The apparent theme of the novel is that of
planning and executing the perfect crime, as well as the subsequent suffering on the part of the criminal and his obsessive need to
confess. Only the first part of the novel deals with the careful planning that precedes the crime. The other five parts are concerned with Raskolnikov's intermittent moments of remorse and his overwhelming desire to confess and to rid himself of the guilt. However, he is unable to do so until the end of the novel. The act of murder and its
effects on the
mind of the killer form the central
subject of Dostoevsky's Crime and
Punishment.
Linked closely to this cycle of crime and confession is the motif of all-encompassing
fear. This fear reduces Raskolnikov to a quivering mass of indecision, subject to spells of illness, emotional outbursts of anger and horrible nightmares. The crime and its long- term effects on Raskolnikov's behavior and peace of mind become the very punishment itself. Only in Siberia does he overcome the fear and begin the difficult process of social rehabilitation and moral regeneration.