Part II - Chapter VI Practice Quiz — Crime and Punishment
by Fyodor Dostoevsky — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: Part II - Chapter VI
What is Raskolnikov's state of mind when he leaves his lodgings at the start of Part II, Chapter VI?
He is strangely calm and determined, with a "firm purpose" evident in his movements. Despite physical weakness, his "intense spiritual concentration" gives him strength and self-confidence. He is resolved that "all this must be ended to-day, once for all."
What is Raskolnikov searching for in the newspapers at the Palais de Cristal?
He is searching for news coverage of the murder of the old pawnbroker woman (Alyona Ivanovna) and her sister Lizaveta.
What does Raskolnikov tell Zametov about how he would hide stolen money and jewels?
He says he would go to a deserted place, find a heavy stone (a hundredweight or more) that had been lying since the house was built, lift it, place the money and jewels in the hollow underneath, roll the stone back, and not touch it for two or three years.
What shocking question does Raskolnikov whisper to Zametov?
"And what if it was I who murdered the old woman and Lizaveta?" He brings his face very close to Zametov's and speaks almost in a whisper.
What does Raskolnikov do when he returns to the pawnbroker's apartment?
He finds the flat being renovated with new wallpaper. He rings the doorbell repeatedly, savoring the fearful sensation it brings back. He asks the workers about blood and tells them about the murders, alarming them before the porters throw him out.
What happens at the canal bridge that Raskolnikov witnesses?
A tall woman with a wasted face climbs over the railing and throws herself into the canal in a suicide attempt. She is rescued by a policeman and revived. A neighbor reveals the woman had previously tried to hang herself.
How does Raskolnikov react to the drowning woman?
He watches with "a strange sensation of indifference and apathy" and feels disgusted, muttering "No, that's loathsome... water... it's not good enough," implying he has contemplated suicide himself but finds drowning insufficient.
What does Raskolnikov see at the very end of Part II, Chapter VI that redirects his path?
He sees a crowd gathered at the end of the street around a carriage with a light gleaming in the middle of the road. He recognizes it and smiles coldly, knowing "it would all soon be over." This leads to the scene of Marmeladov's fatal accident in the next chapter.
Who is Zametov and what is his role in the Palais de Cristal scene?
Zametov is the head clerk at the police office -- a young, fashionable man with rings and a watch-chain. He becomes Raskolnikov's unwitting audience as the latter describes how the murder should have been committed and nearly confesses to the crime.
How does Razumihin react when he finds Raskolnikov outside the restaurant?
He is furious, shouting that he has been searching everywhere. He tries to physically restrain Raskolnikov and insists he come to his housewarming party. Despite Raskolnikov's cruel rejection, Razumihin cannot bring himself to abandon his friend entirely.
What does Zametov conclude after his encounter with Raskolnikov?
Left alone, Zametov sits "plunged in thought" and decides that "Ilya Petrovitch is a blockhead" -- meaning the Explosive Lieutenant who had suspected Raskolnikov was wrong. Raskolnikov has "unwittingly worked a revolution in his brain" and convinced Zametov of his innocence through sheer audacity.
Who is Duclida in this chapter?
Duclida is a young woman from the street outside a saloon who asks Raskolnikov for six copecks for a drink. He gives her fifteen copecks instead. She is the "only one of the group" who is "not repulsive" -- Raskolnikov briefly calls her pretty.
What does Razumihin say about Raskolnikov after they part?
Razumihin reflects: "He talked sensibly but yet... I am a fool! As if madmen didn't talk sensibly!" He worries Raskolnikov might drown himself and runs back to question Zametov at the Palais de Cristal.
How does Part II, Chapter VI explore the theme of guilt and confession?
Raskolnikov exhibits a compulsive need to flirt with exposure: taunting Zametov with details of the murder, returning to the crime scene to ring the bell and ask about blood, and nearly confessing multiple times. His guilt manifests as an irresistible urge toward self-incrimination that his intellect cannot suppress.
What does the "condemned man on a narrow ledge" passage reveal about Raskolnikov?
Raskolnikov reflects that a condemned man would choose to live forever on a tiny ledge in eternal tempest rather than die -- then exclaims "How true it is! Man is a vile creature! And vile is he who calls him vile for that." This reveals his desperate clinging to life even as he contemplates self-destruction, showing the primal will to survive beneath his nihilistic philosophy.
How does the theme of isolation versus human connection appear in this chapter?
Raskolnikov simultaneously craves and rejects human contact. He gives money to strangers, tries to converse with passersby, and seeks out Zametov -- yet he cruelly pushes away Razumihin, the person who cares most. His crime has made genuine connection impossible while intensifying his need for it.
What is the significance of crossroads and thresholds in this chapter?
Raskolnikov repeatedly stands at transitional points -- doorways, bridges, crossroads -- each representing a moment of decision between confession and concealment, life and death. The chapter ends with him "standing in the middle of the thoroughfare at the cross-roads," waiting for "a decisive word" -- symbolizing his moral paralysis between surrender and continued flight.
How does Dostoevsky use dramatic irony in the Zametov conversation?
The reader knows Raskolnikov is the murderer, making his detailed descriptions of how to commit and conceal the crime deeply ironic. Zametov interprets it as theoretical speculation or madness, while the reader understands it as veiled confession -- creating excruciating tension throughout the scene.
What is the symbolic significance of the doorbell at the pawnbroker's apartment?
Raskolnikov rings the same bell that produced the "cracked note" during the murder. Each ring recreates the sensory memory of the crime, and he finds it gives him "more and more satisfaction" -- illustrating how the compulsion to relive trauma becomes almost addictive. The bell collapses past and present, making the crime feel inescapable.
What is ironic about the name "Palais de Cristal" for the restaurant?
The Crystal Palace alludes to Chernyshevsky's utopian rationalist vision in "What Is to Be Done?" Dostoevsky places this symbol of rational idealism in a grimy Russian tavern, underscoring the gap between Raskolnikov's intellectual theories and the squalid reality of his crime and guilt.
What does "samovar" mean in the context of this chapter?
A samovar is a large Russian metal urn used for heating water for tea. In the chapter, Nastasya is "blowing up the landlady's samovar" as Raskolnikov sneaks past her -- a detail of ordinary domestic life contrasting with his extraordinary state of mind.
What does "sententiously" mean as used in the workers' conversation?
Sententiously means in a moralizing or preachy manner, delivering opinions as though they are universal truths. The elder workman declares "there's everything to be found" in Petersburg "sententiously" -- a touch of comic pomposity in a chapter otherwise filled with psychological intensity.
What does "Assez causé" mean and why does Raskolnikov use it?
"Assez causé" is French for "enough talk" or "we have talked enough." Raskolnikov uses it when abruptly leaving Zametov, showing off his education and underscoring the social gap between himself (a former student) and the police clerk, while also dramatically cutting off his own dangerous self-incrimination.
Who says: "And what if it was I who murdered the old woman and Lizaveta?" What is the context?
Raskolnikov whispers this to Zametov in the Palais de Cristal after a long conversation in which he described in detail how to hide stolen goods and evade police. It is the climactic moment of his compulsive flirtation with exposure -- a near-confession that Zametov ultimately dismisses.
What famous reflection does Raskolnikov have about the condemned man? What does he conclude?
He recalls reading that a condemned man would choose to "live on some high rock, on such a narrow ledge that he'd only room to stand... everlasting darkness, everlasting solitude, everlasting tempest... a thousand years, eternity, it were better to live so than to die at once! Only to live, to live and live!" He concludes: "Man is a vile creature! And vile is he who calls him vile for that."