Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov, a former student, lives in a tiny garret on the top floor of a run-down apartment building in St. Petersburg. He is sickly, dressed in rags, short on money, and talks to himself, but he is also handsome, proud, and intelligent. He is contemplating committing an awful crime, but the nature of …
Summary: Chapter II Inside the tavern, Raskolnikov meets a drunk man who looks like a retired government official. The man’s physical appearance has obviously suffered as a result of his habitual drinking. Although his clothes are tattered, he manages to convey an air of dignity and education. Despite the jeers of the tavern’s patrons and …
Summary: Chapter I A young man leaves his boardinghouse room on an uncomfortably hot summer’s day in St. Petersburg. As he descends the steps, he is overcome with a dread of meeting his landlady, who lives on the floor below. He owes her several months’ rent and recoils at the thought of having to make …
Summary: Chapter I [I]t was no longer possible for him to address these people . . . in any way at all. (See Important Quotations Explained) After a night of restless sleep, Raskolnikov frantically searches his clothes for traces of blood. In a pocket he discovers the pawned items that he stole and tries to …
Summary: Chapter V Raskolnikov resolves not to meet with his old friend Razumikhin until after he has committed his awful act, if he ever does commit it. After drinking some brandy, he falls asleep in a grassy area. He dreams of an incident from his childhood in which he witnessed a group of peasants sadistically …
Summary: Chapter V The strange man who appears in Raskolnikov’s doorway introduces himself as Luzhin, Dunya’s fiancé. He is pompous and affected and immediately seems to resent Razumikhin’s friendly familiarity. He makes a show of interest in progressive ideas and reforms in an unsuccessful attempt to impress the younger men. Both Raskolnikov and Razumikhin treat …
Summary: Chapter I Pulcheria Alexandrovna and Dunya are grief-stricken at Raskolnikov’s condition, but he becomes annoyed with them and orders them out. He upsets them both by commanding Dunya to break off her engagement. Razumikhin promises to abandon his party and stay the night with Raskolnikov. Speaking to them on the stairs, the half-drunk Razumikhin …
Crime and Punishment – Part III: Chapters I–III Read More »
Summary: Chapter IV Sonya timidly enters Raskolnikov’s room, interrupting the conversation among Raskolnikov, Pulcheria Alexandrovna, Dunya, and Razumikhin. She bashfully invites Raskolnikov to Marmeladov’s funeral and the memorial dinner that Katerina has planned to follow it. She is astonished at Raskolnikov’s apparent poverty. Dunya and Pulcheria Alexandrovna politely leave. Raskolnikov tells Razumikhin that he had …
Crime and Punishment – Part III: Chapters IV–VI Read More »
Summary: Chapter I Svidrigailov explains that he has come to ask Raskolnikov’s help in his pursuit of Dunya. Raskolnikov immediately refuses. Svidrigailov contends that he has only the purest feelings for Dunya and that, contrary to rumor, he had nothing to do with the recent death of his wife, Marfa Petrovna. He argues that he …
Summary: Chapter IV Raskolnikov goes to Sonya’s room. She is surprised and frightened by his visit. They discuss Katerina Ivanovna, whom Sonya defends as kind, childlike, and fiercely proud, though she concedes that misfortune has more or less deranged Katerina. Sonya clearly cares immensely for her stepmother and is deeply troubled to think that she …