Il silenzio e il cammino tragico di Raskol’nikov in Delitto e castigo di F. M. Dostoevskij

The essay examines the different manifestations of silence in Crime and Punishment in the light of the 'dramatic principle' that characterizes Dostoevsky's novels. After distinguishing the semantic connotations of tishina and molchanie in the context of the novel, the Author analyzes the dual-level of functioning of molchanie: on the one hand, a typically theatrical expressive technique, which Dostoevsky uses to reinforce the dramatic intensity of some scenes and depict the most intimate states of his characters; on the other hand, a metaphor of the hero's tragic journey from self-affirmation to the affirmation of the Other.