Part 1

(Source: https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Crime-and-Punishment/)

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.
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.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
7. 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.

Part 2

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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.

Part 3

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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.”

Part 4

1. 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.
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.
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.
4. 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.
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.
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.

Part 5

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.”
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.
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.
4. 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.”
5. 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.

Part 6

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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
7. 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.
8. 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.”

Epilogue

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.
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.”