Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written by Himself 361the soul. For example, Marmeladov’s heavy drink-
ing not only causes his body to deteriorate; it causes
the relationships in his household to deteriorate as
well. Thus, his alcoholism is both a physical and a
metaphysical form of suffering. Similarly, Sonia’s
suffering is exacerbated by the intense shame she
feels. Sonia has lost her good friend Lizaveta, and
her loneliness makes her suffering worse.
To the extent that Raskolnikov can acknowledge
the different sources of suffering, he can overcome
them. Unfortunately, because he thinks that he has
done nothing wrong in murdering both the pawn-
broker and the pregnant Lizaveta, his guilt prevents
him from overcoming his suffering. The interesting
dynamic that Dostoyevsky creates is the claim that
metaphysical suffering leads to physical suffering
and vice versa. In order for one to be truly whole,
there must be health in both body and soul. Rather
than exclude one at the expense of the other, there
must be a balance between the two.
No one in the novel suffers alone. The commu-
nal participation in suffering is an important aspect
of the novel, even if Raskolnikov is too selfish to
acknowledge that his actions affect the lives of oth-
ers. Although he confesses his crime, he still refuses
to fully suffer the consequences of having commit-
ted the murders because he feels no remorse for
what he has done.
Many readers of the book have difficulty in
understanding the epilogue’s place in the novel.
Sonia moves to Siberia to be with Raskolnikov,
suffering for him in order to teach him how to
suffer redemptively. Unfortunately, her presence
does not have much effect on Raskolnikov; he is
merely waiting out his prison sentence rather than
learning what his role in society should have been
in the past and what it should be in the future.
However, he has a dream that changes his life. In
this dream, a plague of microbes sweeps across the
world, infecting everyone. This plague is unique
in that it has intellect and will. Further, whenever
people are infected with it, the microbes make
them think that their opinions and judgments are
the only possible and correct ones. Because no two
people can agree on anything, the world descends
into chaos and famine. Political leaders can not
agree on policies, soldiers can not agree with their
commanders, and not even farmers can agree on
the best way to plant and harvest crops. This dream
is an analogy to Raskolnikov’s theory that some
people are not subject to laws against murder; he
finally understands that he is subject to the same
laws and restrictions as everyone else. He throws
himself at Sonia’s feet, his metaphysical suffering
ends (he still has seven years of physical suffering
as he serves his prison sentence), and he is reinte-
grated into the community.
Dutton KearneyDOUGLASS, FREDERICK Narrative
of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an Ameri-
can Slave, Written by Himself (1845)
The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an
American Slave, Written by Himself, by Frederick
Douglass (ca. 1818–95) is a monumental narra-
tive within the African-American literary tradition.
Douglass’s narrative describes his experiences as a
southern slave brilliantly and inspiringly. He moves
his readers to sympathy as he recollects having
experienced a childhood without knowing his
mother or father (who was rumored to be his slave
master). He witnesses the brutal effects of slavery
on his fellow slaves and is even forced to watch in
horror as his Aunt Hester receives a severe flogging
and verbal degradation for disobeying her master.
Affected greatly by his fellow slaves’ suffering and
oppression, Douglass sees literacy as an important
tool with which to combat the insidious pain slav-
ery inflicted. While he can do nothing to stop the
physical abuse, he works to teach his fellow slaves to
read, a first step in learning to reject their supposed
inferiority.
Douglass’s text made his reputation as an influ-
ential and authentic writer. It presents Douglass as
an educated black man able to articulate both his
autobiography and his antislavery sentiments. His
success as a writer was also aided by the prominent
white male abolitionists William Lloyd Garrison
and Wendell Phillips, who wrote his prefaces, attest-
ing to the originality and truth behind Douglass’s
narrative and calling for the eradication of slavery.
Douglass’s Narrative became one of the most stud-
ied, revered, and widely read slave narratives, and it