To the Christian theists, sin is characteristically tied to the divine command. The divine command theorist associates that any evil deed is one that God condemns, and the fear of sin, and guilt that come from this divine-moral relation, is in the presence of divine moral law. This theme transpires in the opening chapters of Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment. It tackles not only the fear from the objective wrong, but also the plea for salvation that meets the wronged at the end of the unjust existential road. Nearing the end of Chapter V, with the dream of the horse, Dostoevsky portrays how sin makes people act without limits, in a world absent of providence.

Often enough, Raskolnikov dreads sin even though this hesitation becomes hidden in his idealization. At the end of Chapter II, after Raskolnikov leaves Marmeladov’s place, he puts the adaptation of the “human race” to guilt (referring to Marmeladov’s feeling of Sonya’s job) as villainous. Rightfully so is this description towards the human attitude after recurringly experiencing guilt and helplessness, and so is this towards feeling of hopelessness after watching others suffers because of you. Marmeladov is the repeated victim of this condition as he watches his family suffer because of him. The effect is shown as overwhelming later on, as he humorously accepts his wife’s reproaching so there is less stress placed on her.

Raskolnikov, and this association that he puts out as villainous is more about trying to justify the absence of divinity - the absence of fear of sin - not so much for his own personal ideological benefit but to spare calling Marmeladov and his family villains. Supposedly, his sympathy is evident from the humor that follows, remarking that Marmeladov’s family may as well be in their ‘uppers’ soon if not for his money. But, it does not become obvious whether he is opposed to “villain framing.” Initially referring taking back the money as an act that he would refrain from “even if such a thing were possible,” the fact becomes clearer in his contradictions. Remarks such as “Three cheers for Sonya!” are said in a justifying tone, and in somewhat contradiction to his belief that they may go bankrupt any day without his money.

Raskolnikov does not want to let Marmeladov’s family be destroyed, but he realizes that without Sonya’s job, this may be their fate. Raskolnikov’s sympathy reaffirms his wish to let Marmeladov and his family be free of guilt, as he tries to put the sole reliance of the entire family on his money. Realizing this is not possible, and this is said successively, Raskolnikov suggests that there be no limits and all fears be superstitious.

The book’s attitude towards sin is a double-edged sword: while sin may bar people from committing heinous acts, it comes with the price of guilt when one is helpless but to commit it. With the condition of Marmeladov’s family, Raskolnikov tries to portray fear as superstitious, so that his family is spared of guilt. At the same time, without experiencing guilt, Raskolnikov accepts that it would remove the fence that blocks people from committing sin. Marmeladov is the sole figure in the early chapters that experiences guilt, as he wrongs his daughter and family. The scene that he created in the bar especially showed how his guilt slowly deformed into despair, and into a figure that tries to relieve guilt from others. In his scenes repeatedly, Marmeladov accepts any reproach, and goes on to plea for salvation. He is a character of tragedy, shown in the light of a forgiving figure. He is alluded this strongly as he pleas that he may as well be crucified if his family were to be spared.

From the end of Marmeladov’s ‘fuss’ in the tavern, there is a strong hint of the theme of salvation. This becomes realized through the silence at the end, as well as the plea of salvation that is addressed to the people in the tavern, declaring them as having the “mark of the beast.” Marmeladov’s cry for salvation is narrated, with him acting as the Divine. He starts by forgiving his daughter and then all the men in the tavern. Throughout, forgiveness is referred in duality with “understood,” connecting largely to the earlier idea of “having a place to belong.” This is not limited to the idea of empathy, but seems to connect more so to a moral closure. As Raskolnikov tries to deny framing Marmeladov’s family as villains, Marmeladov’s plea accepts the cruelty of being villainous and suggests that there is an end to this unjustness, which is strongly alluded to in his call of redemption for those with the “mark of the beast.” Not only that, it accepts that sin may be a Hobson’s choice, and accepts the plausibility of justice for even the damned. At the same time, the eeriness of the absence of divinity is suggested from Raskolnikov’s referral of fear of sin as superstitious. Without divinity, Dostoevsky seems to suggest the absence of any wall between right and wrong, and the absence of divine justice.

The underlying reason for Raskolnikov’s hesitation is shown in his dream of the horse. In the dream, Raskolnikov is shown to be compassionate for the horse, and tries to stop the men from beating it, repeatedly. Here, Raskolnikov’s character is portrayed especially contrary to his prevailing agitation. The men seem to portray character foils of Marmeladov; acting without guilt, contrary to Marmeladov’s acceptance of others’ reproach. This becomes relevant with the motif of sin as having an intoxicating effect, which is pointed to in the case of Marmeladov calling the ‘beverage’ a way to insult oneself for being destitute. The destitute feeling is shown to be closely associated with the feeling of loss that Marmeladov feels for his family. For Marmeladov, the effect is his forgiving figure, but for others, it is shown as making them heedless to others’ pain, with how Marmeladov became a laughingstock for the tavernmen. The scene with the jade is primarily shown as the zenith of such an attitude. Raskolnikov’s sympathetic attitude towards the horse coupled with the recurring calls to harm it seem to show a juxtaposing scene of the men’s “wood-devil” heart and Raskolnikov’s compassion towards the wronged. This ties on to Marmeladov associating the men in the tavern as having the “mark of the beast,” and characterizes them as ignorant, including his wife. Again, this ties to having a place to belong. Here, Dostoevsky seems to point to a self-serving world without righteousness, in the absence of an all-loving being.

To conclude, Dostoevsky portrays a world which is absent of divinity, and with nothing barring from committing sin. It not only robs people of guilt, but intoxicates them under the mark of the beast, not even able to plea for salvation.