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Crime and Punishment (1866) Fyodor
Dostoevsky
The
year is 1866. Four years have gone by since the freeing of the serfs,
and things are getting worse: What
is to be done? 1.
Does Russia need more freedom, more capitalism? Will Russia come apart
at the seams and descend into civil war if that happens? 2.
OR does Russia need a revolution which sweeps away the regime, the
aristocrats, the liberals- the whole rotten mess, so that a new
government can be created which will coerce social justice? Again
the hero of the novel is a radical, but even Bazarov might cringe at
some of the ideas percolating in Raskolnikov’s brain…. This
impoverished student has the same thirst for justice but his patience
is reaching its breaking point. Something must be done, now. But does
he have the stomach for it? Does he have the will? To do so, he must
draw on his own darkest impulses and use them… in the cause of social
justice! If he fails? Then he must admit to himself that he is one of
the sheep, one of those submissive slobs whose lives are lived for
them, determined by social circumstance, the eternal victims of history. Our
central character is named Rodion
Romanovich
Raskolnikov. He is
described as ‘exceptionally handsome, slim, well built with beautiful
dark eyes’ A-ha! He looks just like you, but the situation he is in,
ah, so different. Konstantin
Mochulsky
described Crime and Punishment as a tragedy in five acts with a
prologue and an epilogue. Part One, the prologue, dramatizes
Raskolnikov’s preparation for and perpetration of the murder. The
word for “crime” in Russian is “prestuplenie”
which evokes the image of crossing a threshold. “Raskol” in Russian means
‘schism’, which alludes to the mid-17th c. schism in the Russian
Orthodox Church. In 1653 Patriarch Nikon, supported by the Romanov tsar
Alexis, sought to reform the Orthodox Church by bringing its liturgy
and rituals into alignment with Greek Orthodox practice (thus
facilitating political union with the Ukraine). This reform involved
seemingly insignificant changes in Church practice: spelling Jesus’
name differently, making the sign of the cross with two fingers instead
of three, and changing the direction in which religious progressions
should proceed. But the peasants violently opposed any change in
religious ritual. Led by the arch-priest Avrakum,
a great schism took place in the church. The tsar supported reform and
used the issue to assert the supremacy of the crown over the church.
But from that time forward, Old Believers became a substantial minority
and maintained their practices despite government repression, and the
issue resurfaced repeatedly over the next centuries. Part
One (pp. 3-86)
Chapter
Two:
Marmeladov’s Aria Chapter
Three:
Pulcheria’s
Letter: Dounia, Svidrigaylov
and Luzhin Chapter
Four:
Raskolnikov Rejects Dounia’s Sacrifice Chapter
Five:
Raskolnikov’s Terrible Dream Chapter
Six:
The Idea of Murder Chapter
Seven:
Across the Threshold Chapter One: ‘The Threshold’ (pp. 3-11) The
novel opens with Raskolnikov, a ragged ex-student wearing a ratty
German top hat, performing a thought experiment as he walks the 730
steps from the front gate of his dilapidated rooming house to the front
door of a local pawnbroker’s apartment, on the fifth floor of tenement
in the Haymarket district of St. Petersburg. What
is he testing? Why
does he smile at his fear of running into his landlady? (4) What
ideas has he become fixated upon during the past six weeks? [‘that’]
QUOTE 3-4 Raskolnikov
has been rehearsing a crime in his mind. He seems fascinated to observe
the independent existence of his idea as it gestates from thought to
potential action. (It’s like a bubble rising through oily water towards
the surface.) He slips easily into a state of fascination: he wonders
how much control he will exercise at the key moment. Given the right
time and place, will he or the idea leap into action? Why
can’t he even name the deed as he rehearses the crime in his
imagination? Compare
to Macbeth (Act 1): Two truths are told, How
concerned is Raskolnikov with the practical details that must go into
planning the crime? In
the midst of these dark reveries, reality will suddenly intrude on his
thoughts (like that horse sticking its nose into Akaky’s face on the
street). A drunk yells at Raskolnikov, “Hey, you, German hatter!” and
Raskolnikov suddenly berates himself for overlooking details… like the
ratty top hat he is wearing, easily recognizable to a
passerby. Six months ago, Raskolnikov write an essay about
crime (71) published in a local newsletter in which he argued that most
criminals get caught because they become subject to ‘childish
heedlessness’ at the moment in the commission of a crime when
concentration and reason are most needed. That’s why they get
caught. Raskolnikov believes that he can control these
irrational impulses because…
murdering the old woman is not a real crime.
Does he have the will to act decisively? Does he possess the will to
transgress the law and establish his own higher morality? What
has his situation in life been like since he dropped out of college
three months ago? Material
Poverty: after a month of ‘concentrated anguish’, Raskolnikov is going
to pawn his last valuable, his father’s watch with the old lady. He is
being evicted from his room. He has not eaten in two days. He is broke.
He is isolated. At times, he sounds like he has given up. He is ashamed
and possessed by self-loathing. He babbles to himself on the street.
How long has this been going on? Summary: The
first few moments of Crime
and Punishment set the tone for this extraordinary murder
mystery. It’s not a ‘whodunit’. It’s a ‘whydunnit’!
Why does Raskolnikov murder the old woman? Raskolnikov himself would
like you to believe, “Yes, I did it! And I did it for a good reason! In
fact there is no crime!” But as we watch him, we quickly begin to
question just how much control he has over his actions. The real action
of Crime and Punishment follows Raskolnikov as he searches for his true
motivation. This pursuit will carry him into the depths of his psyche-
that murky region from which moral action truly springs. Note
Dostoevsky’s unique manipulation of point of view: Raskolnikov is on
stage 90% of the time. Dostoevsky uses 3rd person narration, but he
locates our perspective deep within Raskolnikov’s consciousness. There
are moments when the narrative establishes independence from the hero’s
point of view. Look for them and grab them. That way you can hold on to
reality and establish a foundation from which you can judge
Raskolnikov’s actions. As
you read, also keep in mind Aristotle’s famous criteria for determining
the guilt or innocence of a person suspected of murder (from Nicomachean Ethics): 1.
Did the perpetrator intend to do murder? (intention) 2.
Did he understand what he was doing at the moment he committed the
crime? (knowledge) 3.
Did he have any other option? (control) To
convict, you must get an answer of ‘Yes’ for each question. How
does the setting of the story play a role in the drama? Describe the
Haymarket section of St. Petersburg. Smells? Sights and sounds? Rooms? (QUOTE:
4) What is the ghetto like in the summer? Airless,
coffin-like rooms. The nauseating stench of boiled cabbage, rotting
garbage, cheap vodka, urine, excrement… the sure presence of disease:
cholera, hepatitis, typhus, tuberculosis, syphilis, gonorrhea, anemia,
alcoholism…. What
social types populate this teeming slum? (QUOTE:
4-5) (6) Workers down on their luck, drunks, addicts,
prostitutes, police… In the enormous boarding house where the
pawnbroker lives, tailors, locksmiths, cooks, various Germans, girls
living on their own, petty clerks are also packed together… Pay
particular attention to the prominence of ‘yellowness’ in Dostoevsky’s
descriptions of the city. The whole novel seems shot in black and
white, but in places with yellow. It is the color of the spiritual
epidemic rampant in St. Petersburg, and Raskolnikov has been infected.
Dostoevsky links this yellow hue to a strain of rationalism that has
infected the city: liberal economic theory, utilitarian reform,
nihilism, rational egoism, the Superman… Describe
the old woman and her flat. (6-8) How
does this old money lender symbolize everything wrong with this city? Yellowed
wallpaper, yellowed wood of old furniture; yellow frames; her
fur-trimmed jacket, yellowed with age. Yet the apartment is very clean!
(see 61) (That is Lizaveta’s
work.) How
does a pawnbroker make a living? Does
such a person deserve to live? Can you justify murdering her? How
does Raskolnikov behave after he leaves? [QUOTE
10]: After stumbling into a nearby tavern and guzzling a beer,
Raskolnikov feels better and rejects his compulsion as ‘some physical
disorder’. Chapter Two:
‘Marmeladov’s Aria’ (pp. 11-27) ‘Marmeladov’s
Aria’ or ‘The Psychology of Poverty’ How are the poor kept in their
place? What prevents the poor from uniting and doing something about
their poverty? In our judgment of Marmeladov, we find answers to these
questions. In
writing Crime and Punishment, Dostoevsky folded his idea for a novel
called The Drunkards based on Marmeladov and his family into the design
of his murder mystery. Cast: Semyon
Zaharovitch
Marmeladov: (a titular councillor ala
Gogol’s Akaky Akakievich) Katerina
Ivanovna:
(Marmeladov’s wife; the widow of a cavalry officer, dying from
tuberculosis like Dostoevsky’s first wife who died earlier in the year
in which he wrote Crime and Punishment) Sonia
(Marmeladov’s eighteen year old daughter, from his first marriage) Katerina
Ivanovna’s three children: Polenka:
a daughter aged nine, a boy aged seven and another girl aged six. The
People of Kozol the
cabinet maker’s rooming house: Lebezyatnikov
(16), a money lender with a scientific theory of political economy
(tough love) Amalia
Ivanovna Lippervechsel (17), the landlady
of the rooming house, German parents Donya
Frantsova (18-19),
a friend of Amalia who
will later get Sonia thrown out of the building Ivan
Ivanovich Klopstock, a man for whom Sonia made shirts but never got paid How
does Raskolnikov meet Marmeladov? How is Marmeladov dressed? (Where has
he spent the last five nights?) (12-13) In
the basement tavern into which Raskolnikov stumbles after his encounter
with the landlady, he meets Marmeladov, a regular at this bar, who
looks pretty bad because he is just coming off a five day bender. Even
so, he launches into a grand speech. What
is the theme of Marmeladov’s tirade? “My
dear sir, he began most solemnly, “poverty is no vice,
that is the truth. I know that drunkenness is also no
virtue, and that is even more so. But destitution, my dear sir,
destitution is a vice, sir.” (13) What
set him off on his bender five days ago? What unforgivable
transgression has he committed? Why did he do it? (14) 1.
He asks Lebziatnikov
for a loan, knowing that he will not get it, but he has nowhere else to
go. (14) 2.
When that fails, Katerina
Ivanovna implores
Sonia to get a ‘yellow pass’ which will allow her to start selling her
body on the street. She is thrown out of the rooming house where the
family lives at the behest of Frantsova
and Amalia Ivanovna. (14) Sonia now lives
at the tailor Kapernaumov’s
building. 3.
Marmeladov has already drunk up all of his savings, so he pawns Katerina Ivanovna’s angora shawl
for drink, and she catches consumption. (15) 4.
Sonia turns her first trick. (QUOTE 18) 5.
Lebeziatnikov
insults Sonia and beats Katerina
Ivanovna when she
attacks him to defend Sonia. 6.
Hope is glimpsed (five weeks ago) when Marmeladov regains his position
in the government office, and the family celebrates their middle class
status once again. Katerina
Ivanovna
affectionately refers to Marmeladov as ‘my sweet little thing’. (22) 7.
Five days ago, Marmeladov steals all the money from the apartment and
goes on a bender on a hay barge, deliberately destroying everything.
(21) 8.
When he returns to the city, in rags having sold his uniform, he begs
Sonia for money so that he can have ‘a hair of the dog’, and she gives
him the money she uses to ‘maintain her special cleanliness’. (22)
Sonia’s compassion enables him to continue his bender one last night. 9.
The Apotheosis of Self-Pity (QUOTE 23) (Luke 7:47): “Wherefore I say
unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much:
but to whom little is
forgiven, the same loveth
little.”) 10.
Marmeladov returns home, aided by Raskolnikov, in joyous expectation of
the beating he will receive. 11.
Katerina Ivanovna indeed does beat him
and pulls at his beard as the other residents of the floor throw open
the door and laugh. (25) 12.
Raskolnikov leaves money and regrets it. (27) His conclusion? (QUOTE 27) What
is the greatest horror of beggary? People
born into poverty, or those who through bad luck or poor judgment
descend into the slum,
come to believe that they are beggars: creatures of utter dependence
and therefore utter self-loathing. They ‘have nowhere else to turn’.
They have no ‘honor’, no ‘nobility of soul’ which basically means that
they have no economic self-sufficiency. How
do beggars behave? The
chief pastime of the tavern is ridicule of those whose will has finally
collapsed into drug or alcohol dependency. Katerina
Ivanovna will
punish her children for crying when they are hungry (thus acknowledging
their weakness and dependence.) Why
did Marmeladov choose this particular moment to give up? What is
Dostoevsky’s intention? Is
Marmeladov responsible for his act? Are the poor responsible for the
degradation of their lives? Dostoevsky’s art reveals both
sides of the argument simultaneously. Why
did he do it? Because it was the only FREE choice he had left.
Otherwise, the best he can be is Katerina
Ivanovna’s puppet. Marmeladov’s uniqueness, his claim to existence as a
free human being, is tied up with the perverse pleasure he derives from
suffering, from his rebellion against the determinism of self-interest. We
admire him, in a way for rejecting his role as Katerina
Ivanovna’s ‘sweet little thing’. Even
so, we cannot forgive him, as Sonia does, because her forgiveness
encourages him to drink even more. Dostoevsky
dramatizes the debate about Marmeladov’s responsibility by portraying
the irreconcilable contradictions of his nature. Marmeladov is a man of
intelligence and genuine sensibility who deliberately descends into
masochism (sweet marmalade) and drunken self-pity. He is the would-be
honorable aristocrat on the skids, reveling in the sweetness of his
humiliation. Note the artfulness of his betrayal of his family, the
radiance of his face as he gleefully reaches the crescendo of his
story. He has chosen oblivion over alienation, drug abuse over
responsibility, self-respect, even his family’s very survival. Why?
Freedom is the most advantageous advantage. Free will must be
considered an essential component of any plan that seeks to achieve
social change. Furthermore, Marmeladov has committed an unforgivable
crime, and he knows it, and so through suffering he has glimpsed the
irrational, unconditional comprehensiveness of Christ’s capacity to
forgive. God’s mercy is unconditional. Chapters Three and
Four: ‘Pulcheria’s Letter’ (pp. 27-52) Raskolnikov
reacts with compassion for the Marmeladovs but then berates himself,
laughing cynically, for allowing sentiment to cloud his reason. He is
wondering whether humans can get used to anything when he is struck by
an idea: “If that’s a lie, if man in fact is not a scoundrel… then the
rest is prejudice, instilled fear, and there are no barriers, and
that’s how it should be!...” (27) The
next day when he wakes up in his little room ‘with yellow dusty
wallpaper’, and reads a letter he has just gotten from his mother. What
news does Raskolnikov learn from Pulcheria’s
letter? Can you guess why Raskolnikov’s face is wet with tears but he
is smiling spitefully when he finishes reading it? (30-39) 1.
Pulcheria has
known that Raskolnikov left the university and wishes she could have
sent him more money so that he could continue his studies. 2.
Raskolnikov’s sister, Dounia has left her job as a governess after
suffering through a scandal that threatened her reputation. She had
taken the job at Marfa Petrovna’s
estate for a 100 rouble advance (60 of which she sent along to
Raskolnikov). 3.
Marfa Petrovna’s new
husband, Svidrigaylov,
made an amorous pass at Dounia which she kept quiet, fearing scandal. 4.
Marfa Petrovna
suspected an affair and threw Dounia out of the house, publicly
humiliating her and ruining her reputation. 5.
Svidrigaylov
himself produced a letter which exonerated Dounia, and Marfa Petrovna, going door to door,
publicly restored Dounia’s honor among the townspeople. (34) 6.
Now, though, from Raskolnikov’s point of view, Dounia is making the
same mistake all over again! She has betrothed herself to a wealthy
businessman who might become his benefactor: a possible source of
funding for his continuing education at the university. 7.
Pulcheria admits
that there is no love on either side in the match, but Luzhin is a
solid and decent man, a bit conceited, but quite respectable.
Raskolnikov quickly figures out what he is up to. He has deliberately
chosen a dowry-less bride to ensure her dependence and thus free him
from making any compromises in the relationship. (QUOTE: 36) That night
Dounia went sleepless, pacing and praying before the ikon in her mother’s bedroom
before she made her decision to go ahead with the match. 8.
Finally, Raskolnikov learns that the wedding group is bound for St.
Petersburg. Luzhin is on business, and the women are traveling by
carriage and then third class carriage at their own expense. How
do Raskolnikov’s mother and sister torture him with their love? (pp.
40-52) Why
does Raskolnikov resolve that such a marriage will never take place? He
senses his mother’s secret bitterness at being forced to sacrifice a
daughter for a son. Luzhin is a man of business and seems kind, but
right now he is forcing his future bride and her mother to fend for themselves. His mother has had to
borrow money from her pension in order to finance the trip to St. Petersbug. If this is his
‘kindness’, then what can they expect from Luzhin in the future? Why
is Dounia sacrificing herself? (42-44) “I
know you, Dunechka, my dear!” (QUOTE:43) How
are Dounia and Sonya in the same situation? How do they respond
differently? How is Raskolnikov in Marmeladov’s situation? Dounia
is revenging herself on her brother by sacrificing herself for his
sake, overcoming her keen moral sense of the cheapness of her actions
by arguing that somebody has to do something and now—and my brother is
studies… (44) Raskolnikov recognizes that Dounia is, in essence, making
the same choice as Sonia has made for the Marmeladovs, but Dounia’s
life will be destroyed by it: self-hatred, recrimination, and pretense.
“It’s costly, Dunechka, this cleanliness is costly!” (44) So
Raskolnikov refuses her sacrifice! The letter strikes him like a
thunderbolt! This is the day when the thunderstorm long gathering in
Raskolnikov’s life has broken. He must do something and now! “Or
renounce life altogether!” (45) Do you understand what it is like when
you have nowhere to turn? A
certain thought, that certain thought now appears to him in new form:
as a real actuality, and Raskolnikov nearly faints. What
happens on the street when that thought enters Raskolnikov’s
consciousness? (46) A
fifteen year old street walker wanders past, swinging her arms oddly,
and Raskolnikov realizes that she is completely drunk. She is being
followed about fifteen steps away by a ‘gentleman’. Raskolnikov
intervenes to protect the girl, even calls a policeman over and
explains to him what’s going on. Later he ridicules himself, again, for
being so soft hearted. Realistically, his intervention will make no
difference. Everywhere he looks in the Haymarket the same story is
being acted out: Sonia’s story, Dounia’s story. A certain percentage of
girls just have to go to the devil. “It freshens up the rest”
Raskolnikov is ridiculing the logic of utilitarian social science which
suggests that since freedom is advantageous for the majority, than
inevitable losers in society can justly be sacrificed. Why
does Raskolnikov suddenly resolve to visit Razumikhin, a friend from
school that he has not seen since he dropped out? (51-52) What
is Razumikhin like? Good humor, candor, good natured to a fault,
intelligent, a passionate friend, tall and thin but exceptionally
strong, an amazing drinker, a prankster: no misfortune can get the best
of him. He is a survivor. And he had the courage to make friends with a
poor, haughtily proud and unsociable man who looked down on his
classmates as children: Raskolnikov himself. Chapter 5 : Raskolnikov's
Terrible Dream (52-62) Where
does Raskolnikov fall asleep? What
happens in his dream? What details are particularly affecting? Unpack
the dream’s meaning. How would you diagnose Raskolnikov’s mental state? What
connection does Raskolnikov instantly make when he awakens? With
whom does Raskolnikov have a chance encounter as he returns home? Dostoevsky’s
point? Chapter Six: The Idea of Murder
(62-74) What
coincidences have occurred during the last few weeks which, Raskolnikov
believes, have shepherded forward the idea of murder? How
does Raskolnikov defend the idea of murder? What philosophical belief
does he use to defend this action? What
does Raskolnikov spend most of the following day doing? What
is he thinking about as he walks toward the landlady’s apartment once
again? How is his theory working out? Chapter
7 Across the Threshold
(75-86) Contrast Raskolnikov’s behavior
just before and in the frenzied minutes after the murder. What
mistakes does he make? How
is the killing of Lizaveta
different? What
happens at the threshold? How
does Raskolnikov escape? Can
Raskolnikov grasp what he has done? What inner force directs
Raskolnikov’s steps? To what extent is he responsible for his actions?
* Chapter 1: The Police Station
* Chapter 2: Wandering to Razumikhin’s
Apartment
* Chapter 3: Fever Dreams
* Chapter 4: Zosimov
and Razumikhin Theorize About the Crime
* Chapter 5: Luzhin, the Liberal Suitor
* Chapter 6: Haymarket Nocturne
* Chapter 7: Marmeladov’s Death and Raskolnikov’s Gift Chapter
One: The Police Station
(89-106) Describe
Raskolnikov's reaction when he is awakened (by screams) at 2:00 am and
then suddenly remembers everything. Describe his psychological
condition? How long hs
he had this fever? What does he fear? ["What can it be starting? Can the the reckoning come so soon?"
(91)] What has he done with the loot? (89) What about his clothes? What
is he holding when the caretaker knocks at his door with the summons to
the police station? (91-92) Describe
the scene at the police station: (95-96) Why
has Raskolnikov been summoned? Decribe
Ilya Petrovich,
the police chief's assistant. Why does he start screaming at
Raskolnikov? (97) What
is the complaint against Luise Ivanovna,
the large German lady who reeks of perfume? (99) Why
does Raskolnikov tell the story of his engagement to the landlady's
daughter? But
what happens to his mood moments later? (103) How does he describe the
sensation? Note this moment carefully. What is happening to him?
Raskolnikov even considers confessing to Nikodim
Fomich when he
hears what the detective is saying. How does Raskolnikov react? (105) Chapter
Two: Alienation
(107-117) After
Raskolnikov stashes the loot, he wonders if he did the murder for any
practical reason. What evidence is there that he had no practical
reason, no matter what he tells himself? How
did he wind up on Razumikhin’s
doorstep? (What part of his nature is directing his actions) How
does Razumikhin offer to help Raskolnikov? How does he respond? Where
does he wander off to next? Look
carefully at the moment when Raskolnikov is standing on the Nikolevsky Bridge looking at the
Winter Palace and the Cathedral of St. Isaccs.
This used to be his favorite spot in the city. How does he feel now? When
Raskolnikov gets home he faints into an uneasy slumber and believes he
hears Lt. Gunpowder beating his landlady on the stairway…. but it is a
dream. Paragraph:
What realm is Raskolnikov slipping into? Chapter
Three: Fever Dreams
(117-131) For
the next four days, can Raskolnikov distinguish between his dreams and
reality? (Nearly every character in the novel comes to visit him while
he is raving.) When
Raskolnikov regains full consciousness, who
is standing before him in his room? What
has Razumikhin been doing for Raskolnikov during his fever? Describe
his character. How does Raskolnikov respond to Razumikhin's efforts? When
everone leaves,
Raskolnikov gets up to flee to America, guzzles a beer and then passes
out. When he awakens, Razumikhin is there wiht
a fresh set of clothes. Chapter
Four: The Double Murder is the Talk of the Town
(131-142) Razumikhin
has moved his residence to be closer to Raskolnikov's garrett and he is throwing is a house warming party
the next night to which he has invited everyone. Dostoevsky's
purpose in focusing on the gregarious, irrepressible Razumikhin at this
moment in the novel's action? The
main topic of conversation at the party is sure to be the recent double
murder.Who are the suspects that the police
have in custody? What is the evidence that the police have against them? What
theory about the crime do Dr. Zossimov,
Razumikhin and Nastasya
discuss? Why
does Razumikhin dismiss the evidence? (140) What new theory of the
crime does he propose? How
is Dostoevsky teaching us to 'read' Raskolnikov through Razumikhin's example? Chapter
Five: Pyotr Petrovich
Luzhin
(142-154) What
impression does the arrival of Luzhin, Dunya's
fiancee, make on
the crowd gathered in Raskolnikov's garrett?
(How many people are in there now?) How is Luzhin dressed? Where
is Luzhin planning to room Dunya
and Pulcheria when they
arrive in town? Where is Luzhin staying? Raskolnikov's
guests launch into a philosophical debate about the value of the 'new
ideas' that have been circulating through St. Petersburg during recent
months. What is Luzhin's
impression of these new ideas? (QUOTE 147; 148-49) What is Razumikhin's response? Zossimov
brings the conversation back to the subject of the murders. Razumikhin
discloses that his uncle, the detective Porfiry
Petrovich, is interviewing all the clients of the old
pawnbroker. Why
does Razumikhin think that the killer must have been new to
crime? What
is Luzhin's theory
behind the recent increase in violent crime? (151) Raskolnikov
breaks in and lambasts Luzhin, claiming that his theory leads directly
to crime. Explain his reasoning. What exuse
does Raskolnikov use for threatenng
to throw Luzhin down the stairs.
What
is Raskolnikov planning to do when he gets up to go as soon as his
guests have left? What
does he see in the Haymarket? (QUOTE 155) Describe
his encounter with the streetwalker Duklida.
(157-58) Raskolnikov
concludes his wandering at a tavern named "The Crystal Palace".
Describe the original Crystal
Palace. (backgrounds) What
does Raskolnikov read about in the bar? What
game does Raskolnikov play with the Police Clerk Zamyotov? (159-166) What is he
trying to prove to himself? (He even confesses to Zamyotov! (165)) What
is really driving Raskolnikov's behavior?
After
leaving the 'Crystal Palace', Raskolnikov runs into Razumikhin. He
tells his friend to bugger off. What is Razumikhin afraid that
Raskolnikov might be on the verge of doing? At
the bridge, Raskolnikov is on the verge of jumping but what happens
instead (which saves his life)? (168-69) He
resolves to confess, but what does he do instead? What
are the workmen about to do when their attention is distracted by a
crowd at the end of the street? what
has happened there? Chapter Seven: Marmeladov's Death (175-193) How does Raskolnikov intervene again to help this family? How does the precense of the Marmeladov children add to the horror of the scene? Describe how Dostoevsky welcomes Sonia on to the stage of the action of the novel. Describe Raskolnikov's moment with Polenka outside the apartment building. (186-88) How does Raskolnikov interpret what has happened within him? What is the topic of discussion at Razuimikhin's party? Who
does Raskolnikov believe is waiting for him when he sees the light in
his garret apartment? ·
Chapter 1: Razumikhin in Love ·
Chapter 2: St. Petersburg Parlor
Game: Does Crime Exist? ·
Chapter 3: Raskolnikov on
Dounia’s Planned Marriage ·
Chapter 4: Sonia’s Entrance ·
Chapter 5: Raskolnikov’s 1st
Interview with Porfiry
Petrovich · Chapter 6: Raskolnikov on the Slippery Slope Is Raskolnikov guilty or not guilty? On
your judgment of Raskolnikov's autonomy rests your own political
stance. If he is guilty, you are siding with the soft-determinist
position of liberals who hold all individuals responsible for their
actions regardless of the conditions of their upbringing. If you
believe Raskolnikov is not guilty, then you are a determinist and a
socialist. His acts were induced by the impoverished conditions of his
life since he dropped out of school six months before. Chapter
1: Razumikhin in Love (197-209)
Political Spectrum: Place the following characters in their political slot: Luzhin Razumikhin Porfiry Petrovich Sonia Marmeladov Dunya Raskolnikov Svidrigaylov Raskolnikov
Describe Razumikhin’s behavior from the moment that he meets Dunya and Pulcheria. (201 ff) Why
does Razumikhin love Dunya?
(declaration 203) (narration 205) (flashing eyes 199)
What
ideological point is Dostoevsky making about the champions of reason
(both liberal and socialist) who insist upon the arithmetic of utility
(computing ‘advantage’)? (QUOTE 202) So,
what, then, is “Russian reason”? How
is Raskolnikov like Razumikhin? (Why does Razumikhin like him so much?)
(215-217) (224-25) (231) How is he different from Razumikhin? Why does
he despise it when others help him? Why does he despise himself when he
helps others? What, for Raskolnikov, is the only tolerable way to live?
How
could such compassionate idealism be wrong (according to Raskolnikov)?
(227) How does real change take place according to the liberal or the
socialist? A Mother's Intuition: As
the ladies ready themselves to go to Raskolnikov’s garret, Pulcheria suddenly remembers a
dream she had the night before about Marfa Petrovna,
the late wife of Svidrigaylov
(221)…
Later when Raskolnikov declares that Pulcheria
should not be so sure of his goodness, she mentions Marfa Petrovna
again and recounts the circumstances of her death. What is Dostoevsky
up to? Look at what Raskolnikov is thinking at that moment (229). How
do moments like these fit into Dostoevsky's conception of the way that
the mind really works... Are these choices determined by environmental
factors? Do we make our most fundamental moral decisions by
relying on reason or intuition? What is the root cause of Raskolnikov's crime? What is Zossimov’s suggestion about how to cure Raskolnikov’s illness? (diagnosis of monomania 206) (root cause 223) Luzhin's Proposal: What does Raskolnikov tell Dunya about her marriage plans as soon as he has gathered his thoughts? (198-99) (232) The
conversation then turns to Dunya’s
planned marriage to Luzhin. How does Dunya
defend her choice? (232-33) Look at Raskolnikov’s analysis of Luzhin’s letter. (234-35) How does he criticize Luzhin’s whole mindset? What
is wrong
with Dunya's motivations? She says that she is doing it in her
self-interest, but what is her real intention?
How
does Dostoevsky comment on this consideration of liberal ethics by
having Sonia enter at this moment? (236) Sonia's Entrance: Why has Sonia come to Raskolnikov's flat? Why
is Sonia humiliated when Raskolnikov invites her to sit down? (how many people are in his room
now?) When
Sonia leaves, she senses a whole new world opening for her. What has
happened? Who follows her home? (243-45) What is Dostoevsky’s point? Chapter
5: Raskolnikov’s 1st Interview with Porfiry Petrovich
(248-67) Chapter
6: Raskolnikov on the Slippery Slope
(267-78)
From Raskolnikov's point of view, what are the stakes involved in his contest with Porfiry? Describe
Porfiry Petrovich.
(250) How
does Porfiry let
Raskolnikov know that ‘the game’s afoot’? (251) Raskolnikov’s
stream of consciousness. (QUOTE 254-55) Is he in rational control? Porfiry
moves the conversation to the question of whether there is such a thing
as crime. From which political perspective will Porfiry
argue? How is this argument far more powerful than the argument for
social justice according to utility? Razumikhin
speaks first. How does he seek to rebut the most basic premise of
socialism? (256-57) How
can Porfiry argue the
opposite, even in the case of the forty year old child molester? (257)
How is Porfiry seeking
to prove his point at this moment with Raskolnikov? It
is at this point that Raskolnikov articulates his theory about crime.
(258-63) How does he distinguish between the ordinary and the
extraordinary criminal? How does history move forward according to this
theory? What form of government, ultimately, is Raskolnikov justifying?
What is the burden of the elite? (264) What
is Porfiry’s point when
he asks Raskolnikov if he believes in God and the raising of Lazarus?
(261) How does Porfiry nearly trick Raskolnikov into revealing his guilt? (266-67)
What
does Porfiry do to
rattle Raskolnikov when he gets home? (271) What
is Raskolnikov’s reaction to the accusation? (QUOTE 273) Observe his
stream of consciousness as he wonders whether he is capable of freedom
(274-75) Describe
the nightmare Raskolnikov has as he falls asleep. (277-78) Interpret
its meaning. When he awakens from the nightmare, who is standing in his room? (278) Has Raskolnikov summoned him from the depths of his psyche? Dostoevsky’s point? What place does Dostoevsky take in the debate about free will and responsibility? What aspects of the mind function in us even in the most extreme conditions? Even if Raskolnikov's reason has been befuddled, how can Dostoevsky hold him responsible for his actions? What are the terrible consequences that are unfolding within Raskolnikov as he pursues absolute freedom?
In Part Four the rising action of the novel nears its climax. Can Raskolnikov master his conscience and establish the autonomy of his rational will? His goal throughout has been to demonstrate to himself that he is capable of the moral will to use terror in the service of social justice. Just as urgently, he wants to prove to himself that he can assert his own perfect freedom and thus exercise the power to shape his own identity. How does Raskolnikov's quest relate to the moral issues involved in devising a political structure for a country whose people have long been tyrannized by the ruling elite? After the failures of liberalism throughout Europe, the political intelligentsia had begun to to consider more radical approaches to achieving social change. On the left, radical socialists regarded freedom as less important than equality, an equaliy that would be implemented violently and enforced by a ruling elite. Raskolnikov goes beyond even Bazarov by not just contemplating but actually using violence as a tool of social engineering. He is not simply another tree in the forest. He is extraordinary and so grants himself the right to join the revolutionary elite, but to do the killing, his repulsion against violence has to be silenced. (How well did he accomplish that goal?)
As the action of the story has progressed, Raskolnikov has begun to understand the real reasons which provoked his plunge into violence. His bumbling mistakes, driven by fever and rage, have humiliated his ego. He can no longer explain his actions to himself as noble or just, and he cannot qualm the terrible psychic damage of his deed. To justify himself to himself, all he can claim now is that he did murder just to be free and to revel in his humiliation like poor Marmeladov's suicidal assertion of free will. Can he do evil just for the sake of being free, just for the sensual gratification inherent in dominating another's will completely? What perception of his crime is dawning in Raskolnikov's consciousness? It is at this stage of the action that Svidrigaylov materializes. Dostoevsky creates a mirror character to Raskolnikov who can demonstrate to him the ultimate consequences of supressing the conscience. He materializes in Raskolnikov's room because he has been summoned while Raskolnikov is being interrogated by Profiry and he is falling in love with Sonia. Chapter 1: Svridrigaylov's Gambit (281-294) Arkady Ivanovich Svidrigaylov:
How did he get involved with Marfa Petrovna? (285) What crimes has he committed? What does he hint at? You have to piece it together with your own imagination.
Now, though, he has become very bored. He is only interested in 'physical anatomy'. What consequences is he suffering from his crimes?
What does he want from Raskolnikov? What is Svidrigayov's gambit?
Doestoevsky's inspiration for his depiction of Svidrigaylov:
Chapter 2: The Show Down with Luzhin (295-306)
Articulate Dostoevsky's analysis of the reform minded liberal's objectives when he seeks to aid the destitute and the defenseless. What of Luzhin's moral judgement of poor people like Sonia? (303) Should she have found another job? Should she have abandoned her family instead of going down to the corner? Compare Luzhin's proposal with Svidrigaylov's. How are they different? (philanthropy vs. caritas) Chapter 3: Razumikhin's Happy Ending..... dashed! (306-314)
What is Dostoevsky's implied ideological point about Razumikhin's dream? Chapter 4: Sonia's Room: The Raising of Lazarus (314-331) It is now 10:00 pm, and Raskolnikov has left his family and gone to Sonia's room in Kapernaumov the tailor's house.
What is Dostoevsky's ideological point?
Dostoevsky's Point? Chapter 5: The Final Test: Raskolnikov's Second Meeting With Porfiry Petrovich (331-350) Chapter 6: Nikolay the House Painter (350-58)
What is Dostoevsky's purpose in having Nikolay the house painter interrupt the scene? (351-52) What is he saying about Porfiry's political philosophy? Part Five (359-436) Dostoevsky concluded the interrogation scene between Porfiry and Raskolnikov with the criminal on the verge of confession. The scene seemed designed to corroborate Porfiry's hard determinist theories about human nature and crime-- but Nikolay the house painter burst into the scene and, out of the blue, confessed to the crime. How does this strange turn of events fit into the continuing ideological debate about what is to be done? Summarize the plot of Part Five.
Chapter 1: Lebeziatnikov's Commune (261-378)
Part Five begins with the entrance of a new character on to the foreground of the action: Lebziatnikov. What does he look like? "This Andrei Semyonich was a thin-blooded and scrofulous little man, small of stature, who worked as an official somewhere, was strangely tow-headed and had side whiskers shaped like mutton chops which were his great pride....He subscribed himself to progress and 'our young generations' out of passion. He was one of that numerous and and diverse legion of vulgarians, feeble miscreates, half-taught petty tyrants who make a point of leeching on to the most fashionable current ideas, only to vulgarize it at once... "(365) Which ideological camp does he come from? Fourier... Darwin... communes.... free love.... Yes, he has latched onto some of Bazarov's ideas, but what is he in it for? (Remember Sitnikov in Fathers and Sons?) Yet, with whom is he rooming? Luzhin, who laughs at all of his ideas, insinuates that Lebeziatinikov is just an ugly slob who has embraced socialism as the best method he can think to get laid. What do we know of him from his earlier interaction with Marmeladov and his family? (367) He was the neighbor to whom Marmeladov went for his loan, knowing it would be refused. Lebeziatnitkov hit on Sonia, but then, when rejected by her, demanded that she be tossed from the building. When Katerina Ivanovna attacked him, he slapped her around... and hen tried to justify it to himself by arguing that 'woman is the equal of man in everything; therefore...' before giving up his argument. What kind of liberated social practices would take place in Lebeziatnikov's commune? (368-371) Children not christened... new wives allowed to take lovers...'free marriage'... mothers walking out on children... There will be no prostitution because... women will give out sex freely! female honor will be redefined as.... the right for women to sleep with whomever they like! He wants Sonia to join his commune too, and he has spent some time 'developing her'... (377) Dostoevsky's point? He is lampooning Chernyshevsky's Crystal Palace, the utopian socialist vision of Russia's future as it is expressed in What is to be Done?, the novel Chernyshevsky wrote while in prison in 1863. What would be the male reaction to the assertion of feminist principles, according to Dostoevsky? Why juxtapose this scene with the one in which Porfiry has been surprised? Perhaps the most unattractive character in the novel (personally) is also the guy who summons the courage to step up and save Sonia from Luzhin's plot. What are people capable of doing that come as a shocking surprise? Not only acts of terrible evil, but also acts of extraordinary goodness. Chapter 2: Katerina Ivanovna's Funeral Party (378-391) Chapter 3: Luzhin's Accusation (391-405) The action shifts to Katerina Ivanovna's funeral party.This scene ranks up there as one of the funniest and most horrifying ever imagined. Dostoevsky, influenced by writers like Poe and Baudelaire, invented the vogue for the 'grotesque' which would dominate much early 20th c. literature and theatre. The action of the Katerina's party gradually pushes her slowly but inexorably to the edge of her sanity... and then she tumbles over. Dostoevsky is not merely creating a hysterically funny, then terribly disturbing and sensational scene. He is analyzing a central problem of poverty. Can the poor change themselves? How would thinkers from the various ideologies answer this question? Remember what Dostoevsky's point was in his depiction of Marmeladov? How did his self-destructive descent into addiction represent his final 'free act'? In his characterizaton of Katerina Ivanovna, Dostoevsky depicts what he considers the central psychological hurdle that the poor must overcome in order to take collective action. What blinds the poor to the reality of their situation? Why has Katerina Ivanovna gone to such trouble and expense to give this party? (378) Katerina Ivanovna's monologue (383-391) Describe how her snobbery manifests itself? By putting down others who are basically at the same economic level as she is, Katerina insists that she is NOT poor! No, she is just down on her luck. Otherwise, her poverty would reflect poorly on her character! What is Katerina's dream? (391-92) Establishing a boarding school for girls in the country. Is this an insane idea? (Where will she find the capital?) Who has shown up for her party? (380-82) Not Luzhin, not Lebeziatnikov, not the little old lady upstairs, not even the fat colonel-major. Why would they not be caught dead at such a gethering? Instead, her guests include a deaf and nearly blind old man, a drunken clerk who shows up without his pants on, a Pole who smells abominably, two other Poles whom no one has ever seen before.... and Raskolnikov.... What do the guests do when Katerina starts putting on airs? They get plastered and make fun of her and Sonia. The scene is hysterically funny, but it becomes horrible as Katerina's coughing worsens adn her handkerchief grows stained with blood. What pushes Katerina across the line? (391-92) [Her madness: (395; 405)] Luzhin's accusation of Sonia... Fortunately, Lebeziatnikov steps up to the rescue, and even this collection of degenerates are enraged by Luzhin's attempt to incriminate Sonia. Chapter 4: Raskolnikov's Confession to Sonia (405-422) Why does Dostoevsky juxtapose this scene with the breakdown of Katerina Ivanovna?
Dostoevsky's point?
Chapter 5: Katerina Ivanovna's Hemmorhage (422-436) Katerina Ivanovna has gone mad. Abandoned, she has gone into the streets with her children, beating a frying pan and forcing them to dance on the canal bridge.
Ideological Point? Part Six (439-531) The novel ends as it began-- with Raskolnikov taking a long walk up to a threshold, wrangling and debating his choice with himself the whole way. There is no decisiveness to the conclusion of his story. His personality seems to take on the shape of whoever happens to be talking to him at the time. At the outset of the novel's final movement, despite his confession to Sonia, Raskolnikov is drifting again, choking in the claustraphobia of his own mind. He needs, "Air, Air, Air, sir...." He needs a new philosophy of living. Which direction will he turn? Whose will determines the final reality of Crime and Punishment? Raskolnikov: He must overcome his conscience as well as the conditioning of his poverty to achieve freedom Porfiry: He must submit to reason and accept the fact that his actions and much of his idenity have been determined by the conditions of his environment. Sonia: He must submit to faith and acknowledge that God alone, or the Devil, enables action. Svidrigaylov: He must insist upon and achieve absolute autonomy of action: no rules apply.
Chapter 1: Air, Air, Air, sir... (439-448) While wandering in a fog during the days after Katerina Ivanovna's memorial service, the last time he had seen Sonia, Raskolnikov declares to himself. "No, better some kind of fight! Better Profiry again.... or Svidrigaylov, the sooner to meet someone's challenge, someone's attack... Yes! Yes!" (442) Razumikhin, at this point, still refuses to accept the truth and is trying to convince himself that Raskolnikov must be "a political conspirator, for sure!" (444) Yes, that's it! And he has drawn Dunia into his circle as well! Any expanation is better that the alternative: the suspicion that his friend might be a murderer. He tells Raskolnikov more details about Nikolay's confession- and Raskolnikov is relieved. He resolves to face down Svidrigaylov at that moment, and then test himself with Porfiry once again, to prove to himself once and for all that he has the nerve and the intelligence to act. But Porfiry has come to see him this time! Chapter 2: Porfiry's Plea Bargain (448-462) What is Porfiry's final ploy (in this strange case now grown cold)? He's got nothing on Raskolnikov. Not only has Nikolay confessed to the crime, but there is also tangible physical evidence linking him to the crime. (What is it?) Porfiry's only chance at catching Raskolnikov depends on getting him to confess. How does he go about wheedling it from him? (451ff) He plays good cop. He lets Raskolnikov know that he has known of his guilt from the outset of his investigation. He confesses that he has been manipulating him all along: the scene in the office, the article in the journal, the room searches. Porfiry humself was watching Raskolnikov during his delerium in the days just after the murder. He was the one who sent Razumikhin to Raskolnikov's sick room to get his reaction to the murders. He knows about the restaurant encounter with Zamyetov. He's been told about the bell ringing incident at the scene of the crime. He sent the work man to accuse him of murder. He even had this same man in his closet, ready to spring out during thier last encounter. How does Porfiry explain Nikolay's confession? Porfiry gently explains why he cannot accept Nikolay's confession as truth. Even so, he understands and even admires Nikolay's motives for confessing. Nikolai is an Old Beleiver, not a raskolniki. He willingly takes on the guilt of the world; he accepts suffering even when it is undeserved in any logical sense: like Christ. "Do you know Rodion Romanych, what suffering means for some of them? Not for the sake of someone, but simply 'the need for suffering'; to embrace suffering, that is.... won't you allow that such a nation as ours produces fantastic people?" (455) What is his conclusion about this case? "Here we have a fantastic, gloomy case, a modern case, a situation of our times, when the human heart is clouded, when one hears cited the phrase that blood 'refreshes', when people preach a whole life of comfort. There are bookish dreams here, sir, there is a heart chafed by theories; we see here a resolve to take the first step, but a resolve of a certain kind-- he resolved on it but as if he were falling off a mountain or plunging from a bell tower, and then arrived at the crime as if he weren't using his own legs. He forgot to lock the door behind him, but killed, killed tow people according to a theory...." (456) What is the value of suffering according to Porfiry? "Maybe its just here that God has been waiting for you....I regard you as one of those men who could have their guts cut out, and would stand and look at his torturers with a smile- provided he's found faith, or God. Well, go and find it, and you will live. First of all, you've needed a change of air for a long time. And suffering is a good thing after all. Suffer, then." (460) We learn that we cannot live alone. "Who did it? Why, you did, Rodion Romanych!" Porfiry urges Raskolnikov to confess and take upon himself the suffering of punishment. Otherwise, he will not survive. Porfiry even pledges to help Raskolnikov in his trial because he truly beleives that there are mitigating circumstances. The mirder was done in a state of delerium brought on by the terrible circumstances of his life: his poverty, his illness, his deperation. No, Raskolnikov is no criminal. Otherwise, he would not need..... to CONFESS! What is Porfiry's parting shot when Raskolnikov declines his invitation? If you opt out of the party, please leave a note telling us where you left the pawnbroker's goods. (462) Raskolnikov does not succomb to Poriry's final ploy, but he may also realize that he is not even in the same league with him intellectually. Yet he will not submit! What options remain for him now? Chapter 3: Svidrigaylov's Option (462-472) 9:30 pm Raskolnikov goes hunting for Svidrigaylov; only he realizes suddenly that he is the one being hunted. (464) Svidrigaylov is watching him. He is close to us all. He is simply a way of seeing the world: "I alone matter. The only good is my personal self-interest." The novel's final movement is dominated by Svidrigaylov, just as its opening scenes featured Marmeladov. We get our closes view yet of this 'worn out profligate'. What has his life come to? He barely eats or drinks anything. He wiles his time away hiring street performers to entertain him. At times, he soaks a towel and puts it on hi head to calm the tumult of his imagination. Everything asbout him shimmers as if he might suddenly phase out of synch with reality and fully enter the absurd realm he has constructed for himself, a universe in which he is utterly alone. He is St. Petersburg personified (467) When Svidrigaylov looks at Raskolnikov, what does he see? Why, you are just like me! You have not achieved my advanced state, but you are getting there! All you need to do is discard the little ploys you use to justify the pursuit of pleasure and be honest with yourself. You did not kill the old lady to promote social welfare or even to advance your family's prospects. You did it because it felt good! You did it for the kick of transgression. What are the final consequences of Svidrigaylov's bid to free himself from any moral boundary? He is disintegrating. When Raskolnikov finds him in the bar off the Haymarket, Svidrigaylov is just sitting there smiling. Look at the terrifying description of his face. (468) "It was somehow a strange face, more liek a mask: white, ruddy, with ruddy scarlet lips, a light blond beard, and still quite thick blond hair. The eyes were somehow too blue, and their look was somehow too heavy and immobile. There was something terribly unpleasant in this handsome and, considering the man's age, extremely youthful face." (468) How does he tempt Raskolnikov? something new? (469) "Let's say, for example, that you've come to me now not just on business, but for a little something new- right? Am I right? "In this depravity there's at least something permanent, even based on nautre, and not subject to fantasy, something that abides in the blood like a perpetually burning coal, eternally inflaming, which for a long time, even with age, one may not be able to extinguish so easily... a disease like everything that goes byyound measure." (470) "Russians are generally broad people, borad as their land and greatly inclined to to the fantastic, the disorderly; but its disastrous to be broad without special genius..." (491) Why must Raskolnikov accept punishment, responsibility for a crime over which he had little control? Raskolnikov may have possessed limited control, but he must accept moral responsibility; otherwise he forges a new behavioral pattern over which he will exercise limited autonomous control. Otherwise, his ego will disintegrate. His behavior will leave him behind all together. For Svidrigaylov, the hypnotic fascination of sex and violence has overwhelmed any rational control. Violence satisfies instincts which destroy what is human in our nature, our capacity of civility. What is the political implication of Dostoevsky's insight? Wholeness of character can only be achieved through submission of the ego: the painful, difficult comprimises made with others. Moral and political integrity can only be achieved through submission of the self, not to others, but with others. What's the difference? Chapter 4: Svidrigaylov's Confession (472-483) Why has his adventure in amorality foundered? "I really am a gloomy, boring man. You think I'm cheerful? No. I'm gloomy. I don;t do any harm. I just sit in the corner. Sometimes no one get get a word out of me for three days." (479) Boredom. Nothing satisfies any longer. What is for Svidrigaylov the ultimate criminal pleasure? Deflowering innocence. Who is his partner in depravity, his procurer? (479) His friend, Resselich, dreams up new debauches. She has identified a new potential quarry to feed to his wraped desire: a schoolgirl, just about to turn sixteen, from a family eager to unload her. (479) "once in a while, she gives me a glance on th sly-- it burns right through.... once, she suddenly threw herself on my neck (the first time on her own), embraced me with her little arms, kissed me, and vowed that she would be an obedient, faithful and good wife to me, that she would make me happy,,,, all she wanted was my respect!... You must agree that to hear such a confession in private from such a dear sixteen year old angel in lace dress, with fluffed up little curls, with a blush of maidenly modesty and tears of enthusiasm in her eyes, you must agree its rather tempting." (480) How does he plan to seduce Dunia? (474-75) "Avdotya Romanovna felt for me and in spite of my ever gloomy and repellant look-- in the end she felt pity for me, pity for the lost man. And when a girl's heart is moved to pity, that is, of course, most dangerous for her. She wants to save him then, to bring him to reason, to resurrect him, to call him to nobler aims..." (474) "the greatest and surest means of conquering a woman's heart, a means which has never yet failed anyone, which workls decidedly on one and all. without exception-- the well-known means of flattery" (476) He wants her to believe that she can save him. And if she can save a monster like him? Then she is truly remarkable. What must Svidrigaylov do to try to convince Dunia that she can rescue him? An act of charity, offered without any expectation of reward. What is the problem with Svidrigaylov's plan? Chapter 5: Svidrigaylov's Play for Dunia's Love (483-497) How will he convince her that he is a new man?
How does he describe Raskolnikov's crime? (489-91) Is he accurate? How does he make his final bid for her love? (493)
When she refuses? (493-44)
When the gun misfires?
Chapter 6: The Neva Rising (498-511) Dostoevsky surrounds Svidrigaylov's final hours with apocalyptic imagery: the Neva is rising and a flood is coming that will cleanse the filth from St. Petersburg's nooks and crannies. (See Pushkin's "The Bronxe Horseman") (507-08)
Chapter 7: Raskolnikov's Farewells (511-520) Chapter 8: Raskolnikov Kneels in the Haymarket (521-31) How does Raskolnikov avoid Svidrigaylov's fate? What happens to him when he says good-bye to his mother? At the end, Raskolnikov still has not resolved the terrible conflicts within his split psyche. Does his confession indicate remorse for his crime? (518) What then is the difference between Raskolnikov and Svidrigaylov? "If only I were alone.." (520) Try as he might, he is still connnected with others, surrounded by others who love him even if he no longer believes in himself or compassion or his political mission: Dunia, Razumikhin, Pulcheria, Sonia, Polenka, even Porfiry. They all love him. Why? What is Raskolnikov's attitude as he makes the final walk? (524-31) Self-mockery, bitter humor, cynicism as he performs the religious gestures Sonia has demanded of him. Epilogue: Lazarus Raised (535-551) Part One
Part Two
Leftist critics dismiss the final action of the novel. Raskolnikov, after stewing for two years in prison, finally embraces Sonia and begins his new life. He reads the story of Lazarus again and connects. The leftists argue that the epilogue with its pat moral contradicts the whole method of the novel and its vision of the ambiguity of truth. This ending with its clear trumpet sounding of a monological truth is for the leftist critic, evidence that Dostoevsky lost his nerve. Do you agree? Has not the whole action of the novel led to this final moment? By embracing Sonia, Raskolnikov is embracing life. To live one must achieve connection with another.
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