Raskolnikov is best seen as two characters. He sometimes acts in one manner and then suddenly in a manner completely contradictory. These actions compel one to view him as having a split personality or as being a dual character. Perhaps the best description of Raskolnikov occurs in Part Three, Chapter 2 when Razumihkin tries to explain to Raskolnikov's mother, Pulcheria Alexandrovna, and to his sister, Dunya (Avdotya Romanovna) how Raskolnikov has been acting lately: "He is morose, gloomy, proud and haughty, and of late — and perhaps for a long time before — he has been suspicious and fanciful. He has a noble nature and a kind heart; he does not like showing his feelings and would rather do a cruel thing than open his heart freely. . .It's as though he were alternating between two characters." These two characters are best represented as his cold, intellectual detached side, which emphasizes power and self-will, and his warm, humane compassionate side, which suggests self-submissiveness and meekness. The intellectual side is a result of his deliberate and premeditated actions; that is, when he is functioning on this side, he never acts spontaneously, but instead, every action is premeditated. It is this aspect of his personality that enables him to formulate his theories about crime and to commit the crime.
In order to emphasize this dual character in Raskolnikov, Dostoevsky created two other characters in the novel who represent the opposing sides of his character. These characters are Sonya and Svidrigailov.
Svidrigailov represents the cold intellectual side that emphasizes self-will. All of Svidrigailov's acts are performed so as to give him pleasure and to place him above common morality. This is not to imply that Svidrigailov is an intellectual, but rather it implies that he does not allow minor human actions, morality, or law to prevent him from having his own way. Thus, as Raskolnikov could commit a murder because of his theories, so can Svidrigailov rape a 15-year-old mute girl for his own gratification.
