Part Five, Chapter 4:
This is the scene in which Raskolnikov confesses to Sonia that he murdered Lizaveta, who was a good friend of Sonia's. By confessing to Sonia, he is hoping that she may shoulder some of the burden of his suffering and of his sin. But he realizes that the love and suffering he sees on Sonia's face is actually burdensome to him and does not free him from suffering at all. Love carries with it a tremendous burden. Raskolnikov confesses to her the real reason for his murderous actions - and that was to see if he could be like Napoleon and force fate to his will. The references to Toulon, Egypt and Mont Blanc are the military victories Napoleon undertook at the beginning of his career. Contrast Napoleon's beginning military exploits, which were the bold first steps of an "ubermensche" that transgressed the laws of ordinary men, with the first steps in Raskolnikov's "ubermensch" quest - the desperate murder of a pathetic old woman. Raskolnikov asks the question that if Napoleon hadn't had the military achievements at Toulon or Egypt at the beginning of his brilliant career, but instead had only the opportunity of murdering a pathetic pawnbroker to further his ubermensch goal, would he still have taken her life? The fact that this was the only choice, murdering an old woman, offered to Raskolnikov, and not Toulon or Egypt, leads him to believe that he is not, after all, an extraordinary man. His murdering of the pawnbroker is a sin and it only confirms that he is a "louse", a common, ordinary man.
The cross is the most powerful Christian symbol of redemption and Raskolnikov's refusal of Sonia's offer of her cross is symbolic of his unreadiness to accept his guilt and seek atonement. Christ shouldered the cross in order to bear humanity's burden of sin.
Sonia's possession of Lizaveta's cross ties her closely to the innocent victim.
This is the scene in which Raskolnikov confesses to Sonia that he murdered Lizaveta, who was a good friend of Sonia's. By confessing to Sonia, he is hoping that she may shoulder some of the burden of his suffering and of his sin. But he realizes that the love and suffering he sees on Sonia's face is actually burdensome to him and does not free him from suffering at all. Love carries with it a tremendous burden. Raskolnikov confesses to her the real reason for his murderous actions - and that was to see if he could be like Napoleon and force fate to his will. The references to Toulon, Egypt and Mont Blanc are the military victories Napoleon undertook at the beginning of his career. Contrast Napoleon's beginning military exploits, which were the bold first steps of an "ubermensche" that transgressed the laws of ordinary men, with the first steps in Raskolnikov's "ubermensch" quest - the desperate murder of a pathetic old woman. Raskolnikov asks the question that if Napoleon hadn't had the military achievements at Toulon or Egypt at the beginning of his brilliant career, but instead had only the opportunity of murdering a pathetic pawnbroker to further his ubermensch goal, would he still have taken her life? The fact that this was the only choice, murdering an old woman, offered to Raskolnikov, and not Toulon or Egypt, leads him to believe that he is not, after all, an extraordinary man. His murdering of the pawnbroker is a sin and it only confirms that he is a "louse", a common, ordinary man.
The cross is the most powerful Christian symbol of redemption and Raskolnikov's refusal of Sonia's offer of her cross is symbolic of his unreadiness to accept his guilt and seek atonement. Christ shouldered the cross in order to bear humanity's burden of sin.
Sonia's possession of Lizaveta's cross ties her closely to the innocent victim.
