Crime and Punishment | Summary

Part 1, Chapter 1

On a hot July evening in 1860s Saint Petersburg, Russia, a young man sneaks out of his
boardinghouse because he owes back rent. Poverty stricken, he lives in a tiny, shabby garret and
wears ragged clothes. He has become self-absorbed and alienated from other people. The young
man plans a daring deed of some kind but wonders if he is capable of it or not. Nevertheless, he
goes to an apartment in a nearby tenement in preparation for his plan. He is pleased to find that
no one currently occupies the apartment across from the one he is visiting.

He rings a doorbell, and a suspicious old woman, the greedy pawnbroker Alyona, lets him in. He
introduces himself as Raskolnikov, a student with a watch to pawn. He nervously takes in every
detail of the apartment. The pawnbroker offers him less than half of what he asks for the watch,
then deducts interest for a previous loan.

Raskolnikov notices where she keeps her keys and pays close attention as she unlocks a dresser
in her bedroom to retrieve the money. He promises to return soon to pawn another item. Before
leaving he asks, "Are you always at home alone?" The old woman deflects the question,
implying it is none of his business. His actions suggest that Raskolnikov is planning a crime.
Repulsed by what he has been contemplating, he locates a tavern.

Part 1, Chapter 2

In the tavern Raskolnikov notices a man who looks like a retired government clerk. Marmeladov
is a man of contradictions. He appears to be a heavy drinker, and his clothes are torn and stained.
Nevertheless, he has an air of respectability.

He tells Raskolnikov his story. He and his family are impoverished due to his alcoholism. His
wife, Katerina Ivanovna, comes from an upper-class background. A widow with three young
children, she married him out of desperation. At first he supported the family as a civil servant,
but his alcoholism cost him his job. Now he steals from his wife to drink, and she has developed
consumption (tuberculosis). His eldest daughter, Sonia, resorts to prostitution to feed the three
other children. Because she is a prostitute, she can no longer live with the family. Marmeladov
recently got his job back but returned to his old ways. Likely fired, he has not returned home in
five days. Marmeladov tells Raskolnikov that in the end God will compassionately forgive all
sinners, including Marmeladov and Sonia.

Raskolnikov visits the Marmeladovs. The family shares one small, shoddy room. As their three
young children weep, Katerina Ivanovna berates her husband and pulls him by the hair,
demanding to know where the money went. Raskolnikov quickly departs, leaving some coins for
them. He immediately regrets his generosity and feels contempt for the family's situation, but he
wonders if he shouldn't be kinder: "What if man is not really a scoundrel, man in general, I mean,
the whole race of mankind—then all the rest is prejudice, simply artificial terrors and there are
no barriers and it's all as it should be."
Analysis
The setting and some of the major themes of the novel are introduced in these first two chapters.
The setting of the story, central Saint Petersburg in the 1860s, is bustling, stinking, and poverty
stricken. The summer heat is oppressive, mirroring the state of Raskolnikov's mind.

The following themes are introduced:

 Alienation: Alienation can come from within or from society. Raskolnikov has become
so self-absorbed that he has isolated himself from everyone around him, contributing to
his anxiety and paranoia. Sonia has been alienated from society, which judges prostitutes
as beneath contempt.
 Crime: Raskolnikov's actions at the pawnbroker's suggest he is planning a crime, and he
struggles with whether he can go through with it. Dostoevsky focuses on why people
commit crimes and what effects those crimes have on both the victims and the
perpetrators.
 Suffering: Suffering haunts this novel like a ghost. Almost every character in these first
two chapters suffers from extreme poverty. Raskolnikov is nearly destitute. Marmeladov
and his family face starvation, illness, and social disgrace due to his alcoholism.
Marmeladov's poignant belief that God will forgive him and Sonia balances suffering
with compassion, a theme that obsesses Dostoevsky here and in his other works.
 Morality: Marmeladov's situation contrasts religious morality with the realities of
imperfect human behavior. The novel explores multiple definitions of morality, including
Christian, utilitarian, and nihilistic.

Part 1, Chapter 3

The next day Raskolnikov wallows in his isolation. His landlady has stopped sending him food
because he owes her money, but the maid, Nastasya, kindly brings him tea. She tells him the
landlady is complaining to the police about the rent he owes. She wonders why Raskolnikov isn't
working, and he responds that he is—he is thinking. He arrogantly declares that tutoring doesn't
pay enough; he wants a fortune "all at once."

Raskolnikov receives a letter from his mother, Pulcheria, about his sister, Dounia. Dounia lost
her position as a governess for a wealthy family because her employer, Svidrigaïlov, asked her to
run away with him. Dounia refused, but his wife, Marfa Petrovna, assumed the situation was
Dounia's fault, firing her and ruining her reputation. Eventually, a repentant Svidrigaïlov
revealed the truth, and his wife restored Dounia's good name.

Later Dounia agrees to marry Luzhin, a rich, older lawyer, despite signs that he is stingy and
controlling. She hopes marrying Luzhin will help her family: he says he might find Raskolnikov
a job. Pulcheria and Dounia plan to arrive in Saint Petersburg shortly for the wedding. Pulcheria
calls Raskolnikov "everything to us—our one hope, our one consolation." She is sending him
another small amount of money that she and Dounia have scraped together. Raskolnikov, in
turmoil, walks the streets talking to himself. Passersby mistakenly think he is drunk.
Part 1, Chapter 4

Raskolnikov angrily swears that his sister will not marry Luzhin for her family's sake: "If he had
happened to meet Mr. Luzhin at the moment, he might have murdered him." He fears Dounia's
marriage will be no more than legalized prostitution in order to support him and Pulcheria. He
wonders what right he even has to forbid the marriage because he cannot support his mother or
sister financially. He reconsiders committing the crime. Once a "dream," it now seems like
reality.

Raskolnikov notices a girl walking ahead of him. No more than 16, she is drunk and her clothes
are in disarray. A man, looking intrigued, follows her. Raskolnikov yells at him to get away, and
they come to blows. When a policeman intercedes, Raskolnikov reports his suspicions: someone
has gotten the girl drunk and raped her, and the man is trying to take advantage of the situation.
He gives the policeman money to take the girl home, but she wanders off, with the other man
still in pursuit. Raskolnikov changes his mind about the situation, telling the policeman to let the
man and the girl go. But the policeman follows them, wondering if Raskolnikov is crazy.
Raskolnikov questions whether it was worth it to get involved, believing the girl will inevitably
fall into prostitution.

Raskolnikov pays a visit to Razumihin, a friend from the university. Like Raskolnikov he is poor
and has had to drop out of school. Raskolnikov remains aloof, but Razumihin is friendly,
cheerful, and optimistic.

Analysis
These chapters focus primarily on the suffering of women, who are often portrayed as self-
sacrificing or manipulated by others.

Self-sacrificing women include Sonia, who becomes a prostitute for her family's sake, and
Dounia, who faces the prospect of an unhappy marriage to help her family. Katerina Ivanovna's
life has been sacrificed to her husband's alcoholism. Pulcheria and Dounia send Raskolnikov
money they can barely spare.

Women's suffering is often linked to the men who take advantage of them. Pulcheria's letter
describes Svidrigaïlov as a scoundrel. Raskolnikov sees him as such, equating him to the man
trying to take advantage of the drunken girl. Luzhin wants a wife who is attractive and educated
but poor, so she will worship him.

Even Raskolnikov, who objects to his sister's self-sacrifice and tries to protect a vulnerable girl,
takes advantage of women in his own way. He tries to save the drunken girl from danger but
almost sends her back to a terrible fate, all because he gets hung up about whether helping her is
worth it or not. At least he can recognize her suffering to begin with and try to do something
about it. The attempt to ease or prevent suffering is a theme Dostoevsky returns to repeatedly
throughout Crime and Punishment.
Chapter 4 introduces Razumihin, Raskolnikov's foil: Dostoevsky highlights certain aspects of
Raskolnikov's personality by contrasting him to Razumihin. His friendliness, optimism, and
generosity counterbalance Raskolnikov's alienation, pessimism, and self-absorption.

Part 1, Chapter 5

Raskolnikov despairs that Razumihin cannot really help him find work but decides he will visit
him once he has committed his crime. Becoming feverish, he wanders the streets. He observes
the residents of a wealthy neighborhood. At first he enjoys this but soon finds it painful. After
drinking vodka he falls asleep in the bushes and has a terrible, vivid dream.

In his dream Raskolnikov is a boy of seven, walking with his father in their town. He fondly
remembers the town church and its comforting rituals and recalls crossing himself before his
little brother's grave. Later he and his father see an old, skinny mare harnessed to a huge cart.
Her owner claims she can pull the cart and invites a large group to get in for a ride. Of course,
the cart is too heavy for the mare to pull, but the owner becomes enraged. He beats her
ferociously. Others join in as a crowd laughs. The boy runs to the horse, but his father says the
beating is none of their business. The owner beats the mare to death with a crowbar, screaming
that she is his property. Some in the crowd egg him on, but others object: "No mistake about it,
you are not a Christian." The boy hugs and kisses the dead horse, then tries to attack the owner,
but his father takes him away.

Raskolnikov reveals the crime he has been plotting: he is going to rob and murder Alyona, the
old pawnbroker. But after his dream he decides he cannot bring himself to do it, and he feels
relieved, praying and renouncing the idea. While out walking, however, he overhears that
Alyona's half-sister, Lizaveta, will be away from their apartment at seven the next night, leaving
Alyona alone. He returns home "like a man condemned to death. ... Everything was suddenly and
irrevocably decided." He will commit the murder.

Part 1, Chapter 6

In a flashback the narrator relates how Raskolnikov came up with his plan. Six weeks earlier
Raskolnikov went to Alyona to pawn a ring. He immediately loathes her. Stopping at a tavern on
the way home to think, he overhears two men discussing Alyona and her half-sister, Lizaveta.
They describe Alyona as greedy and cruel. She charges exorbitant interest, and she beats her
half-sister, treating her like a slave. The student argues that killing Alyona and using her money
to help others would benefit society. Raskolnikov is amazed because he had just been thinking
the same thing. He feels that fate has led him to this moment.

The story returns to the present. Raskolnikov sleeps most of the next day, then rushes to commit
the crime. He has planned some details but others are not in place. Nonetheless, he believes he
will remain clear-headed as he carries out his plan.

In his room he sews a loop inside his overcoat to conceal the murder weapon, an axe. He creates
a fake cigarette case to pawn. Realizing it is later than he thought, he rushes to the boardinghouse
kitchen to steal the axe. Nastasya is there, almost derailing his plan, but he finds another axe in
the porter's room. It is half past seven when he finally arrives at the pawnbroker's. He claims to
feel unafraid but wonders if he should not turn back. He rings Alyona's doorbell. She is
suspicious at first but finally opens the door to him.

Analysis
Raskolnikov's dream is brought on by a fever that echoes, and is likely caused by, his mental
state. The dream intertwines themes of suffering and morality by presenting three different
responses to suffering. As a child in the dream, Raskolnikov fondly remembers the village
church and its comforting rituals. They symbolize traditional morality based on Christianity,
which favors compassion as the most moral response to suffering. In his dream Raskolnikov tries
to prevent suffering, his father overlooks suffering, and the horse's owner adds to suffering.

After his dream Raskolnikov is torn. He prays to God and renounces his plan. But by the end of
the chapter, he decides to carry it out, all because he happens to overhear that Alyona will be
home alone. After deciding against it, he suddenly feels committing the crime is inevitable, as if
he never had a choice in the matter. At this point Raskolnikov seems not only indecisive or
conflicted but also mentally unstable.

Alyona presents Raskolnikov with a moral dilemma. Is someone who causes such suffering
worthy of any compassion? Raskolnikov's indecision represents the struggle between old and
new moralities: He plans a cold-blooded murder that he justifies as being for the greater good, a
fashionable attitude adopted by intellectuals of the day. But after his dream he reconnects with
traditional Christian morality, which condemns killing and advocates compassion.

Raskolnikov also theorizes about why criminals always give themselves away, using the
metaphor of illness and disease. He believes a crime "infects" the criminal with a loss of reason
and will. Raskolnikov thinks that minute planning of the crime's every detail can prevent this
"disease." If he kills Alyona, it won't really affect him because it isn't really a crime. He is doing
the world a favor.

Raskolnikov's views are an example of situational irony, in which his expectations about
committing the crime and the reality of his situation of are actually at odds. Raskolnikov's has
faith in his logic and reason, and he expects them to protect him from detection and guilt.
However, his preparations for the crime are incomplete, and his wildly shifting mental state
suggests that his reason is in fact shaky. In these ways the crime already affects him strongly
before he even commits it.

Crime and Punishment | Part 1, Chapter 7 |

Summary
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Summary
Raskolnikov arrives at Alyona's apartment and gives her his fake item to pawn. As she struggles
to open it, he strikes her with the axe three times and kills her. He initially feels in control;
however, when he tries to unlock the dresser drawer where she keeps the money, illogical fears
overtake him, and he returns to make sure she is still dead. Raskolnikov cuts a purse from around
her neck. He steals some jewelry from a chest under her bed but never tries to open the dresser
again. Raskolnikov hears noises in the next room—it is Lizaveta. She is too shocked to defend
herself, and he kills her with one blow.

Raskolnikov carefully washes the axe and checks his clothing for blood, still so nervous he fears
he might be missing other things that could give him away. He struggles to think straight.
Rushing to leave, he discovers the apartment door is open. Panicked, he listens to make sure no
one is on the stairs, but he hears footsteps approaching. He barely latches the door before two
men arrive looking for Alyona. They are puzzled that no one answers because the door is latched
from inside. Suspicious, one man goes to fetch the porter. The other waits, then grows impatient
and leaves, allowing Raskolnikov to exit the apartment.

Halfway down the stairs, Raskolnikov hears two men's footsteps below him, then someone else's
coming back up. He miraculously finds a second-floor apartment open and empty—the two men
whose footsteps he heard had been painting it. He hides behind a door and later exits the building
unseen. Exhausted and agitated, he tries to remain inconspicuous on his way home. When he
arrives, however, he almost forgets to return the axe to the porter's room. When he does return it,
he forgets to check first to make sure the porter is out. Luckily for Raskolnikov, he is. Replacing
the axe, Raskolnikov goes back to his garret, unseen.

Analysis
After six chapters of indecision, Raskolnikov finally murders Alyona. However, the deed and its
aftermath are far from what he has imagined. After killing her, he feels in control for a short
time, but Raskolnikov's plan is completely derailed by the arrival of Lizaveta. The only reason
for him to kill Lizaveta is to cover up the first murder; her death serves no greater good as he
believes Alyona's does. Lizaveta's murder destroys Raskolnikov's rationalization for robbing and
killing Alyona. However, he does not hesitate for even a moment to kill Lizaveta to protect
himself, acting no differently than a common criminal.

The suspense, far from decreasing once the deed is done, increases. Things continue to go
wrong, and it seems more and more likely that Raskolnikov will be caught, but, for better or
worse, he is not. After killing Lizaveta, Raskolnikov's logic completely fails him. He focuses
intently on small details, such as blood spatters, but is blind to larger ones, such as the door being
left open. A large part of both his motivation and justification for the crime was to take all of
Alyona's money, but he only manages to steal one purse. He has not escaped the "disease" of the
criminal after all, and, by the time he returns home, he feels "not fully conscious."

Part 2, Chapter 1
After lying in bed for hours, Raskolnikov suddenly realizes he forgot to hide the evidence from
the crime. Panicked and feverish, he conceals the stolen items in a hole behind the wall of his
room. He tears pieces of bloodstained fabric from his clothes and discovers a bloody sock in his
boot. But Raskolnikov is so ill he cannot stay awake to get rid of them, and he falls asleep,
gripping them in his hand. Nastasya and the porter bring him a summons to visit the local police.
They laugh at the "rags" he clutches, not noticing they are stained with blood.

Raskolnikov fears the police have discovered his crime and will search his room while he is out,
yet he must answer the summons. On the way to the police, he feels an urge to confess. At the
police station, he speaks to the head clerk, Zametov. He is elated to learn the summons is only
about his debt to his landlady, and he changes his mind about confessing. When he is asked to
repay the debt, Raskolnikov explains that he is poor. Besides, he should not owe anything. His
landlady extended him credit because he planned to marry her daughter, who is now dead of
typhus.

After signing a promise that he will repay the debt, Raskolnikov again feels an urge to confess.
However, he overhears that the two men who knocked on the pawnbroker's door just after the
murder are being released. The police realize the murderer was in the apartment and escaped
when the men left. Raskolnikov tries to leave but faints. He blames it on being ill, but llya
Petrovitch, a police superintendent, seems suspicious. Nevertheless, they let him go.

Part 2, Chapter 2

Raskolnikov's fears prove unfounded—no one has searched his room. He rushes to throw the
stolen items in the canal, but there are too many people around. After searching various
locations, he finally hides the items under a large rock in a hidden courtyard. He is exhilarated
but then realizes he never even opened the purse or looked at the jewelry he stole. He also passes
the spot where he saw the drunken girl earlier. He feels more alienated than ever: "A new
overwhelming sensation was gaining more and more mastery over him every moment; this was
an immeasurable, almost physical, repulsion for everything surrounding him, an obstinate,
malignant feeling of hatred. All who met him were loathsome to him." Feeling ill, he wanders to
Razumihin's.

As soon as Raskolnikov gets to Razumihin's room, he feels like leaving. He mumbles about
wanting Razumihin to help him find work, then changes his mind. Razumihin is concerned that
Raskolnikov seems ill. He offers to share some of his translation work with him, which pays in
advance. Raskolnikov first accepts, then declines, before leaving abruptly, angering Razumihin:
"Are you raving, or what?" Razumihin shouts, roused to fury at last. "What farce is this? You'll
drive me crazy too. ... What did you come to see me for?"

Raskolnikov nearly gets trampled by a carriage because he doesn't notice he is in the middle of
the road. The coachman whips him, making several people laugh, but an elderly woman gives
him a coin "in Christ's name." He stands at a familiar spot on a bridge, depressed as he compares
his past and present. He throws the coin in the river in despair and goes home. Later he wakes up
to hear Ilya Petrovitch brutally beating his landlady. Raskolnikov fears he is next. Later Nastasya
tells him it was only a dream.
Analysis
Raskolnikov is torn between reason and conscience for much of the novel. For the time being,
reason wins out; however, his conscience manifests in sudden strong urges to confess, which he
nearly does at the police station. The police represent the consequences of Raskolnikov's crime.
When he faints as the police are discussing the murder, they begin to suspect him, building the
plot's suspense—will they be able to catch him? Or will he confess before they do?

In Part 2, Chapter 2, Raskolnikov reaches new depths of alienation. He works hard to push
people away, especially if they show they care about him. This may be how he protects himself
from the painful aftereffects of his crime, including guilt and shame. In addition, getting too
close to others could tempt him to confess.

For example, Raskolnikov has conflicted motives for visiting Razumihin. He wants Razumihin
to help him, but he isolates himself, refusing even to tell his friend where he is living and turning
down his generous offer of work. He tosses a coin a woman gives him "in Christ's name" into the
river, feeling that he has "cut himself off from everyone and from everything at that moment."
He expresses loathing for people and things around him, but what he really loathes is himself.

Two violent incidents occur in this chapter, one real and one imaginary, and both are connected
to dreams. The first is similar to the dream of the horse's beating in Part 1, Chapter 5.
Raskolnikov has killed two people, but his whipping by the coachman implies that Raskolnikov
is in the mare's position—he is suffering too. The dream about Ilya Petrovitch beating the
landlady is a manifestation of Raskolnikov's inability to face his guilt about his crime or his fear
of its punishment.

Part 2, Chapter 3

For several days Raskolnikov is so ill he becomes delirious, even forgetting his crime. He returns
to his senses to find Razumihin has located him and charmed the landlady into letting
Raskolnikov keep his room and receive meals again. His mother has also sent him money. At
first he refuses to take it, but he changes his mind. His mental torment and confusion seem worse
than ever.

Raskolnikov is disturbed to learn that Zametov, the police head clerk, visited him during his
illness. Zametov heard Raskolnikov raving about wanting his sock. Zametov searched the room
and found it, but it was so dirty he could not see the blood on it. The sock remains in
Raskolnikov's room under some clothes.

Raskolnikov wants to run away and is increasingly confused about what to do. Instead, he falls
asleep again until Razumihin arrives with fresh clothes.

Part 2, Chapter 4

Zossimov, a university friend and doctor, stops by to check on Raskolnikov. Razumihin invites
him and Raskolnikov to his housewarming that night. Zossimov mentions Nikolay, a house
painter, who has been accused of the murders because he pawned some earrings directly after the
crime.

Nikolay claims he found them on the street. But then he tries to hang himself, appearing guilty of
the crime. Finally he admits he found the earrings in the apartment he was painting. Raskolnikov
realizes he dropped them there as he hid behind the door after the murders. He exclaims in terror,
"Behind the door? Lying behind the door?" No one catches the significance of what Raskolnikov
has said.

Nikolay and another painter ran into the street, fighting and laughing "like children" moments
before the bodies were discovered. According to Razumihin, this is not how a killer would
behave, so Nikolay cannot be guilty of the crime. Raskolnikov says nothing as Razumihin
accurately describes how the murderer must have escaped without being caught.

Part 2, Chapter 5

Luzhin, Dounia's fiancé, visits Raskolnikov, who does not immediately recognize him. Luzhin
acts contemptuous of Raskolnikov's shabby room and clothing. When Raskolnikov realizes who
Luzhin is, he treats him rudely. Razumihin criticizes the apartment Luzhin rented for Dounia and
Pulcheria as a "disgusting place" in a dodgy neighborhood, which he recognizes because he had
once visited someone in the same building.

Luzhin's pompous attitude and superficial comments annoy Raskolnikov and Razumihin. He
speaks in platitudes, arguing for practicality as a moral code. He believes that it is best to act on
your own behalf by "lov[ing] yourself before all men, for everything in the world rests on self-
interest," and that "in acquiring wealth solely and exclusively for myself, I am acquiring, so to
speak, for all." Razumihin argues that Luzhin's emphasis on self-interest will actually make
things worse for everyone.

Zossimov is also present, and the men discuss the murder of Alyona and Lizaveta. Razumihin
speculates (correctly) that it was the murderer's first crime. Raskolnikov tells Luzhin that if one
follows his theory of self-interested practicality to its logical conclusion, "it follows that people
may be killed." Luzhin's views cause Raskolnikov to accuse him of wanting to control Dounia,
and when Luzhin blames Pulcheria for misrepresenting him, Raskolnikov threatens to throw him
down the stairs. Badly offended, Luzhin leaves. Raskolnikov demands that Razumihin and
Zossimov leave as well. As they exit they talk privately about Raskolnikov's lack of interest in
anything—except the murders.

Analysis
In Chapter 3, despite Razumihin's caring gestures, Raskolnikov continues to alienate himself,
interested only in Luzhin's intentions toward Dounia and conversation about the murders.

Raskolnikov's dream about his landlady was so powerful he didn't realize it wasn't real until
Nastasya told him. Now he is struggling to distinguish reality from fantasy every day: "He made
up his mind to keep quiet and see what would happen. 'I believe I am not wandering. I believe it's
reality,' he thought." A combination of fear, guilt, poverty, and illness is unhinging him, but he
refuses to tell anyone. He is more alone and in more pain than ever.

In Chapter 4 Nikolay's reaction to guilt is the opposite of Raskolnikov's. Whereas Raskolnikov

denies and represses his guilt, Nikolay feels so guilty for his actions he tries to kill himself. He
trades his cross for a drink before he does so, symbolizing that he has betrayed his faith. Nikolay
is also the first of a number of characters who try to escape suffering and guilt through suicide.

In Chapter 5 Luzhin finally appears, revealing himself to be a vain, shallow man. His debate with
Razumihin and Raskolnikov exemplifies the conflict between traditional and contemporary
morality. Luzhin glorifies utilitarianism's emphasis on practicality at the expense of empathy. He
favors acting in self-interest "for the common good" in opposition to Christ's commandment to
love your neighbor as yourself. He dismisses traditional ideals, even positive ones such as honor,
as "prejudices." Razumihin and Raskolnikov accuse him of showing off for the sake of being
trendy.

Raskolnikov despises Luzhin, and he argues that Luzhin's defense of acting in self-interest for
the common good leads logically to murder. However, Raskolnikov might as well be describing
his own rationale for killing the pawnbroker. This adds a new twist to the novel: even characters
who are at odds may mirror each other in unexpected ways, often exposing unpleasant truths.

Part 2, Chapter 6

Raskolnikov decides to confess: "This must be ended to-day, once for all, immediately; he would
not go on living like that." He wanders to the Hay Market and has a sudden urge to interact with
people. He strikes up a conversation with a passerby and later with a prostitute. He even asks the
whereabouts of the tradesman and his wife with whom Lizaveta had scheduled the meeting that
helped him determine when to kill Alyona.

Then he sees a prostitute covered with bruises. She triggers a memory of a story he read about a
condemned man who would rather spend the rest of his life balanced on a narrow ledge than die.
Raskolnikov insists it is better to choose life, even if the circumstances are painful.

Finally, he enters a restaurant where he runs into Zametov, the police clerk. Raskolnikov won't
confess directly, but he drops several hints, daring Zametov to guess that he is the murderer.
Ironically, Raskolnikov acts so strangely that Zametov decides he is too unstable to have
committed the crime. On his way out, Raskolnikov runs into Razumihin, who is concerned for
his friend's health. Raskolnikov rejects him. "How, how can I persuade you not to persecute me
with your kindness?" Razumihin angrily calls Raskolnikov a fool but still encourages him to
come to his housewarming.

As Raskolnikov stands on a bridge, a woman near him throws herself into the canal. She is
rescued before she drowns. Raskolnikov's thoughts make it clear he has also considered suicide
and may still be doing so. He decides to go to the police to confess but goes to Alyona's building
instead. Raskolnikov rings her doorbell repeatedly as if to reenact his crime. Workmen are
preparing her apartment for a new tenant. He describes the blood from the murders to them,
challenging them to take him to the police. They dismiss Raskolnikov as a drunken pest, and the
building's caretaker throws him out.

Part 2, Chapter 7

On the way to the police, Raskolnikov arrives at the scene of an accident. Marmeladov has been
run over by a carriage. The driver believes he threw himself under the horses intentionally.
Raskolnikov is upset and offers to pay for a doctor. Marmeladov is brought home, and Sonia and
a priest are sent for.

Raskolnikov comforts Katerina Ivanovna. The doctor says Marmeladov cannot be saved, but
Raskolnikov insists he treat him anyway. The priest takes Marmeladov's confession. Sonia
arrives, dressed for work as a prostitute. Seeing her, Marmeladov begs her for forgiveness and
dies in her arms.

Katerina Ivanovna asks the priest what to do about her starving children. When he tells her God
is merciful, she declares, "God is merciful, but not to us." Raskolnikov gives her the remainder
of the money from his mother to pay for the funeral. As he leaves he sees Nikodim Fomich, the
police commissioner, and asks him to be kind to Katerina Ivanovna. The police commissioner
notices that Raskolnikov is covered with blood—it is Marmeladov's.

As he departs Raskolnikov feels full of new life. Katerina Ivanovna's daughter Polenka kisses
him, and Raskolnikov asks her to pray for him. He decides to go to Razumihin's housewarming,
but Zossimov sends him home to rest. Razumihin walks with him. He tells him Zametov told
him he suspects Raskolnikov of the murders and that Zossimov thinks he is mentally ill. Arriving
at Raskolnikov's room, they find his mother and sister, who are terribly worried that something
bad has happened to him. They try to embrace him, but Raskolnikov feels "a sudden intolerable
sensation" and faints.

Analysis
In Chapter 6 Raskolnikov's conscience and ego are at war. He wants to confess, or so it seems.
Instead of confessing outright, however, Raskolnikov tries to get people to guess what he has
done by dropping clever hints, as if he can't bring himself to say the words. Yet he is offended
when Zametov says criminals involuntarily give themselves away. Raskolnikov still believes he
is too smart to get caught, and he is proud of it.

Both chapters tackle the ongoing question of how to deal with suffering. When Raskolnikov
remembers the story of the man on the ledge, he, too, wants to cling ferociously to life. But when
he witnesses a woman's suicide attempt at the bridge, readers realize he has thought about ending
his life. What should anyone do when life becomes so painful?

Marmeladov's suicide and its aftermath bring out Raskolnikov's compassionate side. Although he
has met Marmeladov only once, Raskolnikov feels close to him, calling for a doctor and wiping
the blood from his face. He demonstrates a strong capacity for escaping his self-absorption and
caring for others. But when Razumihin expresses concern for him, Raskolnikov pushes his friend
away. Raskolnikov can offer compassion, but he can't receive it.

Compassion in others is equally complicated. Some people cannot express compassion properly.
For example, when the priest offers empty consolation to Marmeladov's wife and children,
Katerina Ivanovna rightly objects, "That's words and only words!"

Some can only express compassion partially or imperfectly. Even as her husband is dying,
Katerina Ivanovna bitterly complains about him ("He brought us in nothing but misery.").
Nevertheless, she cares for him, "giving him water, wiping the blood and sweat from his head,
[and] setting his pillow straight."

Raskolnikov is the soul of compassion in this scene, but given his moodiness that certainly won't
last. And there is still the problem of the brutal crime he is concealing. Only Sonia seems
uncompromisingly compassionate. Her father was responsible for her suffering, but she never
blames him. Instead, she embraces him as he dies.

Part 3, Chapter 1

Dounia's and Pulcheria's concern "tortures" Raskolnikov. He goes back and forth, telling them to
stay, then insisting they go. Raskolnikov forbids Dounia to marry Luzhin; obviously, she is only
doing it for his sake. He gives her an ultimatum: Luzhin or him. Razumihin convinces the
women to leave to keep Raskolnikov calm. He promises to bring the doctor to check on him. He
also makes a fool of himself over Dounia, for whom he feels an immediate attraction. Despite his
somewhat drunken rambling, the women see that they can trust him. He brings Zossimov, a
doctor, who suspects that the causes of Raskolnikov's illness are as much mental as physical.
Both men stay overnight to watch over Raskolnikov.

Part 3, Chapter 2

The next morning Razumihin and Zossimov discuss Raskolnikov. They think the police's
suspicion of him sparked his unusual interest in the murders. Razumihin goes to update Dounia
and Pulcheria. The women share a letter from Luzhin, in which he threatens to leave if
Raskolnikov is there when he visits the women that evening. He also claims, inaccurately, that
Raskolnikov gave all his mother's money to Sonia, a girl of "notorious behavior." Dounia wants
Raskolnikov to be there for Luzhin's visit, but Pulcheria worries about the consequences. All
three go to check on Raskolnikov.

Analysis
Raskolnikov arrogantly demands that Dounia choose between him and Luzhin. That she might
be marrying to also benefit herself and their mother doesn't occur to him. Dounia resembles her
brother in many ways, but she differs from him, too, and often is the more stable sibling. Where
he looks down on others, she tries to balance other's needs with her own; where he is obsessed
with his own point of view, she tries to see more than one side.
Two characters offer unexpected and accurate insights about Raskolnikov. Zossimov believes
that, in addition to poverty and anxiety, "moral influences" and "certain ideas" play a role in his
illness. In Chapter 2 Razumihin shines a light on Raskolnikov's divided nature, noting that "it's
as though he were alternating between two characters."

Luzhin's letter in Chapter 2 reveals he is not just vain and shallow but also arrogant and
manipulative. He blackmails Dounia to choose him over her brother. He takes no responsibility
for the consequences, writing, "You have only yourself to blame." Although Dounia does not
know it, Luzhin is lying about Raskolnikov giving the money to Sonia. Of course, while not as
shallow as Luzhin, Raskolnikov has his own problems with vanity, arrogance, and manipulation.

Part 3, Chapter 3

Dounia, Pulcheria, and Razumihin visit Raskolnikov. Zossimov pronounces him improved.
Raskolnikov expresses overdue gratitude and regret. He has acted so rudely, he is surprised that
Zossimov and Razumihin helped him, and he apologizes for upsetting his mother. Only Dounia
notices that her brother is reciting these words mechanically instead of speaking from the heart.
The only time he seems sincere is when he reconciles with her.

He becomes more irritable and confused as the conversation progresses. Pulcheria tells of Marfa
Petrovna's death, for which her husband, Svidrigaïlov, may be responsible. Raskolnikov
suddenly realizes that, because of his crime, "he would never now be able to speak freely of
everything—that he would never again be able to speak of anything to anyone." As they discuss
Dounia's engagement, Raskolnikov recalls his fiancée, his landlady's daughter, who was "sickly"
and died. He tries to downplay how much he cared for her, but Dounia is unconvinced.

Raskolnikov renews his ultimatum that his sister choose between him and Luzhin. Dounia claims
that she will not marry Luzhin if he doesn't respect and value her. She argues that the decision is
hers alone and that her brother is overbearing. "If I ruin anyone, it is only myself. ... I am not
committing a murder." Dounia lets him see Luzhin's letter. Raskolnikov thinks it is poorly
written and sounds like a legal document. He points out that Luzhin lied about Sonia receiving
money from Raskolnikov, but he still agrees to attend the meeting with Luzhin that evening.

Part 3, Chapter 4

Sonia arrives unexpectedly at Raskolnikov's room. She feels timid around Dounia and Pulcheria.
When Raskolnikov introduces Sonia to her, his mother feels awkward because she knows Sonia
is a prostitute. Sonia is shocked that Raskolnikov gave Katerina Ivanovna all his money when
she sees how poor he is himself. Sonia invites him to Marmeladov's funeral. She thanks him so
sweetly for giving money to Katarina Ivanovna that everyone is moved, and Dounia treats her
with newfound respect. Dounia and Pulcheria leave.

Raskolnikov asks Razumihin to accompany him to see Porfiry, a police investigator. Hoping to
allay suspicion, Raskolnikov wants to report that he pawned items with Alyona. He tells Sonia
he will visit her later in the day. Sonia goes home, overwhelmed by her visit to Raskolnikov. She
feels that "a whole new world was opening before her." An older man with a distinctive white-
blond beard follows her. They both enter Sonia's boardinghouse. It turns out he lives next door to
her there. Sonia feels uneasy.

Razumihin and Porfiry are relatives. On the way to Porfiry's, Razumihin describes him as an
excellent detective who recently solved a murder. Razumihin has told Porfiry about Raskolnikov,
and now Porfiry is eager to meet him. As they arrive at the police station, Raskolnikov is
alarmed. He jokes with Razumihin as they arrive at the station so they will enter laughing and he
will avoid suspicion.

Analysis
Raskolnikov arrives at a terrible conclusion in Part 3, Chapter 3. After assuring his mother that
they will "speak freely of everything," he realizes he can no longer do so—hiding his crime
forces him to lead a double life, alienating him from everyone. He is horrified when Dounia
points out that her engagement is not a crime like murder.

This does not make him any less manipulative, however. In Chapter 3 Raskolnikov may mean
well, but, by giving Dounia an ultimatum about Luzhin, he is trying to control her life. In
Chapter 4 he remains laser focused on covering his tracks. He wants to appear to cooperate with
the police to avoid suspicion. As they enter the police station, he jokes with Razumihin. He
believes that, if he is laughing, the police will assume he is a man with no worries, which could
not be farther from the truth.

Chapter 4 develops Sonia's character considerably. Although embarrassed by her profession, her
kindness and empathy shine through, prompting Raskolnikov and Dounia to accept her. Sonia's
presence also seems to bring Raskolnikov back to life. He lights up, acts more warmly toward
Dounia and Pulcheria, and declares "the living have still to live." He understands that the work
Sonia has been forced into does not compromise the purity of her soul. Her social status may be
low, but Sonia's kindness and empathy are of the highest caliber.

Part 3, Chapter 5

Raskolnikov pretends to be lighthearted when he and Razumihin meet Porfiry, the police
investigator. He is unpleasantly surprised to find that Porfiry already knows he pawned items
with Alyona. Porfiry continues to reveal bit by bit that he knows a lot about Raskolnikov's recent
movements. Uncertainty about whether Porfiry knows he went to Alyona's apartment the night
before tortures Raskolnikov.

Porfiry brings up an article Raskolnikov wrote about crime, published in Periodical Discourse.
The article argues that "the perpetration of a crime is always accompanied by illness." It also
includes the theory that extraordinary men have the right to commit crimes, even kill, for the
common good: "If such a one is forced for the sake of his idea to step over a corpse or wade
through blood, he can, I maintain, find within himself, in his conscience, a sanction for wading
through blood." Razumihin is horrified that his friend "sanctions bloodshed in the name of
conscience, ... with such fanaticism." Raskolnikov has certainly been very ill himself recently,
and Porfiry wonders if Raskolnikov might imagine himself to be this kind of "extraordinary
man."

The three men continue to debate the question of whether crime exists or if it is ever justifiable.
As Raskolnikov leaves Porfiry asks him to go the police station the next day. He surprises him
with a parting question about the painters on the second floor at Alyona's, but Raskolnikov
avoids the trap.

Part 3, Chapter 6

Razumihin is outraged that Porfiry suspects Raskolnikov. At first Raskolnikov seems to want to
avoid discussing his meeting with Porfiry. But he cleverly dissects Porfiry's methods for
Razumihin, secretly admitting to himself that he enjoys going over the details of his crime.
Despite this outward confidence, his paranoia takes over, and he rushes home to search for
evidence he might have missed.

Later a strange man passes Raskolnikov on the street and whispers "Murderer!" Raskolnikov's
mind spins out of control, and he retreats in terror to his room. He realizes he is not an
extraordinary man after all because he lacks the courage of his convictions. If he believed what
he did was really "not a crime," he would not feel so guilty. Nor does he feel any sense of
superiority. In fact, he compares the pawnbroker to a louse, an insect, then claims that he is even
"viler and more loathsome" than she. Suddenly changing his mind, he curses her as if she caused
his dilemma, saying he "shall never, never forgive the old woman."

Analysis
Raskolnikov thinks he is clever, but he has met his match. Porfiry sees through him and does not
hesitate to challenge him by trying to catch him in a lie. Porfiry is skilled at literary analysis and
uses Raskolnikov's article to intuit that he is capable of crime.

Chapter 5 reveals in full Raskolnikov's rationalization for the murder: his "extraordinary man"
theory. "I maintain that all great men or even men a little out of the common, that is to say
capable of giving some new word, must from their very nature be criminals. ... Otherwise it's
hard for them to get out of the common rut." Napoleon is Raskolnikov's epitome of the
"extraordinary man." His drive to conquer Europe killed many, but history views him as a
brilliant and powerful "leader of men." Ordinary laws do not apply to his extraordinary actions,
so the suffering he creates is justified.

Dostoevsky is openly critical of Raskolnikov's theory and continues to chip away at the new
morality that Raskolnikov uses to justify the murder to himself. The question arises of "whether
there is such a thing as crime." According to socialists, who represent the new morality, all
crimes happen for the same reason, to protest social ills. Like Raskolnikov, they believe crime
for the greater good is excusable because the end justifies the means.

Razumihin thinks Raskolnikov's theory is simplistic and neglects the role of the "living soul," or
human nature, as a motivation for crime. Porfiry believes that criminals are to some extent
created by their environment. Both points of view could apply to Raskolnikov. His poverty likely
played a part in his crime, but so did his psychology.

Standing in for traditional morality, Porfiry and Razumihin also underscore how reductive and
inhumane Raskolnikov's theory really is. Porfiry attacks his argument from numerous angles,
asking how someone who believes in God, as Raskolnikov does, could favor such a theory, and
questioning the validity of dividing humanity into only two categories. Razumihin finds his
theory repulsively violent.

Porfiry's questioning causes Raskolnikov to reach a new low. He realizes that the murder he
committed on principle has not made him an extraordinary man. His sense of superiority is no
more than a front. In fact, he feels inferior to the pawnbroker he despised. He has fulfilled his
own statement that people who think they are extraordinary but are not end up punishing
themselves. Despite these realizations Raskolnikov still avoids being fully honest with himself
about the crime. As they often have before, his dreams tell him the truth: his crime has not made
him extraordinary; it has made him pathetic.

Crime and Punishment | Part 4, Chapter 1 |

Summary
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Summary
Svidrigaïlov visits Raskolnikov in his room. He claims he has given up his designs on Dounia—
he is engaged to marry someone else. He asks Raskolnikov to help him give Dounia some of his
own money, as an apology. When Raskolnikov brings up his wife's death, Svidrigaïlov denies he
was involved. He glosses over his behavior with Dounia as well.

Some of Svidrigaïlov's comments are disturbing. He implies that his wife, Marfa Petrovna, like
all women, likes to be roughed up. He admits he was in jail for gambling when Marfa Petrovna
assumed his debts and married him. He insists that her ghost has appeared to him several times
since she died. Svidrigaïlov describes the afterlife as no more than a small, dark room full of
spiders, and Raskolnikov wonders if Svidrigaïlov is mentally unstable.

Raskolnikov first flatly refuses Svidrigaïlov's request but finally agrees to tell Dounia about it to
prevent him from contacting her. Raskolnikov suspects, however, that Svidrigaïlov may have a
hidden agenda. As he leaves Svidrigaïlov mentions that Marfa Petrovna left Dounia 3,000 rubles
in her will.

Analysis
Svidrigaïlov seems surprisingly candid and articulate but memorably creepy. He himself admits,
"I certainly am idle and depraved." But his honesty does not dilute the unsavory description of
his marriage or his comments about how women enjoy being beaten. He is also unapologetic
about his pursuit of Dounia, although he is talking to her brother.

Svidrigaïlov claims that he and Raskolnikov are "birds of a feather," and they are surprisingly
similar. Both men are intelligent, self-absorbed, hesitant to take true responsibility for their
actions, and mentally on edge. Raskolnikov has definitely committed a terrible crime.
Svidrigaïlov may have done the same, although he denies it, and asks a question about himself
that applies equally to Raskolnikov: "Am I a monster, or am I myself a victim?"

Svidrigaïlov actively believes in a life after death, including ghosts. He describes the afterlife as
a small, dirty room with spiders in the corners, which sounds startlingly similar to Raskolnikov's
garret. This negative view of his fate suggests that Svidrigaïlov's conscience, like Raskolnikov's,
is bothering him. But it also suggests a more realistic worldview on Svidrigaïlov's part than
Raskolnikov's.

Part 4, Chapter 2

Razumihin and Raskolnikov go to Dounia's and Pulcheria's apartment. Luzhin is unhappy to find
Raskolnikov there in violation of his request. In passing Luzhin describes a rape and two brutal
deaths attributed to Svidrigaïlov, although evidence against him remains inconclusive.
Raskolnikov announces that Svidrigaïlov has been to see him and that Marfa Petrovna has left
Dounia money.

Dounia explains that she asked her brother to attend the meeting. She wants to hear both his and
Luzhin's sides and judge fairly. If Raskolnikov has insulted Luzhin, Dounia will make him
apologize. She appeals to the good in Luzhin's nature to make peace with her brother. Luzhin is
offended that Dounia considers choosing her brother over him.

Pulcheria confronts Luzhin with the lies in his letter about her son giving money to Sonia, but he
denies them. Luzhin assumes the women are defying him because they now have money of their
own, revealing that Raskolnikov was right about him. Dounia sends Luzhin away, breaking their
engagement. Luzhin claims that she should be grateful he wanted to marry her at all and that he
regrets the money he's spent on her. He leaves feeling "vindictive hatred" for Raskolnikov.

Part 4, Chapter 3

Raskolnikov tells Dounia that Svidrigaïlov's wants to meet her and give her money, but it
frightens her. Razumihin lays out a plan for him, Raskolnikov, and Dounia to go into publishing
together using some of the money Dounia inherited from Marfa Petrovna. Raskolnikov supports
the idea.

But his conscience gets the better of him. He suddenly declares that he wants to separate from his
mother and sister. He asks them to leave him alone or he will hate them, which upsets his
mother. His sister calls him a "wicked, heartless egoist," but Razumihin reminds her that her
brother is crazy, not heartless.

Raskolnikov implies that they are all better off without him, saying he will come back at some
point, but he doesn't give specifics. He tells Razumihin to "always" take care of Dounia and
Pulcheria. Raskolnikov stares at his friend intently, and Razumihin senses that Raskolnikov may
be the murderer or, at least, that he has done something terrible.

Analysis
In Part 4, Chapter 2, the full nature of Luzhin's character is revealed. Raskolnikov was essentially
right about him, and, in breaking their engagement, Dounia has dodged a bullet. Luzhin expected
Dounia's financial circumstances to make her completely dependent on him, hoping she would
worship him as her savior. Luzhin, incapable of admitting fault or seeing anyone else's point of
view, blames Raskolnikov for everything.

Raskolnikov hears about Svidrigaïlov's alleged crimes for the first time. The alleged victims are
a young deaf and mute girl and a footman, far below Svidrigaïlov in social status and therefore
especially vulnerable. If the rumors are true, Svidrigaïlov and Raskolnikov share two similarities:
they are criminals whose crimes involve their sense of superiority to their victims.

In Part 4, Chapter 3, Raskolnikov's crime pushes his alienation to the breaking point. On the
verge of confessing, he rejects his family and closest friend, his only sources of emotional
support. He thinks that his rejection will spare them the consequences of his confession. Of
course, he may also be trying to spare himself the shame and possible rejection his loved ones
may express once they find out the truth about him.

Crime and Punishment | Part 4, Chapter 4 |

Summary
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Summary
Raskolnikov visits Sonia. They discuss what will happen to Katerina Ivanovna and her children.
Sonia defends her stepmother. She explains that Katerina Ivanovna has suffered so much that she
is broken. She worries that her nine-year-old stepsister could be forced into prostitution but
insists that God will protect her. Seeing her "insatiable compassion," Raskolnikov bows to Sonia,
saying, "I did not bow down to you, I bowed down to all the suffering of humanity." In passing,
Sonia mentions that she was friends with Lizaveta, startling Raskolnikov.

Raskolnikov thinks Sonia is a "religious maniac," or holy fool—an insane outsider touched by
God. Her faith puzzles him. The conflict between Sonia's profession and her religion seems
intolerable. He sees only three options: she will commit suicide, go insane, or be corrupted by
her profession. Sonia has considered suicide but rejected it because she feared what would
happen to her family without her support.

Sonia reads the story of Lazarus to Raskolnikov from a Bible Lizaveta left behind. As she reads
she is overcome with religious fervor. Raskolnikov confesses that he has rejected his family and
that he needs Sonia—she is all he has left. He tells Sonia that, if he returns the next day, he will
tell her who killed Lizaveta. Sonia wonders if Raskolnikov is insane. Without their knowledge
Svidrigaïlov, who lives in the apartment next door, has eavesdropped on their entire
conversation.

Analysis
This chapter builds suspense as Raskolnikov moves closer to confessing. After alienating
everyone else, he trusts only Sonia, believing that she is the only one who can understand him.
"All that infamy had obviously only touched her mechanically, not one drop of real depravity
had penetrated to her heart." Sadly, Raskolnikov cannot say the same about himself.

To him Sonia is Christlike and represents all human suffering. Her compassion challenges him to
step outside himself and consider the existence of others. Raskolnikov is capable of recognizing
suffering, but that suffering may have a purpose escapes, and perhaps frightens, him. He may
admire Sonia, yet he also criticizes her, raging that she has destroyed her life for nothing. His
anger is likely a projection of his own fear that, through his crime, he has done the same.

Raskolnikov insists: "Break what must be broken, once for all, that's all, and take the suffering
on oneself ... Freedom and power, and above all, power! Over all trembling creation and all the
ant-heap! ... That's the goal, remember that!" He still clings to his notion that gaining power is
the main goal in life. What he avoids facing is the suffering this idea creates in practice,
especially in his own case.

As an impoverished prostitute, Sonia is one of society's most powerless members, but rather than
adding to suffering, she lessens it. Her attraction to Raskolnikov is also based on compassion;
she sees how he is suffering and wants to help him. A devout Christian, she represents traditional
morality: the power of faith and love.

Part 4, Chapter 5

Raskolnikov goes to see Porfiry the next morning. He hates Porfiry but resolves to hide it.
Porfiry explains how he likes to leave a suspect in suspense hoping he will incriminate himself.
Raskolnikov says nothing.

Porfiry hints at the things that made the police suspicious of Raskolnikov. He feels Porfiry is
manipulating him and loses control. He demands that Porfiry stop "torturing" him, then laughs
hysterically and shouts that Porfiry should arrest him if he has proof. Porfiry reveals that he
knows about Raskolnikov returning to Alyona's apartment. Instead of attacking him with this
information, he expresses concern about Raskolnikov's state of mind. Raskolnikov protests that
he was not delirious. Porfiry pretends not to suspect Raskolnikov, but Raskolnikov knows he is
playing with him. When Porfiry goes to a locked door, saying he has a surprise for him,
Raskolnikov dares him to produce a witness from behind the door.

Part 4, Chapter 6

Before anyone can appear from behind Porfiry's door, Nikolay the painter intrudes on the
interview with Raskolnikov. He confesses to killing Alyona and Lizaveta. Porfiry is surprised
and does not believe him. He asks him specific information about the crime. Raskolnikov jokes
that Porfiry must have used mind games to force Nikolay to confess, implying that Porfiry is also
using mind games to make Raskolnikov confess.

At home Raskolnikov realizes that Porfiry knows him well and that Raskolnikov came
dangerously close to giving himself away. What was behind Porfiry's door? Like Porfiry he feels
Nikolay's confession will inevitably be disproven, but it buys him some time. He decides to go to
Marmeladov's funeral dinner and hopes to see Sonia. He thinks he may be about to confess.

Before he can leave, the strange man who called him a murderer visits him to ask his
forgiveness. He saw Raskolnikov return to Alyona's apartment, jumped to conclusions, and told
Porfiry about Raskolnikov's guilty reaction to his accusation. He was the person behind the
locked door in Porfiry's office. Raskolnikov realizes Porfiry has no hard evidence against him
and scolds himself for being afraid.

Analysis
Porfiry goes where no one, not even Sonia, has been able to go before: inside Raskolnikov's
mind and, therefore, inside his crime. Reason and emotion are always in conflict for
Raskolnikov, but Porfiry's psychological approach combines them so he can burrow into
Raskolnikov's brain.

Porfiry jumps from one strategy to the next as if he is trying to imitate, or even provoke,
Raskolnikov's mental instability. He chatters on, first belittling himself ("I'm a bachelor, a man
of no consequence and not used to society ... a weak man, I confess it"), then flattering
Raskolnikov's intellect ("You are quick-witted. You notice everything!"). Raskolnikov suspects
he is being played, but Porfiry is smart and in control. He never lets Raskolnikov relax, admitting
some of the strategies he is using to his face, then teasing him with a surprise witness.

The strategy is partially effective, but, although he is rattled, Raskolnikov remains stubborn and
arrogant and says nothing when an innocent man confesses to the murders. Perhaps the scene is
not really convincing enough to fool Raskolnikov, or perhaps he is ruthless about protecting
himself. Porfiry sounds as if he may have stage managed the scene in some way, and he admits
that he doesn't think the man's confession will hold up.

Part 5, Chapter 1
Luzhin is staying with Lebeziatnikov, the Marmeladovs's socialist neighbor. Luzhin obsesses
over his broken engagement and is angry about the money he lost on it. He wants revenge
against Raskolnikov. Lebeziatnikov takes pride in spouting his socialist views.

Luzhin mentions Sonia's bad reputation. As a socialist Lebeziatnikov claims to respect Sonia's
role as a prostitute because she is protesting the rules of society. But Luzhin accuses him of
having Sonia kicked out of the boardinghouse. Lebeziatnikov is defensive but basically admits it.
Later he criticizes Luzhin's opinion of Sonia because Luzhin "refuses to take a humane view of a
fellow creature." Luzhin counts his money and laughs at Lebeziatnikov's political opinions.

Luzhin gets Lebeziatnikov to introduce him to Sonia, saying he wants to start a collection for her
family. Luzhin gives Sonia a 10-ruble bill. Lebeziatnikov says he saw everything, calling
Luzhin's act "honorable" and "humane."

Part 5, Chapter 2

Raskolnikov attends the funeral dinner organized by Katerina Ivanovna, which is not as
successful or dignified as she had hoped. Katerina Ivanovna mistakenly believes Luzhin can help
her get a government pension, but he does not even attend the dinner. Her neighbors avoid the
event because of Sonia's reputation, and those who have come are a motley bunch with poor
manners. Katerina Ivanovna introduces Raskolnikov as an "educated visitor" who will "in two
years ... take a professorship in the university." She makes delusional plans to start a high-class
school for girls. She mocks her guests and antagonizes her landlady but, weeping, defends and
praises Sonia.

Part 5, Chapter 3

Luzhin arrives at the funeral dinner to enact his plan. He accuses Sonia of stealing 100 rubles
from his table when they met. Sonia meekly protests her innocence. Katerina Ivanovna, in a
frenzy, turns out Sonia's pockets to prove her innocence, but a 100-ruble note falls out. Among
calls to send Sonia to Siberia, Lebeziatnikov arrives, announcing he saw Luzhin secretly slip the
money into Sonia's pocket during their meeting.

Raskolnikov reveals Luzhin's motive to the crowd: he is trying to embarrass him by making it
look as if Raskolnikov has given money to a prostitute and to turn Dounia against him so Dounia
will take Luzhin back. The crowd turns against Luzhin, and he leaves the house, pleading slander
to the end. Overwhelmed, Sonia also leaves. All the excitement is too much for the landlady, and
she evicts Katerina Ivanovna on the spot. Katerina Ivanovna rushes off to find help, telling her
children to wait in the street. Raskolnikov heads to Sonia's.

Analysis
Lebeziatnikov represents Dostoevsky's satirical look at socialism, one of the new social
movements at that time. Lebeziatnikov is not terribly smart, parroting the views of his group
without critical thought and often contradicting himself. Nonetheless, his views lead him to
reject Luzhin's and society's condemnation of Sonia, and it is Lebeziatnikov's honesty that
acquits her of the theft.

Luzhin's behavior reveals how social snobbery is a form of cruelty, itself a kind of crime against
humanity. In fact, the way Luzhin sets up an innocent victim to take a fall is a crime in every
sense of the word. Another man who takes advantage of women, Luzhin clearly believes that,
because Sonia is a prostitute, he can manipulate her as he sees fit and others will go along with
him (which they initially do). Devoid of empathy, he attempts to humiliate her at her father's
funeral dinner. All he succeeds in doing is revealing his lust for power and complete lack of
integrity.

However, as is often the case in the novel, characters who seem to be complete opposites
resemble each other in unexpected ways. While Luzhin and Raskolnikov are clearly at odds in
this situation, Luzhin's lust for power echoes Raskolnikov's earlier declaration of "above all,
power!" Both men are often arrogant about their superior skill in manipulating others. But in the
end Raskolnikov is capable of true compassion. Luzhin is not, and this is the last readers will see
of him.

The description of the chaotic funeral dinner in Part 5, Chapter 2, is darkly comic. Most of the
dinner guests have not gone to the funeral; some are complete strangers. They are only there for
the free food and drink and may make off with the silverware. In their rush to eat and drink, they
show no respect for the dead man or his family. Easily swayed, they make fun of Sonia's
reputation and condemn her based on trumped-up evidence. Like Lebeziatnikov, however, in the
end they angrily condemn Luzhin for his treatment of her.

Katerina Ivanovna has always been volatile, but now she begins to fall apart both physically and
mentally. She coughs almost nonstop and makes impossible plans based on fantasies of a future
she will never see. Being kicked out by the landlady is the final straw that pushes her over the
edge. Like Raskolnikov, she is disintegrating under the pressures of her life, but for very
different reasons. Together she and Sonia represent a dark picture of what could happen to
Pulcheria and Dounia should Raskolnikov disappear from their lives.

Crime and Punishment | Part 5, Chapter 4 |

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On the way to Sonia's, Raskolnikov still debates confessing to her, but he knows he must. He
asks her if she would choose a bad man like Luzhin to die if it would save her family. Sonia says
it is an impossible question, and she doesn't know God's plan for Luzhin. She asks, "Who has
made me a judge to decide who is to live and who is not to live?" Raskolnikov admits the
question is really about himself. He is looking for forgiveness. He feels a flash of hate for her,
but, when he sees the love in her eyes, he realizes he is confusing the two feelings.

Raskolnikov reveals details only he could know about his crime, coaxing Sonia to guess he is a
murderer. As she realizes the truth, he sees Lizaveta's and Sonia's faces transposed. Sonia cries
out, "There is no one—no one in the whole world now so unhappy as you!" She embraces him
and asks him what he has done to himself. He softens, asking her not to leave him. Sonia vows to
follow Raskolnikov to Siberia, presuming he will confess. He implies that he is not sure he will.
Sonia finally sees the murderer in Raskolnikov. She asks why he did it.

At first Raskolnikov says he did it for the money. Then he changes course and says he could
have supported himself but refused, out of spite. He explains his exceptional man theory,
admitting that he killed "for himself alone" rather than for his family or the greater good of
society. Instead, he wanted to feel powerful and unique: "I wanted to find out then and quickly
whether I was a louse like everybody else or a man. Whether I can step over barriers or not." His
failure shames him. Yet again, Raskolnikov stops short of admitting full responsibility: "I
murdered myself, not her! ... But it was the devil that killed that old woman, not I."

Sonia urges Raskolnikov to bow down and kiss the ground to show remorse, then confess his
crime to the police. She alludes to the story of Lazarus: if Raskolnikov confesses, "God will send
you life again." Raskolnikov thinks he can live with his crime, but Sonia knows it will
overwhelm him. He reverts to wanting to hide his crime, arguing that the police lack the
evidence to catch him. He is unnerved by the intensity of Sonia's love and thinks he actually feels
worse. Sonia offers him her cross to wear, but he says he will take it later—as Sonia says, when
he goes "to meet his suffering."

Analysis
This chapter is the book's climax. Sonia's faith and compassion allow Raskolnikov to stop
alienating himself from others. In this chapter he is more honest about his actions and their
motivations than ever before. Still he never confesses, instead forcing her to guess that he is a
thief and a murderer.

In Sonia's presence Raskolnikov is forced to face his true motivations for the crime. He did it
neither due to his poverty nor for the greater good but because he wanted to feel unique and
powerful, like Napoleon and the other extraordinary men he wrote about. He knows he has
failed, creating unnecessary suffering for others instead. Raskolnikov is suddenly in the same
league as Luzhin and Svidrigaïlov, two men who have committed terrible crimes that have
caused great suffering to others for no other reason than that they can.

After he confesses, Sonia is horrified but shows him compassion. Raskolnikov realizes that he
"killed" himself when he committed the murders: his tortured conscience has alienated him from
his family and friends—indeed, from his old life. In the pure morality that Raskolnikov has
sought but has not been able to obtain, Sonia recognizes that, behind the suffering he causes
others, Raskolnikov himself is the one who suffers the most and is the one to be pitied the most.
Sonia's faith offers Raskolnikov an alternative moral code: traditional religious morality. There
are frequent references to the cross throughout the chapter and to the story of Lazarus, a man
who returns from the dead. Sonia's suggestion that Raskolnikov express remorse and confess is a
classic Christian response. Suffering is transformed through admitting one's "crime" (or sin) and
facing one's punishment.

Crime and Punishment | Part 5, Chapter 5 |

Summary
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Lebeziatnikov arrives at Sonia's room, reporting that Katerina Ivanovna has lost her mind and
taken the children into the streets. Sonia rushes to find them. Raskolnikov returns to his room,
regretting making Sonia's life harder. Maybe he should confess and go to prison alone. Dounia
arrives. She knows that her brother is suspected of the murders but not that he is the killer. She
says Razumihin has told her that her brother is being "persecuted" by the police. She holds no
grudge against him for leaving her and his mother, and, if he needs her, her door is open.
Raskolnikov praises Razumihin. He says goodbye, as if they are parting forever.

Raskolnikov wanders the streets, feeling he is already in prison. Lebeziatnikov finds him, and
they go to Katerina Ivanovna, who is forcing her children to be street performers to earn money.
A policeman tries to stop the performance. The children run off, pursued by their mother. She
falls, due to her consumption, and is carried back to Sonia's room. She declines a priest and dies
surrounded by her children and asking for Sonia.

Svidrigaïlov offers to pay for Katerina Ivanovna's funeral, get her children into a good
orphanage, and provide money for their future. In addition, he wants to help Sonia escape her life
as a prostitute. Raskolnikov questions his motives, but Svidrigaïlov claims he acts from simple
human kindness.

Svidrigaïlov describes Katerina Ivanovna to Raskolnikov as being "a louse ... like some old
pawnbroker woman." His choice of words reveals that he has overheard Raskolnikov's
confession at Sonia's. He predicts that he and Raskolnikov will become friends after all.

Analysis
Raskolnikov continues to struggle between isolating himself and accepting compassion from
others.

His fears about confessing have been realized—it has created more suffering, for him and for
Sonia. He feels lonelier than ever, and he fears that his self-hatred will turn into hatred for her.
He resolves to spare Sonia his suffering and go to prison in Siberia alone. Despite Dounia's
loving attempt to reach out to him, he says good-bye to her as if they will never see each other
again.

In his conversation with Raskolnikov, Lebeziatnikov once again illustrates the ridiculousness of
some of the new morality: mental illness and emotions are errors of logic that can be fixed by
reasoning: "If you convince a person logically that he has nothing to cry about, he'll stop crying."
Significantly, Raskolnikov takes the side of emotion over reason this time, replying, "Life would
be too easy if it were so." Lebeziatnikov's theory certainly does not apply to Katerina Ivanovna's
situation, and it lacks empathy. Dostoevsky portrays her death as tragic and terrible.

Even when he does good, Svidrigaïlov's behavior continues to be disturbing. Like Katerina
Ivanovna and Raskolnikov, he is a portrait in contradictions. Who is this man? One minute he is
generous to Sonia and her half-siblings, the next he is menacing and manipulative with
Raskolnikov. No matter what the situation, he winks and jokes. Sometimes this makes him
amusing, but at other times he seems terrifying.

Katerina Ivanovna's suffering finally breaks her, but in death she hopes it will redeem her. She
rejects the trappings of religion, declining a priest to hear her confession, but she believes that
God knows her suffering and will forgive her sins. She adds, with typical pride, "And if He won't
forgive me, I don't care!" Except for a few final details, Katerina Ivanovna's death concludes the
Marmeladov subplot. Sonia's story is now solely a part of Raskolnikov's narrative.

Part 6, Chapter 1

For several days Raskolnikov wanders the city in a mental fog, wondering what Svidrigaïlov will
do. Seeing him at Sonia's boardinghouse, Svidrigaïlov suggests they talk soon, advising him that
"what all men need is fresh air, fresh air ... more than anything!" Svidrigaïlov has succeeded in
helping Katerina Ivanovna's children as he promised.

Raskolnikov fears Sonia has been repulsed by his confession, but he is startled at Katerina
Ivanovna's memorial service when Sonia holds his hands and leans on his shoulder. He seeks
solitude but feels as if he is never truly alone. Finally, he decides to confront either Porfiry or
Svidrigaïlov. He sleeps off a fever, missing Katerina Ivanovna's funeral, but wakes up feeling
better.

Razumihin arrives, angry at Raskolnikov. He thinks that only a "madman" would treat his family
the way Raskolnikov has treated Dounia and Pulcheria. His mother is sick with grief. She thinks
Raskolnikov has abandoned her for Sonia. After checking at Sonia's, Razumihin realizes this is
not true. He tells Raskolnikov he knows he has some kind of secret, however, he doesn't want the
details.

Raskolnikov tells Razumihin that Dounia knows he loves her and she likely loves Razumihin
too. He mentions that Dounia received an upsetting letter. He also mentions that Porfiry has told
him Nikolay confessed to the murders. Drunk on love, Razumihin leaves. Raskolnikov wonders
what to do next. He is unconvinced that Porfiry believes Nikolay's confession and is afraid that
Razumihin knows Raskolnikov has a secret. Svidrigaïlov and Porfiry still worry him, and he
considers killing them both. Porfiry unexpectedly arrives.

Part 6, Chapter 2

Porfiry acts differently than he has in earlier meetings with Raskolnikov; he says he will speak
sincerely this time, with no gimmicks. Porfiry says he suspected Raskolnikov in part because of
his article: he detected Raskolnikov's pride in his own ideas and suspected he might act on them.
He also saw through Raskolnikov's attempts to cover his guilt but lacked proof.

Porfiry admits to his many strategies to get Raskolnikov to confess: he searched Raskolnikov's
garret, manipulated Razumihin into sharing information with Raskolnikov about the case, and
planted the mysterious man who labeled him a murderer. He only has one small piece of hard
evidence to suggest Raskolnikov's guilt: When Raskolnikov returned to the scene of the crime,
he rang Alyona's doorbell repeatedly. The rest of Porfiry's case against Raskolnikov is based on
psychological speculation alone.

Porfiry describes Nikolay: he is immature and easily influenced, a fervent member of a religious
group that believes in embracing suffering. Porfiry expects Nikolay to change his mind and
retract his confession at any moment. Porfiry states that Raskolnikov is the killer. Raskolnikov,
shocked, denies it.

Porfiry cannot prove his conclusions. He admits that arresting Raskolnikov could make Porfiry
look bad and will not encourage Raskolnikov to confess. Porfiry proposes that Raskolnikov
confess of his own free will, which may lessen his sentence. When Raskolnikov suggests he does
not want a shorter sentence, Porfiry encourages him not to waste the rest of his life and that God
may have a plan for him. He knows Raskolnikov will not run. He says, "You have long needed a
change of air," echoing Svidrigaïlov's earlier advice. Porfiry gives him two days to confess; then
he will arrest him. If Raskolnikov decides to kill himself, Porfiry asks him to leave a note telling
where he hid the stolen items.

Analysis
Raskolnikov is in a mental fog, and he swings between apathy and anxiety. Raskolnikov can't
understand how Sonia can be kind to him at Katerina Ivanovna's memorial service considering
she knows he is a murderer. Razumihin, on the other hand, has again rejected the idea of
Raskolnikov being a murderer as impossible, even after his silent confession. As clear-sighted as
he is, Raskolnikov has gone to a place Razumihin cannot understand, and Razumihin is not eager
to uncover his friend's secret.

In Chapter 2 Porfiry, who uses psychology to catch criminals, has pieced together an accurate
picture of Raskolnikov's personality and mindset. While Porfiry insists he has stopped playing
mind games, he has a final move: being sincere. He pulls no punches in his analysis of the killer:
"He is a murderer, but looks upon himself as an honest man, despises others, poses as injured
innocence." He finally tells Raskolnikov to his face, "You are the murderer," but admits he lacks
the evidence to prove it. Then Porfiry makes a confession of his own: he has been manipulating
the action behind the scenes to make Raskolnikov confess.

In a startling turn of events, he also expresses compassion for Raskolnikov: "You ought to thank
God, perhaps. How do you know? Perhaps God is saving you for something. But keep a good
heart and have less fear!" He encourages him to pray, saying this "may be God's means for
bringing you to Him." Raskolnikov accurately asks Porfiry if he is a prophet, alluding to people
in the Bible who carried messages from God—Porfiry is predicting his future and preparing his
way to confession.

In this novel compassion can come from some startling sources, suggesting that, rather than
choosing a path of alienation, it is wise to keep one's heart and mind open. Porfiry, a police
detective, suddenly bears a strong resemblance to, of all people, Sonia, a prostitute. What they
share is their belief in God as salvation. In Dostoevsky's world contradictions may often signal
conflict or chaos, but they can also reveal unexpected connections that bring people together and
ease suffering.

In both chapters fresh air appears as a powerful symbol. Raskolnikov has been figuratively
suffocating himself with tortured thoughts in his hot, cramped room, and the hot streets of Saint
Petersburg in July bring no relief. It is not literal fresh air he needs. He needs the renewal, or
fresh air, that confession and redemption will bring. Again, two opposing characters offer him
the same advice: Svidrigaïlov and Porfiry, a likely criminal and a policeman.

Part 6, Chapter 3

After Porfiry leaves Raskolnikov hurries to talk to Svidrigaïlov. Raskolnikov is avoiding Sonia
because she reminds him of the need to confess. He feels drawn to Svidrigaïlov, instead, and
wonders what he has in common with such a dangerous man. He also worries that Svidrigaïlov
will report him to the police, but he worries even more that he will use his knowledge of the
crime to hurt Dounia. If he discovers Svidrigaïlov's intentions are bad, he can only think of one
solution: to kill him.

Suddenly he sees Svidrigaïlov in a tavern window. At first Svidrigaïlov seems to want to hide,
but then he invites Raskolnikov to join him. Svidrigaïlov's face is handsome but almost too
perfect, like a mask. Raskolnikov tells him he will kill him if he hurts Dounia. He confesses to
cheating at cards and having a passion for women. Raskolnikov thinks it is a dangerous disease.
Svidrigaïlov somewhat agrees but says he would shoot himself without women, then admits that
he is afraid of death. Raskolnikov feels Svidrigaïlov is the "most worthless scoundrel on the face
of the earth" and starts to leave, but Svidrigaïlov offers to tell how Dounia tried to save him from
himself.

Part 6, Chapter 4

Raskolnikov confronts Svidrigaïlov about rumors that he caused the death of a child.
Svidrigaïlov dismisses them as "vulgar tales." Instead, he describes his marriage to Marfa
Petrovna. He told her he could not be faithful. She allowed him to sleep with servants but
forbade him from having a long-term affair or falling in love, especially with a woman above
that rank. Throughout their conversation Svidrigaïlov proudly details his extensive,
manipulative, and sordid womanizing.

Svidrigaïlov was deeply attracted to Dounia. He kept his distance until she confronted him about
raping a maid. Svidrigaïlov then used this to seduce Dounia, making her believe she could save
him from his depraved ways, but Dounia saw he had an ulterior motive and rejected him.
Svidrigaïlov became desperate, offering her all his money and saying he would run away with
her. He claims he was so smitten he would have killed his wife if Dounia had asked. His actions
led to the events Raskolnikov's mother described in her letter to him in Part 1, Chapter 3.

Raskolnikov asks Svidrigaïlov if he is still pursuing Dounia. He denies it, but Raskolnikov
remains suspicious. As proof Svidrigaïlov tells of his recent engagement to a 15-year-old girl.
Raskolnikov is disgusted by the news. He asks why Svidrigaïlov helped Katerina Ivanovna's
children. To prove that his generosity is genuine, Svidrigaïlov claims he also helps other young
people. He is paying for a 13-year-old girl's education, for instance, but Raskolnikov clearly feels
he is also planning to take advantage of her. He is certain Svidrigaïlov has designs on Dounia.
Svidrigaïlov tells Raskolnikov he "won't get away" from him. They part, but, increasingly
suspicious, Raskolnikov follows him.

Analysis
Svidrigaïlov's physical features echo his deceptive character. His face is handsome but like a
mask—too young looking, too perfect. Who is really behind this mask? Raskolnikov labels
Svidrigaïlov a "vile, depraved" man. Based on Svidrigaïlov's comments, this description seems
accurate.

Svidrigaïlov appears amused by his own exploits, and his "confessions" are often outrageous.
Despite his wife's very recent death, Svidrigaïlov is already engaged to a teenaged girl and
carousing as usual. He shamelessly describes his seduction of Dounia to her own brother, then
proudly details his conquests, elaborating on his sordid strategies for seducing women. His
stories reveal him as a sexual predator who enjoys manipulating them into betraying their
morals.

And he is capable of much worse: Dounia intercedes because he has raped a housemaid. He is
also rumored to have raped a 14-year-old deaf and mute girl who then committed suicide and to
have killed his wife. Svidrigaïlov's evasion when Raskolnikov confronts him suggests there is
truth to these rumors.

Despite all this Svidrigaïlov is not wholly evil, which makes him oddly compelling. Like many
of Dostoevsky's characters, he is a paradox. He has kept his word to help Sonia and her family,
paying for funeral rites and making arrangements to put the children in reputable orphanages.
And his conscience continues to bother him, causing a serious fear of death. How can such a
terrible man also do good?
Raskolnikov is likely sitting across the table from another criminal. Svidrigaïlov said at an earlier
meeting that he thought they were "birds of a feather." Raskolnikov may loathe Svidrigaïlov as
"vile," but these chapters show how much they are alike. Despite differences in background and
wealth, both are capable of terrible crimes, and both are troubled in some way by their
conscience. Both are intelligent, articulate, and capable of manipulating other people's points of
view. Both can also be surprisingly generous to others in need. And both are paradoxical
characters whose behavior is often contradictory.

On the other hand, Raskolnikov is scarcely as experienced as Svidrigaïlov as a criminal. He has

only committed one crime, and, if Svidrigaïlov blackmails him, he will become another of
Svidrigaïlov's victims. Raskolnikov is completely incapable of facing his own crimes the way
Svidrigaïlov can.

Part 6, Chapter 5

Raskolnikov follows Svidrigaïlov to the boardinghouse. Svidrigaïlov threatens to call the police
and tell them what he knows, but Raskolnikov is not intimidated. He accuses Svidrigaïlov of
eavesdropping on his confession to Sonia. Svidrigaïlov taunts Raskolnikov about his hypocrisy:
he whines about immorality ("the duties of citizen and man") while hiding his own crime. He
jokingly suggests that Raskolnikov had better shoot himself.

Raskolnikov is annoyed but thinks perhaps he is wrong about Svidrigaïlov this time. Svidrigaïlov
appears to leave in a carriage. As soon as Raskolnikov's back is turned, however, Svidrigaïlov
follows him on foot. Raskolnikov passes Dounia on the street without noticing her. Dounia sees
him but is too startled to say anything. Instead, she spots Svidrigaïlov, who signals to her. He
convinces her to return to his room to talk to Sonia, who is not actually there.

At the boardinghouse Svidrigaïlov tells Dounia about her brother's crime and about
Raskolnikov's theory that "a single misdeed is permissible if the principal aim is right." He
speculates that her brother became carried away by the idea that "a great many men of genius
have not hesitated at wrongdoing, but have overstepped the law without thinking about it."
Svidrigaïlov recognizes that Raskolnikov's pride is wounded because he has failed to do the
same. Dounia remembers Raskolnikov's article but refuses to believe that he committed the
murders.

When Dounia tries to leave, she finds that Svidrigaïlov has locked her in and made sure no one
in the building can hear her. In a frenzy Svidrigaïlov declares his love but tries to blackmail
Dounia into sleeping with him. First he promises to save her brother, then threatens to expose
him if she doesn't do what Svidrigaïlov wants. Finally, he threatens to rape her.

Dounia pulls out a revolver. She accuses Svidrigaïlov of poisoning his wife. He dares her to
shoot him. She fires, grazing his scalp. He dares her to shoot again, but when she does the gun
misfires. She realizes that "he would sooner die than let her go" and tosses the gun aside. He
embraces her, asking her whether she loves him now or could ever love him, and Dounia firmly
says no. He sadly lets her go, keeping the revolver.
Part 6, Chapter 6

Svidrigaïlov takes all his money from his room. He visits Sonia and gives her 3,000 rubles,
telling her he is going to America. She protests, but he insists she accept the money and use it to
follow Raskolnikov to Siberia. Sonia is shocked that he knows about Raskolnikov's crime;
Svidrigaïlov assures her he will tell no one. He also gives his young fiancée a large sum of
money. He gets a small, low room under the stairs in a hotel—the only one left. He is unable to
eat and begins to feel feverish. He wonders if Dounia could have made him a better man after all.

That night he has fever dreams: first a mouse runs all over him. Then he sees the girl he molested
and drove to suicide in her coffin, within a beautiful cottage covered inside and out with flowers.
The dream implies that he did indeed commit the crime. He gets up and finds a five-year-old girl,
cold and crying, in the hallway. He believes she is neglected or may have been treated cruelly.
He takes her to his room and puts her to bed to sleep, but he is horrified when her expression
becomes lewd. He wakes up to discover it has only been a dream.

Svidrigaïlov leaves the hotel with the revolver in his pocket and wanders, looking for a witness.
He approaches a man, says he is going to America, and shoots himself in the head.

Analysis
Chapter 5 sharply contrasts Dounia's choice not to kill with Raskolnikov's earlier choice to
commit murder. Does she spare Svidrigaïlov, or does she not want to give him the satisfaction? It
is hard to say. But Dounia appears capable of killing, and she might have killed Svidrigaïlov if
her gun had not misfired. In the end she considers Svidrigaïlov's state of mind and throws down
the gun. She is capable of deciding whether to kill or not and of considering her potential
victim's point of view.

Are there limits to compassion, and, if so, what are they? Throughout the novel characters such
as Raskolnikov, Marmeladov, Katerina Ivanovna, and others exhibit morally objectionable
emotions, beliefs, and behaviors. At the same time, they also show themselves capable of
kindness and other virtues. The novel often challenges readers to consider how much compassion
to show these characters. In these chapters the reader is challenged by Svidrigaïlov.

Chapter 5 confirms what Raskolnikov had feared about Svidrigaïlov. He is indeed a loathsome
cad, a blackmailer, and a rapist. By the end of the chapter, however, Svidrigaïlov falls into
despair when Dounia insists she can never love him. There is no question that Svidrigaïlov treats
women criminally. Who would think such a man capable of having his heart broken? His
suicidal reaction in Chapter 6 is as much a testament to Dounia's purity and goodness as it is to
Dostoevsky's complex moral characterization.

Before his suicide Svidrigaïlov breaks down in some of the same ways Raskolnikov has. He
loses his appetite and develops a fever. His mind racing, he has vivid fever dreams that he has
trouble distinguishing from reality. The dream of the mouse running over him is reminiscent of
his vision of the afterlife as a room crawling with spiders. His second dream acknowledges his
guilt in the case of the young girl he drove to suicide. Svidrigaïlov's last dream of the five-year-
old girl reflects his own depravity and mocks his attempt at compassion, as his influence corrupts

Crime and Punishment | Part 6, Chapter 7 |

Summary
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Summary
Raskolnikov claims to have finally made up his mind. He visits his mother, who weeps with
relief. Ironically, she has read Raskolnikov's article, published in Periodical Discourse, about his
"great man" theory and thinks he is a genius. He asks if she will always love him, no matter what
she hears, and he assures her he loves her. Raskolnikov says he has to leave that day and go very
far away. Pulcheria knows he is suffering. She prays with him, making the sign of the cross. He
falls down to kiss her feet, and they cry together. He promises to come back the next day.

Raskolnikov goes home and finds Dounia waiting. He realizes she knows everything, and she
tells him she has just visited Sonia. Raskolnikov calls himself a "vile man" and admits he
considered committing suicide by jumping in the river but decided against it. Now he will
confess. But then he changes gears, objecting to Dounia's description of the murders as a crime,
then rationalizing them: "I killed a vile noxious insect, an old pawnbroker woman, of use to no
one!"

Seeing he has made his sister and mother suffer, he feels guilty and promises to try to live a good
life even if he is a murderer. He asks her to take care of their mother. He notices a portrait of his
former fiancée, his landlady's daughter who died of typhus, and kisses it, remembering her
fondly. He declares that if he had never loved or been loved, none of this would have happened
to him, and he insists that he loathes all humankind.

Analysis
Raskolnikov's moods in this chapter are especially erratic, as his struggle with his own
conscience reaches a fever pitch. Even after deciding to confess, he continues to wrestle with his
emotions.

He is more candid with his family in Chapter 7 than at any previous point in the novel: he
expresses love for his mother and weeps with her. When he reconnects with his emotions, he also
reconnects with his faith and asks his mother to pray for him. He opens up to Dounia more than
he has with anyone other than Sonia, admitting to suicidal thoughts.

But the familiar tension returns between old and new moralities, between faith and
rationalizations. With Dounia, he falls back on stale excuses, claiming Alyona was worth killing.
He questions whether it is worth suffering through imprisonment for his crime, and his opinion
of other people is lower than ever: "Every one of them a scoundrel and a criminal at heart and,
worse still, an idiot."

If all his motivations for the crime seemed accounted for, readers are in for a surprise when
Raskolnikov adds one more: "Oh, if only I were alone and no one loved me and I too had never
loved anyone! Nothing of all this would have happened." He fondly recalls the former fiancée
who suffered from fever, as he did, but who died of it. It is another sign of Raskolnikov's twisted
morality that he portrays alienation as a social good.

Crime and Punishment | Part 6, Chapter 8 |

Summary
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Summary
Sonia is deeply relieved to find that Raskolnikov has not killed himself. Rambling and distracted,
he asks for her little wooden cross. She gives him it to him, but Raskolnikov thinks bitterly it
would be more appropriate if he wore Alyona's cross. He gets irritable, snapping at Sonia for
crying. He prays and crosses himself at her request but feels numb. He yells at Sonia to let him
go alone to the police, not even saying good-bye. Raskolnikov does not really want to go, but his
feet keep moving. Why did he go to Sonia? He denies he loves her. He concludes he wanted to
see her suffer.

In the Hay Market square, Raskolnikov wants to avoid other people, but he is drawn to the
crowd. He is in a heightened state of awareness, noticing everything around him. Raskolnikov
recalls Sonia's words, and, weeping, he bows down and "kisse[s] that filthy earth with bliss and
rapture." He notices Sonia secretly following him and realizes that she will always stay with him.

Raskolnikov arrives at the same police station where he fainted. He has decided to confess, not to
Porfiry but to Ilya Petrovitch, the police lieutenant who originally suspected him. The lieutenant
talks nonstop, barely letting Raskolnikov speak. Strangely, he apologizes for suspecting
Raskolnikov.

Raskolnikov is shocked to learn of Svidrigaïlov's suicide. Svidrigaïlov left a note saying only
that he was in his right mind and that no one was to blame for his death. Relieved of
Svidrigaïlov's threat but feeling suffocated, Raskolnikov leaves the police without confessing.
However, he sees Sonia outside, who looks at him despairingly. He returns and finally speaks the
words: "It was I [who] killed the old pawnbroker woman and her sister Lizaveta with an axe and
robbed them."

Analysis
Raskolnikov's journey from Sonia's to the police station is a mini-tour of his madness. He revisits
many of his disordered mental states from the last few weeks: irrational anger, contempt,
forgetfulness, and agitation. He humors Sonia by praying, then still wonders if he can avoid
confessing.

However, once he reaches the Hay Market, he escapes from these thoughts into a new state of
mind for him. In a fit of religious ecstasy, he bows down to kiss the ground. He is now weeping
with joy.

Raskolnikov's acceptance of Sonia's cross is highly symbolic, reminiscent of the moment when
Christ takes up the cross to atone for humanity's sins. But instead of seeing it as an act of
redemption, Raskolnikov views it only as one of suffering, so he laughs because he was already
suffering. He may now be burdened with responsibility, but the possibility of redemption is still
far from his mind.

Raskolnikov's confession is almost derailed by the news of Svidrigaïlov's suicide. Svidrigaïlov's

knowledge of the crime has been hanging over Raskolnikov's head. When he learns that threat no
longer exists, he changes his mind about confession. Seeing Sonia's fear for him sends him back
to do it finally, but it is entirely possible Raskolnikov would have kept walking away, continuing
his misery, if she were not there. Raskolnikov's confession is not a magical transformation.
Dostoevsky sees human beings as imperfect and paradoxical and redemption as a tough road.

Epilogue, Part 1

Nine months later Raskolnikov is in a Siberian prison. At his trial he told what he did in detail
and did not attempt to excuse his actions. Evidence emerged that Raskolnikov is capable of
good: Razumihin discovered that he had a habit of giving money he couldn't afford to strangers.
His landlady testified that he once rescued children from a burning building. His final sentence is
lenient, only eight years.

Pulcheria suffers from fever and delirium. She lives in a world of her own, insisting that her son
will visit her soon and has a brilliant future. Just before she dies, her words suggest she knows
the truth about him. Dounia and Razumihin marry and plan to relocate to Siberia in a few years.
Sonia has followed Raskolnikov there and works as a seamstress. She visits him frequently.

In prison Raskolnikov is depressed and "shuts himself off from everyone." He asks himself what
he has to live for when he gets out, and he barely reacts to his mother's death. At first he is angry
at Sonia for her daily visits, but he eventually comes to depend on them. The other prisoners
dislike Raskolnikov. He becomes seriously ill.

Epilogue, Part 2

Before his illness Raskolnikov still hangs onto his idea that the murders were not really a crime;
he just was not enough of an "exceptional man": "His pride had been stung to the quick. It was
wounded pride that made him ill." He still cannot truly repent, and he thinks his real crime was
deciding to confess. But the narrator reveals that Raskolnikov rejected suicide because a part of
him could see the possibility of redemption and new life. The other prisoners continue to loathe
him: "You don't believe in God," they shouted. "You ought to be killed." They adore Sonia,
however.

While he is ill, he dreams the world is infected with a disease that makes people believe their
ideas are infallible. Fighting each other, they cause a global war and the complete breakdown of
society. He becomes upset when Sonia does not visit for a few days. When he recovers, he finds
out she has been ill, too, although not seriously.

A few days later Raskolnikov is working outside. Sonia arrives. He takes her hand gladly, not
reluctantly as usual. Suddenly all of his love pours out, and he throws himself at Sonia's feet.
Later he wonders if he can believe in religion as she does. The narrator tells us Raskolnikov's
suffering is not over, but he is beginning a new "story of the gradual renewal of a man, the story
of his gradual regeneration, of his passing from one world into another, of his initiation into a
new unknown life."

Analysis
In the account of Raskolnikov's trial in Part 1 of the Epilogue, we learn important new
information. For Dostoevsky human nature is full of surprises. Raskolnikov has a much longer
history of impulsive generosity to those in need than anyone realized. As if that weren't enough,
he rescued two children from a burning building. He never bragged about his good deeds to
anyone, and Dostoevsky did not reveal them to the reader in mitigation of his crime.

Illness is a form of physical suffering that appears throughout the novel, and it is particularly
symbolic in the Epilogue. Often the troubled mind attacks the body. Pulcheria suffers from a
conflict between her fantasy of her son as a genius who can do no wrong and the reality of his
crimes. Unable to admit the truth about him, she resorts to fantasies, not unlike her son's
delusions about his crime.

Raskolnikov's resistance to his crime and its punishment rises in his mind like a toxin, making
him physically ill. During his illness he dreams of an imaginary disease, a plague that overtakes
the world, infecting its victims with the illusion that their beliefs and opinions are absolute.
Dostoevsky, as always, delivers some of the most devastating analysis of his characters' states of
mind through their dreams. The disease he describes is one that Raskolnikov suffers from
himself.

Raskolnikov's final fever dream also paints a frightening vision of the consequences of the new
radical ideas—they will tear the world apart. For Dostoevsky this imaginary worldwide plague is
an allegory for the spread of dangerous ideas he witnessed actually taking place in Russian
culture.

A number of details also symbolically reference new life: Raskolnikov's illness occurs around
Easter, when the resurrection of Christ is celebrated. The roughly nine months between his
confession and transformation call to mind the length of a pregnancy. He comes back to life after
a long illness. In addition, Raskolnikov's return to his faith is suggested when he picks up Sonia's
New Testament.

Crime and Punishment | Quotes

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1.

And He will judge and will forgive all. ... And when He has done with all of them, then He will
summon us. 'You too come forth,' He will say, 'Come forth ye drunkards, come forth, ye weak
ones, come forth, ye children of shame! ... This is why I receive them ... that not one of them
believed himself to be worthy of this.'

Marmeladov, Part 1, Chapter 2

Marmeladov, an alcoholic who has driven his family into starvation and illness, believes that
redemption is still possible on Judgment Day because God embraces everyone, even if they feel
unworthy of acceptance or love. The novel is packed with "children of shame," including the
novel's protagonist, Raskolnikov, Sonia, and others. His belief opens the door to redemption
early in the novel.

2.

Kill her, take her money and with the help of it devote oneself to the service of humanity and the
good of all. What do you think, would not one tiny crime be wiped out by thousands of good
deeds? ... One death, and a hundred lives in exchange—it's simple arithmetic!

Student in tavern, Part 1, Chapter 6

This is part of Raskolnikov's rationale for the murder of Alyona, typical of the new moralities
based on logic or reasoning. If a crime resulted in a greater good, it would not really be a crime.
Unfortunately for Raskolnikov, more than simple arithmetic is involved. All humans hold life
sacred, making killing a profound violation.

3.

If he had to remain standing on a square yard of space all his life, a thousand years, eternity, it
were better to live so than to die at once! Only to live, to live and live! Life, whatever it may
be! ... How true it is! Good God, how true! Man is a vile creature! ... And vile is he who calls
him vile for that.

Raskolnikov, Part 2, Chapter 6

Referencing a quote from the novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo (1802–
1885), Raskolnikov wonders why people hang on to life, even when life is like standing for
eternity on a tiny ledge without being able to move. He decides it is better to live, even in this
torturous circumstance, than to die. People may act badly, but life remains precious.

4.

Human nature is not taken into account, it is excluded, it's not supposed to exist! ... They believe
that a social system that has come out of some mathematical brain is going to organise all
humanity at once and make it just and sinless in an instant, quicker than any living process! ...
The living soul demands life, the soul won't obey the rules of mechanics.

Razumihin, Part 3, Chapter 5

Razumihin identifies one major problem with socialism. Human nature doesn't follow neat
mathematical rules. It is also the problem with Raskolnikov's plan—he overvalues reason and
fails to take human nature, especially his own, into account.

5.

In short, I maintain that all great men or even men a little out of the common, that is to say
capable of giving some new word, must from their very nature be criminals—more or less, of
course.

Raskolnikov, Part 3, Chapter 5

This is Raskolnikov's grand theory that spawns the murders. There are people in history who
were destined to be great, and their greatness cost lives to achieve. In fact, he thinks that they
"must from their very nature be criminals." Shouldn't they have the right to shed blood to achieve
greatness? Of course, this theory does not work out well for Raskolnikov when he tries it
himself.

6.

It's not a matter of permission or prohibition. He will suffer if he is sorry for his victim. Pain and
suffering are always inevitable for a large intelligence and a deep heart. The really great men
must, I think, have great sadness on earth.

Raskolnikov, Part 3, Chapter 5

Although the great can kill without being considered murderers, if they are smart, feeling
individuals they will suffer in their hearts. Raskolnikov is projecting the pain of his own
conscience onto his concept of the extraordinary man.
7.

I did not bow down to you, I bowed down to all the suffering of humanity.

Raskolnikov, Part 4, Chapter 4

Sonia's willingness to sacrifice herself for her family and to take on his suffering as well inspires
Raskolnikov to tell her she is a symbol of all suffering in the world.

8.

Did I murder the old woman? I murdered myself, not her! I crushed myself once for all,
forever. ... But it was the devil that killed that old woman, not I.

Raskolnikov, Part 5, Chapter 4

Raskolnikov recognizes that committing the murders has ended his life as he knew it. However,
he is still not able to take responsibility for the murder. Here he finds a new source to blame: the
devil.

9.

What all men need is fresh air, fresh air ... more than anything!

Svidrigaïlov, Part 6, Chapter 1

Svidrigaïlov may be making a veiled reference to his knowledge of Raskolnikov's confession,

joking that he should be going to Siberia, where there is nothing but fresh air. Fresh air is also a
metaphor for how confession unburdens the soul, figuratively clearing the air. Either way
Raskolnikov needs to confess.

10.

Suffering, too, is a good thing. Suffer! ... Fling yourself straight into life, without deliberation;
don't be afraid—the flood will bear you to the bank and set you safe on your feet again. ... You
must fulfil the demands of justice.

Porfiry, Part 6, Chapter 2

Porfiry does not advise seeking out suffering, but he does recognize it as one of life's important
experiences. He is optimistic that, if Raskolnikov moves ahead fearlessly and trusts in life itself,
he can survive the suffering he will encounter once he confesses.
Crime and Punishment | Symbols
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Garret
Raskolnikov's garret represents his poverty, as well as his alienation, arrogance, and
claustrophobic state of mind. The tiny fifth-floor room is messy and cramped; he cannot stand up
straight in it or stride across it. It has little light or air. The room's location at the top of the house
also represents the heights from which he views nearly everything and everyone around him,
looking down in contempt at others. His self-imposed isolation in the room allows him to plot
obsessively the murders he commits.

Cross
A symbol of Christianity, Christ's death, and salvation, the cross represents both faith and
suffering. Displaying the cross can be a sincere or hollow gesture. Alyona's faith is hollow. She
wears two crosses but lacks any Christian compassion. Raskolnikov uses the sign of the cross to
trick her into believing his tightly wrapped package is a more valuable object to pawn,
distracting her with greed and providing him the opportunity to kill her. Nikolay, the house
painter, trades his cross for a drink, symbolically rejecting his religion before he tries to commit
suicide. Sonia gives Raskolnikov a cross before he confesses, symbolizing both the burden of
their shared suffering and the redemption promised by surrendering to faith. By accepting
Sonia's cross, Raskolnikov begins the process of acknowledging his burden of responsibility and
accepting the suffering of his punishment.

Napoleon
Rising to power in the wake of the French Revolution, Napoleon conquered most of Europe and
achieved the title of emperor in the service of personal ambition. Although his military
campaigns killed hundreds of thousands, he was regarded through most of the 19th century as a
great leader. Raskolnikov uses him as a prime example of the "extraordinary man" who is so
brilliant and daring he has the right to shed blood. Raskolnikov's crime is an attempt to be this
kind of man, but he conveniently forgets the crimes of which Napoleon was guilty and the exile
in which he spent his final years.

Lazarus
In a story from the New Testament of the Bible, Christ brings Lazarus back to life after he has
been dead for days. Sonia reads the story to Raskolnikov on his first visit to her room. The two
main excerpts she reads focus on Lazarus's sister's declaration of faith in Christ as the son of
God, an important prerequisite to raising Lazarus from the dead. Raskolnikov is fascinated by
this story, bringing it up more than once—even declaring his literal belief in it to Porfiry, despite
wavering on religion in general. The story of Lazarus promises new life through faith.

Crime and Punishment | Themes

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Alienation
Alienation takes many forms in this novel. Several characters struggle with being isolated, or cut
off, from themselves or from others.

Raskolnikov alienates himself from those around him physically, mentally, and socially. As a
student at the university "he kept aloof from everyone." After leaving school he has been cooped
up in his tiny attic room where his isolation feeds his delusions and monomania. Arrogant, he
sees himself as superior to others. His alienation both contributes to and results from his crimes.
After the murders he finds he can no longer reach his loved ones across the gulf of his secret.
Above all he is deeply alienated from himself. Redemption for Raskolnikov is only possible
when he finally connects with Sonia in the Epilogue.

Many other characters face alienation through poverty. Sonia is alienated from her family and
from normal society after turning to prostitution to support her family. Marmeladov and his wife,
Katerina Ivanovna, an alcoholic and a consumptive, are also social outcasts. Dounia is threatened
with alienation through Svidrigaïlov's overtures, a situation that Luzhin attempts to extort, but
she is rescued through her association with Razumihin.

The novel also abounds with suicides and attempted suicides, possibly the ultimate form of
alienation. Raskolnikov is minding his own business when a woman standing next to him
suddenly leaps into a canal, nearly drowning before she is rescued. Nikolay also tries to commit
suicide but fails. Both Sonia and Raskolnikov consider suicide but decide to live, although
Raskolnikov believes that, when he commits the murders, he has symbolically killed himself.
Marmeladov is a rumored suicide, and Svidrigaïlov, who drives a young girl to suicide,
ultimately dies by his own hand.

Crime
Dostoevsky explores the title word crime in a broad sense, including crimes defined under the
law such as murder, social crimes such as poverty, and crimes against humanity—bringing
needless suffering upon oneself and others.

Two types of crime intersect in the character of Raskolnikov. He commits murder, a legal crime.
He has a theory that extraordinary men can commit crimes, or violate moral boundaries, on their
way to greatness without penalty. However, once he puts his theory into action, he finds that
either it or he is flawed. His conscience tortures him. The murders he commits force him to
recognize the suffering he has caused himself and others, beyond the murders themselves.
Raskolnikov is often cruel to people who love him. He claims on numerous occasions to loathe
all humankind, but his actions undermine his words while consistently demonstrating a hatred for
himself. This is his psychological crime and punishment.

Svidrigaïlov has also committed illegal acts, including rape and possibly murder. He has spent
time in prison for debts. But overall he suffers few external consequences for his actions. Like
Raskolnikov, some of his crimes do not fall under the rule of law. His careless manipulation of
others, such as his seduction of a married woman with children, is often very damaging to them.
Still his conscience ultimately catches up with him, too, and is a major factor in his suicide.

Sonia's criminality is debatable. Prostitution fell in a gray area in mid-19th-century Russia.

Previously considered a serious crime, it began to be viewed with greater tolerance once
prostitution became regulated in 1843 via the "yellow ticket." This licensing system for
prostitutes provided governmental oversight of prostitutes' health in order to curb the spread of
venereal disease. However, an unregistered or infected prostitute could be arrested and detained.
Regardless of whether it was a crime legally, it carried heavy societal consequences,
demonstrated by Sonia's suffering.

Technically Luzhin is an upright citizen, a lawyer even, but his criminality can hardly be denied.
He chooses Dounia to be his wife through her situation as Marfa Petrovna's governess. She is
thus doubly "blessed" in his eyes: her reputation has been compromised by Svidrigaïlov's
advances, and Marfa Petrovna has given sworn assurances of her purity. As a triple benefit,
Dounia is poor. For all of these reasons, she is the perfect subject of his fantasies, a beautiful,
righteous woman he can grind underneath his heel. The tortures he intends for her are only
hinted at in the accusations of robbery he makes against Sonia.

Suffering
Dostoevsky sees suffering as a double-edged sword—it can destroy or redeem depending on the
circumstances. Suffering springs from a number of sources throughout the novel: crime, illness
and disease, poverty, cruelty, self-hatred, alienation, rejection, and failure. These different types
of suffering often overlap. For Dostoevsky the way characters respond to their own suffering or
the suffering of others often defines them.

Suffering in the novel often has religious connotations. Marmeladov "tortures" himself with
alcohol in the hope of being forgiven by God in the afterlife, and Nikolay seeks the punishment
for murder to atone for lesser sins. Sonia, like Christ, takes on the suffering of others through
compassion. She is instrumental in Raskolnikov's redemption in prison. It is only when
Raskolnikov confesses and submits himself to the suffering of punishment that his mental
healing can begin. His cycle of sin, struggle, confession, and redemption is at the core of
Christianity.

Nearly every character in Crime and Punishment suffers from some degree of poverty, often
with physical and moral consequences. Marmeladov suffers from uncontrollable alcoholism,
forcing his family to suffer starvation, disease, and homelessness. Sonia is forced to work as a
prostitute to support them and suffers the loss of her reputation. Raskolnikov barely has enough
money to survive throughout the novel, but he frequently shares what he has with others who
have even less.

In Crime and Punishment suffering is often psychological in nature: many characters face inner
conflicts, particularly Raskolnikov and Svidrigaïlov, who struggle painfully with their
consciences. Raskolnikov's suffering manifests itself in many ways. His crime and its desperate
aftermath are a map of his pain. His dreams, such as the dream of the horse being beaten to
death, reveal his terrible struggles within himself. In his interior monologues readers hear every
detail as he obsesses in his own mind about how to cover up his crime or whether he should
confess. Other characters suffer mental breakdowns or opt to attempt suicide when their
suffering overwhelms them. Katerina's suffering eventually drives her mental breakdown and
death.

Morality
The conflict between traditional morality, defined by Orthodox Christianity in Russia and based
in faith, and the new "rational" concepts of morality that Raskolnikov favors, based in logic and
reason, appears in many forms throughout the novel, with Dostoevsky clearly arguing in favor of
religious morality. "Rational" concepts of morality emphasized reason and logic as the best paths
for ethical and social change. Traditional Christian beliefs were based in faith, suffering, sin, and
redemption.

Razumihin primarily argues for traditional concepts of morality, favoring the "living soul" over
airless theories that lack humanity. However, Raskolnikov is torn between the competing
moralities: he forms and executes a theory based on the new morality, based in rationality, but
his conscience is rooted in the old morality, based in religion. The conflict ends up mentally
unbalancing him. His insistence on living out his "extraordinary man" theory leads to a spectrum
of suffering. Traditional Christian morality, focused on redemption through suffering, is his path
to a new life.