The Crime Taking Shape

Raskolnikov’s imagined experiment develops from an evasive fantasy into a murder plan and then an irreversible act.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

A Frightened Departure

A Frightened Departure Fear Before Action Rodion Romanovitch Raskolnikov leaves his garret while avoiding his landlady, already rehearsing escape from ordinary demands. His anxiety over debts seems small beside the dangerous “thing” he is contemplating. The heat, hunger, and crowded streets intensify his strained state. He treats practical details as obstacles to a plan he has not yet admitted he intends to carry out. The Rehearsal Counting the steps to Alyona Ivanovna’s apartment, he approaches the visit as a trial run. His attention to the route and his conspicuous hat shows how fantasy is beginning to acquire practical shape.

The Pawnshop Survey

The Pawnshop Survey A Creditor’s Rooms At Alyona Ivanovna’s apartment, Raskolnikov pawns his father’s watch and watches the pawnbroker’s movements. Her keys, the rooms, and the possible strongbox become details for later use. He asks whether Lizaveta Ivanovna is at home, disguising his inquiry as idle conversation. His careful observation turns a financial visit into reconnaissance. Revulsion and Return Outside, he condemns the idea that brought him there, but the intensity of his disgust does not end his attention to it. A drink briefly clears his mind without resolving the conflict.

The Opportunity Revealed

The Opportunity Revealed A Chance Conversation At Hay Market, Raskolnikov overhears that Lizaveta Ivanovna will be away the following evening. He realizes that Alyona Ivanovna may then be alone. The discovery arrives without a deliberate investigation, making coincidence feel like a command. Instead of recovering freedom to choose, he experiences the opportunity as though the decision has already been made for him. The Earlier Argument He remembers a student’s argument that killing Alyona Ivanovna could benefit many people. The conversation had offered a utilitarian rationale, but Raskolnikov’s own commitment remains unstable and morally untested.

A Plan Prepared

A Plan Prepared The Hidden Device After sleeping through much of the day, Raskolnikov wakes in alarm and sews a concealed loop inside his overcoat for carrying an axe. He retrieves a false pledge designed to distract the pawnbroker. His preparation is precise, yet he has not settled the practical uncertainties that could undo him. The contrast exposes the gap between intellectual planning and the action he still finds nearly impossible to imagine. A Sudden Substitute Nastasya is in the kitchen, preventing him from taking an axe there. He finds one in the porter’s room instead and interprets this unlikely opening as the devil’s assistance.

The Irreversible Crime

The Irreversible Crime The First Killing Raskolnikov enters Alyona Ivanovna’s apartment with the false pledge and kills her with the axe. He searches for valuables, but panic and disorganization displace the orderly calculation that had sustained his plan. Lizaveta Ivanovna unexpectedly arrives and sees the body. Raskolnikov kills her too, transforming a planned attack on one person into an additional, unanticipated murder. Flight Without Resolution He washes the axe, escapes past visitors, and returns it to the porter’s room. Reaching his garret, he collapses into confused exhaustion rather than triumph or relief.

Early July, on the evening of the first day

Later that evening, during his first visit

The following evening, around nine o'clock

The next day, shortly before seven in the evening

That evening, shortly after seven