Summary: Chapter IV
Raskolnikov goes to Sonya’s room. She is surprised and
frightened by his visit. They discuss Katerina Ivanovna, whom Sonya
defends as kind, childlike, and fiercely proud, though she concedes
that misfortune has more or less deranged Katerina. Sonya clearly
cares immensely for her stepmother and is deeply troubled to think
that she might soon die, leaving her children defenseless. Yet she
clings to the belief that God will provide for the family and take
care of them. Sonya reveals that she was a friend of the murdered
Lizaveta. In fact, Lizaveta gave Sonya a cross and a copy of the
Gospels. Raskolnikov commands Sonya to read him the story of Lazarus.
Sonya manages to overcome her terror of the crazed Raskolnikov and
reads, shaking as she does so. It is clear that the passage has
special significance for her. Raskolnikov shares with her his resolution
to separate from his family and asks her to go away with him. He
thinks of her as a kindred spirit, someone who has, as a prostitute,
also transgressed moral law and “destroyed a life—her very own.”
He tells her that she will soon know who killed Lizaveta. Meanwhile,
in a vacant room next door, Svidrigailov eavesdrops on the conversation.
Summary: Chapter V
Freedom will no longer be dear to him,
he’ll fall to thinking, get entangled . . . he’ll worry himself
to death!
(See Important Quotations Explained)
The following morning, Raskolnikov pays a visit to Porfiry
Petrovich at the police station. While he waits in the lobby, he
mulls over his hatred for the magistrate. Once inside Porfiry’s
office, Raskolnikov presents him with a written request for his
pawned possessions. The two embark on a long conversation in which
Raskolnikov quickly starts to feel as though he has fallen into
a trap. Frustrated by the games that he thinks Porfiry is playing,
he asks the magistrate to submit him to the questioning discussed
the previous day. Porfiry tries to put Raskolnikov at ease and become
friendly with him. He chatters away, speaking mostly nonsense, though
occasionally adding an enigmatic remark. He discusses the psychological
methods by which he hopes to catch the murderer. He includes observations about
the “youth” and “intelligence” of his suspect that are pointed directly
at Raskolnikov. Throughout Porfiry’s rambling monologue, Raskolnikov,
though agitated, stays quiet. But after a while, he bursts out wildly,
accusing the official of suspecting him and challenging Porfiry
either to accuse him outright or to let him be. Porfiry tries to
calm him down. But even as he does so, he reveals that he knows
of Raskolnikov’s recent visit to the scene of the crime. He tries
to trick Raskolnikov into admitting that he sent Razumikhin to ask
Porfiry about his suspicions. Raskolnikov becomes violently upset,
but then a “singular incident” occurs.
Summary: Chapter VI
Suddenly, Nikolai, the prisoner who is under suspicion
for the murders, rushes into the office and confesses to the crime.
Although Porfiry does not believe the man, he takes the confession
seriously. He shows Raskolnikov out. As Raskolnikov is on the stairs,
Porfiry detains him to say that he will need to see him again soon
for more questions. Raskolnikov goes home, where he realizes that,
if Nikolai hadn’t burst into Porfiry’s office, he might have confessed
to the murders. He decides to go to the memorial dinner
for Marmeladov. Just then, the stranger who had called him a murderer
the previous day appears in the doorway. The man, who identifies
himself as a tenant of the pawnbroker’s building, says that he witnessed
Raskolnikov’s visit to the crime scene and heard him question the
workers about the blood. He reveals that he knows nothing more and,
having overheard his conversation with Porfiry at the police station,
is now sympathetic to Raskolnikov’s plight. Raskolnikov is greatly
relieved and feels renewed hope that he will not be caught after
all.
Analysis: Chapters IV–VI
Dostoevsky’s inclusion of the Lazarus story provides both
Raskolnikov and Sonya with a model of hope for their lives. In the
Christian tradition, the raising of Lazarus from death is the most
profound miracle that Jesus performed while on earth. Sonya may
adapt the story to her life as a promise that a similar miracle
will rectify her situation, a kind of death induced by her poverty
and self-sacrifice. The story also carries deep significance for
the skeptical Raskolnikov. Although he claims not to believe
in the story, he is moved by it, since it no doubt resonates with
his sense of total alienation from society. His death has been a
death of the soul. Separated from those who love him by his own
pride and his terrible secret, Raskolnikov longs for some kind of
chance to start anew, to be, like Lazarus, resurrected. He is still
proud, but his veneer of superiority is beginning to crack.
The Lazarus story also serves as allegorical foreshadowing,
predicting Raskolnikov’s return to humanity at the end of the novel. Despite
his conviction that killing Alyona Ivanovna was justified, Raskolnikov
already feels his guilt and alienation on a deep, almost physical
level. He is eventually driven to confess, if for no other reason
than to put an end to the doubt and emotional turmoil that now hound
him. His ultimate confession and subsequent imprisonment lead him
to some form of redemption.
Sonya’s humility is much more profound than her embarrassment
about being a prostitute. She is a pious Christian, believing
that her fate is firmly in God’s hands and trusting that he is just,
as Raskolnikov observes, against all proof to the contrary. It is
Sonya’s faith that allows her to continue surviving and helping
her family to survive. The contrast between Sonya and Raskolnikov
is striking, illuminating the depth of Sonya’s devotion and self-sacrifice
and the shallowness of Raskolnikov’s pride. Raskolnikov’s attempt
to compare himself to Sonya as a fellow sinner falls flat, since
she has turned to prostitution only out of the need to help her
family, and laments her sin, while Raskolnikov has not yet repented
for the murders, the first of which is shakily predicated on utilitarian
grounds and the second of which is purely self-serving. Raskolnikov’s
blindness to these differences shows that he is still a long way
from recognizing his guilt.
