Crime and Punishment · Chapter
The Murder explained
Raskolnikov arrives at the pawnbroker's apartment, forces his way in, and murders Alyona Ivanovna with an axe.
What happens
Raskolnikov arrives at the pawnbroker's apartment, forces his way in, and murders Alyona Ivanovna with an axe. He then searches her body, finds her keys and a purse, and attempts to ransack her bedroom before being interrupted by the arrival of Lizaveta. He kills her as well, then flees in a panic, eventually returning to his room in a state of shock and mental collapse.
Themes in this chapter
Psychological Torment
The entire act is depicted not as a cool, intellectual exercise but as a messy, physically taxing ordeal driven by panic, weakness, and a near-loss of conscious control, followed by immediate mental collapse.
Morality and Nihilism
The theoretical 'extraordinary man' idea is brutally tested in practice, resulting in a grotesque, bloody crime that highlights the horrific reality of transgressing moral law.
Guilt and Conscience
Raskolnikov's immediate physical reactions (trembling, giddiness) and his compulsive, careless actions after the murder suggest a profound subconscious turmoil contradicting his intellectual justifications.
Characters to notice
- Raskolnikov
Executes the planned murder of the pawnbroker, kills Lizaveta unexpectedly, and flees in a state of extreme physical weakness and psychological disintegration.
- Alena Ivanovna
Murdered by Raskolnikov with the blunt side of an axe after a tense interaction at her doorway.
- Lizaveta Ivanovna
Returns to the apartment unexpectedly and is immediately killed by Raskolnikov with the same axe.
Key passages
“He seemed not to use his own strength in this. But as soon as he had once brought the axe down, his strength returned to him.”
The murderous act felt mechanical and detached, but completing it unleashed a surge of adrenaline and focus.
Highlights the dissociation between Raskolnikov's theorizing and the visceral, automatic nature of the violent act.
“He was in full possession of his faculties, free from confusion or giddiness, but his hands were still trembling.”
His mind was clear and calculating as he searched the body, yet his body continued to betray extreme nervous agitation.
Illustrates the split between his conscious, criminal intent and his body's involuntary reaction to the trauma.
“Scraps and shreds of thoughts were simply swarming in his brain, but he could not catch at one, he could not rest on one, in spite of all his efforts.”
In the aftermath, his mind was flooded with fragmented, uncontrollable thoughts, preventing any coherent reflection.
Shows the immediate psychological consequence of the crime: a shattered, overwhelmed consciousness.