Pawnbroker's Revenge: You Can Run But You Can't Hide

Through the story of the brilliant but conflicted young Boris and the murder he commits the theme of redemption through suffering is explored. The poverty stricken Boris, a talented student, devises a theory about extraordinary men being above the law, since in their brilliance they think "new thoughts" and so contribute to society. He then sets out to prove his theory by murdering a vile, cynical old pawnbroker and her sister. The act brings Boris into contact with his own buried conscience and with two characters - the deeply religious Anastacia, who has endured great suffering, and Nakita, the intelligent and discerning official who is charged with investigating the murder - both of whom compel Boris to feel the split in his nature. Dostoevsky provides readers with a suspenseful, penetrating psychological analysis that goes beyond the crime - which in the course of the novel demands drastic punishment - to reveal something about the human condition: The more we intellectualize, the more imprisoned we become.