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W. D. Snodgrass' reading of Crime and Punishment brought into the center of attention a whole part of the novel that had largely been ignored by the “classic” explanations of Raskolnikov's motives. He was the first to perceive the tangled and bruising relations between Raskolnikov and his mother, and the first to perceive that the landlady and the pawnbroker are displaced representations of Raskolnikov's mother, so that in striking at the pawnbroker Raskolnikov was striking symbolically at the mother. Before Snodgrass' article was published, very little had been said about the relations between mother and son, and almost nothing about the part these relations play in the murder of the pawnbroker, even though one-fourth of the novel concerns Raskolnikov's relations with his mother.
The sections dealing with Raskolnikov and his mother show hidden aggression towards each other. The mother is intent on reminding Raskolnikov how much she and Dunia have sacrificed for him and how much they are willing to sacrifice for him. Although the mother dwells on her love and affection, she reminds him subtly of his subjecting them to misery and hardship through his refusal to continue his studies and to support himself at the university. Raskolnikov in turn has passively and intentionally revolted against the burden of his mother's love and sacrifice by defeating her expectations of success. He gives up his studies, refuses to find work, and permits himself to fall into dependence and degradation.
The punishing relations between mother and son may not be immediately perceptible, but the powerful emotional ties between them and between brother and sister are clearly visible in a number of scenes. When Raskolnikov receives the letter from his mother in part I, chapter 3, his hands tremble; he is