Question about Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment

[Duikboot]

In chapter 2 Marmeladov says: "...Not on earth, but up yonder...they grieve over men, they weep, but they don't blame them, they don't blame them!
But it hurts more, it hurts more when they don't blame!..."

Can someone be so kind to explain to me why Marmeladov thinks it hurts more that way?

Thank you very much for your time and effort.

[Interpreter]

If someone is not blamed for things that they do wrong, then maybe they aren't blamed because they're considered a result of who they are - they aren't merely a result of their mistakes which could be considered to be controllable, but of their nature, which is out of their control (it is futile to blame someone for something that they can't control). If a person has made mistakes but is considered to have a good nature, then that is better than being considered to have a poor nature which spawns poor actions by default.

Or perhaps if someone is not blamed for things that they do wrong, then maybe that indicates that they are considered to have a better nature than they really have - maybe people have a tendency to forgive people for the sake of their otherwise good nature (in exact opposition to the previous paragraph). Therefore, this being considered to be better by others than is thought to be the case by themselves might be a source of guilt.

[RufusWGriswold]

I have always understood this to mean that because "they don't blame", but rather grieve and weep, that he is made to feel more keenly his transgressions; that in the face of such love and forgiveness his sins seem even greater than if he were to be called to account for them. He knows he is a sinner and blames himself for it, and because he is pitied rather than scorned he is made to feel even worse. He desires on some level the punishment he feels he is deserving of, and that he does not receive it and yet continues to sin he feels all the more wretched a human being as a result.

I hope that this helps and is not too inarticulate : )

[Interpreter]

I have always understood this to mean that because "they don't blame", but rather grieve and weep, that he is made to feel more keenly his transgressions; that in the face of such love and forgiveness his sins seem even greater than if he were to be called to account for them. He knows he is a sinner and blames himself for it, and because he is pitied rather than scorned he is made to feel even worse. He desires on some level the punishment he feels he is deserving of, and that he does not receive it and yet continues to sin he feels all the more wretched a human being as a result.

I hope that this helps and is not too inarticulate : )

Yes, this is consistent with the second interpretation that I suggested. I don't remember the full context of the passage, and this interpretation seems reasonable.

[WyattGwyon]

Rufus nailed it. At some point doesn't Marmeladov actually ask to be beaten for his transgressions?

[Duikboot]

Thank you guys, this definitely helped. No version that I know off seems to annotate this very sentence within the book, but you did.

[sweetcaroline]

You nailed it, indeed! Great job, Rufus! That was absolutely articulate. : )

[Duikboot]

Then again, what triggered Marmeladov to escape his newly "Perfect" situation and started drinking again? Was he not perhaps a chronic masochist? He certainly didn't mind having his hair pulled...somewhat a flagellant if you ask me, like that what Wyattgwyon said. Or, perhaps, was it sheer alcoholism? We know that Marmeladov means jelly, jam, and spineliness in Russian, and most last names in the book are directly linked in such manner to the antagonist's character. There is somewhat a relation between alcoholism and sadomasochism. Did Marmeladov drink because he would then be certain then that his old lady would pull his hairs and treat him the way he longs for? Probably he didn't like her being nice to him that way. It's kind of perverted but....he let his own daughter sit behind the red light, like a pimp, steals the money from her, so the kids don't have anything to eat...and he goes binge-drinking until a certain "guilt" sets in (that he is willing to share with others like telling a anecdote), then he lets some sucker direct him home, where he gets his fix of sadomasochism by getting his hairs pulled...? Why would someone having it made destroy it all by alcohol within days? Did he really care more about the alcohol than his wife calling him "Puppet" again....since years gone by?

I know its a very sick interpretation, but if Marmeladov really wanted to punish himself he would have not stolen the money and just would do anything to perpetuate the status quo of his new situation (job and income). But this guy wanted to have his hair pulled, as well as share this with others like an exhibitionist!!? some perpetual circle of sex, alcohol and social attention? That is what I thought at first. So if he wants to feel punished at best then why isn't he satisfied when Heaven isn't blaming him, which would only increase the level of self-pity? Meaning "that it hurts more when they don't blame" is exactly what he wants others to hear..thus this time not his complaint, but merely masking his own observation of his addiction to hair-pulling: although it may come across like he is regretting it he is actually seeking the pain of his hairs being pulled over his own daughter lying on her back making money, F#3-ing other men.

Your aforementioned scenario(s) are definitely the right ones, and they have crossed my mind slightly, but sometimes writers are willingly vague like that and make it hard for morons like me to get it. I just deem it merely fair for you guys to read my initial theory.