Crime and Punishment Chapter Summary & Analysis - Part 1: Chapter 3 Summary

Part 1: Chapter 3 Summary

Sleeping on the sofa in his tiny student room, Raskolnikov is awakened by his housekeeper Natasya. She lets him know that his landlady is sending the police after him to collect his unpaid rent. She also brings a letter from his mother, which has lots of recent family news. The letter contains a complicated tale concerning Raskolnikov's sister Dunya and the family for whom she had been working. Dunya had to leave her job with the wealthy Svidrigaylov family because the man of the house made advances at her. The mans' wife wrongfully blamed Dunya and threw her out of the house, then spread harmful gossip that damaged the reputation of Dunya and her family. Yet Svidrigaylov soon confessed that Dunya had behaved honorably, rejecting his advances and severely reproaching him for disrespecting his wife. News of Dunya's faultless conduct spread through the whole town; her good reputation was restored...
(read more)