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Post #4

Prompt: "Explain the function of the side story of Marmeladov. (How does his story contribute to a theme in the novel?)"
Answer: The side story of Marmeladov functions to exemplify and showcase the theme if suffering in the novel. Marmeladov is poor, and crazy. Although, poverty is not the cause of his craziness, drinking is. Marmeladov is more or less addicted to alcohol, and what it does to him. He stole from his wife and kids so he could have money to drink. This brings him guilt. Marmeladov said '"[He had] sold her", his wife Katerina's, "very stockings for drink". Marmeladov knows he is in the wrong and had just spent five nights "on a hay barge, on the Neva".  Mameladov says he drinks to "try to find sympathy and feeling in drink", also "so that [he] may suffer twice as much" This puts Marmeladov in a vicious, alcohol fueled, suffering cycle. He suffers because he drinks and he drinks to suffer. Taking money from his already poor family makes him feel like he needs to suffer because he feels like he is a bad person. Marmeladov feels like in order to pay for his crimes of steeling from his wife, and watching bad things like Lebesyatnikov beating his her, he needs to pay the price. Marmeladov makes himself suffer through alcohol.


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