PART I

Central Character, Romanovitch Raskolnikov is heavily in debt to his landlady We know that he is planning something “loathsome” but we do not know what it is His good looks are a contrast to the loathsome crime he is planning CHAPTER I RASKOLNIKOV

RASKOLNIKOV AND MARMELADOV MEET IN A BAR

Raskolnikov has a drink with Seymon Marmeladov, a man who is in an unhappy marriage, and has a daughter, Sonya, who is a prostitute. He has spent all their money on a drinking binge and fears that his wife, Katerina, will beat him. Raskolnikov walks him home and gives his family some money. (What are your thoughts on Raskolnikov’s character so far?) Notes: Dual Personality Humanitarian vs. Criminal Theory: Despicable people can be justifiably murdered. CHAPTER II MARMELADOV

RASKOLNIKOV MEETS MARMELADOV’S FAMILY

The building cleaner and cook, Nastasya, tells him that the landlady, Praskovya Pavlovna, means to report him to the police for not paying rent and barely ever leaving his apartment. The majority of the chapter is made up of Raskolnikov’s mother’s letter to him. (Novels which incorporate letters/documents are called epistolary novels. In this case, you can refer to this chapter as having an epistolary form. CHAPTER III

Raskolnikov’s mother informs him that his sister, Dunya, is now a governess in the Svidrigailov household. Svidrigailov has made advances at Dunya, and has asked her to run off with him. Marfa, Svidrigailov’s wife, at first, knows and blames Dunya. Later, when she feels she is wrong, she introduces Dunya to Pyotr Petrovitch Luzhin. Dunya is seen as a good wife, with no dowry, who will feel forever indebted to Luzhin. Pulcheria ends the letter by saying that she will send Raskolnikov some money. CHAPTER III PULCHERIA’S LETTER

What does Raskolnikov do after reading the letter? How do you think he feels? Why do you think he feels this way? QUESTIONS

Raskolnikov does not want the marriage to take place. He feels like part of the reason for it is for his benefit. Raskolnikov sees a young girl being accosted by a man. He helps her and pays 20 kopeks for her cab ride. CHAPTER IV

RASKOLNIKOV AND RAZUMIKHIN

Raskolnikov visits his friend, Razumikhin (serves as a confidante) He decided to go after “it is done” He goes to have some vodka and later falls asleep in a park. HIS DREAM: An old mare is being tortured, beat, and killed because it can’t carry its load. He is a child. He kisses the dead animal. The peasant tells him that it was his “right” to kill the animal. Raskolnikov thinks of the possibilities of actually murdering “her”. As he walks, he hears the pawnbroker’s half sister say that at 7 o’clock the following evening, she will be home alone. CHAPTER V RAZUMIKHIN

POVERTY FEVERISH MOTHER’S LETTER FAVORABLE CIRCUMSTANCES FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO THE CRIME

Raskolnikov overhears two officers talking about what a heartless woman Alyona is. Her death would actually help impoverished families. The officers conclude that they would not kill her. He prepares for the crime and knocks on Alyona’s door. CHAPTER VI

German philosopher, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel WHO will commit a crime that will eventually cause good? A radical, revolutionary interpretation of Hegel’s philosophy that developed after Hegel’s death in 1831, the Left Hegelians valued Freedom and Reason above all else, critiquing religion as irrational, and arguing the story of Jesus was a myth warped by those in power to subdue the masses. Feuerbach ( ), a prominent Left Hegelian, wrote that “God—and Christ—were merely fictions representing the alienated essence of mankind’s highest values. The task of mankind was thus to reappropriate its own essence by reassuming the powers and prerogatives alienated to the divine” (Frank). In other words, Left Hegelians sought to replace God-man [Christ] with man-God. (centerstage.org/crimeandpunishment) HEGELIAN PHILOSOPHY

MURDER OF ALYONA

Raskolnikov is now forced to commit the crime before sorting out the details. (because he knows she will not be home, and may not get another opportunity like this) He succeeds in killing Alyona. However, he fails in leaving the door open and having to kill Lizaveta (Alyona’s sister) as well. This represents his hamartia (missing of the mark), and this will cause his “punishment”, his internal struggle with himself and with what he has done. CHAPTER VI CONTINUED

He commits the crime and must kill Lizaveta. Due to the second, UN-premeditated murder, he feels remorse. There is a knock at the door. Raskolnikov hides in the newly painted room below. When he goes home, he faints, and part I ends, the “crime” portion of the novel having reached its completion. CHAPTER VII