Crime and Punishment Justice and Judgment Quotes

How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph). We used Constance Garnett's translation.

Quote #7

[Porfiry:] "You must fulfill the demands of justice. I know that you don't believe it, but indeed, life will bring you through. You will live it down in time. What you need now is fresh air, fresh air, fresh air!" (6.2.62)

The fresh air in question is the fresh air of hard labor in a Siberian prison camp, which does seem to do Raskolnikov some good. What we find interesting about this passage is that Porfiry is trying to convince Raskolnikov that this process of criminal justice will provide him with personal justicea chance to start a new life.

Quote #8

[Svidrigaïlov:] "But to judge some people impartially we must renounce certain preconceived opinions and our habitual attitude to the ordinary people about us." (6.4.1)

There is some truth in this, but because it comes from Svidrigaïlov, we shudder. He makes Dounia's "judging impartially" look like kid stuff. LiterallySvidrigaïlov is asking Raskolnikov to "impartially" judge him and his crimes against women, children, and his servant. Somebody better call a defense lawyer quick. We are in deep water.

Quote #9

[Ilya:] "Look at these suicides, too, how common they are, you can't fancy!" (6.8.60)

This, of course, is Ilya to Raskolnikov on Svidrigaïlov's suicide. It's also a comment on the constant array of suicidal tendencies in the novel. Suicide is presented as a judgment by an individual of both himself or herself and the society in which he or she lives.