The Wish That Stood Trial
Committed as a prisoner, Dmitri calls himself the lowest reptile and accepts public shame because he meant to kill and might have killed. He still insists he is not guilty of his father's blood. He offers his hand; the magistrate hides his. Grushenka says he is guiltless though his own undoing.
Key Insight
Vicarious guilt can be accepted as purification and still be a legal lie. Dmitri is willing to suffer for the wish. The novel asks whether that willingness should be enough to convict him of the corpse.
