Why should you read “Crime and Punishment”? - Alex Gendler

翻译人员: Carol Wang 校对人员: Xinyu Zhao

What drives someone to kill in cold blood?

是什么驱使人变成了冷血杀手？

What goes through the murderer’s mind?

凶手心里想的是什么？

And what kind of a society breeds such people?

又是什么样的社会 造就了这样的人呢？

Over 150 years ago

150多年前，

Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky took these questions up

费奥多尔·米哈伊洛维奇·陀思妥耶夫斯基 在作品中提出了上述问题，

in what would become one of the best-known works of Russian literature:

这部作品后来成为 俄国文学史上最著名的作品之一：

"Crime and Punishment."

《罪与罚》。

First serialized in a literary magazine in 1866,

这部小说于1866年 首次在一本文学杂志上连载，

the novel tells the story of Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov,

讲述了圣彼得堡一个年轻的法学生

罗迪·罗曼诺维奇·拉斯科尔尼科夫的故事。

a young law student in Saint Petersburg.

Raskolnikov lives in abject poverty,

拉斯科尔尼科夫的生活穷困潦倒，

and at the start of the story has run out of funds to continue his studies.

故事开头的他因 交不起学费而辍学。

Letters from his rural home only add to his distress

农村老家的来信使他更为沮丧，

when he realizes how much his mother and sister have sacrificed for his success.

他发现母亲和妹妹为了让他成功 已经牺牲太多了。

Increasingly desperate

把最后一点值钱的东西 卖给当铺的老太婆后，

after selling the last of his valuables to an elderly pawnbroker,

他更加绝望了，

he resolves on a plan to murder and rob her.

他决心要杀掉当铺老板娘， 夺走她的钱财。

But the impact of carrying out this unthinkable act

但实施这项鲁莽计划的后果，

proves to be more than he was prepared for.

比他预想的要严重得多。

Though the novel is sometimes cited as one of the first psychological thrillers,

虽然该作有时被认为是 最早的心理惊悚小说之一，

its scope reaches far beyond Raskolnikov’s inner turmoil.

小说所揭露的远不止 拉斯科利尼科夫内心的挣扎。

From dank taverns to dilapidated apartments

从潮湿的小酒馆，到破旧的公寓

and claustrophobic police stations,

和幽闭恐怖的警察局,

the underbelly of 19th century Saint Petersburg is brought to life

19世纪圣彼得堡的社会阴暗面

by Dostoyevsky’s searing prose.

在陀思妥耶夫斯基 犀利的笔触下跃然纸上。

We’re introduced to characters such as Marmeladov,

我们认识了诸多角色，例如马美拉多夫，

a miserable former official who has drank his family into ruin,

一位因酗酒而倾家荡产的可怜的下岗官员；

and Svidrigailov, an unhinged and lecherous nobleman.

还有斯维里加洛夫， 一位傲慢、脾气暴躁的贵族。

As Raskolnikov’s own family arrives in town,

当拉斯科利尼科夫的家人来到镇上时，

their moral innocence stands in stark contrast

他们道德上的纯真

与周围人的堕落形成鲜明对比，

to the depravity of those around them,

even as their fates grow increasingly intertwined.

即使他们的命运逐渐交织在了一起。

This bleak portrait of Russian society

这幅冷酷的俄罗斯社会肖像画，

reflects the author’s own complex life experiences and evolving ideas.

反映了作者自身复杂的生活经历 和不断发展的思想。

As a young writer who left behind a promising military career,

告别了前途无量的军队仕途， 费奥多尔成为一名年轻作家，

Fyodor had been attracted to ideas of socialism and reform,

被社会主义和改革思想所吸引，

and joined a circle of intellectuals to discuss radical texts

并加入了知识分子的圈子，

讨论被帝国政府禁止的激进文章。

banned by the Imperial government.

Upon exposure,

暴露后，

members of this group, including Dostoyevsky, were arrested.

包括陀思妥耶夫斯基在内的 团体成员被捕。

Many were sentenced to death,

许多人被判处死刑，

only to be subjected to a mock execution and last-minute pardon from the Tsar.

在行刑前一刻才被沙皇赦免， 只经受了模拟处决。

Dostoyevsky spent the next four years in a Siberian labor camp

陀思妥耶夫斯基 在西伯利亚劳改营待了四年,

before being released in 1854.

直到1854年才被释放。

The experience left him with a far more pessimistic view of social reform,

这次经历让他对社会改革越发悲观，

and his focus shifted toward spiritual concerns.

他也把目光更多地投向了精神层面的话题。

In the 1864 novella "Notes from Underground,"

在1864年的中篇小说 《地下室手记》中，

he expounded on his belief that utopian Western philosophies

他阐述了他的观点， 认为乌托邦式的西方哲学

could never satisfy the contradictory yearnings of the human soul.

永远无法满足 人类灵魂中相互矛盾的欲望。

"Crime and Punishment" was conceived and completed the following year,

次年，他构思并完成了《罪与罚》，

picking up on many of the same themes.

书中许多主题与上篇小说相同。

In many ways,

在许多方面，

the novel follows a common narrative thread

小说遵循一个共同的叙事线索，

where a promising youth is seduced and corrupted by the dangers of urban life.

一个有前途的年轻人被城市 生活的险恶所诱惑和腐蚀，

But its social critique cuts far deeper.

但作品对社会的批评更加深刻。

Raskolnikov rationalizes that his own advancement

拉斯科利尼科夫认为，

杀死剥削他人的当铺老板的行为 乃“替天行道”，

at the cost of the exploitative pawnbroker’s death

would be a net benefit to society.

对社会有益无害。

In doing so,

他的做法

he echoes the doctrines of egoism and utilitarianism

正契合陀思妥耶夫斯基时代

embraced by many of Dostoyevsky’s contemporary intellectuals.

许多知识分子所信奉的 自我主义和功利主义思想。

And in believing that his intelligence allows him to transcend moral taboos,

拉斯科利尼科夫认定自己的才智 给予了他超越道德禁忌的权力，

Raskolnikov cuts himself off from his own humanity.

并最终走向了人性的堕落。

Yet although the book is deeply concerned with morality,

尽管《罪与罚》 深刻探讨了有关道德的话题，

"Crime and Punishment" never comes across as merely moralizing,

这本书从来都不是单纯的道德说教，

with each character given their own distinctive and convincing voice.

每个人物都有其独特 而有说服力的声音。

One of the most remarkable things about "Crime and Punishment"

《罪与罚》最引人注目的一点就在于

is its ability to thrill

尽管第一幕就详细描绘了 作为故事高潮的谋杀案，

despite the details of the central murder being revealed in the first act.

全书依然让人欲罢不能。

Raskolnikov’s crime is clear.

拉斯科利尼科夫的“罪”显而易见。

But it’s only through Dostoyevsky’s gripping account

但是，只有通过陀思妥耶夫斯基

of the ensuing social and psychological turmoil

对社会动荡和主人公内心挣扎 扣人心弦的描述，

that we learn the true nature of his punishment–

我们才了解到他的“罚”的 真实本质——

and the possibility of redemption.

以及救赎的可能性。