Crime and Punishment

The night after Dunya's rejection, Svidrigailov wanders Petersburg in a surreal, nightmarish sequence. He encounters various people and situations that feel dreamlike and symbolic. He gives away his money - to his young fiancée's family, to the Marmeladovs, to random strangers. It's as if he's settling accounts before a final journey. He spends his last night in a cheap hotel room where he's tormented by visions and dreams. The dreams are disturbing - he sees a young girl who transforms into something corrupt, reflecting his own corruption of innocence. In the morning, he walks to a public place and shoots himself. His suicide is matter-of-fact, almost bureaucratic. A watchman witnesses it, confused by the calm deliberation of the act. Svidrigailov's death raises profound questions: Is suicide an escape or a final act of moral responsibility? He couldn't live with himself after Dunya's rejection forced him to see himself clearly. Unlike the protagonist, who's moving toward confession and redemption, Svidrigailov chooses obliteration. The chapter suggests that for some, the weight of their actions is simply unbearable.