The women of Crime and Punishment share several common characteristics, that of self-sacrifice, suffering, and strong will. The three main female characters of Dostoevsky's masterpiece, Dounia, Sonia, and Katerina Ivanovna, all possess these attributes. We first hear of Dounia from the letter Raskolnikov receives in Book I: that she was involved in a scandal where she was falsely accused of having an affair. The suffering during that whole affair must have been intense. Her strong …
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…of washing the children's linen all night long, and gives up Sonia to prostitution, probably an even more horrible sacrifice than death. The fact that she could survive at all, let alone think about helping others, is a monumental testimony to her intense strength of character. Overall, these three women are tributes to strong will, martyrdom, and suffering. Dostoevsky knew the life of a woman was no picnic, and he couldn't have said it better.