The end justifies the means

The end justifies the means is invoked by Golyadkin as a principle that might excuse unauthorized entry into a private ball. Its importance lies in the gap between the maxim’s promise of purposeful action and the scene’s result: after waiting in concealment and persuading himself that the rule licenses his plan, he enters, approaches Klara Olsufyevna, and is met by a stunned and laughing company.

Formulation and Use

While hidden on the back stairs at Olsufy Ivanovitch's house, Golyadkin recalls that the Jesuits made it their rule that any means were justified if the end were attained. He immediately turns the historical claim into a practical argument. If the refreshment-room becomes empty for a moment, he plans to pass through it into the tea-room, then the room where cards are being played, and finally the ballroom, slipping among the guests unnoticed.

The maxim is not presented as an abstract doctrine debated by the guests. It enters the scene through Golyadkin’s hurried private reasoning, where it helps him imagine that the desired outcome—getting into the ball and acting once inside—can justify bypassing the ordinary conditions of invitation and entry. He even dismisses the Jesuits as fools while borrowing the rule he attributes to them, making the appeal both opportunistic and unstable.

The Waiting and the Decision to Act

For nearly three hours, Golyadkin remains in the cold, dark passage, partly concealed by a cupboard and an old screen amid rubbish and odds and ends. He tells himself that he is merely watching and could go in if he chose, but his prolonged hiding reveals the hesitation beneath that assurance. The maxim offers him a way to make waiting seem like strategy rather than fear, and to treat patience as preparation for a decisive entrance.

His private argument does not resolve the conflict. He questions why the maxim should apply to him, wonders whether to go home for tea, and imagines that Petrushka may grumble if he returns late. Then, abruptly, he dashes into the refreshment-room, removes his overcoat and hat, and hurries through the adjoining rooms. The movement converts the borrowed principle into action, but the speed of the entrance does not make it discreet or socially acceptable.

Failure and Significance

Inside the drawing room, Golyadkin sees Klara Olsufyevna near Andrey Filippovitch, along with Vladimir Semyonovitch, officers, and other young men. As he presses forward, he jostles a councillor, steps on the dress of an elderly lady and tears it, and collides with a servant carrying a tray. Rather than passing unnoticed, he becomes conspicuous through the disturbance caused by his attempt to enter.

When he reaches Klara, the room falls silent and the guests gradually crowd around him. He keeps his eyes on the floor, stammers through his congratulations and good wishes, blushes, and finally looks up to meet Andrey Filippovitch’s crushing response. The result reverses the logic of the maxim as Golyadkin applies it: the means do not secure his intended access or control, but produce public exposure and humiliation. The scene therefore makes the rule a measure of his self-deception: he can frame a transgression as purposeful, yet cannot command the social consequences that follow.