immortal image

Some heroes classical literature acquire immortality, live next to us, this is exactly what the image of Sonya turned out to be in the novel “Crime and Punishment” by Dostoevsky. By her example, we learn the best human qualities: kindness, mercy, self-sacrifice. It teaches us to love devotedly and to believe in God selflessly.

Acquaintance with the heroine

The author does not introduce us to Sonechka Marmeladova right away. She appears on the pages of the novel when a terrible crime has already been committed, two people died, and Rodion Raskolnikov ruined his soul. It seems that nothing in his life can be corrected. However, acquaintance with a modest girl changed the fate of the hero and revived him to life.

For the first time we hear about Sonya from the story of the unfortunate drunken Marmeladov. In confession, he talks about his unfortunate fate, about a starving family, and pronounces the name of his eldest daughter with gratitude.

Sonya is an orphan, the only native daughter of Marmeladov. Until recently, she lived with her family. Her stepmother Katerina Ivanovna, a sick, unfortunate woman, was exhausted so that the children would not die of starvation, Marmeladov himself drank the last money, the family was in dire need. Out of desperation, a sick woman often got irritated over trifles, made scandals, reproached her stepdaughter with a piece of bread. The conscientious Sonya decided on a desperate step. In order to somehow help the family, she began to engage in prostitution, sacrificing herself for the sake of her relatives. The story of the poor girl left a deep mark on Raskolnikov's wounded soul long before he personally met the heroine.

Portrait of Sonya Marmeladova

The description of the girl's appearance appears on the pages of the novel much later. She, like a silent ghost, appears on the threshold of her native home during the death of her father, crushed by a drunk cab driver. Timid by nature, she did not dare to enter the room, feeling vicious and unworthy. A ridiculous, cheap, but bright outfit indicated her occupation. "Meek" eyes, "pale, thin and irregular angular face" and the whole appearance betrayed a meek, timid nature, which had reached the extreme degree of humiliation. "Sonya was small, seventeen years old, thin, but rather pretty blonde, with wonderful blue eyes." This is how she appeared before the eyes of Raskolnikov, this is the first time the reader sees her.

Character traits of Sofia Semyonovna Marmeladova

A person's appearance is often deceiving. The image of Sonya in Crime and Punishment is full of inexplicable contradictions. A meek, weak girl considers herself a great sinner, unworthy of being in the same room with decent women. She is embarrassed to sit down next to Raskolnikov's mother, she cannot shake hands with his sister, fearing to offend them. Sonya can easily be offended and humiliated by any scoundrel, like Luzhin or the landlady. Defenseless against the arrogance and rudeness of the people around her, she is not able to stand up for herself.

A complete characterization of Sonya Marmeladova in the novel "Crime and Punishment" consists of an analysis of her actions. Physical weakness and indecision are combined in it with great mental strength. Love is at the core of her being. For the love of her father, she gives him the last money for a hangover. For the love of children, he sells his body and soul. For the sake of love for Raskolnikov, he follows him to hard labor and patiently endures his indifference. Kindness and the ability to forgive distinguish the heroine from other characters in the story. Sonya does not hold a grudge against her stepmother for a crippled life, she does not dare to condemn her father for weakness of character and eternal drunkenness. She is able to forgive and feel sorry for Raskolnikov for the murder of Lizaveta, who is close to her. “There is no one more unhappy than you in the whole world,” she tells him. To treat the vices and mistakes of the people around you in this way, you must be a very strong and whole person.

Where does a weak, fragile, humiliated girl get such patience, endurance and inexhaustible love for people? Faith in God helps Sonya Marmeladova to stand on her own and lend a helping hand to others. "What would I be without God?" - the heroine is sincerely perplexed. It is no coincidence that the exhausted Raskolnikov goes to her for help and tells her about his crime. The faith of Sonya Marmeladova helps the criminal first confess to the murder, then sincerely repent, believe in God and start a new happy life.

The role of the image of Sonya Marmeladova in the novel

The main character of F. M. Dostoevsky's novel "Crime and Punishment" is considered to be Rodion Raskolnikov, since the plot is based on the story of the hero's crime. But the novel cannot be imagined without the image of Sonya Marmeladova. The attitude, beliefs, actions of Sonya reflect the life position of the author. A fallen woman is pure and innocent. She fully atones for her sin with a comprehensive love for people. She is “humiliated and insulted” not a “trembling creature” according to Raskolnikov’s theory, but a respectable person who turned out to be much stronger than the main character. Having gone through all the trials and suffering, Sonya did not lose her basic human qualities, did not betray herself and suffered happiness.

Moral principles, faith, Sonya's love turned out to be stronger than Raskolnikov's egoistic theory. After all, only by accepting the beliefs of his girlfriend, the hero acquires the right to happiness. The beloved heroine of Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky is the embodiment of his innermost thoughts and ideals of the Christian religion.

Artwork test

Marmeladova Sofya Semyonovna (Sonya) is a character in Dostoevsky's novel Crime and Punishment. For the first time we get to know her in absentia, during a conversation between the girl's father and Raskolnikov.

The action takes place in a tavern. Then, a few days later, Rodion meets her drunk. Not knowing that this is Sonya, he already wants to help her. What kind of spiritual form can we talk about? As in other works of the author, not everything is so simple. Her life is confusing and full of tragedy. But, before moving on to the topic of Sonya Marmeladova's spiritual achievement, it is worth paying attention to her family.

Family of Sonya Marmeladova

Sonya was left without a mother early. Perhaps this played leading role in her destiny. At the time of her acquaintance, she lives with her father (Semyon Zakharovich), stepmother (Katerina Ivanovna) and her three children left from her first marriage.

Sonya Marmeladova's father

Sonya's father, Semyon Zakharovich Marmeladov, was once a respected person, a titular adviser. Now he is an ordinary alcoholic who is unable to provide for his family. The Marmeladovs are on the edge. From day to day they run the risk of being left not only without a piece of bread, but also without a roof over their heads. The landlady of the room rented by the family keeps threatening to kick them out into the street. Sonya feels responsible for her father, because he took out all the valuables, even his wife's clothes. Unable to look at what is happening, she decides to take care of the family herself. And he chooses not the most worthy profession for this. But the word "chooses" does not quite fit this situation. Did she have a choice? Most likely no! This is what spiritual feat Sonya Marmeladova. With a merciful nature, she pities her father. In my own way. Not realizing that he is the cause of all her troubles, she gives him money for vodka.

Stepmother Katerina Ivanovna

Sonya's stepmother is only 30 years old. What made her marry fifty-year-old Marmeladov? Nothing but a miserable situation. Marmeladov himself admits that he is not a couple for such a proud and educated woman. He found her in such distress that he simply could not help feeling sorry for her. As an officer's daughter, she also made spiritual feat, agreeing to marry Marmeladov in the name of saving their children. Relatives refused her and did not provide any assistance. perfectly described the life of the poorest segments of the population of Russia of those times: what difficulties they faced, what they had to endure, etc. Katerina Ivanovna is a woman with a higher education. She has an extraordinary mind and a lively character. There are traces of pride in it. It was she who pushed Sonya to become a girl of easy virtue. But Dostoevsky finds justification for this, too. Like any other mother, she is unable to endure the crying of hungry children. One phrase, spoken in the heat of the moment, becomes fatal in the fate of her stepdaughter. Katerina Ivanovna herself could not even think that Sonya would take her words seriously. But when the girl returned home with the money, and lay down on the bed, covering herself with a scarf, Katerina Ivanovna kneels before her and kisses her feet. She weeps bitterly, asking for forgiveness for the fall of her stepdaughter. Of course, the reader may wonder: why didn't she choose this path herself? Not so simple. Katerina Ivanovna is ill with tuberculosis. Consumption, as it was called at the time. Every day she gets worse and worse. But she continues to perform her duties around the house - to cook, clean and wash all members of her family. At that time, her stepdaughter was 18 years old. Katerina Ivanovna understood what a sacrifice she had to make for the sake of people who were absolutely strangers to her. Can this act be called the spiritual feat of Sonya Marmeladova? Of course yes. The stepmother did not allow anyone to speak badly about her, she appreciated her help.

Children of Katerina Ivanovna

As for the children of Katerina Ivanovna, there were three of them. The first is Polya, 10 years old, the second is Kolya, 7 years old, and the third is Lida, 6 years old. Katerina Ivanovna is a woman with a difficult character. She is lively and emotional. Sonya has fallen from her more than once, but she continues to respect her. Sonya perceives the children of Katerina Ivanovna not as half-breeds, but as her own, blood-related brothers and sisters. They love her no less. And this can also be called the spiritual feat of Sonya Marmeladova. Katerina Ivanovna treats everyone with great severity. She cannot bear crying, even if the children cry from hunger. In a conversation with Raskolnikov, Marmeladov mentions that they, poor children, also fall heavily from their mother. Raskolnikov himself is convinced of this when he inadvertently enters their house. A frightened girl stands in the corner a little boy crying uncontrollably, as if he had just been beaten badly, and the third child is sleeping right on the floor.

Sonya Marmeladova has a cute appearance. She is thin, blonde and blue-eyed. Raskolnikov finds it completely transparent. Sonya wore two kinds of clothes. For an unworthy profession, she always wore her indecent dress. However, it was the same rags. It was a colorful dress with a long and ridiculous tail. A huge crinoline cluttered the entire passage. The straw hat was adorned with a brightly fiery feather. On her feet were light-coloured shoes. It is difficult to imagine a more ridiculous image. She was humiliated and broken and ashamed of her appearance. IN ordinary life Sonya dressed modestly, in clothes that did not attract attention to herself.

Sonya Marmeladova's room

In order to evaluate spiritual feat Sonya Marmeladova, you should also familiarize yourself with her room. Room ... This word is too majestic for the room in which she lived. It was a shed, a squalid shed with crooked walls. Three windows gave a view of the ditch. It had almost no furniture. Of the few interior items - a bed, a chair and a table covered with a blue tablecloth. Two wicker chairs, a simple chest of drawers... That was all there was in the room. The yellowed wallpaper said that in winter the room became damp and uncomfortable. The author emphasizes that the beds did not even have curtains. Sonya was forced to move here after she became unrighteous. It was indecent to live with the family, as everyone shamed them for this and demanded that the hostess of the house immediately evict the Marmeladovs.

What unites Sonya Marmeladova and Raskolnikov

Rodion Raskolnikov and Sonya Marmeladova - the two main characters of the work "Crime and Punishment". They are united by one thing - the violation of the laws of God. These are two kindred spirits. She cannot leave him alone and goes to hard labor after him. This is another spiritual feat of Sonya Marmeladova. Raskolnikov himself involuntarily associates Sonya with his sister, who decides to marry an elderly gentleman in the name of saving her brother. The readiness of women to sacrifice themselves can be traced throughout the work. At the same time, the author tries to emphasize the spiritual failure of men. One is a drunkard, another is a criminal, the third is excessively greedy.

What exactly is the spiritual feat of Sonya Marmeladova

Against the background of other characters in Dostoevsky's work, Sonya is the embodiment of self-sacrifice. Raskolnikov, in the name of justice, does not notice anything happening around. Luzhin is trying to embody the idea of ​​capitalist predation.

Why Sonya Marmeladova decided on a spiritual feat and went into prostitution? There are many answers. First of all, in order to save the children of Katerina Ivanovna dying of hunger. Just think about it! What a sense of responsibility a person must have in front of absolutely strangers in order to decide on such a thing! The second is the feeling of guilt for one's own father. Could she have acted differently? Hardly. Throughout history, no one has heard words of condemnation from her. She never asks for more. Every day, watching how children suffer from hunger, seeing that they do not have the most necessary clothes, Sonya understands that this is an ordinary dead end.

Spiritual feat Dream Marmeladova lies in her willingness to sacrifice herself. Her image and moral considerations are close to the people, so the author does not condemn her in the eyes of the reader, but tries to arouse sympathy and compassion. She is endowed with such traits as humility and forgiveness. But precisely main character saves the soul of that same Raskolnikov and those who were in hard labor with him.

Sonya Marmeladova is a wonderful combination of Faith, Hope and Love. She does not condemn anyone for their sins and does not call for atonement for them. This is the brightest one! The spiritual feat of Sonya Marmeladova lies in the fact that she managed to keep a pure soul. Despite the prosperity of shame, meanness, deceit and malice.

She deserves the highest human appreciation. He himself calls the couple Sonya and Raskolnikov nothing more than a harlot and a murderer. After all, this is how they look in the eyes of rich people. He awakens them to new life. They are resurrected by eternal love.

© Vsevolod Sakharov . All rights reserved.

From the lips of Marmeladov in the “drinking room” in the scene of their acquaintance: “In the meantime, my daughter also grew up, from her first marriage, and what she, my daughter, only endured from her stepmother, growing up, I am silent about that. For although Katerina Ivanovna is full of generous feelings, the lady is hot and irritated, and will break off ... Yes, sir! Well, there is nothing to remember about that! Education, as you can imagine, Sonya did not receive. I tried with her, four years ago, to go through geography and world history; but as I myself was not strong in this knowledge, and there were no decent manuals for this, for what books were available ... hm! They stopped at Cyrus the Persian. Then, having already reached adulthood, she read several books of a romantic content, and recently, through Mr. Lebeziatnikov, one book - Lewis's "Physiology", if you please know, sir? - she read it with great interest and even told us fragmentarily aloud: that's all her enlightenment. Now I will turn to you, my dear sir, from myself with a private question: how much can, in your opinion, a poor but honest girl earn by honest labor? .. Fifteen kopecks a day, sir, will not earn if she is honest and not has special talents, and even then he worked tirelessly! And even then the State Councilor Klopstock, Ivan Ivanovich, deigned to hear? - not only has he not given money for sewing half a dozen Dutch shirts yet, but even with resentment drove her away, stamping his feet and calling indecently, under the guise of a shirt collar sewn out of measure and on a jamb. And here the children are hungry ... And here Katerina Ivanovna, wringing her hands, walks around the room, and red spots appear on her cheeks - which always happens in this illness: “You live, they say, you, parasite, eat with us and you drink and use the heat, "and what do you drink and eat here, when the kids don't see the crust for three days! I was lying then ... well, so what! I was lying drunk, and I heard my Sonya say (she is unanswerable, and her voice is so meek ... fair-haired, her face is always pale, thin), says: “Well, Katerina Ivanovna, can I really go to such a thing? " And Darya Frantsevna, a woman of malicious intent and known to the police many times, visited three times through the hostess. "Well," replies Katerina Ivanovna, in a chuckle, "why save? Eco treasure!"<...>And I see, at about six o'clock, Sonya got up, put on a handkerchief, put on a burnous coat and left the apartment, and at nine o'clock she came back. She came, and straight to Katerina Ivanovna, and on the table in front of her silently laid out thirty rubles. She didn’t utter a word at the same time, at least she looked, but took only our big green dreaded kerchief (we have such a common kerchief, dreaded dam), covered her head and face with it completely and lay down on the bed, facing the wall, only her shoulders and the whole body shudder... And I, as before, was lying in the same form... And then, young man, I saw how then Katerina Ivanovna, also without saying a word, went up to Sonya's bed and all evening she stood on her knees at her feet, kissed her legs, did not want to get up, and then both fell asleep together, embracing ... both ... both ... yes, sir ... and I ... lay drunk - With.<...>since then, my daughter, Sofya Semyonovna, was forced to get a yellow ticket, and on this occasion she could not stay with us.<...>And Sonechka comes to us now more at dusk, and Katerina Ivanovna relieves, and delivers all possible means. He lives in the apartment of the tailor Kapernaumov, he rents an apartment from them ... "
The portrait of Sonya (as well as the portraits of other main characters of the novel - Raskolnikov and) is given several times. At first, Sonya appears (in the scene of Marmeladov’s death) in her “professional” appearance - a street prostitute: “A girl made her way out of the crowd, inaudibly and timidly, and her sudden appearance in this room was strange, among poverty, rags, death and despair. She, too, was in rags; her outfit was cheap, but decorated in a street style, according to the taste and rules that had developed in her own special world, with a bright and shamefully prominent goal. Sonya stopped in the entryway at the very threshold, but did not cross the threshold and looked as if lost, not realizing anything, it seemed, forgetting about her secondhand, silk, indecent here, colored dress with a long and ridiculous tail, and an immense crinoline that blocked the whole door, and about light-colored shoes, and about an ombrelka, unnecessary at night, but which she took with her, and about a funny straw hat with a bright fiery feather. From under this hat, worn on a boyish side, peeped out a thin, pale and frightened little face with an open mouth and eyes motionless with horror. Sonya was small, about eighteen years old, thin, but rather pretty blonde, with wonderful blue eyes. She gazed at the bed, at the priest; she, too, was suffocating from a quick walk ... "
Then Sonya appears, so to speak, in her true form in Raskolnikov's room just at the moment when he has his mother, sister: “Raskolnikov did not recognize her at first sight.<...>Now she was a modestly and even poorly dressed girl, still very young, almost like a girl, with a modest and decent manner, with a clear, but, as it were, somewhat frightened face. She was wearing a very simple house dress, on her head was an old hat of the same style; only in the hands was, in yesterday's way, an umbrella. Seeing an unexpectedly full room of people, she was not only embarrassed, but completely lost, shy, as Small child, and even made a movement to go back ... "
And finally, another portrait of Sonya in front of the reading scene and, practically, again through Raskolnikov’s eyes: “With a new, strange, almost painful feeling, he peered into this pale, thin and irregular angular face, into these meek blue eyes that could sparkle with such fire, such a harsh energetic feeling, into this small body, still trembling with indignation and anger, and all this seemed to him more and more strange, almost impossible. "Holy fool! holy fool!" he kept saying to himself...
Raskolnikov and Sonya were brought together by fate not by chance: he, as it were, committed suicide, having crossed the gospel commandment “do not kill”, she ruined herself in the same way, transgressing the commandment “do not commit adultery”. However, the difference is that Sonya sacrificed herself for the sake of others, to save loved ones, while Rodion still had in the first place the “idea of ​​Napoleonism”, the test-overcoming of oneself. Faith in God never left Sonya. A lot for Raskolnikov’s repentance, for his “turning in confession” meant his confession to Sonya in his crime, and then the scene of joint reading with Sonya of the gospel parable of the resurrection of Lazarus is one of the key ones in the novel: “The cigarette stub has long been extinguished in a crooked candlestick, dimly illuminating in this beggarly room, a murderer and a harlot, strangely come together while reading an eternal book ... "
Already in Siberia, having arrived there after Raskolnikov, Sonya, with her selfless love, meekness, and caress, thaws his heart, revives Raskolnikov to life: “How it happened, he himself did not know, but suddenly something seemed to catch him and, as it were, thrown at her feet. He cried and hugged her knees. At first she was terribly frightened, and her whole face went dead. She jumped up from her seat and, trembling, looked at him. But at once, at that very moment, she understood everything. Infinite happiness shone in her eyes; she understood, and for her there was no longer any doubt that he loved, infinitely loved her, and that this moment had finally come ...<...>Tears stood in their eyes. They were both pale and thin; but in these sick and pale faces already shone the dawn of a renewed future, a full resurrection in new life. They were resurrected by love, the heart of one contained endless sources of life for the heart of the other. They set out to wait and be patient. They still had seven years left; until then, so much unbearable torment and so much endless happiness! But he was resurrected, and he knew it, he felt it completely with his whole renewed being, and she - she, after all, lived only his life! .. ”
The "forerunner" of Sonya Marmeladova was

After the murder he committed, the main female character of Crime and Punishment, Sonya Marmeladova, played.

Daughter poor official, she, in order to save her stepmother and children from hunger, leads the life of a fallen woman. Conscious of the horror of her position, her shame, timid, driven, this girl kept her soul pure and was distinguished by exceptional love for people and fiery religiosity. Resignedly, silently, without complaining, Sonya carries her cross, sacrificing her whole life, being subjected to a heavy shame for the sake of loved ones.

Sonya Marmeladova. The image of gospel love

This resigned suffering surprises Raskolnikov, he understands the soul of this girl, and she is for him, as it were, the personification of all human suffering. Shaken by everything he has experienced in recent days, he bows at her feet in some enthusiastic impulse. “I bowed not to you,” he says, “I bowed to all human suffering.”

But inner world Sony is completely different than Raskolnikov's; she categorically denies his theory of the right of the strong; each one is precious to her. human life, to which she has a religious attitude, and she cannot allow the life of one person to serve as a means for another. She professes the law of Christ's love, pities Raskolnikov, for the criminal for her, as well as for the common people, is unfortunate. She weeps over him and sends him to accept suffering and atone for sin, for this is required by the higher laws of spiritual life.

“Go now, this very minute,” she tells him, “stand at the crossroads, bow down, first kiss the earth that you defiled, and then bow to the whole world, on all four sides, and tell everyone out loud: I killed! Then God will send you life again.”

However, despite all the attempts and mental struggle, Raskolnikov cannot understand her attitude to the crime and even leaves for hard labor, unreconciled and not feeling remorse. The isolation and pride of Raskolnikov cause a hostile attitude towards him among the convicts, while they are imbued with love for Sonya, feeling her spiritual attitude towards people, and call her: “you are our tender, sick mother.”

But the influence of Sonya still won over the soul of Raskolnikov, who survived a complete life change, which is only hinted at in the epilogue of the novel. “Here begins a new story,” says Dostoevsky, “the story of the gradual renewal of man, the story of his gradual rebirth - a gradual transition from one world to another, acquaintance with a new, hitherto completely unknown reality.”