The imaginary versus the real in the psychological introspection of F. Dostoevsky’s characters

Abstract

The article sets out to analyze the relationship between the imaginary and the real in the psychological introspection of the characters in F. Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment [Prestuplenie i nakazanie] and characterize the method used by the writer to portray their inner universe as an imaginary world. The study reveals that the principal functionality of Raskolnikov’s imaginary world is determined by the fact that his inner realm embodies and objectifies a viewpoint. The character’s perspective, identified by the author at its various levels of representation, emerges as a stratum of virtual reality open to Raskolnikov through self-reflection. It is suggested that such an imaginary world is objectified and perceived by a character through their senses, even if it is not revealed to others. Depiction of a character’s inner realm with the help of the narrator’s informing position is supplemented with a demonstration of the character’s values creed apparent as an imaginary world.