Crime and Punishment Chapter Summary & Analysis - Part 6: Chapter 5 Summary

Part 6: Chapter 5 Summary

Raskolnikov follows Svidrigaylov until he sees Svidrigaylov get into a cab (though Svidrigaylov only pretends to do so. In reality, Svidrigaylov goes to meet Dunya for a secretly arranged meeting. He as already sent her a letter recounting her brother's confession, and now blackmails her to coming home with him to talk. He takes her home and proves how he eavesdropped on Sonia's room. Dunya grows alarmed at being alone with him and asks to see Sonia, but he has locked her in his room.

Now that she is frightened and imprisoned, Svidrigaylov offers to save her brother by sending him to America. He still loves her madly, he adds. Seeing the sinister bargain that he proposes, as well as the potential threat of rape, Dunya pulls a revolver out of her pocket. She fires twice, at close range, but she only grazes his head. Unwilling to kill him, she...
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