The main female protagonists of Sonia and Marie in Crime and Punishment and The Stranger, respectively, do more than faithfully support Raskolnikov and Meursault in times of need. Their roles structure the men's characters and ultimately help the men form their philosophies: Sonia manages to alter Raskolnikov's superman theory while Marie's presence reinforces Meursault's absurdist theory. Through the diverse influence of women, they create a bridge between the protagonists between individuality and society and, through an awakening, Sonia ultimately leads Raskolnikov to embrace the rules of society while Marie leads Meursault to abandon society and affirm life and his individuality to an even greater extent. plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Thanks to the choice of female company of Raskolnikov and Meursault, the reader can already perceive elements of the character. Sonia and Marie both appear in the novels because of the different needs of men. Sonia's initial appeal to Raskolnikov is deeply emotional; he finds comfort in a woman equally isolated from society due to her prostitution. Yet, surprisingly even for Raskolnikov, Sonia becomes his beacon of light: she is more enlightened than he about the ways of the world. On the other hand, Meursault is attracted to the beautiful and playful Marie because she can satisfy his physical desires. He is indifferent to any deep emotional connection; even when Marie tries to illicit his love, he says that “[love] meant nothing other than that I probably didn't love her” (Camus 41). But she also becomes a beacon of light in a different sense. Meursault tries to see Marie's face in his prison cell because she represents a purpose in his life: physical desires rather than emotions. Interestingly, Raskolnikov thinks of Sonia in his prison cell also because his love for her, not her body, represents his inspiration. From the general portrayal and description of the female characters by the men it can be seen that Raskolnikov is much more emotionally and internally involved than Meursault. Meursault describes his world through sensual experiences, and his description of Marie never goes much beyond her job as a typist and her appearance. Meursault recounts Marie's effects on him in vivid detail: the sensation of touching "her breast" (19), of resting his head "on her belly" (20), and of feeling "Marie's heart beat gently" (20) . For Meursault, these moments are the only worthwhile experiences in a meaningless life. On the other hand, Raskolnikov sees Sonia's facial expressions and postures as a window into his soul: “Raskolnikov looked at her strangely. He read it all in his face…” (Dostoevsky 255). He questions her about her faith and her outlook on life and takes care to note her changing emotions. He is deeply interested in the psychological aspect; his bond with her is never limited to physical appearance. Sonia and Marie act as bridges, connecting men to society. Each of these female characters has a different vision of life from that of the man in question, and her influence contributes to the development of the protagonist's philosophy. Despite Sonia's desecration of her body, she is one of the purest and most innocent characters in the novel. Sonia and Raskolnikov's attraction to each other is amazing because they are so different. Although they are both in turmoil, Sonia is Raskolnikov's foil; she is reassured by her faith. Throughout the last part of the novel, she is the Christ-like savior who saves Raskolnikov from the oblivion of a meaningless life and connects him againto humanity. Sonia is his only way of salvation: she teaches him that only repentance for his sins and responsibility for his actions can save him. His emotional investment in Sonia is so great that he is able to confess his crime to her, and his eventual return to society is preceded by a serious emotional bond he has with Sonia. After all, he hadn't really had many feelings for another human being in a long time. Thus, Sonia slowly brings Raskolnikov back to the social convention of feelings, and continues to await his final metamorphosis by following him to Siberia. Raskolnikov's philosophy of the superhuman alienates him physically and emotionally from society. Only when he reverses the murder through which he tried to assume the role of the “übermensch”, the superhuman, will he be able to re-enter humanity and feel genuine emotion for another person. With his cleansing from sin, he can embrace his love for Sonia without fear. She opens her heart to accept his love and beliefs: “Can't her beliefs be mine now? His feelings, his aspirations at least…” (430). Although she tried to introduce religion to Raskolnikov in the literal form of the Bible, only at the end of the novel, when he realizes his love for her, does he actually attempt to open the pages. Dostoevsky, describing an individual as destitute as Raskolnikov but still living with hope thanks to the faith of a comrade, means that a spiritual connection is needed to combat the sad world and to understand one's place within society. On the other hand, Marie provides Meursault with the choice to be an emotional individual by asking for his love. She obviously lives a different life than Meursault: she is surprised by the apathy he displays when he is able to enjoy himself so fully, swimming and going to the movies so soon after his mother's death. Marie in the novel serves as a representation of sensual pleasure, and her identity as an individual is not as important to Meursault as her identity as a woman who embodies the physicality of all women: “I have never thought specifically about Marie. But I thought of a woman, of women…” (Camus 77). While Sonya's individuality and personality save Raskolnikov, Marie's universality and body lead Meursault to his awakening. In The Stranger, Meursault is never discouraged by the misery of prison; he is, more than anything, a man who simply wants to continue living. Due to his crime and incarceration, Meursault's daily life as an employee is suddenly interrupted by the painful realization that death is an inevitable fate. Meursault is the absurd man who has a passion to exhaust everything he possesses at any given moment. Marie is one of his passions in life and he never thought about the time when this fun would end. Likewise, he has never before reflected on his relationship with the world. Only when this pleasure, Marie, is taken away from him is he truly shaken from his world of self-satisfaction and forced to think about his real connection to society. Unlike Sonya, Marie does not intentionally try to change Meursault's mentality to accept society or deny it. His role actually states his absurd theory in another way. Without the thought of losing Marie, who is his only connection to the world, perhaps he would never have rebelled, and the thought of Marie continues to encourage him to fight against death even in prison. Thus, through Marie, he evaluates his values ​​in relation to the world and ultimately attempts to fight society as an individual in his own right. These two female characters clarify the messages of the endings of their respective novels: with the character of Sonia, Dostoevsky proclaims hope as the hopeful response to a senseless world;., 2001.