Gripped by anxiety, the impoverished, handsome, and intelligent Rodion Raskolnikov has isolated himself from everyone. Preoccupied with his own contemplations, he becomes conscious of his fears. "I want to attempt a thing like that and am frightened by these trifles," he thought, with an odd smile. "Hm . . . yes, all is in a man’s hands and he lets it all slip from cowardice, that’s an axiom." After much introspection, Raskolnikov murders an old pawnbroker-for the betterment of the society-and escapes unnoticed. But will he be able to escape his own conscience? An exceptional psychological drama, Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment deftly delves into the mind of a young man who commits a crime, laying bare his mental anguish and moral dilemmas. Having undergone several film adaptations, the novel continues to remain a literary sensation.