In the novel Crime and Punishment, the author Fyodor Dostoevsky creates a character in Raskolnikov who is plagued with dueling personalities. One side of Raskolnikov is caring and sensitive, often sharing what little money he has with others, while the other side is dark and indifferent, eventually leading him to commit the murders of a pawnbroker and her sister.
Raskolnikov, a less humorous example, is thought by many characters in Crime and Punishment to be batty on several occasions, Zossimov and Zametov being only a few examples. His madness, however, his delusion and monomania, are disguising a real and sane objective. Wisdom can appear in the midst of lunacy, and Raskolnikov's spiritual journey.
Plot. A poor student with a conflicted idea of himself, Raskolnikov (Rodya as his mother calls him) decides to kill a corrupt pawnbroker, Alyona Ivanovna, with whom he has been dealing, with the idea of using the money to start his life all over, and to help those who are in need of it.
The other side of Rodya's character is the warm, compassionate side. It operates without an interceding thought process. His first and immediate reaction to any situation represents this aspect of his personality. Consequently, he will often act in a warm, friendly, charitable, or humane manner, and then when he has had a chance to think over.
