The Symbolism of Oak Leaves in Dostoevsky’s Notebooks (Drafts) to Crime and Punishment (with illustrations)

Abstract

\n The article offers a new interpretation of the various expressions of the motif or sign of oak leaves, contained in the manuscript drafts of the novel Crime and Punishment. The expressions of the motif are decoded in the style of 3D letters, pointing to the key words of the third draft of the novel: “Dostoevsky”, “Journal”, “Routine”. These signs, which are part of Dostoevsky’s ideographic language, belong to the period of work on the novel from October to December 1865. It is the period in which the hero’s ideology was radically transformed, and the philanthropic motivation of the murders (to help the mother and the sister) was substituted by the “Napoleonic idea” (“am I a trembling worm or do I have the right”). The examination of these signs in conjunction with the writer’s notes contiguous with them, leads to the inference that these signs are genetically connected with the heraldry of the Dostoevsky clan, as well as with the symbolism of the 19th century “mundir” (uniform) attributions: the oak leaves were embroidery adorning a general’s “mundir”, and were a sign of recognition “for outstanding service”. Napoleon’s uniform, at the time of the Battle of Marengo, also had oak leaves embroidery; the battle is mentioned twice by Dostoevsky in the course of work on Crime and Punishment.