyona Ivanovna, with whom he has been dealing, with the idea of using the money to start his life all over, and to help those who are in need of it. It is later revealed that he also commits the murder as justification for his pride, as he wants to prove that he is "exceptional" in the way [[Napoleon]] was. He commits the murder, but he is so nervous during the crime that he makes a few mistakes, and he is afraid that he will be caught.

Raskolnikov finds a small purse on Alyona Ivanovna's body, which he hides under a rock without checking its contents. After he confesses to the destitute, [[Hooker with a heart of gold|pious prostitute]] Sofya Semyonovna Marmeladova, she guides him towards turning himself in to the police. Raskolnikov is sentenced to exile in [[Siberia]], accompanied by Sofya Semyonovna, where he experiences a psychological and spiritual rebirth.

==Cinema and television==
In film, Raskolnikov was portrayed for the first time by [[Derwent Hall Caine]] in the [[Crime and Punishment (1917 film)|1917 silent film]] directed by [[Lawrence B. McGill]]. [[Gregori Chmara]] portrayed him in another [[Silent film|silent]] adaptation ''[[Raskolnikow (film)|Raskolnikov]]'', directed by [[Robert Wiene]]  (1923). He was portrayed by [[Peter Lorre]] in [[Josef von Sternberg]]'s [[Crime and Punishment (1935 American film)|Hollywood film version]] (1935), by [[John Hurt]] in a 1979 [[BBC]] mini-series adaptation, by [[Patrick Dempsey]] in a 1998 television movie, and by [[Georgy Taratorkin]] (1969), [[John Simm]] (2002), and [[Crispin Glover]] (2002). The character of Michel in [[Robert Bresson]]'s ''[[Pickpocket (film)|Pickpocket]]'' (1959) is based on Raskolnikov. [[Paul Schrader]], who wrote ''[[Taxi Driver]]'' (1976), was in turn inspired by Bresson's Michel character to create [[Travis Bickle]], [[Robert De Niro]]'s antihero.<ref>{{cite web|first=Sheila|last=Johnston|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/3589003/Film-makers-on-film-Paul-Schrader.html|title=Film-makers on film: Paul Schrader|newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|date=22 April 2018|access-date=16 July 2018}}</ref> [[Woody Allen]]'s 2005 British psychological thriller ''[[Match Point]]'' is partly intended as a debate with ''Crime and Punishment'': protagonist Chris Wilton ([[Jonathan Rhys Meyers]]) is seen early on reading the book and identifying with Raskolnikov, and ultimately murders two people, a crime for which he narrowly escapes justice.<ref name='Goyios'>{{cite web|first=Charalampos |last=Goyios |url=http://www.sensesofcinema.com/2006/40/match-point/ |title=Living Life as an Opera Lover: On the Uses of Opera as Musical Accompaniment in Woody Allen's ''Match Point'' |website=[[Senses of Cinema]]|issue=40|date=July 2006|accessdate=21 January 2012}}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{Fyodor Dostoevsky|state=expanded}}
{{Crime and Punishment}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raskolnikov, Rodion Romanovich}}
[[Category:Crime and Punishment]]
[[Category:Fictional murderers]]
[[Category:Fictional characters from the 19th century]] 
[[Category:Fyodor Dostoyevsky characters]]
[[Category:Fictional people from the Russian Empire]]
[[Category:Fictional Russian people in literature]]
[[Category:Literary characters introduced in 1866]]
[[Category:Male characters in literature]]