In reading Crime and Punishment I was struck by the disorientation experienced by Raskolnikov following the murders. Here is how the last part of Part I of the book (Chapter VII) ends as Raskolnikov returns to his room after the murder:
"When he was in his room, he flung himself on the sofa just as he was— he did not sleep, but sank into blank forgetfulness. If anyone had come into his room then, he would have jumped up at once and screamed. Scraps and shreds of thoughts were simply swarming in his brain, but he could not catch at one, he could not rest on one, in spite of all his efforts…"
Raskonikov's mind and spirit have seemingly disintegrated into chaos. Dostoyevsky seems to be making the point that sin breaks down the created world into chaos and disorder, ultimately destroying the sinner, unless he repents and again submits to God's law. The suffering caused in this "fall" into chaos is excruciating, as is the struggle for repentance, but this is the only path upward to salvation. This is also the outline of the Christian story, with Christ as the salve who can lead us to salvation, just as he did, in the character of Sonia, for Raskolnikov. Only love heals and brings together what sin has driven apart and destroyed.
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