Crime and Punishment · Chapter
V explained
Raskolnikov confronts Svidrigaïlov, accusing him of pursuing Dunya.
What happens
Raskolnikov confronts Svidrigaïlov, accusing him of pursuing Dunya. Svidrigaïlov leads him to his apartment, claiming Sonya is absent, and taunts Raskolnikov about his crime and theories. After Raskolnikov leaves, Svidrigaïlov meets Dunya, who has followed them. He lures her to his room, reveals he knows Raskolnikov's secret, and attempts to coerce her into a relationship. Dunya attempts to shoot him with a revolver but fails and drops it. In a moment of internal struggle, Svidrigaïlov gives her the key to leave. After she flees, he contemplates the revolver before going out.
Themes in this chapter
Psychological Torment
Svidrigaïlov's internal struggle between depravity and a final act of mercy, and Raskolnikov's agitated suspicion, highlight intense mental anguish.
Morality and Nihilism
Svidrigaïlov mocks Raskolnikov's moral questions and citizen duties, advocating for a nihilistic escape to America or suicide, while his own actions test moral boundaries.
Characters to notice
- Raskolnikov
Confronts Svidrigaïlov over his designs on Dunya, is taunted about his crime and moral crisis, then leaves in disgust.
- Svidrigaïlov
Taunts Raskolnikov, then lures Dunya to his room, attempts to blackmail and seduce her, but ultimately lets her go after a moral crisis.
- Dunya (Avdotya Romanovna)
Follows her brother, is intercepted by Svidrigaïlov, taken to his room, attempts to shoot him, and escapes after he relents.
Key passages
“It’s no use taking up a job you are not fit for. Well, you’d better shoot yourself, or don’t you want to?”
Svidrigaïlov tells Raskolnikov that since he failed at his 'theory' of murder, he is unfit for it and should consider suicide.
A brutal, nihilistic taunt targeting Raskolnikov's failure and existential crisis.
“A weight seemed to have rolled from his heart—perhaps not only the fear of death; indeed he may scarcely have felt it at that moment. It was the deliverance from another feeling, darker and more bitter...”
When Dunya drops the gun, Svidrigaïlov feels relief not just from mortal danger, but from a deeper, undefined torment within himself.
Reveals a complex moment of potential redemption or release from his own inner darkness.
“"And… and you can’t? Never?" he whispered in despair. "Never!"”
Svidrigaïlov asks Dunya if she could ever love him; her definitive 'Never' leads to his decisive change of heart.
The final rejection that triggers his act of letting her go.