The Role of Forgiveness in Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment

Forgiveness manifests itself in Crime and Punishment in an interesting manner. Raskolnikov must learn to forgive himself and to overcome his own mental blocks. He believes that "extraordinary" people are automatically forgiven for crimes if they are done to better mankind and society. Porfiry also personally forgives Raskolnikov for his crimes due to this philosophy. This is opposite from how we view forgiveness in our judicial system. Yet Raskolnikov also must serve his sentence for his crime, even though Porfiry had understood why he had killed Alyona and Lizaveta.

Redemption is a huge part of this novel, and in order to be redeemed, one must both be forgiven by others and must forgive themselves. Raskolnikov's final character change brought about right before his confession proves that he has forgiven himself because he knows that Sonya has forgiven him as well.

Something I have been thinking about is Lizaveta's murder. She was an innocent bystander who was in no way personally involved with the murder, she just happened to stumble in at the wrong time. Raskolnikov explains why he kills Alyona--because she was a "louse"--but he never explains nor truly apologizes for taking this innocent life. I am currently not sure why I keep wondering about this, but I really wonder how he can consider himself "redeemed" when he never addresses this sin. Just a quick thought.

Forgiveness In Henry IV, Part One

Interestingly enough, the subject of forgiveness in Henry IV, Part One does not truly appear until the closing act of the play. Forgiveness is addressed in an intriguing way in Act 5 of Henry IV, Part One. In scene 1, the king explains to Vernon and Worcester that if they end the rebellion, he would be willing to look the other way and "forgive" their treasonous actions. This seems to be a generous offer from a king who cares only for himself, and later in the final scene of the play, the king orders Vernon and Worcester to be executed for helping to lead the rebellion. This is ironic because King Henry won the battle, yet he is still killing his enemies--the people who he told he would forgive them. As a foil to the king's actions, Prince Hal actually releases Douglas in the same scene because even though he was against the crown, Douglas fought valiantly and with honor and integrity. It seems the prince was able to forgive his enemy in order to rise above his father, proving that he will be a better, more competent ruler of the kingdom than his father was. In this way, Hal is almost taking on the "leader as father" role, forgiving one of his subjects--his "child"--to better the cause of the nation.

My Big Question in Oedipus Rex

So, after much deliberation, I have what I believe is a very nice big question.

Is it within human nature to truly forgive?

In Oedipus Rex, Kreon shows that he is able to truly forgive Oedipus for calling him a traitor after he finds out that Oedipus was the true killer of King Laius. He finds it in his heart to take care of Oedipus's daughters after Oedipus exhiles himself from Thebes. Because Oedipus was able to learn humility, Kreon was able to forgive him because Oedipus was able to see the errors of his ways and his pride. Kreon is an excellent example of how man is willing and able to forgive.