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CrazyCatLady108 t1_itvyki2 wrote

>like Rodion Raskolnikov, wouldn't be seen as that poor in today's property market in some cities based on his room

you mean the one he rents and also the one he is not paying for and thus is in danger of being evicted. or how he cannot afford food. or how he owns a single set of clothes.

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bhbhbhhh t1_itx2jkk wrote

Nevertheless, it sounds like he was much better off than the really poor inhabitants of the city, the ones who could never imagine having a bed to themselves.

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p_romer OP t1_itw2jq9 wrote

Yeah, sure, we could also point out that he sleeps on a couch and not a real bed.... and that his room is as much a mental prison as a psychical one, but I still think it's interesting and underlines literature can be used for comparative studies of perceived poverty.

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CrazyCatLady108 t1_itw33da wrote

>but I still think it's interesting and underlines literature can be used for comparative studies of perceived poverty.

no argument there.

the point is you said he doesn't seem very poor by today's standards, but he is. he is essentially homeless, as the only reason he has not been kicked out is because the landlady cannot force him out.

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p_romer OP t1_itw409d wrote

I also wrote "based on his room" but, sure, I get your point. I Just remember these room descriptions vividly and I have seen ads for expensive rooms on various sites, where Dostojevskij's words could kinda fit.

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CrazyCatLady108 t1_itw5mp0 wrote

> I also wrote "based on his room" but

not his room, he rents. and i think it was originally a storage closet, as it is barely big enough to fit his couch. the descriptions lean heavy on it being coffin like with the slanted ceiling and cramped space. i would compare it more to those 'bed' rooms in China, where you get a bed worth of living space and that's it, than the tiny apartments in NYC, the ones that have a bed and toilet in the same room.

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p_romer OP t1_itw7ohe wrote

The sort of rooms I thought about in today's world would be some of these 600-900 dollar single rooms in cities like London or New York.

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