Poker Face

In Russia we have a saying, “The greeting you receive depends on your clothes, the farewell you get depends on your intellect.” Although the main point is that your intellect is more important than your looks, I think another point lurks deeper. First and surface impressions are often inaccurate, as it takes time and effort to really fathom another person; this is the idea presented here.

Psychological research and experiments don by Princeton psychologists Janine Willis and Alexander Todorov showed that people form a first impression by looking at a stranger’s face in a tenth of a second. This means that in the time it takes us to blink, our brain manages to interpret the face in front of us and come to a conclusion that stays engraved in our mind. Poker face or not, we judge, conclude and act accordingly. Does this prove to be a human super power and lift us up or, on the contrary, the human downfall that drives us over the edge? Whatever you might have been told, a person’s outward appearance is where we get our first, fleeting, but lasting impression. In Crime and Punishment the build, face, clothes and the way characters carry themselves are described in vivid detail. This helps us, as readers, almost visualize a persona we have never seen. Fyodor Dostoevsky uses the outfits, jewelry and hairstyles of his characters to make readers subconsciously form assumptions and conclusions before we actually “meet” the character. He then, as the book progresses, either proves us and your conculsions wrong or right. On the part of Dostoevsky, it is a demonstration of the menace that lies within quick and shallow judgment.

The dangers of hasty judgment in Crime and Punishment are exposed using two polar-opposite characters, Luzhin and Sonya. First off, Luzhin. Respectable, educated and creditable, although somewhat cocky, that is how we see him in the letter Raskolnikov receives from his mother. He is presented pretty much in the same light, when we get to meet him “face to face” in Raskolnikov’s apartment. However, as the story line progresses and circumstances change, his true colors seep out. When we finally see Luzhin for who he is, without all the adornment and garnish that disguised him originally, then we have the right to form and express an opinion concerning him and in turn expect it to hold up under examination. Some would say, “Over the course of the novel Luzhin becomes despicable”. Consider this. He does not become despicable when we realize he is so, but he has been despicable all this time. We were just a bit enchanted or deceived by our first impression of Luzhin.

On the other side of the spectrum we have Sonya. She is living contradiction of Saadi’s words, “Whatever makes an impression on the heart seems lovely in the eye”. Our first encounter with her happens even before we meet her, in the tavern, when Marmeladov describes her to Raskolnikov. She is portrayed by him (in his drunken monologue) as “unfortunate”, a victim of “ill-meaning persons”, and the savior of her family. But we cannot easily take his word on the matter. We have to see her for ourselves, give her a once-over to from our opinion of the girl. When we do meet her “face to face” she is obscene and “adorned in street fashion with a clearly and shamefully explicit purpose” (page 183). The “thin, pale, and frightened little face, mouth open and eyes fixed in terror” (page 183) raises a wave of compassion in us, although this in no way excuses her suggestive appearance. As time goes by, we get our second and third “face to face” encounters with Sonya. During yet another encounter she reads the story of Lazarus to Raskolnikov, and we see an unexpected and unconventional hallo form over her head. Although she is the same person she was before, we finally get to see the real Sonya. We no longer have to go on her looks alone, but get to see her heart and the love that inhabits it. As a result, our opinion on Sonya’s total disgrace and corruption, which formed solely on looks, is transformed and refined. It becomes more accurate, for it is now based not on her shell alone, but on the pearl that lies within.

In conclusion, perhaps you have heard, “Dress to impress”, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression”, or even “The first impression is the truth, and all that follows is merely the excuse of memory”. However, relying on first impressions and sticking to them no matter what, is like judging a book by its cover alone and then never giving it a second glance, thought, or chance to change your life.