Thank you for your reply. You bring up some great points about the portrayal of illness in this novel. It's interesting how Raskolnikov's "illness" is brought on mainly by his guilt. I think during that time especially for the poor it was common to have people act out because of a sickness that they often brushed it off, which was a good thing for Raskolnikov as he was always on the verge of ratting himself out, which I think is why people view his sickness as an excuse because he was meant to come to terms with himself and be the one to ultimately admit to his crime. His admittance shows his final is acceptance of his true intentions and
