Demonic principle in "Crime and punishment" by Dostoevsky

Abstract

The demonic principle and its manifestations in Dostoevsky's novel are considered. Usually, investigators discussing causes of Raskolnikov's crime, stress the concept of motives duality: the hero strived to be Napoleon and to bring good to people in the same time. The author of the article puts forward another possible reason of the crime, namely, the game of demonic forces. They are considered not only in a religious but also in an existential-phenomenological perspective.