Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment explores themes of guilt and the consequences of committing immoral actions. Of all the profound and thought-provoking concepts expressed in Crime and Punishment, the idea that guilt can be an adequate punishment, more valid than any punishment carried out by society as a whole, is the most broad-based and supported by the novel. Crime and Punishment follows the life of Rodian Raskolnikov from a few days before he commits two brutal murders until he confesses to his crimes and is found guilty and sentenced to several years in prison. Initially, Rodian had gotten away with the murder of two people. Raskolnikov's guilt-driven madness has given him immunity and even the investigators he confesses to think he cannot be guilty. As a result, guilt continues to feed his conscience to the point of making him constantly unhappy. Raskolnikov's real punishment is the futility of his attempt to escape the guilt of his actions without confessing and feeling appropriately punished. The main consequence that Raskolnikov suffers from his crimes is guilt. The quote: “Freedom will lose its attractions. He'll start brooding, he'll wrap himself around himself, he'll worry himself to death!' serves as an accurate description of how he suffered as a result of his actions. (Dostoevsky 324) Yet, Rodian does not worry himself to death, his suffering affects him and ultimately leads him to confess his crimes, something he would not even consider doing at the beginning of the novel. The quote demonstrates the two opposing options that Rodian is capable of taking. He can choose whether to escape punishment and maintain his freedom at the cost of living with his own sense of guilt, or he can offer his confession and seek company... middle of paper... he rails against her and receives much less severe sentences . He spends his time in prison overcoming his illiteracy and does not even recognize his crimes. In a sense, prison time was never even a punishment. She only begins to feel guilty when she realizes that she has been a burden to Michael, that she has completely destroyed his life and prevented him from living fully. When she finally reached her literacy goal, she spent her time reading about the Holocaust, knowledge that led her to understand its crimes. As her guilt grew with her knowledge, her suffering grew much like Raskolnikov's in Crime and Punishment, ultimately leading her to seek her own redemption in death, when she commits suicide. This also suggests how guilt is related to punishment; they are mutually insured. For punishment to exist, and not be torture, there must be guilt.