Crime and Punishment Ch. 18: Sonia at the Door

Summary

The door opens and a shy girl in a plain dress enters a room already crowded with mother, sister, doctor, and friend. Raskolnikov barely recognises Sofya Semyonovna Marmeladov from last night, then remembers Luzhin's letter calling her notorious behaviour while he had just defended her without rejecting that phrase. Pity replaces shock. He seats her away from his bed-sofa, introduces her to Pulcheria and Dunya as the dead Marmeladov's daughter, and learns the police left the family alone because the cause of death was clear; the body will go to the chapel today. Sonia begs him to come to Mitrofanievsky tomorrow and to the funeral lunch. She whispers that he gave them everything yesterday, struck by his tomb-like room, and the ladies look at her with sudden kindness.

Pulcheria urges dinner and a walk; Dunya bows to Sonia with courteous attention that pains the poor girl. In the passage Rodya squeezes Dunya's hand again and returns to Sonia with sudden brightness: God give peace to the dead, the living have still to live. On the street Pulcheria feels relief yet dreads the eight o'clock meeting with Luzhin; she decides Sonia is the cause of trouble though Dunya insists she is a good girl and Luzhin a contemptible slanderer. The mother is crushed into silence while the city feels like shut-up rooms.

Raskolnikov draws Razumihin to the window, asks about Porfiry and the murder case, and admits pawned pledges including his father's watch, afraid his mother will ask to see it when they spoke of Dunya's watch. Razumihin shouts certainly not to the police station, certainly to Porfiry, and they go at once. Sonia gives her address; a well-dressed stranger overhears at the gateway and follows her to Kapernaumov's, rings next door at Madame Resslich's, and says we are neighbours. Sonia slips inside ashamed, muttering not today when she remembers Rodya may visit.

On the way to the grey house Rodya wonders if Porfiry knows about the blood, lays emphasis on delirium and rings, teases Razumihin as Romeo until they burst into Porfiry's flat laughing, Razumihin whispering not a word here or I'll brain you. Part III turns from family table to magistrate's door while Sonia walks home through a new world opening, and a predator has found her trail. Nastasya watched the crowded introduction; the funeral lunch will be plain but Katerina Ivanovna has reckoned every rouble. Rodya's performance at the door is mask, not joy, before the article and the pledges will be discussed inside. Razumihin swaps chairs so Sonia will not sit on Rodya's bed-sofa. The plain coffin and reckoned roubles show how poverty shapes even mourning. Dunya's hand in the passage is warmth; Pulcheria's presentiment is fear. The stranger at Kapernaumov's is the chapter's second hook after Porfiry's door.

In this chapter: Terms Characters Key Quotes Modern Story

Why This Matters

Meeting the Person Behind a Written Slur

When someone has been labeled in a letter or message, meeting them in person is the test of your honesty. Dostoevsky puts Sonia in the room right after Luzhin's notorious behaviour line.

That skill matters whenever family or partners try to define someone you have only half defended.

Coming Up in Chapter 19

Inside Porfiry's flat Raskolnikov will claim his pawned ring and watch, trade wits about extraordinary men, and learn how closely the investigator is already listening Raskolnikov enters Porfiry Petrovitch's flat still laughing from the staircase, Razumihin red and crashing a tea-glass while Porfiry quotes gaily about a loss to the Crown. The performance buys a moment: Rodya claims business about pawned pledges, a ring.

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Original text

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Chapter 18

Sonia at the Door

At that moment the door was softly opened, and a young girl walked into the room, looking timidly about her. Everyone turned towards her with surprise and curiosity. At first sight, Raskolnikov did not recognise her. It was Sofya Semyonovna Marmeladov. He had seen her yesterday for the first time, but at such a moment, in such surroundings and in such a dress, that his memory retained a very different image of her. Now she was a modestly and poorly-dressed young girl, very young, indeed, almost like a child, with a modest and refined manner, with a candid but somewhat…

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Critical Thinking Exercise

Trace the Letter to the Room

List what Luzhin's letter said about Sonia, what Rodya said before she entered, and what he does when she appears. Write how meeting someone in person would change your response to a written slur about them.

Consider:

•Notice what he failed to reject in the letter
•Separate gratitude from full confession
•Ask why he chooses Porfiry over the police

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Sonia at the Door

Summary