ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the splits of character suggested by Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov's name. It also explores the way in which Petersburg, particularly St Isaac's Cathedral, is represented in the novel. Significantly, the Petersburg panorama, which includes the Cathedral, is described as filled with a 'mute and deaf spirit', which implies the city itself is 'epileptic' by nature. The chapter considers the Cathedral's eclectic architectural style to show how the Petersburgers' experience of seeing is disoriented with respect to the eclectic cityscape. It discusses Raskolnikov's dreams, particularly the mare-beating dream, showing how they overthrow the logic of the Napoleonic theory. The chapter shows how Fyodor Dostoyevsky's Petersburg is eclectic in nature, which in the first place produces alienation in Raskolnikov. Raskolnikov's desire for becoming a Napoleon expresses the thirst for an ideal in many of Dostoevsky's heroes. Sonia reads the passage of Lazarus' resurrection to Raskolnikov.
