Help for the father's family
Knowing that her father is in a difficult situation, Sonya decides to help him in the only way available to her. Hunger and poverty forced her to take the so-called yellow ticket, that is, to become a prostitute. But at the same time, the girl herself is ready to starve and suffer from the cold. However, showing true compassion for her neighbor forces her to take decisive steps. After all, many dear people were waiting for her help:
- Father Semyon Zakharovich Marmeladov.
- Stepmother Katerina Ivanovna.
- Their three children.
When her father died, she especially could not abandon a defenseless woman, although she was not her relative. The heroine, having no selfish goals, helps her father’s family, without thinking at all about her own fate.
Brief description of Marmeladova
Sonya Marmeladova is the central character of the novel “ Crime and Punishment ” by the great Russian writer F. M. Dostoevsky. The author put into the heroine the image of a girl who knows how to compassion, forgive and love. He created the complete opposite of the main character of the work, Raskolnikov, in the person of Sonya Marmeladova.
Sonya is a young, meek, timid and pretty girl. She despises and condemns what she does in every way because of her piety and morality. The girl is forced to work in prostitution to feed her family. After all, her father, who once held a respectable position as an official, went bankrupt and began to drink heavily.
And the stepmother, suffering from consumption, needed financial support to support the lives of her young children. Sonechka began to engage in this humiliating and nasty work in the name of a better life for her relatives, sacrificing her honor and principles. She does not condemn her father, does not blame him for the family’s sorrows. On the contrary, she resigns herself to her fate for the sake of peace and happiness of her loved ones.
The heroine is a kind, sympathetic and compassionate person. She gives all the money she earns, to the last penny, to her stepmother and unfortunate father. Ashamed of her life, she tries to spend less time at home.
But everyone who knows and surrounds Sonya, understanding her difficult situation, does not try to humiliate and insult her. After all, her actions are worthy of respect. Enduring such shame in her heart, Sonya earns money to feed her family. Perhaps only the mahecha oppresses the poor girl.
Sonya obediently believes in God and lives according to Christian canons. She reveres human life as the most valuable thing, regardless of the status and financial situation of each individual person. The girl feels love for everyone living, trying to help.
In her understanding, all people are equal among themselves and among God's court. And therefore she does not agree with Raskolnikov’s theory of dividing people into higher and lower classes. The girl sincerely believes that only God can condemn this or that person.
She condemns Rodion only because he acted so dishonestly towards the old money-lender. No one can take the life of another. Nevertheless, she sympathizes with the poor student, takes part of his suffering upon herself and goes to hard labor with him. She wants to help atone for the young man’s sins and “cleanse” herself.
Through Sonya Marmeladova, Dostoevsky reveals his thoughts and beliefs regarding the value of human life. In a girl, he embodies the ideas of compassion, deep spiritual kindness and nobility.
The image of Sonya Marmeladova
Sonya Marmeladova is a girl who evokes in readers not only sympathy and pity, but also respect. Still very young, she tries to feed her family: her father is a drunkard, her stepmother is endlessly ill and her children. No one can blame her for the way she has to earn money.
Like all girls, accustomed to work from an early age, she tried to earn an honest living by doing sewing, but they paid such pennies for it that there would only be enough money for water alone, and even then without bread. So the poor girl had to commit sin. At the same time, Sonya does not blame anyone for her fate; she silently endures all insults. The girl even gives all her money to her family.
Sonya is blond, blue-eyed, and despite her eighteen years, she looks younger. This is not to say that she is beautiful, but she captivates with her naivety and kindness. Dressing in the evening in a rather bright and tasteless outfit, she evokes not contempt, but pity.
Now, being engaged in a not entirely good business, she even tries to visit her family as little as possible. Sonya rents a room so as not to disgrace her relatives with her craft. The girl’s character did not deteriorate; she was kind and selfless, and remained so. How did someone so seemingly innocent and deeply Orthodox take the path of a lost woman?
This is the whole essence of our existence. There are people who are willing to earn a piece of bread in almost any way. She understands that she is doing wrong, but she cannot change anything. She says more than once that everyone will be responsible for their deeds before God, and so will she.
Having met Raskolnikov , Sonya understands that he committed a crime by killing a man, she killed the man in herself. It is rare to meet a person who experiences the mistakes of others as if they were his own. She understands that any bad deed is punished.
So it happened to her that God punished her for her work with the fact that she must now follow Raskolnikov of her own free will. Despite this, her pure soul continues to believe in goodness. She helps convicts free of charge, reads holy scripture to Raskolnikov, and little by little he begins to repent. It can not be in any other way. And they are already dreaming of a happy life together.
Sometimes in life there are people who, with their kindness, can make you repent and take the path of correction. The only pity is that they themselves have a very difficult time and not everyone can appreciate their desire.
