Crime and Punishment

Crime and Punishment Summary | Part 1: Chapter 1 Summary

The story begins on a hot July evening in St. Petersburg, when the anxious young student Raskolnikov goes out for a walk. He dreads meeting the landlady from whom he rents a shabby little closet of a room, since he owes her money. His finances have taken a turn for the worse lately, leaving him perpetually worried and hungry. Nervous and unstable, he wanders the streets in a daze, constantly talking to himself. His shabby, out of style clothes make him feel awkward and conspicuous. His thoughts turn to a bizarre, mysterious notion that has recently come to him. This is so horrible he cannot refer to it directly; rather, he speaks of it through hints and allusions. Whatever the idea may be, he assures himself it is only a "hideous dream" and not a serious proposition.

Even so, he goes ahead with the rehearsal of his plan. He walks to a certain address, climbs four flights of the stairs and rings the bell. A sickly old woman with a sharp, unkind face comes to the door. She regards him with silent mistrust until he reminds her he is a customer with an item to pawn. She lets him in and they haggle over the price of his item, his father's silver watch. He reluctantly accepts a low sum, wanting the deal to go smoothly so that he may continue his survey of her apartment. While she goes to place his watch in her trunk full of pawned items, he makes note of many little details, like the location of her keys, the trunk. He studies the rooms for signs of other inhabitants and household's daily routine. Upon leaving, he tells her he will soon return with another item. Yet as he descends the stairs he grows more embarrassed and ill at ease with his plan, finally seeing it as "so foul, so horrible' that he rejects it utterly. Very agitated, he goes into a bar and sits down with some local men. The whole idea now seems ridiculous to him.