Part 6: Chapter 8 Summary

Sonia has waited for Raskolnikov the whole day, knowing he will soon confess. At sunset, he comes to take the cross she had promised to give him. She is disturbed by his attitude, which is insincere, a little defiant. He hesitates to face the judgment of police and the public, but he leaves her and goes into the thick crowd of the marketplace. Feeling crushed by hopelessness and anxiety, he remembers Sonia's orders to go to a crossroads, to bow down and kiss the earth, and to announce that he is a murderer. Suddenly moved and sincere, he kneels down and kisses the ground. In the corner of his eye, he sees Sonia following him and realizes she will never leave him.

He goes to the police station, where he is now a well-known figure. Pleased to see him, the lieutenant...