Crime and Punishment

Raskolnikov wakes up disgusted by his small, dirty room. For all of his efforts to withdraw from human contact, he still suffers. A servant informs Raskolnikov that the landlord, a woman named Praskovia Pavlovna, plans to report him to the police for failing to pay his rent.

Raskolnikov gets a letter from his mother, Pulkheria Alexandrovna. He opens it with trembling hands and reads her words of unwavering love and support. Raskolnikov learns that his sister Dunia found a job as a governess in the house of a wealthy man named Svidrigailov. However, Svidrigailov made inappropriate advances toward Dunia. When Svidrigailov tried to persuade Dunia to run away with him, Svidrigailov’s wife overheard. She blamed Dunia, and started telling people that Dunia tried to seduce her husband. When the community turned against Dunia, Svidrigailov produced a letter Dunia wrote admonishing Svidrigailov for his behavior. Marfa accepted her mistake and brought Dunia to the attention of the rich and single Piotr Petrovitch Luzhin. Luzhin proposed to Dunia, believing that marrying a poor woman would ensure her loyal, and Dunia accepted. Dunia and Pulkheria Alexandrovna will soon move to Saint Petersburg to be with Luzhin. Pulkheria Alexandrovna promises to send more money to her son and hopes that Luzhin may help Raskolnikov find a job.

Dismayed, Raskolnikov promises himself that he will halt Dunia’s marriage to Luzhin; he believes that his sister does not actually love her fiancé and that she only accepted his proposal as a way to help her brother. Raskolnikov considers Luzhin miserly and ungenerous. However, he realizes that he lacks any real ability to stop the wedding. While thinking about his conundrum, Raskolnikov watches a teenage girl staggering along the street, incapacitated by drink. A foppish, plump man follows behind her. The girl seems unaware that she is being followed, so Raskolnikov intervenes. He stops the man and causes a scene. A policeman arrives and places the incapacitated girl in a cab. Raskolnikov offers what little money he has left to pay for the girl’s fare, but then a feeling of revulsion comes over him. He worries that he has intervened in a matter that does not concern him. Raskolnikov returns home, cursing the money that was not his to give away. He decides to visit Razumikhin, an old friend whom he has not seen in months.

Raskolnikov changes his mind before he reaches Razumikhin’s home, but promises that he will visit his friend soon. He despairs over whether he will ever actually visit Razumikhin and the anxiety becomes so unbearable that Raskolnikov flees to a restaurant. He drinks a glass of vodka and, made drunk by the unfamiliar alcohol, staggers to a nearby park where he falls asleep. Raskolnikov dreams of a childhood memory: watching a drunken peasant furiously beat his tired old horse. Soon the crowd joins in, thrashing the creature to death. Raskolnikov imagines his younger self throwing his arms around the dead horse and kissing it. As he hugs it, the peasant loudly insists that he had the right to do whatever he pleased to his animal.

Raskolnikov wakes up and curses his bad dream. He wonders in horror whether he could ever beat a feeble horse to death, but realizes he could never kill an animal in such a fashion. As he walks home through the market, he overhears Lizaveta Ivanovna, the half-sister of the pawnbroker, say that Aliona Ivanovna will be at home alone tomorrow evening. This presents, he decides, the perfect opportunity to enact his dreadful plan to kill Aliona Ivanovna.

Raskolnikov remembers overhearing two young men discussing how much they hate Aliona Ivanovna. They considered her hateful and aggressive, accusing her of charging outrageous, inflated fees. They claimed Aliona Ivanovna was a sadistic woman who beats Lizaveta and seizes the possessions of poor people who fail to pay on time. The two officers decided that Aliona Ivanovna is a negative influence on society. As Raskolnikov listened, they speculated that a person could kill the pawnbroker and redistribute her ill-gotten gains, saving many poor families in the process. Saving so many families may even make up for the crime of killing an old woman, the men suggested, though neither of them felt able to commit murder.

Raskolnikov thinks about this conversation as he plots his murder. He sews a hook into the inside of his coat and uses it to tuck away an axe stolen from his building. He walks to Aliona Ivanovna’s house and rings her doorbell several times.

Aliona Ivanovna opens her door a little and Raskolnikov forces his way into her apartment. He hands her a fake silver cigarette case, pretending that he wishes to pawn the item. As she examines it, he hits her with the blunt end of his axe. She collapses and he continues to hit her until she is dead. Raskolnikov places the axe on the floor. As he searches her body, he notices that Aliona Ivanovna wore two crosses. He finds her keys and a small purse filled with money. Unlocking a safe, Raskolnikov inspects the gold and silver items collected by the pawnbroker. However, he is interrupted by the sound of footsteps. Lizaveta comes in and stares in horror at her dead sister. Raskolnikov hits Lizaveta with the sharp end of the axe and splits her skull open, killing her instantly. The reality of the second murder terrifies Raskolnikov. He thinks about immediately running to the police and confessing to his crimes, but instead he cleans the blood from his clothes. The doorbell rings and Raskolnikov hears two people outside, ready for an appointment with the pawnbroker. When they discover that the door is locked, they go to fetch the porter. Raskolnikov slips past them and hides in the apartment below. They discover the bodies, and Raskolnikov slips away in the ensuing chaos. He returns home, replaces his stolen axe, and then, overcome by his frantic thoughts, he slips into unconsciousness.