Roskolnikov's sentence

[Donato]

Did it strike anyone as odd that Roskolnikov only received an eight year sentence at hard labor for two murders?  This struck me as unrealistic, but then I do not know what the Russian criminal code was like at the time Dostoevsky wrote Crime and Punishment. Perhaps such light sentences were handed out, even for major crimes like Roskolnikov's.  I was expecting him to receive at least a 20 year sentence.

[PastMeridian]

  I too found that to be an odd and extremely light sentence for a double murder.  Another interesting thing I noted (from the Pevear, Volokhonsky) is the chosen wording describing the reasoning behind the relative ease of the sentence.  The tone is almost mocking of the ideas that were pervading at the time regarding temporary insanity as an excuse for extreme behavior. 

  As you know, C&P is largely a critique of much of the pervading philosophies of the time, and I wonder if this is not another example of such a critique, with Raskolnikov ironically benefiting from misguided sympathy which also satisfies whatever psychological need some readers have for a "happy ending".  Of course that could be completely wrong, but just a thought.

[Donato]

Thanks for your reply. Your insight is interesting and quite plausible. I confess that I was pleased by his light sentence for the very reason you stated, i.e., a "happy ending" of sorts so he could have a future with Sonya.  I think my sympathies were more with her, but Roskolnikov's final repentance moved me too. At the same time, I felt conflicted about his light sentence, especially when one considers that he was not really insane when he committed the crime, but by his own admission (to the reader), he knew exactly what he was doing, and had invested much thought into the murder.  Lizaveta's murder was not premeditated but the old woman's certainly was. In our criminal system, Roskolnikov would have received life without parole, or in some states, death. 

[carnage_complex]

No.  Move to Canada, you'll understand why;P