Crime and Punishment Ch. 27: Luzhin Regroups

Summary

Part V opens on a new arc the morning after Pyotr Petrovitch Luzhin's fateful interview with Dounia and her mother. The black snake of wounded vanity gnaws him; he checks the mirror, comforts himself that he will find another bride, then spits at reality. Mistakes multiply: he told Lebeziatnikov too much, hits a hitch in his senate case, loses money on the broken engagement flat and furniture to a German landlord and upholsterers, regrets false economy instead of showering Dunya with presents that would bind her conscience. Am I to get married simply for the sake of the furniture? he mutters, wishing he could slay Raskolnikov by wishing it, then broods that a trousseau would have made Dunya too ashamed to break the match.

Passing the lodgings, he learns of Katerina Ivanovna's grand memorial dinner, hears Raskolnikov will attend, and trades barbs with Lebeziatnikov, the well-meaning progressive lodger Luzhin both despises and fears for exposing him to Petersburg radicals. Luzhin once courted progressives to avoid being shown up; now he mocks memorial dinners, Sonia's trade, and Lebeziatnikov's Fourier babble about communities, cesspools, and everything which is of use as honourable. He baits him about thrashing Katerina and developing Sonia, sneers at free marriage letters, and laughs at debates over whether a commune member may enter another's room. When Luzhin counts bonds, cruelty and boredom mix until he asks Lebeziatnikov to bring Sonia in, keeps him at the window so Raskolnikov cannot twist a private talk, and begins his performance.

To Sonia he plays the benefactor: excuses for missing the dinner, denies promising a pension though Katerina believed it, then offers subscription or lottery help while insisting money is unsafe to put into Katerina Ivanovna's own hands because today's rum and coffee prove she will waste any aid. She stares at his notes on the table, his ring and eyeglass, too ashamed to look at money yet trapped in politeness. Sonia weeps; he hands her a carefully unfolded ten-rouble note for the family, anxious his name stay secret. She flees back to Katerina confused. Lebeziatnikov, who heard and saw everything, praises the humane charity; Luzhin dismisses him and broods, excited, rubbing his hands, already planning something darker while the progressive lectures on free marriage and children as a social question.

The chapter is Luzhin regrouping after Dunya's rejection, not Svidrigailov's past, not Raskolnikov's confession to Sonia, not the memorial-dinner frame-up yet. Raskolnikov is only a feared guest at the feast; Svidrigailov does not appear. It sets the ten-rouble gift, the window witness, and Luzhin's excited silence before the lodgers gather again under Katerina's roof.

In this chapter: Terms Characters Key Quotes Modern Story

Why This Matters

Spotting Performative Charity

Wounded vanity often rehearses charity before it rehearses revenge. Luzhin broods over lost furniture money, brings ten roubles to Katerina with witnesses and a letter for Dunya, and plans a memorial dinner he will not attend.

Notice when help arrives with an audience, a receipt, and a story you are meant to repeat.

Coming Up in Chapter 28

At Katerina Ivanovna's memorial dinner, Luzhin's ten-rouble gift and his need for a witness will collide with Raskolnikov and the whole lodgers' room Part V Chapter II is Katerina Ivanovna's memorial dinner for Marmeladov, a feast born of poor man's pride, consumption, and a disordered mind. Nearly ten of the twenty roubles Raskolnikov gave for the funeral are wasted on vodka, rum, poor wine.

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Original text

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Chapter 27

Luzhin Regroups

PART V CHAPTER I The morning that followed the fateful interview with Dounia and her mother brought sobering influences to bear on Pyotr Petrovitch. Intensely unpleasant as it was, he was forced little by little to accept as a fact beyond recall what had seemed to him only the day before fantastic and incredible. The black snake of wounded vanity had been gnawing at his heart all night. When he got out of bed, Pyotr Petrovitch immediately looked in the looking-glass. He was afraid that he had jaundice. However his health seemed unimpaired so far, and looking at his noble,…

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Critical Thinking Exercise

Audit a Gift With Strings

Recall a time someone offered money or favors through a third party, asked for anonymity, or kept a witness nearby. Write what was said publicly, what was private, and what happened later.

Consider:

•Who controlled how the money was described
•Whether a witness was present and why
•Whether the gift later became evidence or blame

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Summary