Mission of Sonechka Marmeladova (Dostoevsky F. M.). Spiritual feat of Sonya Marmeladova Crime punishment Sonya Marmeladova mercy

F.M. Dostoevsky - novel “Crime and Punishment”.

In the drafts of Crime and Punishment, Dostoevsky notes: “Man is not born for happiness. A person deserves his happiness, and always through suffering. There is no injustice here, because vital knowledge and consciousness... are acquired by experience pro and contra, which must be carried on oneself.” The writer presents us with a sacrificial soul, a heroine who accepted suffering, in the novel.

Sonya Marmeladova sacrifices herself and becomes a corrupt woman in the name of saving her family. Raskolnikov, having met Sonya, tries to find something related in their destinies. “You stepped over... you were able to step over. You committed suicide, you ruined your life... yours (it’s all the same!).” However, there is a significant difference in the life position of the heroes. Raskolnikov allowed himself to “bleed according to his conscience.” Sonya recognizes the value of the life of any person, regardless of his moral qualities. Crime is impossible for her.

If Raskolnikov’s theory initially involves harm to society, then Sonya only brings harm to herself. If Rodion is free in his choice between good and evil, then Sonya is deprived of this freedom. She is well aware of the vileness of her craft. She also thought about ending her life. However, she cannot even afford this.

“It would be fairer,” exclaims Raskolnikov, “a thousand times fairer and wiser it would be to dive straight into the water and finish it all at once!”

What will happen to them? – Sonya asked weakly, looking at him painfully, but at the same time, as if not at all surprised by his proposal. Raskolnikov looked at her strangely.

He read everything in one look from her. Therefore, she really had already had this thought herself. Perhaps many times she seriously thought in despair about how to end it all at once, and so seriously that now she was almost not surprised at his proposal. She didn’t even notice the cruelty of his words... But he fully understood the monstrous pain to which she had been tormented, and for a long time now, by the thought of her dishonorable and shameful position. What, he thought, could still stop her determination to end it all at once? And then he fully understood what these poor little orphans and this pitiful, half-crazed Katerina Ivanovna, with her consumption and banging her head against the wall, meant to her.”

D. Pisarev says that “Sofya Semyonovna would also be able to throw herself into the Neva, but, throwing herself into the Neva, she could not lay out thirty rubles on the table in front of Katerina Ivanovna, which contains the whole meaning and the whole justification for her immoral act.” The heroine's position is an inevitable result of conditions social life. Pisarev notes that neither Marmeladov, nor his daughter, nor their entire family can be blamed or despised. The blame for their condition lies not with them, but with the circumstances of their lives, social conditions when a person has “nowhere else to go.” Sonya has no position, no education, no profession. In the family there is poverty, Katerina Ivanovna’s illness, her father’s drunkenness, the crying of unhappy children. She tries to save her family by doing small, private good. On her life's path, she is supported by meekness, humility, and faith in God.

The plot of Sonya Marmeladova develops the harlot motif in the novel. In the Gospel parable, Christ saved a harlot from people who were going to stone her. And the biblical harlot left her profession and became a saint. Thus, the biblical heroine always had freedom of choice. Dostoevsky's Sonya, as we noted above, is deprived of this freedom of choice. Nevertheless, this heroine cannot be called passive. Sonya is an active, active person. The profession of a prostitute is shameful, humiliating, disgusting, but the goals for which she chose this path, according to the writer, are selfless and holy. And here Dostoevsky sounds in a new way the motif of resurrection. All my past life the heroine considers it a dead dream. And only misfortune, the misfortunes of the family, force her to awaken. She is resurrected to a new life. “I myself was Lazarus who died, and Christ raised me.” These words are not in the final version of the novel; they were only in drafts of the novel. However, the motif of resurrection is also realized in the image of Sonya.

At the same time, this image is developed in the novel biblical motif forgiveness, Christian love. Sonya Marmeladova evaluates people by their inner qualities, without giving of great importance appearance, financial situation. Even bad person, a scoundrel and a scoundrel, she is in no hurry to condemn, trying to understand what is behind this external evil. Unlike Raskolnikov, she did not lose faith in people. The behavior of this heroine is controlled by all-forgiving, selfless love. And she saves not only her own family, but also Raskolnikov, who cannot bear the murder he committed. And this, according to Dostoevsky, is the true beauty of human action, the moral height of the individual. And maybe this was exactly what this heroine’s understanding of happiness was. Happiness is living for the sake of your loved ones. Sonya realizes her happiness through suffering.

So, in the image of Sonya Marmeladova Dostoevsky expressed his belief in goodness, justice, mercy. This heroine is moral ideal writer.

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While serving time in hard labor, Dostoevsky conceived the novel “Drunk People.” The difficult life, the corresponding environment, the stories of prisoners - all this gave the writer the idea to describe the life of an impoverished simple Petersburger and his relatives. Later, when he was free, he began to write another novel, where he included the characters he had previously conceived. The images and characteristics of the members of the Marmeladov family in the novel “Crime and Punishment” occupy a special place among other characters.

Family is a symbolic image that characterizes the life of ordinary ordinary people, collective - people living almost on the verge of a final moral decline, however, despite all the blows of fate, they managed to preserve the purity and nobility of their souls.

Marmeladov family

The Marmeladovs occupy almost central place in the novel, are very closely related to the main character. Almost all of them played a very important role in Raskolnikov’s fate.

At the time Rodion met this family, it consisted of:

1. Marmeladov Semyon Zakharovich - head of the family;
2. Katerina Ivanovna - his wife;
3. Sofya Semyonovna - Marmeladov’s daughter (from his first marriage);
4. children of Katerina Ivanovna (from her first marriage): Polenka (10 years old); Kolenka (seven years old); Lidochka (six years old, still called Lenechka).

The Marmeladov family is a typical family of philistines who have sunk almost to the very bottom. They don't even live, they exist. Dostoevsky describes them this way: as if they are not even trying to survive, but simply live in hopeless poverty - such a family has “nowhere else to go.” What’s scary is not so much that children find themselves in this situation, but that adults seem to have come to terms with their status, are not looking for a way out, are not trying to get out of such a difficult existence.

Marmeladov Semyon Zakharovich

Head of the family, with which Dostoevsky introduces the reader at the moment of Marmeladov’s meeting with Raskolnikov. Then gradually the writer reveals life path this character.

Marmeladov once served as a titular councilor, but he became an alcoholic and was left without a job and practically without a livelihood. He has a daughter from his first marriage, Sonya. At the time of Semyon Zakharovich’s meeting with Raskolnikov, Marmeladov had already been married to a young woman, Katerina Ivanovna, for four years. She herself had three children from her first marriage.

The reader learns that Semyon Zakharovich married her not so much out of love as out of pity and compassion. And they all live in St. Petersburg, where they moved a year and a half ago. At first, Semyon Zakharovich finds work here, and quite a decent one. However, due to his addiction to drinking, the official very soon loses it. So, through the fault of the head of the family, the entire family becomes beggary, left without a means of subsistence.

Dostoevsky does not tell what happened in the fate of this man, what broke one day in his soul so that he began to drink, and eventually became an alcoholic, which doomed his children to beggary, drove Katerina Ivanovna to consumption, and his own daughter became a prostitute so that to somehow earn money and feed three young children, a father and a sick stepmother.

Listening to Marmeladov’s drunken outpourings, the reader involuntarily, however, becomes imbued with sympathy for this man who has fallen to the very bottom. Despite the fact that he robbed his wife, begged for money from his daughter, knowing how she earned it and why, he is tormented by pangs of conscience, he is disgusted with himself, his soul hurts.

In general, many of the heroes of Crime and Punishment, even very unpleasant ones at first, eventually come to realize their sins, to understand the depth of their fall, some even repent. Morality, faith, and internal mental suffering are characteristic of Raskolnikov, Marmeladov, and even Svidrigailov. Who cannot withstand the pangs of conscience and commits suicide.

Here is Marmeladov: he is weak-willed, cannot control himself and stop drinking, but he sensitively and accurately feels the pain and suffering of other people, injustice towards them, he is sincere in his good feelings to your neighbors and honest to yourself and others. Semyon Zakharovich has not hardened in this fall - he loves his wife, daughter, and children of his second wife.

Yes, he did not achieve much in the service; he married Katerina Ivanovna out of compassion and pity for her and her three children. He remained silent when his wife was beaten, remained silent and endured when his own daughter went to work to feed her children, stepmother and father. And Marmeladov’s reaction was weak-willed:

“And I... was lying drunk, sir.”

He can’t even do anything, just drink alone - he needs support, he needs to confess to someone who will listen and console him, who will understand him.

Marmeladov begs for forgiveness - of his interlocutor, his daughter, whom he considers a saint, his wife, and her children. In fact, his prayer is addressed to a higher authority - to God. Only the former official asks for forgiveness through his listeners, through his relatives - this is such a frank cry from the depths of the soul that it evokes in the listeners not so much pity as understanding and sympathy. Semyon Zakharovich is punishing himself for his weakness of will, for his fall, for his inability to stop drinking and start working, for having come to terms with his current fall and not looking for a way out.

Sad result: Marmeladov, being heavily drunk, dies after being run over by a horse. And perhaps this turns out to be the only way out for him.

Marmeladov and Raskolnikov

The hero of the novel meets Semyon Zakharovich in a tavern. Marmeladov attracted the attention of the poor student with his contradictory appearance and even more contradictory gaze;

“Even enthusiasm seemed to glow—perhaps there was sense and intelligence—but at the same time there seemed to be a flash of madness.”

Raskolnikov paid attention to the drunken little man and eventually listened to the confession of Marmeladov, who told about himself and his family. Listening to Semyon Zakharovich, Rodion once again understands that his theory is correct. The student himself is in some strange state during this meeting: he decided to kill the old pawnbroker, driven by the “Napoleonic” theory of supermen.

At first, the student sees an ordinary drunkard who frequents taverns. However, listening to Marmeladov’s confession, Rodion experiences curiosity about his fate, then becomes imbued with sympathy, not only for his interlocutor, but also for members of his family. And this is in that feverish state when the student himself is focused on only one thing: “to be or not to be.”

Later, fate brings the hero of the novel together with Katerina Ivanovna, Sonya. Raskolnikov helps the unfortunate widow with the wake. Sonya, with her love, helps Rodion to repent, to understand that not everything is lost, that it is still possible to know both love and happiness.

Katerina Ivanovna

A middle-aged woman, about 30. She has three young children from her first marriage. However, she has already had enough suffering and grief and trials. But Katerina Ivanovna did not lose her pride. She is smart and educated. As a young girl, she became interested in an infantry officer, fell in love with him, and ran away from home to get married. However, the husband turned out to be a gambler, eventually lost, he was tried and soon died.

So Katerina Ivanovna was left alone with three children in her arms. Her relatives refused to help her; she had no income. The widow and children found themselves in complete poverty.

However, the woman did not break, did not give up, and was able to maintain her inner core, her principles. Dostoevsky characterizes Katerina Ivanovna in the words of Sonya:

she “... seeks justice, she is pure, she believes so much that there must be justice in everything, and demands... And even if you torture her, she does not do injustice. She herself doesn’t notice how it’s impossible for all this to be fair in people, and she gets irritated... Like a child, like a child!”

In an extremely difficult situation, the widow meets Marmeladov, marries him, tirelessly busies herself around the house, caring for everyone. Such a hard life undermines her health - she falls ill with consumption and on the day of Semyon Zakharovich’s funeral she herself dies of tuberculosis.

Orphaned children are sent to an orphanage.

Children of Katerina Ivanovna

The writer's skill was manifested in the highest way in the description of Katerina Ivanovna's children - so touchingly, in detail, realistically he describes these eternally hungry children, doomed to live in poverty.

"...The smallest girl, about six years old, was sleeping on the floor, somehow sitting, huddled and with her head buried in the sofa. A boy, a year older than her, was trembling in the corner and crying. He had probably just been beaten. The eldest girl , about nine years old, tall and thin as a matchstick, wearing only a thin shirt torn everywhere and an old draped damask jacket thrown over her bare shoulders, sewn for her probably two years ago, because it now did not even reach her knees, stood in the corner next to the little brother, clasping his neck with her long, dry hand, like a matchstick. She... watched her mother with her big, big dark eyes, which seemed even larger on her emaciated and frightened face... "

This touches to the core. Who knows - perhaps they end up in an orphanage, a better way out than staying on the street and begging.

Sonya Marmeladova

Native daughter of Semyon Zakharovich, 18 years old. When her father married Katerina Ivanovna, she was only fourteen. Sonya plays a significant role in the novel - the girl had a huge influence on the main character and became salvation and love for Raskolnikov.

Characteristic

Sonya did not receive a decent education, but she is smart and honest. Her sincerity and responsiveness became an example for Rodion and awakened in him conscience, repentance, and then love and faith. The girl suffered a lot in her short life, she suffered from her stepmother, but she did not harbor any grudges, she was not offended. Despite her lack of education, Sonya is not at all stupid, she reads, she is smart. In all the trials that befell her during such a short life, she managed not to lose herself, retained the inner purity of her soul and her own dignity.

The girl turned out to be capable of complete self-sacrifice for the good of her neighbors; she is endowed with the gift of feeling other people's suffering as her own. And then she thinks least of all about herself, but exclusively about how and with what she can help someone who is very bad, who suffers and needs even more than she does.

Sonya and her family

Fate seemed to test the girl’s strength: at first she began to work as a seamstress to help her father, stepmother and her children. Although at that time it was accepted that a man, the head of the family, should support a family, Marmeladov turned out to be absolutely incapable of this. The stepmother was sick, her children were very small. The seamstress's income turned out to be insufficient.

And the girl, driven by pity, compassion and the desire to help, goes to the panel, receives a “yellow ticket”, and becomes a “harlot.” She suffers greatly from the awareness of her external fall. But Sonya never once reproached her drunkard father or her sick stepmother, who knew very well what the girl was working for now, but were unable to help her themselves. Sonya gives her earnings to her father and stepmother, knowing full well that her father will drink this money away, but her stepmother will be able to somehow feed her little children.

It meant a lot to the girl.

“the thought of sin and they, those... poor orphan children and this pitiful, half-crazy Katerina Ivanovna with her consumption, with her head banging against the wall.”

This kept Sonya from wanting to commit suicide because of such a shameful and dishonorable activity that she was forced to engage in. The girl managed to preserve her inner moral purity, to preserve her soul. But not every person is able to preserve himself, to remain human, going through all the trials of life.

Love Sonya

It is no coincidence that the writer pays such close attention to Sonya Marmeladova - in the fate of the main character, the girl became his salvation, and not so much physical as moral, ethical, spiritual. Having become a fallen woman in order to be able to save at least the children of her stepmother, Sonya saved Raskolnikov from a spiritual fall, which is even worse than a physical fall.

Sonechka, who sincerely and blindly believes in God with all her heart, without reasoning or philosophizing, turned out to be the only one capable of awakening in Rodion humanity, if not faith, but conscience, repentance for what he had done. She simply saves the soul of a poor student who got lost in philosophical discussions about the superman.

The novel clearly shows the contrast between Sonya's humility and Raskolnikov's rebellion. And it was not Porfiry Petrovich, but this poor girl who was able to guide the student on the right path, helped him realize the fallacy of his theory and the gravity of the crime he had committed. She suggested a way out - repentance. It was she who Raskolnikov listened to, confessing to the murder.

After Rodion's trial, the girl followed him to hard labor, where she began working as a milliner. For her kind heart, for her ability to sympathize with other people, everyone loved her, especially the prisoners.

Raskolnikov's spiritual revival became possible only thanks to the selfless love of the poor girl. Patiently, with hope and faith, Sonechka nurses Rodion, who is sick not so much physically as spiritually and mentally. And she manages to awaken in him an awareness of good and evil, to awaken humanity. Raskolnikov, even if he had not yet accepted Sonya’s faith with his mind, accepted her beliefs with his heart, believed her, and in the end he fell in love with the girl.

In conclusion, it should be noted that the writer in the novel reflected not even so much social problems society, how many in to a greater extent psychological, moral, spiritual. The whole horror of the tragedy of the Marmeladov family is in the typicality of their destinies. Sonya became a bright ray here, who managed to preserve within herself a person, dignity, honesty and decency, purity of soul, despite all the trials that befell her. And today all the problems shown in the novel have not lost their relevance.

One of the main characters of the novel F.M. Dostoevsky’s “Crime and Punishment” is Sonya Marmeladova, a girl forced to work “on a yellow ticket” in order to save her family from starvation. It is to her that the author assigns the most important role in the fate of Raskolnikov.

Sonya's appearance is described in two episodes. The first is the scene of the death of her father, Semyon Zakharych Marmeladov: “Sonya was small, about eighteen years old, thin, but quite pretty blonde... She was also in rags, her outfit was decorated in a street style... with a brightly and shamefully outstanding purpose.”

Another description of her appearance appears in the scene of Sonechka’s acquaintance with Dunya and Pulcheria Alexandrovna: “she was a modestly and even poorly dressed girl, very young, almost like a girl... with a clear but frightened face. She was wearing a very simple house dress...” Both of these portraits are strikingly different from each other, which reflects one of the key features of Sonya’s character - the combination of spiritual purity and moral decline.

Sonya's life story is extremely tragic: unable to indifferently watch as her family died from hunger and poverty, she voluntarily submitted to humiliation and received a “yellow ticket.” Sacrifice, boundless compassion and selflessness forced Sonechka to give all the money she earned to her father and stepmother Katerina Ivanovna.

Sonya has many wonderful traits human character: mercy, sincerity, kindness, understanding, moral purity. She is ready to look for something good and bright in every person, even in those who are not worthy of such treatment. Sonya knows how to forgive.

She has developed an endless love for people. This love is so strong that Sonechka is determined to consciously give all of herself for their sake.

Such faith in people and a special attitude towards them (“This man is a louse!”) are largely connected with Sonya’s Christian worldview. Her faith in God and the miracle that comes from him truly has no boundaries. “What would I be without God!” In this regard, she is the opposite of Raskolnikov, who opposes her with his atheism and theory about “ordinary” and “extraordinary” people. It is faith that helps Sonya maintain the purity of her soul, protect herself from the dirt and vice that surrounds her; It is not for nothing that almost the only book she has read more than once is the New Testament.

One of the most significant scenes in the novel that influenced later life Raskolnikov, is an episode shared reading excerpt from the Gospel about the resurrection of Lazarus. “The cinder has long gone out in the crooked candlestick, dimly illuminating in this beggarly room a murderer and a harlot, strangely gathered together to read an eternal book...”

Sonechka plays a crucial role in Raskolnikov’s fate, which consists in reviving his faith in God and returning to the Christian path. Only Sonya was able to accept and forgive his crime, did not condemn him and was able to induce Raskolnikov to confess to his crime. She went with him all the way from recognition to hard labor, and it was her love that was able to return him to the true path.

Sonya has proven herself to be a decisive and active person, capable of making difficult decisions and following them. She convinced Rodion to denounce himself: “Get up! Go now, this very minute, stand at the crossroads, bow, first kiss the earth that you have desecrated, and then bow to the whole world...”

At hard labor, Sonya did everything to ease Raskolnikov’s fate. She becomes a well-known and respected person and is addressed by her first name and patronymic. The convicts loved her for good attitude to them, for selfless help- for the fact that Raskolnikov does not yet want or cannot understand. At the end of the novel, he finally realizes his feelings for her, realizes how much she suffered for him. “Can her beliefs now not be mine? Her feelings, her aspirations at least..." So Sonya's love, her dedication and compassion helped Raskolnikov begin the process of becoming on the right path.

The author embodied the best human qualities in the image of Sonya. Dostoevsky wrote: “I have one moral model and ideal – Christ.” Sonya became for him the source of his own beliefs, decisions dictated by his conscience.

Thus, thanks to Sonechka, Raskolnikov was able to find a new meaning in life and regain his lost faith.

In this collection, we have formulated the most common problems from the thematic block “Mercy”, which are found everywhere in texts for essays on the Unified State Exam in the Russian language. Each of them is dedicated to a separate heading, under which are located literary arguments, illustrating this problem. You can also download a table with these examples at the end of the article.

1. Every person needs support, care and attention, especially in difficult circumstances it is so important to know that you can count on someone. In Fyodor Dostoevsky's novel Crime and Punishment, the main character needed help, because, having committed a murder, he could not come to his senses for so long. Rodion got sick, I saw scary dreams and lived with the thought that sooner or later his crime would be revealed. But Sonya Marmeladova showed sensitivity and mercy towards him after learning about his terrible condition. The girl helped the hero not to go crazy, convinced him to confess and repent. Thanks to Sonya's support, Raskolnikov's conscience stopped tormenting her.
2. In Leo Tolstoy's epic novel War and Peace, Natasha Rostova showed mercy towards wounded soldiers. The sympathetic heroine gave the wounded carts, which were allocated for the removal of the count's family's property. The girl also took care of the dying Andrei Bolkonsky. kind heart Natasha helped the heroes in difficult times. In difficult circumstances, you understand how necessary mercy is. After all, sometimes it is sensitivity and compassion that can truly help us out.
3. True mercy can help not only those around you, but also the person who shows sensitivity. In Mikhail Sholokhov’s story “The Fate of a Man,” the main character Andrei Sokolov, having learned that his relatives have died, is left completely alone. At the end of the story, he meets the lonely boy Vanya. Main character decides to introduce himself to the orphaned child as his father, thereby saving both him and himself from melancholy and loneliness. Andrei Sokolov's mercy gave Vanya and himself hope for happiness in the future.

Indifference and mercy

1. Unfortunately, so often, instead of mercy, we are faced with the indifference of others. In Ivan Bunin's story "Mr. from San Francisco" the name of the main character is not even mentioned. For the people sailing with him on the same ship, he remains the master - a man who only gives orders and receives the results of their execution for his money. But the reader notices how attention and fun are instantly replaced by indifference, by the way the hero’s lifeless body is treated. At moments when his wife and daughter need mercy and support, people ignore their grief, not attaching any importance to it.
2. We find indifference in one of the most controversial characters in Russian literature - Grigory Pechorin. The main character of Lermontov’s novel “A Hero of Our Time” alternates between being interested in those around him and then remaining indifferent to their own suffering. For example, he loses interest in Bela, whom he kidnapped, sees her confusion, but does not try to correct his own mistake. Most often, it is precisely at those moments when the characters need his mercy and support that Pechorin turns away from them. He seems to analyze his behavior, realizing that he is only making things worse, but forgets to show attention to others. Because of this, the fate of many of his acquaintances is sad, but if Gregory had shown mercy more often, many of them could have become happier.
3. Mercy can truly save many, and literature confirms this idea. In Alexander Ostrovsky’s play “The Thunderstorm,” Kabanikh’s mother-in-law treats Katerina poorly, and the main character’s husband does not stand up for his wife. Out of loneliness and despair, a young woman secretly goes on dates with Boris, but then still decides to confess this to her husband in the presence of his mother. Having not met understanding and mercy, the girl realizes that she has nowhere to go, so she decides to throw herself into the water. If the heroes had shown her mercy, she would have lived.

The ability to empathize is a positive trait

1. A trait such as mercy often speaks of a person as a whole. If a hero can feel compassion and support others, most likely in front of you positive character. In Denis Fonvizin's comedy "The Minor" the characters are strictly divided into negative (Prostakovs, Mitrofan, Skotinin) and positive (Pravdin, Sophia, Starodum and Milon). And indeed, during the action of the play, none of the uneducated and rude landowners-serfs show compassion and mercy, which cannot be said about the honest and intelligent noble intellectuals. For example, in final scene Mitrofan rudely pushes away his own mother, who did everything for his well-being. But Sophia receives unexpected help from Starodum, who sympathizes with her.
2. Remembering Nikolai Karamzin's story " Poor Lisa", the reader will have a negative attitude towards Erast, because of whom she drowned herself main character. For Lisa, feelings are the most important thing, so she cannot stand the news that her loved one is engaged to a rich widow. The girl takes everything to heart, she is capable of mercy, because her whole life was dedicated to her sick mother in need of care. But its rich inner world was not truly appreciated by Erast. We feel sorry for the heroine; we understand how pure the soul of Lisa in love was.

Mercy as self-sacrifice

1. Many literary heroes show mercy not only with words, but also with some actions. This is exactly what the main character of Mikhail Bulgakov’s novel “The Master and Margarita” does when she spends her well-deserved desire from Woland not on returning her beloved, but on helping Frida, whom she met at Satan’s ball. Margot imbued with the girl’s grief and proves that her compassion is not limited to her experiences. Therefore, Margarita makes a wish that Frida will never again be reminded of her strangled child. From now on, a woman will not be given a scarf, and all because the hostess of the Spring Ball heroically showed sensitivity and mercy.
2. Mercy means the willingness to help people with words, actions, and sometimes even sacrifices. In Maxim Gorky’s story “The Old Woman Izergil,” the image of Danko, who showed concern for the people, immediately stands out. Just so that people would not surrender to the enemy and be able to get out of the dark forest, Danko tore open his chest, took out his heart and illuminated the path for his fellow villagers, not paying attention to reproaches. Love for humanity and the hero’s mercy helped the tribe overcome all obstacles on the way, and Danko himself died, but in last minutes he was truly happy.
3. Mercy can be expressed in different ways: both in words and in actions. In Pushkin's novel " Captain's daughter“Peter Grinev gives the unknown Cossack a sheepskin coat, and then the reader realizes that the hero’s kindness subsequently saved him from the gallows. In fact, the Cossack is Pugachev, who has not forgotten the help of the protagonist, so he also goes to mercy in return: he gives life to both Peter and his bride. Obviously, this quality not only saves people, but also makes them better, because it is passed on from one to another.

The Need for Empathy

1. Mercy will always be appreciated, especially if it is shown in difficult circumstances. Let us recall the story of Alexander Solzhenitsyn “ Matrenin Dvor" Before us is a heroine with a difficult fate, but a bright soul. Her husband did not return from the war, the children died young, and she was sick and lived alone. Nevertheless, Matryona always showed mercy to others even in the harsh conditions of totalitarianism. During her life, they did not understand her, but after her death, the person who, as a storyteller, lived in her house and described her life and character, realized the most important social role of this woman. “A village is not worthwhile without a righteous man,” he wrote, defining the significance of a sympathetic old woman for the entire settlement. He immortalized her image in his story.
2. Even in Lermontov’s love lyrics one can observe the motive of mercy, or, more accurately, its absence in a cruel world. In the poem “The Beggar,” the author, of course, writes about feelings that remain “deceived forever.” However, Lermontov compares this state with the situation of a beggar asking only for a piece of bread. Not a drop of mercy was shown towards the poor man, but only a stone was placed “in his outstretched hand.” Like to the lyrical hero, a beggar, needed help and compassion, but both of them met only with the cruelty of others.
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Immortal image

Some heroes classical literature gain immortality, live next to us, this is exactly what the image of Sonya turned out to be in the novel “Crime and Punishment” by Dostoevsky. From her example, we learn the best human qualities: kindness, mercy, self-sacrifice. She teaches us to love devotedly and selflessly believe in God.

Meet the heroine

The author does not immediately introduce us to Sonechka Marmeladova. She appears on the pages of the novel when a terrible crime has already been committed, two people have died, and Rodion Raskolnikov has ruined his soul. It seems that nothing in his life can be improved. However, meeting a modest girl changed the hero’s fate and revived him to life.

The first time we hear about Sonya is from the story of the unfortunate drunken Marmeladov. In confession, he talks about his unhappy fate, about his starving family and gratefully pronounces the name of his eldest daughter.

Sonya is an orphan, Marmeladov’s only natural daughter. Until recently, she lived with her family. Her stepmother Katerina Ivanovna, a sick, unhappy woman, was exhausted so that the children would not die of starvation, Marmeladov himself drank away his last money, the family was in dire need. Out of despair, the sick woman often became irritated over trifles, made scandals, and reproached her stepdaughter with a piece of bread. Conscientious Sonya decided to take a desperate step. In order to somehow help her family, she began to engage in prostitution, sacrificing herself for the sake of her loved ones. The story of the poor girl left a deep mark on Raskolnikov’s wounded soul long before he personally met the heroine.

Portrait of Sonya Marmeladova

A description of the girl's appearance appears on the pages of the novel much later. She, like a wordless ghost, appears on the threshold of her home during the death of her father, crushed by a drunken cab driver. Timid by nature, she did not dare enter the room, feeling vicious and unworthy. An absurd, cheap, but bright outfit indicated her occupation. “Meek” eyes, “a pale, thin and irregular angular face” and the whole appearance betrayed a meek, timid nature, which had reached the extreme degree of humiliation. “Sonya was small, about seventeen years old, thin, but quite pretty blonde, with wonderful blue eyes" This is how she appeared before Raskolnikov’s eyes, this is how the reader sees her for the first time.

Character traits of Sofia Semyonovna Marmeladova

A person's appearance can often be deceiving. The image of Sonya in Crime and Punishment is full of inexplicable contradictions. A meek, weak girl considers herself a great sinner, unworthy to be in the same room with decent women. She is embarrassed to sit next to Raskolnikov’s mother, and cannot shake hands with his sister for fear of offending them. Sonya can easily be offended and humiliated by any scoundrel, like Luzhin or the landlady. Defenseless against the arrogance and rudeness of the people around her, she is unable to stand up for herself.

A complete description of Sonya Marmeladova in the novel “Crime and Punishment” consists of an analysis of her actions. Physical weakness and indecision are combined in her with enormous mental strength. At the core of her being is love. For the love of her father, she gives him her last money for a hangover. For the love of children, he sells his body and soul. For the sake of love for Raskolnikov, she follows him to hard labor and patiently endures his indifference. Kindness and the ability to forgive distinguish the heroine from other characters in the story. Sonya does not hold a grudge against her stepmother for her crippled life, and does not dare condemn her father for his weak character and eternal drunkenness. She is able to forgive and pity Raskolnikov for the murder of Lizaveta, close to her. “There is no one more unhappy than you in the whole world,” she tells him. To treat the vices and mistakes of people around you this way, you have to be a very strong and integral person.

Where does a weak, fragile, humiliated girl have such patience, endurance and inexhaustible love for people? Faith in God helps Sonya Marmeladova to survive herself and lend a helping hand to others. “What would I be without God?” – the heroine is sincerely perplexed. It is no coincidence that the exhausted Raskolnikov goes to her for help and tells her about his crime. The faith of Sonya Marmeladova helps the criminal to first confess to the murder he has committed, then sincerely repent, believe in God and start a new happy life.

The role of the image of Sonya Marmeladova in the novel

The main character of F. M. Dostoevsky’s novel “Crime and Punishment” is considered to be Rodion Raskolnikov, since the plot is based on the story of the hero’s crime. But it is impossible to imagine the novel without the image of Sonya Marmeladova. Sonya's attitude, beliefs, and actions reflect life position author. The fallen woman is pure and innocent. She fully atones for her sin with all-encompassing love for people. She is “humiliated and insulted”, not a “trembling creature” according to Raskolnikov’s theory, but a person worthy of respect, who turned out to be much stronger than the main character. Having gone through all the trials and suffering, Sonya did not lose the basic human qualities, did not change herself and suffered happiness.

Sonya's moral principles, faith, love turned out to be stronger than Raskolnikov's egoistic theory. After all, only by accepting the beliefs of his girlfriend does the hero gain the right to happiness. The favorite heroine of Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky is the embodiment of his most secret thoughts and ideals of the Christian religion.

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