Crime and Punishment Part 6, Chapter 6-Epilogue

Part 6, Chapter 6-Epilogue

After Dunya leaves, Svidrigailov takes to walking the streets on his own. He forms a plan in his head as he walks the streets and the memories of his past begin to haunt him. He returns home, takes out all of his money, and visits Sonya next door. She has just returned from the orphanage that he had sent her to, and Svidrigailov informs her that the sum that would be inherited by the children had already been settled. He then hands her a large sum of money in the form of bonds. Sonya attempts to protest, but he tells her that the money was as much for her as it was for Raskolnikov. Svidrigailov is certain that Sonya would follow Raskolnikov wherever he went, and at present Raskolnikov only has two choices, either to kill himself or to confess and be sent to Siberia. If Raskolnikov chooses to go to Siberia then Sonya would need that money to live there and to support him as he completes his sentence. Reluctantly Sonya accepts the money. He tells her to give the money to Razumikhin for safekeeping, and to pass to him Svidrigailov's regards.

Svidrigailov then goes to his young fiancé's house, the rain and the late hour make his visit a shock for the family of the young girl but they usher him in happily. He asks to see his bride, and hands her an extremely large sum, and tells them all that he had been called away for business and so must leave. This eccentric behavior is explained away by the girl's mother as the way of important and rich men, who have businesses that require them to travel at short notice. Svidrigailov heads back into the rainy weather and walks until he spots a small hotel. He takes a room there, when he is inside the room he pulls out the gun and stares at it. His wet clothes cause him to feel a little chilly, and so he lies down in the blankets. His sleep is disturbed by nightmares of his past, filled with small young girls. When the sun begins to rise, Svidrigailov dresses quickly and heads into the streets. He notices a house with a large tower and makes his way there. There is a guard at the gate to the house, and Svidrigailov stands staring at him, the guard asks him what he wants. Svidrigailov tells him that he is going to America, he then pulls out the revolver, puts it to his temple, and shoots.

Raskolnikov decides to go see his mother but is quite unsure of how he will be received. Dunya isn't around, and his mother informs him that Dunya had been quite upset the previous night and had left quite early. She is so very glad to see him, and can't stop crying, but she tells him that she has finally come to understand why Raskolnikov had begun to behave differently. She tells him that she now understands that he was a scholar who had his mind occupied by novel ideas, very much like those that were written in his article. She tells him that Razumikhin had brought the article to her, and she had read it several times over, though she hadn't completely understood it. She continues to cry but tells him that she is certain that his future will be very bright. Raskolnikov only tells her to remember that he has always loved her, and will always continue to do so. He asks her to remember this about him, no matter what else may be said, that he had always loved her deeply.

He kisses her feet and asks her to pray for him, for he was going away for a long time, and she attempts to hold onto him. He finally makes a false promise and tells her that he will be coming to see her the next day. Although his mother is not completely aware of what had occurred with her son, she has an inkling for she had heard Dunya talk in her sleep.

Raskolnikov leaves his mother and heads back home to find Dunya waiting for him. She tells him that she had been waiting with Sonya for the longest time but then had grown worried and so came to see if he would come home first. Raskolnikov confesses that he had been unable to kill himself but had considered it. Dunya replies that Sonya and she had been worried exactly about that. He asks her whether he was just too much of a coward or whether it had been pride that had prevented him from taking his life. He is so bitter about having to humble himself in front of the despicable people of St. Petersburg for killing an old and mean pawnbroker. He doesn't believe that his crime was a great one, but he has also come to realize that he needs to confess to the authorities. Dunya tries to impress upon him the sin he had committed by taking the life of another but Raskolnikov hears none of her arguments. Raskolnikov also talks of the young girl that he had been earlier betrothed to, he reveals that he had shared his theories with her, and they had caused her much grief. He was glad that she wasn't alive to know what he had done. Then he finally decides to leave, and Dunya follows him as if to be able to look at him for as long as possible, but Raskolnikov rudely motions her to stop following and later regrets his irritability. He isn't sure why he wishes to go and see Sonya but he continues making his way towards her home nonetheless.

Sonya had been waiting for Raskolnikov the whole day, and now the sun was beginning to set. She had been visited by Dunya earlier in the day, and the two women had grown close. Dunya had understood then that Sonya would follow Raskolnikov wherever he went. Sonya is haunted by Svidrigailov's words, for he had mentioned that Raskolnikov might decide to kill himself instead of turning himself in, so when she sees Raskolnikov enter her room, she exclaimed with joy. Her joy is short-lived, as Raskolnikov is deeply sad with his fate, he asks for the cross. She gives him her wooden cross and holds onto the copper one, the one that had belonged to Lizaveta. Raskolnikov leaves soon, and he wishes for her to remain behind. He heads into the street and looks on with hatred at the people of Petersburg, but as he reaches the crossroads, he remembers Sonya's words on the night of his confession. She had told him to go to the crossroads, kiss the earth for he had sinned, and declare himself to be the murderer to the whole world. He kneels in the middle of the street, kisses the filthy ground, but can not declare his sin. However, he does notice that Sonya had followed him, and is cautiously maintaining her distance from him.

Raskolnikov continues to the police station, but it is quite late, and he had earlier decided that he would not confess to Porfiry but rather to the explosive officer, Ilia Petrovich, with whom he had disagreed when he had been earlier summoned by the police. None of the officers are present, except for Ilia Petrovich, who happily informs Raskolnikov that he had just come in to run an errand. He mistakenly assumes that Raskolnikov is there to speak with Zamyotov, and goes on to apologize for being suspicious of him during their first encounter. In his happy chatter, Ilia reveals that Svidrigailov had committed suicide, and this news shakes Raskolnikov. Suddenly he is not so certain about making his confession and hurriedly exits the building. Just as he exits the staircase of the police station, he sees the grief-racked visage of Sonya. He hardens his heart and accepts his fate, he returns to Ilia Petrovich and declares without any hesitation that it had been he who had murdered the old Pawnbroker and her sister.

The trial of Raskolnikov is a speedy affair, given that he completely cooperated with the investigation and revealed the details of his crime with frankness and without subterfuge. The court was very surprised to learn that although Raskolnikov claimed to have killed the woman for the sake of robbing her, he had not even looked at the purse that he had taken from his victim. He was unaware of what other trinkets he had taken and had never retrieved any of the items. The court was able to conclude that Raskolnikov had murdered in an altered mental state, an account that was assisted by the testimony of Raskolnikov's doctor, Zossimov. Razumikhin was also able to assist in establishing the generous character of Raskolnikov, by providing accounts and evidence related to his acts of generosity. He had in university helped support one of the students from a poor background, even though he had been experiencing financial hardship, and he had also rescued two children from a burning building, an incident that had caused him severe burns. Raskolnikov is sentenced to 8 years in prison in Siberia.

Dunya and Razumikhin are soon married, and they shift out of the main city to ensure that Raskolnikov's mother does not learn about the trial. They tell her that he had been sent away to some foreign place for work and can't return anytime soon. Although she accepts their account, her health begins to deteriorate. She continually reads her son's article, and then suddenly starts preparing for his return. Soon her illness gets the better of her and she passes away. Razumikhin is determined not to leave Raskolnikov alone, he had made plans to shift to Siberia within the next five years where he would continue his work. He returns to university so that he can get his degree, and Dunya is certain that he would do all that he had decided to achieve.

Sonya moves to Siberia when Raskolnikov is transferred there. Hers is a hard existence, she works as a seamstress for the local population and builds for herself a wonderful reputation. All of the inhabitants of the town close to the prison respect and adore Sonya, and it is because of her work that Raskolnikov is treated more kindly by the authorities. She attempts to see him as often as she can, but he is always sullen and morose, and this behavior continues until Raskolnikov becomes ill. He leads a difficult existence in the prison, he does his labor without shirking, but is hated by the inmates, and is once nearly attacked for being an infidel. Although he has never revealed to anyone his thoughts about God, or any other such matters and has mostly avoided talking to anyone. When Raskolnikov falls ill, Sonya can't come to see him inside the hospital, but she sometimes comes to the yard of the hospital and tries to catch a glimpse of Raskolnikov. But she soon stops coming, and this worries Raskolnikov deeply. When he is released >from the hospital, he sends a letter to her. He learns that Sonya has been sick, but the malady is not anything of particular concern. One morning, when Raskolnikov's group is sent next to the river for some labor, Sonya finds him sitting on the banks, and she goes and sits close to him. He holds her hand reverentially, and his tears begin to flow as he falls at her feet. They held each other, crying, for both of them had come to love one another deeply, and hope was ignited that there would be something amazing in store for them, once Raskolnikov's sentence was complete. From that day Raskolnikov's life changed completely, he was kinder to his fellow inmates and he began to read the bible that Sonya had brought for him.

Analysis

Svidrigailov's suicide contrasts Raskolnikov's inability to act, he lacks the moral courage to make that decision for himself and observes the same when he is speaking to his sister. In contrast, Svidrigailov adopts the utilitarian viewpoint and kills himself to put an end to Dunya's source of pain. He also plays another important role by donating some of his money to Sonya and her step-siblings, thereby rescuing her from the life of sin that she despises so much, and allows her to follow Raskolnikov to Siberia.

Raskolnikov's meeting with his mother is a particularly emotional part of the novel, his mother expresses her confidence in his bright future and does so based on the terrible article that he had written on crime. Through their interaction, we also understand the alienation that Raskolnikov experiences, unlike his mother and sister, Raskolnikov doesn't see his family in a supportive role. He only turns to his family when he believes that they are in some sort of danger, for instance, when they become involved with people like Peter Petrovich, and Svidrigailov. This is where we learn of the extent of his alienation, his mother's pleas make little impact on him, and he can come to terms with her death without any severe grief.

Raskolnikov acts as if he is unsure of why he wished to see Sonya before going for his confession, but it is evident to the reader that he needs to see her and collect his strength. Despite his visit to her house, his resolve is still shaky, when first he learns of Svidrigailov's suicide, his resolve is broken and he nearly leaves. Again, it is Sonya that inspires in him the strength to confess to the crime he had committed.

The epilogue for this novel has been severely criticized, many critics have remarked that the book would have been better without it. One of the most important roles of the epilogue is that it finally helps Raskolnikov resolve his position on his theory of superman. He has a terrible nightmare in which all people believe themselves to be above the law, and the ensuing chaos in the nightmare is what causes him to see the error in his judgment. It eventually leads him to the loving arms of Sonya, and to take up his bible.