Crime and Punishment Versions of Reality Quotes

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

Quote #4

And, of course, too, [Pyotr Petrovitch Luzhin] did love Dounia in his own way; he already possessed her in his dreamsand all at once! No! The next day, the very next day, it must all be set right, smoothed over, settled. (4.3.3)

Luzhin needs a reality check, big time. Here he even admits that his fantasy or "dream" Dounia is nothing like the reality. That's dramatic irony in action. While we are aware that this is not facing reality, Luzhin isn't. Dostoevsky shows him, though, by soon removing him completely from the novel with no explanation.

Quote #5

"But, perhaps, there is no God at all," Raskolnikov answered with a sort of malignance, laughed and looked at her. (4.4.93)

This is in response to Sonia's insistence that "God" won't let Polenka become a prostitute. Believing or not believing in God are versions of individual reality. Raskolnikov sometimes believes in God and sometimes doesn't.

Quote #6

And she had destroyed herself, crushed by an insult that had appalled and amazed that childish soul, had smirched that angel purity with unmerited disgrace and torn from her a last scream of despair. (6.6.39)

While Raskolnikov revisits his crimes only occasionally, we get the idea that Svidrigaïlov's nightmares are becoming more and more his reality. On top of that, he's seeing ghosts of the people he abused and of Marfa, whom he probably murdered. This quote refers to the young girl he drove to suicide.