Crime and Punishment (Part 6, Chapter 8)

Summary of “Crime and Punishment” ⭐

Part 1

Chapter 1

Still from the film “Crime and Punishment.” 1969

The main character of the novel, which takes place in the sixties of the 19th century in St. Petersburg, is a poor student Rodion Raskolnikov: a tall, handsome young man with dark brown hair and dark eyes. The young man is in a difficult financial situation: he must pay the landlady of the apartment in which he lives a fairly large sum, but for two days he does not even have enough money to eat properly. The student goes to the old pawnbroker Alena Ivanovna. A plan to kill the old woman has long been ripening in his head, and now he is seriously considering it. He pawns the silver watch, and during a conversation with Alena Ivanovna, he carefully examines her apartment. Raskolnikov tells the old woman that he will come again soon and bring a silver cigarette box to pawn.

Chapter 2

Still from the film “Crime and Punishment.” 1969

On his way home, the young man stops at a cheap drinking establishment. In it, he meets Marmeladov, a titular adviser who discusses the topic of poverty and shares the history of his family with the student. Marmeladov’s wife, an educated woman Katerina Ivanovna, having three children, married him, and he spends all her money on booze. In order for the family to have some money, she forced Marmeladov’s daughter, Sonya, to go to the panel. The man could barely stand on his feet, and Rodion walked him home. The extremely poor decoration of their home surprised the student. Katerina Ivanovna began to scold her husband for drinking his money, and Raskolnikov left, involuntarily leaving them some change on the windowsill.

Analyzing chapters 1-2

The first two chapters establish the setting and introduce some of the novel's major themes. The premise of the story, central St. Petersburg in the 1860s - noisy, smelly and poor - is exactly what Dostoevsky shows us. The summer heat is oppressive and reflects Raskolnikov’s state of consciousness.

Dostoevsky introduces the following themes:

1. Alienation. Alienation can come from within or from society. Raskolnikov becomes so self-absorbed that he isolates himself from society. This contributes to his anxiety and paranoia. Sonya was alienated from a society that considers prostitutes disrespectful.
2. Crime. Raskolnikov's actions at the pawnshop suggest that he is planning a crime and struggling with whether he can carry it through to completion. Dostoevsky focuses on why people commit crimes and how these crimes affect both the victims and the perpetrators.
3. Suffering. Suffering haunts this novel like a ghost. Almost every character in these first two chapters suffers from extreme poverty. Raskolnikov is almost a beggar. Marmeladov and his family face hunger, disease and social shame due to his alcoholism. Marmeladov's bitter faith that God will forgive him, and Sonya's balance between suffering and compassion, is a theme that obsesses Dostoevsky here and in his other works.
4. Morality. Marmeladov's situation contrasts religious morality with the realities of imperfect human behavior. The novel explores several definitions of morality, including Christian, utilitarian, and nihilistic.

Chapter 3

Still from the film “Crime and Punishment.” 1969

The room in which the young man himself lived was a very small room with a low ceiling. Raskolnikov receives a letter from his mother, Pulcheria Alexandrovna. In it, the mother tells Rodion that his sister, Dunya, was offended in the Svidrigailovs’ house, where she worked as a governess. Dunya is a very beautiful, patient and generous girl. She has brown hair and almost black eyes. Svidrigailov, the owner of the house, a man about fifty years old, began to show signs of attention to the girl. His wife Marfa Petrovna noticed her husband's interest in the young governess and began to humiliate her. Also recently, Dunya received a marriage proposal from Pyotr Petrovich Luzhin, a court councilor aged forty-five years old, who had sufficient capital. Pulcheria Alexandrovna and Dunya are planning to come to St. Petersburg in the near future to arrange a wedding as soon as possible.

Chapter 4

After reading the letter, the young man was very upset. He realized that his sister and mother agreed to the wedding only because they needed money. Rodion does not want Dunya to marry Luzhin, but he cannot prohibit the marriage. After this incident, the student thinks even more strongly about killing the old pawnbroker.

Analyzing chapters 3-4

These chapters focus primarily on the suffering of selfless women who are often manipulated by others.

Women who sacrifice themselves include Sonya, who becomes a prostitute for the sake of her family, and Dunya, who faces the prospect of an unhappy marriage in order to help her family. Katerina Ivanovna's life was sacrificed to her husband's alcoholism. Pulcheria and Dunya send Raskolnikov money that they can hardly save.

Women's suffering is often associated with the men who take advantage of them. Pulcheria's letter describes Svidrigailov as a scoundrel. Raskolnikov equates him to a man trying to take advantage of a drunk girl. Luzhin wants a wife who is attractive and educated, but poor so that she can worship him.

Even Raskolnikov, who objects to his sister's self-sacrifice and tries to protect a vulnerable girl, uses women in his own way. He tries to save a drunken girl from danger, but almost sends her back to a terrible fate. All because he is thinking about whether he should help her or not. At least he can recognize her suffering and try to do something about it. The attempt to alleviate or prevent suffering is a theme that Dostoevsky returns to several times throughout Crime and Punishment.

In the fourth chapter Razumikhin appears. Dostoevsky highlights certain aspects of Raskolnikov's personality, contrasting him with Razumikhin. His friendliness, optimism and generosity balance Raskolnikov's aloofness, pessimism and self-absorption.

Chapter 5

Walking around the city, Raskolnikov snacks on a piece of pie and vodka. He quickly gets drunk and falls asleep in the bushes. A young man has a terrible dream, which reflects an incident from his childhood. Then the men beat the old horse to death, but he could not stop them. Running up to the horse, the boy kisses it and, out of anger, attacks the man with his fists. When the young man wakes up, he thinks that perhaps killing the old woman will be beyond his strength. Walking home through the market on Sennaya Square, Raskolnikov sees the pawnbroker’s sister, Lizaveta, who is completely subordinate to the old woman and carries out her instructions all day long. The young man hears Lizaveta’s conversation with the traders. From it he learns that tomorrow at seven in the evening Alena Ivanovna will be home alone. After this he sees a student and an officer; they say that the pawnbroker is not worthy of living, and if she were to die, her money could be used to help poor young people.

Chapter 6

Illustration by M. Shemyakin

At home, the young man begins preparations for murder. He sews a loop for the ax on the inside of the coat, making it so that the ax is not visible while walking. He takes a tablet the size of a cigarette box, wrapped in paper and tied with a ribbon: it will play the role of a pledge in order to distract the old woman. Raskolnikov steals an ax from the janitor's room and goes to Alena Ivanovna's apartment.

Analyzing chapters 5-6

Raskolnikov's sleep is caused by a fever, which is due to his mental state. The themes of suffering and morality are intertwined in the dream—we are shown three different responses to suffering. As a child in a dream, Raskolnikov fondly remembers the village church and its comforting rituals. They symbolize traditional morality, rooted in Christianity, which promotes compassion as the most moral response to suffering. In the dream, Raskolnikov tries to prevent suffering, his father ignores the suffering, and the horse owner adds to it.

Waking up, Raskolnikov is torn. He prays to God and gives up his plan. But by the end of the chapter, he decides to carry out his plans, because he accidentally hears that Alena will be home alone. Having made his decision, he suddenly feels as if committing a crime is inevitable and as if he never had a choice in the matter. At this moment, Raskolnikov seems not only indecisive or conflicted, but also mentally unbalanced.

Alena puts Raskolnikov in front of a moral dilemma. Is someone who causes such suffering worthy of any compassion? Raskolnikov's indecision represents a struggle between old and new morality: he plans cold-blooded murder, which he justifies as a good thing, a fashionable attitude adopted by modern intellectuals. But after the dream, he reconnects with traditional Christian morality, which condemns murder and advocates compassion.

Raskolnikov also theorizes about why criminals always give themselves away using the metaphor of illness and disease. He believes that crime “infects” the criminal with loss of reason and will. Raskolnikov believes that the smallest planning of every detail of the crime can prevent this “disease.” If he kills Alena, it will not affect him because it is not a crime. He's doing the world a favor.

Raskolnikov's views are an example of situational irony, in which his expectations about committing a crime and the reality of his situation actually contradict each other. Raskolnikov believes in his logic and reason and expects them to protect him from detection and guilt. However, his preparation for the crime is incomplete, and his wildly changing mental state suggests that his reason is, in fact, shaky. Thus, the crime already affects him greatly even before he commits it.

Chapter 7

Illustration by D. Shmarinov

The young man was very worried and was afraid that the old woman, noticing his strange behavior, would not allow him to enter. But the pawnbroker took the “cigarette box,” and while she was trying to untie the ribbon, Rodion hit her on the head with the butt of an ax. Afterwards he repeats the blow and realizes that Alena Ivanovna is dead. Taking the keys out of the old woman’s pocket, the young man went to her room. He found her money in the chest and began to put it in his pockets, but at that moment Lizaveta returned home. Raskolnikov, in fear of being seen, kills her with an ax. Realizing what he had done, the young man felt horror, but gradually he begins to come to his senses and washes the blood from his hands, boots and the murder weapon. Getting ready to leave, Rodion hears footsteps coming from the stairs: clients have come to the pawnbroker. After waiting until they leave the house, the student quickly goes home. He puts the ax in the janitor's room, goes into his room and falls on the bed in oblivion.

Analyzing Chapter 7

After six chapters of indecision, Raskolnikov kills Alena. However, the act and its consequences are far from what he imagined. Having killed Alena, he feels under control for a while, but Raskolnikov's plan is completely thwarted with the arrival of Lizaveta. The only reason he kills Lizaveta is to cover up the first murder. Her death does not lead to the benefit of society, as Rodion believed. The murder of Lizaveta destroys Raskolnikov's rationality for the robbery and murder of Alena. However, he does not hesitate for a moment to kill Lizaveta to protect himself, acting no differently than a common criminal.

The situation continues to go differently than Raskolnikov had planned. It becomes more likely that he will be caught, but for better or worse is an open question. After the murder of Lizaveta, Raskolnikov’s logic completely fails him. He focuses intently on small details, such as blood spatter, but fails to notice large ones, such as a door that was left open. Much of his motivation and justification for the crime was to take all of Alena's money, but he only manages to steal one wallet. In the end, he does not escape the criminal's "sickness," and by the time he returns home, he feels "not quite conscious."

Part 2

Chapter 1

Illustration by D. Shmarinov

The next day the young man wakes up only at three o'clock in the afternoon. Remembering the murder, he panics and checks his clothes to make sure there is no blood left on them. Having found the old woman's money and jewelry, he puts them in a hole under the wallpaper in the corner of the room. The apartment owner’s cook, Nastasya, comes to the young man and brings a summons that Raskolnikov must come to the police office. The young man is very worried, but the police called him just to write a receipt with an obligation to pay the debt for living in the apartment. Leaving the station, Rodion hears that the employees are discussing the murder of an old pawnbroker. He faints; the police thought the student was sick and sent him home. At home, Raskolnikov is afraid that he might be searched and decides to hide what he took from Alena Ivanovna’s apartment under a stone in the empty yard. After this, the young man returns home. From his experiences he falls ill and spends several days delirious.

Chapters 2-4

When the main character regained consciousness, he saw that Razumikhin, his friend from the university, a tall, smart young man, had come to him. He says that policeman Zametov visited Raskolnikov several times. Also during these days, he received money to pay for the apartment, sent by his mother. Soon another good friend comes to the young man - Zosimov, a medical student. From his story about the murder of an old pawnbroker, Rodion learns that the investigation has no reliable evidence, but there are several suspects, including the dyer Mikola.

Chapter 5

Illustration by D. Shmarinov

After some time, Luzhin visits Raskolnikov's room. The student tells Pyotr Petrovich that he wants to take Dunya as his wife only so that she will thank him all her life for getting rid of poverty. The man does not agree with Raskolnikov, after which the young man drives him away. Soon Rodion's friends also leave his house. Razumikhin believes that there is something burdensome on his friend’s mind and worries about him.

Chapter 6

Soon Raskolnikov enters the tavern and sees Zametov there. The friends talk about murder, and Rodion tells how he would act if he were a murderer. The young man asks Zametov what he would do if he really committed the crime, almost directly admitting to what he had done. However, Zametov does not believe in his comrade’s guilt. While walking around St. Petersburg, the young man wanted to drown himself, but changed his mind and unknowingly went to the pawnbroker's house. There he discusses the crime with the workers who are doing the repairs, and they decide that the young man is crazy.

Chapter 7

Next, Rodion heads to Razumikhin and on the way meets a crowd of people who have gathered around the drunken Marmeladov, who was hit by a carriage. He is carried home, and there the man dies in the arms of his daughter Sonya. The student gives all the money he has to the adviser's family to organize his father's funeral. Then Raskolnikov goes to Razumikhin, who accompanies him home. Approaching the house where the main character lived, the friends notice the light in the windows of his room.

Part 3

Chapters 1-2

It turns out that Raskolnikov’s mother and sister came to see him. Seeing them, the young man fainted. Having come to his senses, the young man talks with Dunya about Luzhin and insists on refusing the wedding. The young man immediately liked the beautiful Dunya. The next morning he goes to the hotel to visit her and his mother. Pulcheria Alexandrovna tells him about the letter he received from Luzhin in the morning. He says that he wants to see her and Dunya, but asks to organize a meeting without Rodion’s presence.

Chapters 3-4

In the morning, the women come to Raskolnikov and tell him about Luzhin’s letter; Dunya believes that her brother must be with her during the meeting with the groom. At this time, Sonya Marmeladova comes to the student’s apartment and invites him to her father’s funeral. Raskolnikov introduces her to her family, despite the fact that because of her reputation the girl cannot communicate with them on equal terms. Sonya goes home and on the way notices the pursuit of some stranger, who turns out to be her neighbor (by coincidence, he turned out to be Svidrigailov).

Chapter 5

Still from the film “Crime and Punishment.” 1969

Razumikhin and Raskolnikov go to the investigator working on the murder of an old pawnbroker. Rodion wants to find out how he can get the things left as pawn from the old woman, and learns that he needs to submit an application. Suddenly, Porfiry Petrovich remembers an article that Raskolnikov wrote not so long ago. It says that people are divided into ordinary people, who do not have the right to break the law, and extraordinary people, who are allowed to commit crimes. The investigator asks whether Rodion considers himself to be extraordinary, whether he is capable of committing a crime, and receives an affirmative answer. Afterwards, Porfiry Petrovich asks if the young man saw the dyers in the old woman’s house. The young man, after hesitating, answers that he did not see. Razumikhin intervenes, saying that the dyers were working on the day of the murder, and the young man was there a couple of days before. After this, the students leave.

Chapter 6

Near the house, Raskolnikov met a stranger who called him a murderer and left without explaining anything. In Rodion’s room, the fever begins again. He dreams of a mysterious stranger calling him to the old woman's apartment; the young man hits her on the head with an ax, but she laughs. The young man wants to run away, but he is surrounded by a crowd of people. Raskolnikov wakes up and Svidrigailov comes to him.

Part 4

Chapters 1-3

He asks the student to arrange a date with Dunya under the pretext that he would like to give the girl ten thousand for all the troubles caused to her in his house. Rodion refuses. In the evening, Raskolnikov and Razumikhin go to see Pulcheria Alexandrovna and Dunya. Luzhin, unhappy that the bride did not take into account his request, refuses to discuss the wedding under Rodion. Dunya drives him away.

Chapter 4

Still from the film “Crime and Punishment.” 1969

Soon the young man comes to Sonya. She says that she cannot leave her father's wife and children, who will die of hunger without her help. Raskolnikov bows at her feet, saying that the bow is addressed not only to her, but to all human suffering. The student sees that the New Testament is on the table and asks to read to him about the resurrection of Lazarus. Before leaving, Rodion promises that tomorrow he will come again and tell who killed the old money-lender. At this time, Svidrigailov is in the next room and overhears the entire conversation.

Chapters 5-6

The next day the young man goes to Porfiry Petrovich to pick up his things. The investigator tries to check him, and Raskolnikov, irritated, asks Porfiry to say whether he considers him guilty. However, the man avoids answering, and then the dyer Mikola is brought in, who confesses to the murder of Alena Ivanovna. Rodion goes home and again sees the stranger who called him a murderer. He says that Porfiry asked him about this, and now he repents. Raskolnikov’s soul becomes calmer.

Part 5

Chapters 1-3

According to Luzhin, her brother is to blame for his quarrel with Dunya. Wanting to take revenge on him, he asks Lebezyatnikov, his roommate, to call Sonya to him. Luzhin tells the girl that he will not be able to come to her father's funeral and gives her ten rubles. It seems to Lebezyatnikov that Luzhin is up to something. Many people did not come to Marmeladov’s wake. Katerina Ivanovna quarrels with the owner of the apartment. At this time, Luzhin arrives and declares that Sonya stole a hundred rubles from him, calling Lebezyatnikov as a witness. Sonya denies this accusation and gives Pyotr Petrovich ten rubles. Katerina turns out the pockets of Sonya’s clothes, and a hundred-ruble bill falls out of them. Lebezyatnikov tells everyone that Luzhin himself slipped Sonya this money. Pyotr Petrovich gets angry, and the landlady kicks Katerina and the children out of the apartment.

Chapters 4-5

After this, Rodion goes to Sonya and tells her that he knows the killer and he accidentally killed Lizaveta. The girl understood everything and said that there was no one more unhappy than Raskolnikov. Sonya is ready to go with him even to hard labor. She believes that she needs to confess to the murder, and then God will be able to forgive the young man. Lebezyatnikov comes to Sonya and reports that Katerina has gone crazy; the woman is brought to Sonya's apartment and she dies. Svidrigailov, who is nearby, tells Raskolnikov that he will give money for Katerina’s funeral, arrange the children’s future and help Sonya. He asks the young man to tell Duna that this is how he will spend the ten thousand that he did not give her.

Part 6

Chapters 1-6

Still from the film “Crime and Punishment.” 1969

Soon Porfiry Petrovich comes to the young man and says that he suspects him of murder. However, there is no evidence, and the investigator advises Raskolnikov to come to the station himself and confess everything. The student wants to talk to Svidrigailov, and he says that he was in love with Dunya, but now he has a fiancee. After this, Svidrigailov secretly meets with Dunya, telling her everything he heard from the conversations between Sonya and Raskolnikov. A man tells a girl that he will save her brother in exchange for her love. Dunya wants to leave, but the door is locked; She shoots Svidrigailov several times with a revolver, but misses. He gives her the key, and the girl leaves the revolver and leaves. Returning to the apartment, the man comes to Sonya and gives her three thousand rubles, because he knows that the money will be needed when she goes to hard labor for Raskolnikov. Svidrigailov goes to the hotel, and at dawn he commits suicide by shooting himself in the head with Dunya’s revolver.

Chapters 7-8

Raskolnikov finally decided to confess to the murder and says goodbye to his sister and mother. He goes to Sonya, who gives him a cross and tells him that he needs to kiss the ground at the crossroads. Rodion fulfills the girl’s request, after which he goes to the investigator and says that he is the old woman’s killer. He is informed about Svidrigailov's suicide.

Epilogue

Raskolnikov is sentenced to eight years of hard labor. His mother fell ill, and Dunya and Razumikhin take her out of the city. Pulcheria Ivanovna thinks that her son has left. Sonya goes to Siberia following Rodion. Razumikhin marries Duna; the young people also plan to go to Siberia in a few years. In hard labor, Raskolnikov is considered an atheist, but Sonya, who comes to him, is loved. Soon the young man falls ill and ends up in the hospital. Sonya often visits him. The young man thinks about his fate and understands that pride can only lead to death. The next time Sonya came to him, he began hugging her legs. The girl was scared at first, but then realized that he loved her very much.

Crime and Punishment (Part 1, Chapter 7)

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PART ONE

VII

The door, as before, opened a tiny crack, and again two sharp and incredulous glances stared at him from the darkness. Here Raskolnikov got lost and made an important mistake.

Fearing that the old woman would be afraid that they were alone, and not hoping that the sight of him would dissuade her, he grabbed the door and pulled it towards him, so that the old woman would not somehow decide to lock herself again. Seeing this, she did not pull the door back towards her, but did not let go of the lock handle, so he almost pulled her, along with the door, onto the stairs. Seeing that she was standing across the door and not allowing him to pass, he went straight towards her. She jumped back in fear, wanted to say something, but seemed unable to and looked at him with all her eyes.

“Hello, Alena Ivanovna,” he began as casually as possible, but his voice did not listen to him, broke off and trembled, “I brought you... a thing... but it’s better let’s go here... to the light...” And, leaving her, he directly, without invitation , walked into the room. The old woman ran after him; her tongue became loose.

- God! What do you want?.. Who is this? What do you want?

- For mercy, Alena Ivanovna... your acquaintance... Raskolnikov... here, he brought the pledge that he promised the other day... - And he handed her the pledge.

The old woman glanced at the bet, but immediately stared straight into the eyes of the uninvited guest. She looked attentively, angrily and incredulously. A minute passed; it even seemed to him that there was something like mockery in her eyes, as if she had already guessed everything. He felt that he was lost, that he was almost scared, so scared that it seemed that if she looked like that and didn’t say a word for another half a minute, he would run away from her.

- Why are you looking like that, you really didn’t recognize it? — he suddenly said, also with anger. - Take it if you want, but if not, I’ll go to others, I don’t have time.

He didn’t even think to say it, but it suddenly came out on its own.

The old woman came to her senses, and the guest’s decisive tone apparently encouraged her.

- Why are you, father, so suddenly... what is it? - she asked, looking at the mortgage.

- Silver cigarette case: I said it last time.

She extended her hand.

- Why are you so pale? So my hands are shaking! Did you take a swim, or what, father?

“Fever,” he answered curtly. “You will inevitably become pale... if there is nothing to eat,” he added, barely pronouncing the words. His strength was leaving him again. But the answer seemed plausible; The old woman took a mortgage.

- What's happened? - she asked, once again carefully examining Raskolnikov and weighing the pledge in her hand.

- Yes, it’s like it’s not silver... Look, I screwed it up.

Trying to untie the string and turning towards the window, towards the light (all her windows were locked, despite the stuffiness), she completely left him for a few seconds and stood with her back to him. He unbuttoned his coat and released the ax from the loop, but did not take it out completely, but only held it with his right hand under his clothes. His hands were terribly weak; he himself heard how, with every moment, they became more and more numb and stiff. He was afraid that he would let go and drop the ax... suddenly his head seemed to spin.

- What has he done here! — the old woman cried with annoyance and moved in his direction.

Not a single moment could be lost. He took out the ax completely, swung it with both hands, barely feeling himself, and almost without effort, almost mechanically, brought the butt down on his head. It was as if his strength was not there. But as soon as he lowered the ax once, strength was born in him.

The old woman, as always, was bare-haired. Her blond, grey-streaked, thin hair, greased with oil as usual, was braided into a rat braid and tucked under a fragment of a horn comb sticking out at the back of her head. The blow hit the very crown of the head, which was facilitated by her short stature. She screamed, but very weakly, and suddenly sank to the floor, although she still managed to raise both hands to her head. She still continued to hold the “mortgage” in one hand. Here he struck with all his might, once and twice, all with the butt and all on the crown of the head. Blood gushed out as if from an overturned glass, and the body fell backwards. He stepped back, let him fall, and immediately bent down to her face; she was already dead. The eyes were bulging, as if they wanted to jump out, and the forehead and whole face were wrinkled and distorted by a spasm.

He put the ax on the floor, next to the dead woman, and immediately reached into her pocket, trying not to get dirty with the flowing blood - into the same right pocket from which she had taken the keys out the last time. He was completely sane, there were no more eclipses and dizziness, but his hands were still shaking. He remembered later that he was even very attentive, careful, trying not to get dirty... He immediately took out the keys; everyone, as then, was in one bundle, on one steel hoop. He immediately ran with them to the bedroom. It was a very small room, with a huge icon case. Against the other wall stood a large bed, very clean, with a silk, quilted, cotton blanket. There was a chest of drawers against the third wall. It’s a strange thing: as soon as he began to attach the keys to the chest of drawers, he just heard them jingling, as if a spasm had passed through him. He suddenly wanted to drop everything and leave again. But it was only a moment; it was too late to leave. He even grinned at himself, when suddenly another disturbing thought entered his head. It suddenly seemed to him that the old woman was perhaps still alive and could still wake up. Throwing away the keys and the chest of drawers, he ran back to the body, grabbed the ax and swung it again over the old woman, but did not lower it. There was no doubt that she was dead. Bending down and examining her again closer, he clearly saw that the skull was crushed and even twisted slightly to one side. He wanted to touch it with his finger, but pulled his hand away; Yes, it was obvious even without that. Meanwhile, a whole puddle of blood had already flowed. Suddenly he noticed a string around her neck and pulled it, but the string was strong and did not break; besides, he was soaked in blood. He tried to pull it out from his bosom, but something got in the way and got stuck. In impatience, he swung the ax again to chop the string right there, along the body, from above, but he did not dare, and with difficulty, getting his hands and the ax dirty, after two minutes of fiddling, he cut the string without touching the body with the ax, and removed it; he was not mistaken - a wallet. On the cord there were two crosses, cypress and copper, and, in addition, an enamel icon; and right there with them hung a small, suede, greasy wallet, with a steel rim and ring. The wallet was very tightly stuffed; Raskolnikov put it in his pocket without examining it, threw the crosses onto the old woman’s chest and, this time grabbing the ax, rushed back to the bedroom.

He was in a terrible hurry, grabbed the keys and began to fiddle with them again. But somehow everything was unsuccessful: they did not invest in locks. It’s not that his hands were shaking so much, but he kept making mistakes: and he sees, for example, that the key is not the right one, it doesn’t fit, but he keeps misplacing it. Suddenly he remembered and realized that this large key, with a jagged beard, which was hanging around with other small ones, must certainly not be from the chest of drawers at all (as it had occurred to him last time), but from some kind of furniture, and that perhaps everything is hidden in this arrangement. He threw the chest of drawers and immediately crawled under the bed, knowing that old women usually put bedsteads under their beds. And so it is: there was a significant building, more than an arshin in length, with a convex roof, upholstered in red morocco, with steel nails stuck on it. The serrated key just fit and unlocked. On top, under a white sheet, lay a hare's fur coat, covered with a red set; under it there was a silk dress, then a shawl, and there, deep down, it seemed that everything lay just rags. First of all, he began to wipe his blood-stained hands on the red set. “Red, but blood is more inconspicuous on red,” he reasoned, and suddenly he came to his senses: “Lord! Am I going crazy?” he thought in fright.

But he had just moved this rag when suddenly, from under his fur coat, a gold watch slid out. He rushed to turn everything over. Indeed, mixed among the rags were gold things - probably all mortgages, redeemed and unredeemed - bracelets, chains, earrings, pins, etc. Some were in cases, others were simply wrapped in newsprint, but neatly and carefully, in double sheets, and tied with ribbons all around. Without hesitating at all, he began to stuff the pockets of his trousers and coat with them, without taking apart or opening the packages and cases; but he didn’t have time to gain much...

Suddenly I heard people walking in the room where the old woman was. He stopped and became silent, as if dead. But everything was quiet, so it was all just an illusion. Suddenly a slight cry was clearly heard, or as if someone moaned quietly and abruptly and fell silent. Then there was dead silence again, for a minute or two. He squatted by the chest and waited, barely catching his breath, but suddenly jumped up, grabbed an ax and ran out of the bedroom.

Lizaveta stood in the middle of the room, with a large bundle in her hands, looking in a daze at her murdered sister, all white as a sheet and seemingly unable to scream. Seeing him run out, she trembled like a leaf, with small tremors, and convulsions ran all over her face; she raised her hand, opened her mouth, but still did not scream and slowly, backwards, began to move away from him into the corner, intently, point-blank, looking at him, but still without screaming, as if she did not have enough air to scream. He rushed at her with an ax; her lips twisted so pitifully, like those of very small children, when they begin to be frightened by something, look intently at the object that frightens them and are about to scream. And so simple was this unfortunate Lizaveta, downtrodden and frightened once and for all, that she did not even raise her hands to protect her face, although it was the most necessary and natural gesture at that moment, because the ax was directly raised above her face. She only slightly raised her free left hand, far from her face, and slowly extended it forward towards him, as if pushing him away. The blow hit right on the skull, with its tip, and immediately cut through the entire upper part of the forehead, almost to the crown of the head. She just collapsed. Raskolnikov was completely lost, grabbed her bundle, threw it again and ran into the hallway.

reason; reason If only he could understand all the difficulties of his situation, all the despair, all the ugliness and all the absurdity of it, and understand at the same time how many difficulties, and perhaps even atrocities, he still has to overcome and commit in order to escape from here and get home, then he may very well It could be that he would have given up everything and immediately gone to denounce himself, and not out of fear even for himself, but out of sheer horror and disgust at what he had done. Disgust especially rose and grew in him with every minute. For nothing in the world would he now go to the chest or even to the rooms.

But a kind of absent-mindedness, as if even thoughtfulness, began to gradually take possession of him: for minutes he seemed to forget himself, or, better to say, forgot about the main thing and clung to the little things. However, looking at the kitchen and seeing a bucket half full of water on the bench, he guessed to wash his hands and the ax. His hands were bloody and sticky. He lowered the ax with the blade straight into the water, grabbed a piece of soap lying on the window, on a split saucer, and began to wash his hands right in the bucket. Having washed them, he pulled out the ax, washed the iron, and for a long time, about three minutes, washed the wood where it had started bleeding, even testing the blood with soap. Then he wiped everything off with linen, which was immediately dried on a line stretched across the kitchen, and then for a long time, with attention, he examined the ax by the window. There were no traces left, only the shaft was still damp. He carefully placed the ax in the loop, under the coat. Then, as much as the light in the dim kitchen allowed, he examined the coat, trousers, and boots. From the outside, at first glance, it was as if nothing had happened; only the boots had stains. He wet the rag and wiped off his boots. He knew, however, that he was not looking well, that perhaps there was something striking that he did not notice. Lost in thought, he stood in the middle of the room. A painful, dark thought arose in him - the thought that he was going crazy and that at this moment he was unable to reason or defend himself, that perhaps it was not at all necessary to do what he was doing now... “My God! We must run, run!” - he muttered and rushed into the hallway. But here such horror awaited him, which, of course, he had never experienced before.

He stood, looked and could not believe his eyes: the door, the outer door, from the hallway to the stairs, the same one that he had just rung and entered, stood unlocked, even a full palm ajar: no lock, no lock, all the time, during all this time! The old woman did not lock it behind him, perhaps out of caution. But God! After all, he then saw Lizaveta! And how could he, how could he not guess that she had come in from somewhere! Not through the wall.

He rushed to the door and locked it.

“But no, that’s not it again! We must go, go...”

He listened for a long time. Somewhere far away, below, probably under the gate, two voices were shouting loudly and shrilly, arguing and cursing. “What are they?..” He was about to go out, but suddenly, on the floor below, the door to the stairs opened with a noise, and someone began to go downstairs, humming some tune. “How are they making so much noise!” - flashed through his head. He again closed the door behind him and waited. Finally everything fell silent, not a soul. He was about to take a step onto the stairs when suddenly new steps were heard again.

These steps were heard very far away, even at the very beginning of the stairs, but he very well and clearly remembered that from the very first sound, then for some reason he began to suspect that it was certainly coming here, to the fourth floor, to the old woman. Why? Were the sounds so special, significant? The steps were heavy, even, unhurried. Now he has passed the first floor, now he has gone up some more; more and more audible! The heavy breathing of the person entering was heard. The third one has already begun... Here! And suddenly it seemed to him that he seemed to have become numb, that it was as if he were in a dream, when he dreams that they are catching up, close, and want to kill him, but he seems to be rooted to the spot and cannot move his hands.

And finally, when the guest began to go up to the fourth floor, he suddenly became all alert and managed to quickly and deftly slip back from the hallway into the apartment and close the door behind him. Then he grabbed the lock and quietly, inaudibly, put it on the hinge. Instinct helped. Having finished everything, he hid without breathing, right now at the door. The uninvited guest was already at the door. They now stood opposite each other, as he and the old woman had done earlier, when the door separated them, and he listened.

The guest rested heavily several times. “He must be fat and big,” thought Raskolnikov, clutching the ax in his hand. In fact, it was all just a dream. The guest grabbed the bell and rang it loudly.

suddenly, impatiently, he began to pull the door handle with all his strength. Raskolnikov looked in horror at the hook of the lock that was jumping in the loop and waited with dull fear that the lock was about to pop out. Indeed, it seemed possible: they pulled so hard. He was about to hold the lock with his hand, but he could have guessed. His head seemed to be starting to spin again. “I’m about to fall!” - flashed through him, but the stranger spoke, and he immediately came to his senses.

- What are they there, are they sleeping or who strangled them? Damned ones! - he roared like a barrel. - Hey, Alena Ivanovna, old witch! Lizaveta Ivanovna, indescribable beauty! Open up! Damn, are they sleeping or what?

And again, in a frenzy, he rang the bell ten times at once, with all his might. Of course, he was a domineering and short-tempered man in the house.

- Is there really no one? - the person who approached shouted loudly and cheerfully, directly addressing the first visitor, who still continued to pull the bell. - Hello, Koch!

“The devil knows, I almost broke the lock,” answered Koch. - How do you want to know me?

- Here you go! And the other day, at Gambrinus, I took three games in a row from you at billiards!

- Ah-ah...

- So there aren’t any? Strange. It's stupid, but it's terrible. Where should the old woman go? I have something to do.

- Well, what should we do? So, back. Eh! And I was thinking of getting money! - the young man cried.

- Of course, back, but why appoint? The witch herself set the hour for me. I'm hooked. And where the hell should she go, I don’t understand? The witch sits all year round, sour, her legs hurt, and then suddenly she’s out for a walk!

— Should I ask the janitor?

- What?

“Hm... damn... ask... But she doesn’t go anywhere...” and he pulled the lock handle again. - Damn, there's nothing to do, go!

- Stop! - the young man suddenly shouted, - look: see how the door lags behind if you pull?

- Well?

- So it’s not locked, but locked, on a hook, that is! Do you hear the constipation rattling?

- How come you don’t understand? So one of them is at home. If everyone had left, they would have locked it from the outside with a key, and not locked it from the inside. And here, do you hear the constipation rattling? So, they are sitting at home and not opening the door!

- Bah! Yes indeed! - shouted the surprised Koch. - So why are they there? “And he frantically began to tug at the door.

- Stop! - the young man shouted again, - don’t pull! There’s something wrong here... you called, you tried, but they didn’t unlock it; it means either they are both fainting, or...

- What?

- Case! “They both moved down.”

- Why stay?

- But you never know?..

- I’m preparing to become a forensic investigator! There's obviously, very obviously, something wrong here! - the young man cried hotly and ran down the stairs.

Koch stayed, moved the bell quietly again, and it rang once; then quietly, as if thinking and examining, he began to move the door handle, pulling it up and down, to make sure once again that it was locked. Then, puffing, he bent down and began to look through the keyhole; but there was a key sticking out from the inside and, therefore, nothing could be seen.

Raskolnikov stood and clutched an ax. He was definitely delirious. He was even preparing to fight them when they entered. When they were knocking and conspiring, the thought suddenly occurred to him several times to end it all at once and shout to them from behind the door. Sometimes he wanted to start arguing with them, teasing them until they opened the door. “Hurry up!” - flashed through his head.

- However, damn...

“But damn!..” he shouted suddenly and impatiently, abandoning his guard, he also went downstairs, hurrying and knocking on the stairs with his boots. The footsteps died down.

- Lord, what to do!

Raskolnikov removed the lock, opened the door - nothing could be heard, and suddenly, without thinking at all, he went out, closed the door as tightly as he could behind him and went downstairs.

He had already gone down three stairs when suddenly a loud noise was heard below - where to go! It was impossible to hide anywhere. He ran back, back to the apartment.

With a scream, someone burst out of some apartment below and not only ran, but actually fell down the stairs, shouting at the top of his lungs:

- Mitka! Mitka! Mitka! Mitka! Mitka! You're a fool!

The scream ended in a squeal; the last sounds were heard already in the yard; everything was quiet. But at the same moment several people, speaking loudly and frequently, began to noisily climb the stairs. There were three or four of them. He heard the young man's ringing voice. "They!"

In complete despair, he went straight to meet them: come what may! They’ll stop you, everything’s gone, they’ll let you through, everything’s gone too: they’ll remember. They were already getting together; There was only one staircase between them - and suddenly salvation! A few steps away from him, to the right, there is an empty and wide open apartment, the same second floor apartment where the workers were painting, and now, as if on purpose, they have left. They must have just run out screaming like that. The floors have just been painted; in the middle of the room there is a tub and a shard of paint and daub. In an instant he slipped through the open door and hid behind the wall, and there was time: they were already standing on the landing itself. Then they turned up and walked past, to the fourth floor, talking loudly. He waited, tiptoed out and ran downstairs.

He knew very well, he knew very well that at that moment they were already in the apartment, that they were very surprised to see that it was unlocked, whereas now it was locked, that they were already looking at the bodies and that no more than a minute would pass, how they will guess and completely understand that the murderer has just been here and managed to hide somewhere, slip past them, and run away; They will probably guess that he was sitting in an empty apartment while they walked up. Meanwhile, under no circumstances did he dare to increase his pace very much, although there were a hundred steps left before the first turn. “Should I not slip into some gateway and wait somewhere on an unfamiliar staircase? No, trouble! Shouldn't we throw the ax somewhere? Should I take a cab? Trouble! trouble!

Finally, here is the alley; he turned into it half dead; here he was already half saved and he understood this: there was less suspicion, and besides, there were a lot of people scurrying around here, and he was erased in it like a grain of sand. But all this torment left him so weak that he could barely move. Sweat came out of him in drops; the neck was all wet. “Look, you’ve cut yourself!” - someone shouted to him as he walked out onto the ditch.

He remembered himself poorly now; further we go, worse it becomes. He remembered, however, how suddenly, having come out onto the ditch, he was afraid that there were few people and that it was more noticeable here, and he wanted to turn back into the alley. Despite the fact that he almost fell, he still made a detour and came home from a completely different direction.

Not in full memory did he pass through the gates of his house; at least he had already walked onto the stairs and then only remembered the axe. Meanwhile, a very important task lay ahead: to put it back and as unnoticed as possible. Of course, he was no longer able to realize that perhaps it would have been much better for him not to put the ax in its original place at all, but to throw it, although later, somewhere in someone else’s yard.

He walked straight up to the janitor and opened it. If the janitor asked him: “What do you need?” - He, perhaps, would have directly handed him the ax. But the janitor was not there again, and he managed to put the ax in its original place under the bench; I even covered it with a log as before. He did not meet anyone, not a single soul, until his room; the landlady's door was locked. Entering his room, he threw himself on the sofa, just as he was. He did not sleep, but was in oblivion. If anyone had entered his room then, he would have immediately jumped up and screamed. Scraps and fragments of some thoughts swarmed in his head; but he couldn’t grab a single one, couldn’t stop at a single one, despite his efforts...

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