In the book Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky, women at that time in Russia were not equal to men in terms of education and power. In Crime and Punishment the women in the story sacrificed themselves in their actions, which in return repaid the women. Most of the women, in Crime and Punishment, like Sonya, were selfless in their actions. The women in this story play a maternal role towards men. The women in this story may have lived in a male-dominated society, but it seemed that the words spoken by the women in this story were very strong in influencing men. Sonya plays an important role in Raskolnikov's life, being the person Raskolnikov relies on as he goes in and out of prison. Raskolnikov felt a strong bond with Sonya because she was a prostitute and he was a murderer, which made him feel as if they had both committed sins. Due to Sonya's selfless actions, Raskolnikov grew to depend on Sonya and soon came to love her. Sonya's behavior was beneficial to both her and Raskolnikov. Sonya gave Raskolnikov the purpose to continue living using the power of Christ and religion. In return Sonya's altruistic behavior towards Raskolnikov gave her a new start in life in Siberia. Dunya also plays a role in Raskolnikov's life as she was willing to sacrifice herself to give him a better future, giving her hand in marriage to Pyotr Petrovich. Sonya is a support system for Raskolnikov as she allows him to see the error of crime. he did. Sonya heavily uses God as a support system and urges Raskolnikov to do the same, as she wishes for him to redeem himself for his murderous acts. Sonya says to Raskolnikov “Go, now stand at the crossroads, bow down and first kiss the ground you have… middle of paper… more trusting character than Sonya was able to maintain her position against women, but she still relied on men to be successful herself. She was willing to marry Petrovich to become rich and for her brother to be successful , they would have given them practically everything they wanted. To their disadvantage this did not work, although Dunya was desperate she did not sacrifice herself for the money and happiness they were openly willing to give her she took on a stronger role as a woman who could stand up to men Sonya and Dunya's love is what helped Raskolnikov redeem himself Along with the role of mother who advised and watched over Raskolnikov until the end.