A Psychological Analysis of an Anti-Psychological Novel: Reading Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment with Vygotskian Spectacles ¹⁸⁰

The present paper discusses Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment as a novel that pushes the boundaries of psychological analysis in literature. Following L. S. Vygotsky’s approach to psychology of art, the commentary intends to delve into the structure of the novel to find the unique psychological perspective that is embedded in it. The analysis focuses on the opposition between fragmentation and unity in the novel’s structure and character portrayal, as well as on the epilogue as a moment in the narrative that fully unveils the anti-psychological nature of this literary work. The depiction of a deeper reality that cannot be grasped by a linear biographical-scientific understanding of personality is simultaneously the core of the novel’s anti-psychologism and its unique psychology, one that encompasses a metaphysical and spiritual realm in which epiphany finds its meaning. Lastly, we hope that this analytic and sensible effort can somehow contribute to enriching the contact with Dostoevsky’s literature, an experience that is in itself irreplaceable.

Keywords: Psychology of Art, 19th Century Russian Literature, L. S. Vygotsky, F. M. Dostoevsky, Close Reading

Column: World Literature. Textual Criticism

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17759/langt.2020070103