In literature, liminal spaces are strictly transitional, a symbolic cocoon in which characters can transform themselves. However, Rodion Raskolnikov, from Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment, clings to a liminal space between crime and justice. By planting liminal spaces in each stage of Raskolnikov’s character journey, Dostoyevsky reminds him of the intended ephemerality of these spaces, urging him to move on.
In the novel’s beginning, liminal spaces symbolize boundaries the “hero” must cross. Between Raskolnikov and his prey, Ivanovna, lay staircases and hallways galore. With every threshold he crosses, the student grows closer to crossing the ultimate moral boundary. Note that these spaces are not public, but dark and secluded. These twisted paths and crooked stairways exude forbiddenness. These boundaries that should not be crossed, but the protagonist blunders on ahead. Interestingly, all doors in the apartment complex are closed. There is nowhere else for him to go. Is the universe guiding him towards his fate, or is he simply ignoring any alternatives? Certainly, Raskolnikov views the murder as something he must do.
Once Raskolnikov crosses this moral boundary, these liminal spaces taunt…show more content… The crossroads from the beginning, once rejected, returns, and the protagonist finally travels the path to salvation. However, his redemption is not so simple. In the courtyard of the police compound, Raskolnikov almost flees. However, Sonia guards the gates. She stands between him and a likely suicide. Echoing the beginning, the student is confronted by a liminal space that should not be crossed, but this time, he controls himself. Confessing, Raskolnikov escapes his liminal purgatory, his world of transition. Sonia’s love cements this; this “infinite source of life” is forever. There are no more boundaries the protagonist needs to cross. His happy ending is
