Crime and Punishment · Chapter
I explained
Raskolnikov awakens in a feverish state after the murder, gripped by panic and paranoia.
What happens
Raskolnikov awakens in a feverish state after the murder, gripped by panic and paranoia. He meticulously searches his clothes and room for evidence, finding bloodstains on his trousers, sock, and pocket lining. He hides the stolen goods in a hole in the wall but is tormented by his own irrationality and the fear of discovery. After a prolonged internal struggle about disposing of the evidence, he is interrupted by a summons to the police office, which sends him into a new spiral of terror.
Themes in this chapter
Psychological Torment
Raskolnikov's consciousness is a battlefield of panic, obsessive rumination, and a terrifying sense of his own mental disintegration as he deals with the aftermath of his crime.
Guilt and Conscience
Manifests physically through fever and shivering, and psychologically through his hyper-vigilance for bloodstains and his interpretation of his mental state as his 'punishment coming upon me.'
Characters to notice
- Raskolnikov
In a state of extreme psychological and physical torment after the murder; feverish, paranoid, and obsessively trying to hide evidence while convinced his reason is failing.
- Alena Ivanovna
Referenced indirectly as 'the old woman'; her stolen goods and blood are the central objects of Raskolnikov's panic.
- Lizaveta Ivanovna
Implied through the reference to the 'pool' of blood Raskolnikov stepped in, which is likely hers.
- the landlady
Mentioned in the context of Raskolnikov wondering what someone entering his room would think of his state.
Key passages
“"The conviction that all his faculties, even memory, and the simplest power of reflection were failing him, began to be an insufferable torture."”
Raskolnikov is agonized by the feeling that his mind is breaking down.
Highlights the immediate psychological cost of the murder and his fear of losing rational control.
“"Suddenly he remembered that the purse and the things he had taken out of the old woman’s box were still in his pockets! He had not thought till then of taking them out and hiding them!"”
In his panic over bloodstains, he had completely forgotten the stolen items themselves.
Illustrates the disorienting and fragmented nature of his thoughts post-crime.
“"Several times he tried to rise from the sofa, but could not. He was thoroughly waked up at last by a violent knocking at his door."”
Paralyzed by fear and illness, he is only roused by the arrival of the police summons.
Shows his physical and mental paralysis, and the intrusion of the external world (the law) into his private torment.