The social ritual of carnival takes place in a liminal space. Liminality is a space between boundaries. It is a constantly undefined space that allows for any social interaction that takes place within these spaces to be without the restrictions of defined societal restrictions. The majority of the complex discourses the characters have occur within these undefined spaces. For instance, in Crime and Punishment, discourse demonstrates key liminal spaces such as the stairs, bridges, and even hotels. St. Petersburg itself is liminal in its torn identity. For instance, in the article written by Danielle Marie Lavendier called Holy Fools, Liminality and the Visual in Dostoevsky and Dickens, discusses the importance of Dostoevsky using St. Petersburg as a liminal space
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Luzhin is rich and pompous; he wants to marry Raskolnikov’s sister purely because he enjoys being the benefactor in the relationship. When Raskolnikov first meets Luzhin, he immediately calls out his ideologies, easily denouncing the façade that Luzhin has made. Luzhin later on tries to frame Sonya for stealing a hundred rubles but is later discovered as the mastermind behind the plot. Dostoevsky easily takes Luzhin the rich man in the narrative and equalizes him through carnivalization; Luzhin becomes a scoundrel just as everyone else. The constant exiting and entering of the characters furthers Saint Petersburg’s role as a liminal space. For instance, throughout Crime and Punishment Raskolnikov paces the streets of St. Petersburg as he wages war with his own morality. As he must decide between murdering the pawnbroker and letting his sister marry for money. The liminal journey that Raskolnikov undertakes to understand good and evil are merely underscored by the liminal spaces that he visits (Lavendier 26). In The Idiot, Nastassya Filippovna is murdered just after she enters into St. Petersburg to undergo her liminal journey of
Luzhin is rich and pompous; he wants to marry Raskolnikov’s sister purely because he enjoys being the benefactor in the relationship. When Raskolnikov first meets Luzhin, he immediately calls out his ideologies, easily denouncing the façade that Luzhin has made. Luzhin later on tries to frame Sonya for stealing a hundred rubles but is later discovered as the mastermind behind the plot. Dostoevsky easily takes Luzhin the rich man in the narrative and equalizes him through carnivalization; Luzhin becomes a scoundrel just as everyone else. The constant exiting and entering of the characters furthers Saint Petersburg’s role as a liminal space. For instance, throughout Crime and Punishment Raskolnikov paces the streets of St. Petersburg as he wages war with his own morality. As he must decide between murdering the pawnbroker and letting his sister marry for money. The liminal journey that Raskolnikov undertakes to understand good and evil are merely underscored by the liminal spaces that he visits (Lavendier 26). In The Idiot, Nastassya Filippovna is murdered just after she enters into St. Petersburg to undergo her liminal journey of