This is a book about dudes breaking bad and otherwise crashing out because they lose the loves of their life, and in that sense it is a timeless classic.

I think the earlier parts of the novel suffered from the serialization, but once the characters were in play, and Dostoevsky had a better idea about what direction he wanted to take the story in, a lot of the scenes are tremendously enjoyable.

I (the murder): 6.75/10 + 0.5

Raskolnikov peters about (St.) Petersburg, being malcontent. He ponders his scheme of killing someone (kinda anyone, just so happens to have a target) – Dostoevsky posturing him to be the nihilistic steelman. He cases the joint, then heads to a bar where a drunk tells him the humiliation of his situation where his daughter has started hooking to support the family since he lost it all. This encounter immediately foreshadows Raskolnikov’s own familial situation where –though he does not bear responsibility, and his family’s predicament is considerably high-class (a non-issue by comparison, boo hoo)– his own sister Dunya, a governess is going to marry a wealthy suitor who doesn’t actually love his sister, just her status.

He has the dream about the horse being beaten to death, wakes with a start, and then murders the pawn shop lady (Dickensian violence) and her half-sister. He’s almost caught, but gets back to his apartment and stashes the burgled goods (hardly worth anything, so his murder was mostly vain).

I won’t lump Raskolnikov into the “trash protagonist” category, but thus far his predicament is equally self-imposed as Caulfield’s, and equally lacking in perspective lol.

II: (the fainting chapter) 6.25

Slow descent into madness, but not yet sympathetic with Raskolnikov (nor am I waiting out to become sympathetic, I don't think that we're supposed to). But for this part, he continues to remain mostly insufferable. In and out of delirious states, reactionary, and rude even.
He's summoned to the police station for an unrelated debt and acts like a spaz since he thinks the jig is up. He faints when the fuzz starts talking about the murder (but not out of guilt or remorse, but fear). Fearing that his spell caused suspicion, he hides the stolen items somewhere outside his apartment, returns to his abode (which he's technically squatting in re: outstanding debts) and promptly passes out.

His friend Razumikhin takes care of him and overhears discussions between the former's doctor and the latter about suspects being brought in for questioning.
His sister's fiance arrives to make introduction, and Raskolnikov is a dick to him. In a fit, he stalks around St. Petersburg to try to pick up on the word on the street about the murder, going so far as to revisit the scene of the crime and gloat/relish the memory. He gloats to the policemen present as well as the others present about [if] I did it

While returning home, he finds that the drunk from the tavern in Pt. I ahs been struck by a carriage. He rushes to his aid, offering to pay for the doctor (with the only money he has to his name, just received from his mother). He hurries the man, Marmeladov, back home where he dies asking for his daughter's forgiveness. Raskolnikov gives his money to the widow as repayment for the debt he owed Marmeladov (for inadvertently convincing Raskolnikov to go through with his murderous machinations).

Once he finally gets home, he finds his mother and sister there. He faints again.

III: (descent into madness, sort of): 6.5

Raskolnikov's sister, Dunya, is not happy with how Raskolnikov has treated her fiancé, who has imposed a rule that he will not visit if he is present (to Raskolnikov's impudent delight). Luzhin the fiance states that he saw Raskolnikov give 25 rubles to a women of ill-repute (Marmeladov's daughter – but this is slander for he gave the money directly to the moth). Said daughter, Sonya, arrives at Raskolnikov's apartment to invite him to her father's funeral. Raskolnikov assures her he'll attend and continue to visit her (again, well-meaning, not bonkable).

Raskolnikov continues to gloat and visit the police station with Razumikhin where ensuing conversation scares Raskolnikov because it's clear that he's now a suspect of the detective Porfiry Petrovich due to an article Raskolnikov wrote in school where he claims that "great men can transcend the confines of the law for the good of their ideas," (Nietzsche wept). This
When he returns to his apartment, a rando calls him a murderer which rattles him so badly that he has a nightmare about the murder. When he wakes up, another random is in his bedroom.
The serial release of Crime and Punishment is obviated by the cliffhanger endings in both the parts, as well as the constituent chapters.

IV: (Family Matters): 8

New random person in Raskolnikov's bedroom was another former suitor of Dunya's who, though he doesn't wish for her hand any longer, also doesn't rock with Luzhin at all. He tells Raskolnikov about the large sum of money left to Dunya from his own recently deceased wife.
There is a family gathering, and it's one of my favorite scenes in the book. Dunya tries to force Luzhin to reconcile with Raskolnikov (who is brooding and mysterious in the corner the whole time), and Luzhin shows how much a dick he is by getting exasperated that she would even foist such an ultimatum on him. Raskolnikov exploits his brash character here, and successfully ends the engagement. He then storms out of the room himself, proclaiming that he might never see them (his family) again, and instructs the Guildencrantz-esque Razumikhin to take care of them.

Raskolnikov makes for Sonya's place, where he learns that she was a friend of Lizaveta (victim of his murder) who also evangelized Sonya a little, leaving her with a bible and a strong faith in God (the only thing that seems to be carrying her through these tough times – decidedly worse times than Raskolnikov's own self-imposed predicament). He promises to tell her who killed her friend tomorrow.
Raskolnikov leaves for another 1:1 with Porfiry who continues to lampoon him indirectly, and dripping with irony in a verbal game of cat and mouse about the nature of suspects in general, how they behave, and how Raskolnikov is doing just that. Raskolnikov bursts out and tells him to just accuse him already with evidence or kick rocks. Petrovich teases at a smoking gun he's holding out on springing on "his suspect" when one of the painters who almost compromised Raskolnikov during the murder rushes in to confess to the murder in a very rehearsed manner. Raskolnikov and Petrovich are both very shocked by this, but Raskolnikov is free to go – he bumps into the old man who called him a "murderer" (Petrovich's smoking gun, bc the man overheard Raskolnikov gloating at the scene of the crime earlier).

V: (The Funeral): 8

Whilst conversing with his communist aristocrat well-to-do roommate Lebezyatnikov on the merits of various ideologies, Luzhin invites Sonya over to try to give her some money since she and her family are down on hard times

Another comically tragic setpiece held at the post-funeral dinner for Marmeladov. His wife, Katerina Ivanovna is sick beside herself with grief, and feverishly mad with consumption. She keeps beefing with her German landlady and getting upset with all the n'erdowells who decided to show up for the banquet. She breaks the bank on the banquet to try to prove that she's of a high class, well-to-do-family, despite the fact that they're all so poor now because of Marmeladov's gambling, to the point that Sonya is now selling her body

Luzhin shows up to accuse Sonya of stealing money from him earlier in the day when he was offering her charity. He presents a comprehensive and classist accusation. Her mother, Katerina, rushes to her defense and empties her pockets only to find the exact 100-ruble banknote Luzhin accused her of having.

Lebezyatnikov interjects, saying that he saw Luzhin slip that exact banknote in Sonya's pocket as she departed, which he assumed was supposed to be an anonymous act of charity. Raskolnikov pounces on the opportunity and lambasts Luzhin for trying to clear his own name in the eyes of Dunya and her mother for previously (incorrectly) attacking Sonya's character. Luzhin is defeated, but Sonya is wounded and flees.

Raskolnikov follows her and talks a bunch of abstract nonsense about the nature of crime before confessing his murder to her who implores him to repent, but is in love with him (Alyosha's kindred spirit).

Lebezyatnikov finds them to tell them that Katerina Ivanovna has gone off the deep end, destroyed the other childrens' clother and belongings and is having them panhandle in the streets. They get her back to Sonya's where she dies.

Svidrigailov (the stranger from last chapter who also doesn't like Luzhin) volunteers the money initially bequeathed to Dunya to cover funeral costs and also help put the children in an orphanage. When Raskonikov asks him why he's being so charitable, he quotes verbatim some of the rationales put forth by Raskolnikov earlier in private with Sonya – Svidrigailov apparently lives next door and heard his whole confession

VI: (the burden of truth): 7.5

Coming in a monologue from Parfidy about Mikolka, story of convict who read the bible while in labor camp, embraced suffering. So he's still needling away at Raskolnikov's conscience, though lets him know that he's 100% sure that Raskolnikov is guilty and will arrest him shortly, giving him the opportunity to confess and lighten his sentence. Raskolnikov does not take the plea deal .

Raskolnikov seeks out Svidrigailov, who explains his depravity and the arrangement he had with Martha Petrovna who bailed him out of debt and allowed him to have affairs with lesser women. As soon as she died, and he was forbade from her estate, he sought out another woman. Raskolnikov forbades him from visiting his sister Dunya, but he disregards, stating that he will go to the police with a letter detailing Raskolnikov's murder. Raskolnikov, who already knows that Paridy knows, ignores the threat and follows him to Dunya.

Dunya wants to know what Svidrigailov meant by his "secret" about Raskolnikov – he tells her and tries to use this to make her go with him, but she shoots at him instead. She MISSES (oml) and he encourages her to reload and fire again (real sadboi hours). Crushed by her rejection, he makes good on his promise to financially care for Katerina's children, and gives Sonya thousands of rubles which "she'll need" if she intends to follow Raskolnikov to his Siberian exile. He then kills himself.

Epilogue 7.5

Raskolnikov continues to struggle with his intellectualized version of guilt. After confessing and showing upright qualities of character, he gets a light sentence of 8 years of penal servitude in Siberia. Sonya goes with him and they live more or less happily ever after. His family helps shield his mother from the knowledge about her son, she eventually goes mad and dies which is a bit tragic. The epilogue is overtly reminiscent of Dostoevsky’s own redemption arc.

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