Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov (Crime and Punishment)

“Pain and suffering are always inevitable for a large intelligence and a deep heart. The really great men must, I think, have great sadness on earth.” (Crime and Punishment)

Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov is the protagonist of Fyodor Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment (1866). The novel focuses on Raskolnikov's inner turmoil as he commits and justifies a murder of a pawnbroker whom he views as a vermin within the human race. Raskolnikov, a former student, views this murder as a divine mission, defending his actions by saying the pawnbroker's wealth could better serve humanity than her wretched existence ever could. After committing the murder in the earliest section of the novel, the rest of the story follows Raskolnikov being torn between guilt, self-righteousness, and social pressures.

Much like Light Yagami in Tsugumi Ohba's Death Note, Raskolnikov encompasses a god complex that centres around death and a sense of justice. However, unlike Light Yagami, Raskolnikov suffers from doubt, regret, and paranoia, that ultimately leads to a breakdown. The titular "punishment" that Raskolnikov undergoes is not that of a social exile or rehabilitation. Rather, his punishment is his internal collapse, along with the realisation that he did not have the mental fortitude that he claimed to, that would allow him to handle committing a murder. Dostoyevsky contained Raskolnikov's breakdown perfectly, as the reader is able to watch him self-flagellate in his own mind, tearing himself apart as he considers the consequences of his actions while also facing the reality that he is above no one, and has no god-given right to decide who gets to live and who doesn't. Raskolnikov is one of the most perfect examples of inner turmoil ever put to page, and serves as a perfect example of how one's own guilt and fear can be worse than any sentence provided by another.