Crime and Punishment Chapter Summary & Analysis - Part 6: Chapter 7 Summary

Part 6: Chapter 7 Summary

The story returns to Raskolnikov, who is approaching the final decision to confess. He pays a last visit to his mother, who he has been avoiding for awhile. She persists in her blind, maternal faith he will accomplish great things in the future. Sadly and modestly, Raskolnikov simply asks if she will always love him no matter what she may discover.

Back in his old room, he meets Dunya, who now knows the whole truth. She says his willingness to face suffering is a sign of pride, which pleases him, but her suggestion that his suffering will partially make up for his crime makes him angry. He does not see his act as a crime, for, in wartime, many men who shed blood are later honored as heroes. Why is his action different, simply because it was not done with the authority of the king or the state? Not only...
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