Original Text(~250 words)
PART VI - CHAPTER V Raskolnikov walked after him. “What’s this?” cried Svidrigaïlov turning round, “I thought I said...” “It means that I am not going to lose sight of you now.” “What?” Both stood still and gazed at one another, as though measuring their strength. “From all your half tipsy stories,” Raskolnikov observed harshly, “I am _positive_ that you have not given up your designs on my sister, but are pursuing them more actively than ever. I have learnt that my sister received a letter this morning. You have hardly been able to sit still all this time.... You may have unearthed a wife on the way, but that means nothing. I should like to make certain myself.” Raskolnikov could hardly have said himself what he wanted and of what he wished to make certain. “Upon my word! I’ll call the police!” “Call away!” Again they stood for a minute facing each other. At last Svidrigaïlov’s face changed. Having satisfied himself that Raskolnikov was not frightened at his threat, he assumed a mirthful and friendly air. “What a fellow! I purposely refrained from referring to your affair, though I am devoured by curiosity. It’s a fantastic affair. I’ve put it off till another time, but you’re enough to rouse the dead.... Well, let us go, only I warn you beforehand I am only going home for a moment, to get some money; then I shall lock up the flat, take a cab and go to spend the evening at...
Continue reading the full chapter
Purchase the complete book to access all chapters and support classic literature
As an Amazon Associate, we earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you.
Available in paperback, hardcover, and e-book formats
Summary
Raskolnikov finally confesses his crimes to Sonia, the moment we've been building toward for hundreds of pages. He tells her he murdered the old pawnbroker and her sister, watching as horror and compassion war across her face. What makes this scene so powerful isn't just the confession itself, but how it reveals the fundamental difference between these two characters. Sonia, despite her own desperate circumstances as a prostitute, has maintained her humanity and faith. Raskolnikov, despite his intelligence and education, has lost his connection to other people. When Sonia asks why he did it, his explanations crumble. He talks about proving he was extraordinary, about helping his family, about ridding the world of a useless person - but none of it holds up under her simple, direct questions. The real reason, which he can barely admit even to himself, is that he wanted to see if he could cross that line and still remain human. The answer, clearly, is no. Sonia's response is immediate and instinctive - she doesn't condemn him, but she also doesn't excuse him. Instead, she sees his suffering and recognizes that he's destroyed himself as much as his victims. She tells him he must confess publicly, accept his punishment, and begin the long road back to humanity. This chapter shows us that redemption isn't about being forgiven by others - it's about reconnecting with our own humanity. Raskolnikov has been living as a ghost, cut off from genuine human connection. Only by acknowledging what he's done can he begin to find his way back to life.
That's what happens. To understand what the author is really doing—and to discuss this chapter with confidence—keep reading.
Terms to Know
Confession
In Russian Orthodox tradition, confession isn't just admitting wrongdoing - it's the first step toward spiritual healing. Dostoevsky shows how true confession requires facing not just what you did, but why you did it and what it cost your soul.
Extraordinary vs. Ordinary People
Raskolnikov's theory that some people (like Napoleon) can break moral laws for the greater good, while ordinary people must obey. This chapter shows how this thinking led him to murder and spiritual death.
Redemption
The process of regaining one's humanity after moral failure. Dostoevsky presents it not as instant forgiveness, but as a long, painful journey back to genuine connection with others.
Moral Isolation
What happens when someone cuts themselves off from human connection through their actions. Raskolnikov has been living like a ghost, unable to truly connect with anyone since the murders.
Russian Orthodox Faith
Sonia's religious worldview that emphasizes suffering as a path to understanding and compassion as stronger than judgment. This shapes how she responds to Raskolnikov's confession.
Psychological Realism
Dostoevsky's technique of showing the inner workings of a character's mind. This chapter reveals how Raskolnikov's rational explanations crumble when faced with genuine human emotion.
Characters in This Chapter
Raskolnikov
Protagonist confessing
Finally breaks down and tells Sonia the truth about the murders. His various explanations fall apart under her simple questions, revealing he doesn't really understand his own motives.
Sonia
Moral compass
Receives Raskolnikov's confession with horror but also compassion. She immediately sees that he has destroyed himself and knows the only path forward is public confession and acceptance of punishment.
Why This Matters
Connect literature to life
This chapter teaches us to identify when we're using complex reasoning to justify questionable actions, and shows how genuine human connection serves as essential reality-checking.
You have the foundation. Now let's look closer.
Key Quotes & Analysis
"It was I who killed the old pawnbroker woman and her sister Lizaveta with an axe and robbed them."
Context: The moment he finally confesses to Sonia
After hundreds of pages of hints and evasions, the simple, direct statement hits like a physical blow. The clinical language shows how he's tried to distance himself from the human reality of what he did.
"What have you done to yourself?"
Context: Her immediate response to his confession
She instinctively understands that he has destroyed himself as much as his victims. Her focus isn't on condemning him but on recognizing his self-inflicted spiritual death.
"You must go at once, this very minute, stand at the crossroads, bow down, and first kiss the earth you have defiled, then bow to all the world."
Context: Her prescription for his redemption
She knows that healing requires public acknowledgment and humility. The image of kissing the defiled earth shows how redemption starts with accepting responsibility for the damage done.
Intelligence Amplifier™ Analysis
Thematic Threads
Isolation
In This Chapter
Raskolnikov's physical and emotional separation from others has corrupted his thinking and enabled his crime
Development
Evolved from earlier hints of his withdrawal to this dramatic revelation of its consequences
Human Connection
In This Chapter
Sonia's genuine presence immediately cuts through Raskolnikov's elaborate self-justifications
Development
Introduced here as the antidote to isolation and delusion
Self-Deception
In This Chapter
All of Raskolnikov's reasons for murder collapse under honest examination with another person
Development
Culmination of his ongoing internal rationalizations finally exposed as hollow
Class
In This Chapter
Despite their different social positions, Sonia's moral clarity surpasses Raskolnikov's educated theories
Development
Continues the book's exploration of how class and education don't guarantee wisdom or morality
Redemption
In This Chapter
Sonia immediately sees the path forward—confession, acceptance of consequences, reconnection with humanity
Development
Introduced here as a genuine possibility, not through punishment but through restored human connection
Modern Adaptation
When the Truth Finally Comes Out
Following Rodion's story...
Rodion sits across from his sister Sofia in her studio apartment after her overnight shift at the hospital. For months, he's been spiraling—dropped out of law school, burned through his savings, isolated himself from everyone who cared. The guilt has been eating him alive since he leaked those patient records to get back at his former boss, causing three people to lose their jobs, including a single mother. Sofia, exhausted but present, listens as he finally breaks down and tells her everything. He tries to justify it—the boss was corrupt, the system was broken, someone had to act. But under her steady gaze, his rationalizations crumble. 'Why did you really do it?' she asks simply. The truth cuts through his defenses: he wanted to prove he was smarter than everyone else, that rules didn't apply to him. Sofia doesn't lecture or condemn. She sees his pain, recognizes he's destroyed himself as much as his victims. 'You have to make this right,' she says quietly. 'Not because I'm telling you to, but because you'll never be able to live with yourself if you don't.' For the first time in months, Rodion sees a path forward—terrifying, but real.
The Road
The road Raskolnikov walked in 1866, Rodion walks today. The pattern is identical: isolation breeds delusion, and only genuine human connection can restore our moral compass and show us the way back to ourselves.
The Map
This chapter provides the navigation tool of confession as reconnection. When guilt isolates us, the path back to humanity runs through honest acknowledgment to someone who cares enough to hold both our pain and our accountability.
Amplification
Before reading this, Rodion might have continued spiraling in isolation, convinced his elaborate justifications made sense. Now they can NAME the pattern of isolation corrupting judgment, PREDICT where continued rationalization leads, and NAVIGATE back through genuine confession and connection.
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
- 1
What does Raskolnikov finally tell Sonia, and how does she react to his confession?
- 2
Why do Raskolnikov's explanations for the murder fall apart when he tries to explain them to Sonia?
- 3
Where do you see people today making bad decisions because they've isolated themselves from honest feedback?
- 4
How would you build a 'reality check' system in your own life to prevent isolation from corrupting your judgment?
- 5
What does this chapter reveal about the difference between intelligence and wisdom, and why connection to others matters for both?
Critical Thinking Exercise
Test Your Reasoning
Think of a recent decision you made that you had to justify or explain to others. Write down your reasoning in 2-3 sentences, then imagine explaining it to someone like Sonia—someone who cares about you but will ask simple, direct questions. What holes appear in your logic when you strip away the complex explanations? What would their basic questions reveal about your real motivations?
Consider:
- •Simple questions often expose flaws that complex reasoning hides
- •If you can't explain something clearly to someone who cares, you might be rationalizing
- •The people who challenge us most directly are often the ones who see us most clearly
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 37: The Confession
The coming pages reveal the strange relief of admitting the worst, and teach us confession changes the confessor. These discoveries help us navigate similar situations in our own lives.