Are great men born or made?

Fyodor Dostoyevsky explores this question amongst many others in his extraordinary novel 'Crime And Punishment'. Published in 1866 this Russian masterpiece is still considered one of the greatest books ever written. It tells the story of Rodion Raskolnikov and his psychological undoing after committing a horrific crime in an insane intellectual pursuit. Raskolnikov's subsequent subconscious guilt and near descent to insanity is beautifully captured in a book that does not lack in thought provoking themes.

I summarised the book as follows. "If you are even minutely interested in psychology this book is a must read. Dostoyevsky is probably one of the greatest writers to ever express the monologue and internal states of his characters. A personal highlight for me was Raskolnikov's rant at Sonya in Part 5 - Chapter 4. The book is long and deals with dreary themes but keeps delivering the reader new developments to consider."

I hope you have a fantastic day wherever you are in the world. Kyrin out!

Timeline:
(0:00) - Introduction
(3:34) - Do morals exist beyond the individual?
(5:27) - Comparison with Thérèse Raquin
(8:04) - Are great men born or made?
(12:43) - Master of the monologue and psychology
(14:26) - The quirks of fate
(15:23) - Russian names and long reading
(16:44) - Pragmatic lesson

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