If you have ever read the novel ¨Crime and Punishment¨ of Dostoevsky, you probably remember forever some main characters. And one of those leading characters is Mr. Svidrigailov.
Who is Svidrigailov?
There is no doubt that Svidrigailov is a villain, a negative character. But as it always happens in Dostoevsky´s novels, sometimes his is not lacking in good intentions. All this makes Svidrigailov a very contradictory character.
The life story of Svidrigailov
Svidrigailov is a eccentric landowner about 50 years old. He falls in love with Dounia, Raskolnikov's sister. She is about 22.
Svidrigailov offered Dounia to run away with him but she rejected his offer because of Svidrigailov being married to Marfa Petrovna.
Marfa Petrovna, Svidrigailov´s wife, was an eccentric and emotional woman. She was 5 years older than him. She loved him and saved him from prison 8 years ago.
Marfa Petrovna, Svidrigailov´s wife, was an eccentric and emotional woman. She was 5 years older than him. She loved him and saved him from prison 8 years ago.
Svidrigailov lived with Marfa Petrovna during 8 years in a provincial town until she died under unknown circumstances (in the novel it is supposed that he could have killed her).
After the death of his wife Svidrigailov decides to win Dounia's heart by all means. He comes from his provincial town to Saint Petersburg to prevent the wedding of his beloved Dounia and Mr. Luzhin.
In Saint Petersburg Svidrigailov comes in touch with Raskolnikov, Dounia's brother, but does not get Raskolnikov's support.
As a result, Svidrigailov does not succeed in winning Dounia's heart. He starts seeing the ghost of his wife and other dead people whom he supposedly has killed too. He starts loosing his mind and soon commits suicide.
The character of Svidrigailov: the description in quotes
The quotes below can help you to understand the character of Svidrigailov - an eccentric and sinful landowner:
...He was a man about fifty, rather tall and thickly set, with broad high shoulders which made him look as though he stooped a little. He wore good and fashionable clothes, and looked like a gentleman of position. He carried a handsome cane, which he tapped on the pavement at each step; his gloves were spotless.
He had a broad, rather pleasant face with high cheek-bones and a fresh colour, not often seen in Petersburg. His flaxen hair was still abundant, and only touched here and there with grey, and his thick square beard was even lighter than his hair.
His eyes were blue and had a cold and thoughtful look; his lips were crimson.
He was a remarkedly well-preserved man and looked much younger than his years.
(the author)
...I present myself—a landowner, a widower, of a well- known name, with connections, with a fortune...
...I served for two years in the cavalry, then I knocked about here in Petersburg, then I married Marfa Petrovna and lived in the country. There you have my biography!...
...Yes, I’ve been a card-sharper too....
... I did get into prison for debt... Then Marfa Petrovna turned up; she ... bought me off for thirty thousand silver pieces (I owed seventy thousand). We were united in lawful wedlock and she bore me off into the country like a treasure.
...You know she was five years older than I. She was very fond of me. For seven years I never left the country. ...I didn't want to go anywhere else. Marfa Petrovna herself invited me to go abroad, seeing I was bored, but I've been abroad before......nearly a year ago Marfa Petrovna ... made me a present of a considerable sum of money, too. She had a fortune, you know.
...I managed the estate quite decently, they know me in the neighbourhood. I ordered books, too. Marfa Petrovna at first approved, but afterwards she was afraid of my over-studying....
...But you've only to assume that I, too, am a man et nihil humanum ... in a word, that I am capable of being attracted and falling in love (which does not depend on our will)...
...The question is, am I a monster, or am I myself a victim? And what if I am a victim?
...You know she was five years older than I. She was very fond of me. For seven years I never left the country. ...I didn't want to go anywhere else. Marfa Petrovna herself invited me to go abroad, seeing I was bored, but I've been abroad before......nearly a year ago Marfa Petrovna ... made me a present of a considerable sum of money, too. She had a fortune, you know.
...I managed the estate quite decently, they know me in the neighbourhood. I ordered books, too. Marfa Petrovna at first approved, but afterwards she was afraid of my over-studying....
...But you've only to assume that I, too, am a man et nihil humanum ... in a word, that I am capable of being attracted and falling in love (which does not depend on our will)...
...The question is, am I a monster, or am I myself a victim? And what if I am a victim?
...I know I am not well, without your telling me, though I don't know what's wrong...
...I am well dressed and reckoned not a poor man; the emancipation of the serfs hasn't affected me; my property consists chiefly of forests and water meadows. The revenue has not fallen off...
...I am not such a bear, you know, as you think...
...I am not particularly interested in anyone's opinion...
...and therefore why not be vulgar at times when vulgarity is such a convenient cloak for our climate... and especially if one has a natural propensity that way...
...and therefore why not be vulgar at times when vulgarity is such a convenient cloak for our climate... and especially if one has a natural propensity that way...
...I am not intrusive; I used to get on all right with card-sharpers ... I never left Marfa Petrovna's side for seven years...
(Svidrigaïlov quotes about himself)
...I may, perhaps, very soon marry a young lady... Perhaps I'll get married instead of the journey. They're making a match for me."
...What if I am fifty and she is not sixteen? Who thinks of that? But it’s fascinating, isn’t it? It is fascinating, ha-ha! You should have seen how I talked to the papa and mamma...
(Svidrigaïlov quotes about his probable marriage with a young girl)
...I may be going to America, Sofya Semyonovna...
(Svidrigaïlov to Sonia)
... Svidrigaïlov, that landowner in whose house my sister was insulted when she was their governess.
...you are a man of very good breeding, or at least know how on occasion to behave like one....
... you have many friends here. You are, as they say, 'not without connections.'...
This is the description of Mr. Svidrigailov in quotations from the novel "Crime and Punishment" of Dostoevsky.
...He is very strange, and is determined on doing something....
(Raskolnikov about Svidrigailov)
...you are a man of very good breeding, or at least know how on occasion to behave like one....
... you have many friends here. You are, as they say, 'not without connections.'...
... your being too adaptable a man....
(Raskolnikov to Svidrigailov)
This is the description of Mr. Svidrigailov in quotations from the novel "Crime and Punishment" of Dostoevsky.
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