The sinister benevolent (Porfiry Petrovich. Erotica of Insight)

Authors

  • Lyudmil Dimitrov Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski

Keywords:

Dostoevsky, “Crime and Punishment”, Porfiry Petrovich, detective, narrative

Abstract

The article attempts to read the novel “Crime and Punishment” through Porfiry Petrovich. Why is the investigator necessary and why – so unique to the plot? In all of Dostoevsky’s “Pentateuch” there’s no such figure. Without Porfiry, we could explain Raskolnikov only subjectively. Through this character the author corrects and objectifies his story.
With his act, Raskolnikov destroys the project of his own life and reorientates it rather unclearly. With his appearance / interference, Porfiry attempts to regulate the project of Raskolnikov’s life as a social one, he tries to impose a moral and behavioral framework on him. He is sinister and benevolent.
The paper also analyses the detective’s ability to induce certain thoughts in Raskolnikov’s mind – not as an evil genius, but rather through the eroticism of insight and the principles of what would later be called psychodrama.

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Published

2017-11-30

How to Cite

Dimitrov, L. (2017). The sinister benevolent (Porfiry Petrovich. Erotica of Insight). Mundo Eslavo, (16), 55–63. Retrieved from https://revistaseug.ugr.es/index.php/meslav/article/view/17579

Issue

Section

150º aniversario de la publicación de la obra “Crimen y castigo” de Dostoievski