Part IV - Chapter I Practice Quiz — Crime and Punishment
by Fyodor Dostoevsky — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: Part IV - Chapter I
Who is the unexpected visitor that appears in Raskolnikov's room at the start of Part IV, Chapter I?
Svidrigailov, the wealthy landowner who had pursued Raskolnikov's sister Dunya while she worked as a governess in his household.
What two reasons does Svidrigailov give for visiting Raskolnikov?
First, he wanted to make Raskolnikov's personal acquaintance. Second, he hopes Raskolnikov will help him approach Dunya (Avdotya Romanovna) about a financial proposal.
How much money does Svidrigailov offer Dunya, and what does he want her to do with it?
He offers ten thousand roubles, hoping it will help her break off her engagement to Luzhin, whom Svidrigailov considers an unworthy match.
How does Raskolnikov respond to Svidrigailov's financial offer for Dunya?
He angrily refuses, calling it "unpardonable impertinence" and declines to act as intermediary between Svidrigailov and his sister.
What does Svidrigailov reveal about Marfa Petrovna's will?
He reveals that Marfa Petrovna left Dunya three thousand roubles in her will, which she arranged a week before her death.
How did Svidrigailov's marriage to Marfa Petrovna come about?
She bought him out of debtors' prison by paying thirty thousand silver pieces to a Greek creditor (he owed seventy thousand). She then married him and took him to the country.
What does Svidrigailov threaten to do if Raskolnikov refuses to arrange a meeting with Dunya?
He warns that he will seek out Dunya himself and try to see her directly, which implies he will pursue her whether Raskolnikov cooperates or not.
Who does Svidrigailov encounter as he leaves Raskolnikov's room?
He runs into Razumihin in the doorway, ending the chapter on this chance encounter.
How does Svidrigailov describe his relationship with Marfa Petrovna during their seven-year marriage?
He claims they lived harmoniously and she was always pleased with him. He says he only used a whip twice in seven years and that she held a debt document over him as security for his good behavior.
What claim does Svidrigailov make about his current feelings for Dunya?
He claims he no longer feels any love for her — "not the slightest" — and that he wonders at himself, since he once felt genuine passion. He says he is already engaged to marry another young woman.
How does Svidrigailov explain Marfa Petrovna's death?
He says the medical inquiry diagnosed apoplexy due to bathing immediately after a heavy dinner and a bottle of wine. He wonders if his "irritation" contributed morally but concludes it was "quite out of the question."
What is Raskolnikov's emotional state during his conversation with Svidrigailov?
He is disgusted, angry, and suspicious, yet also curious and strangely unable to end the conversation. He lingers out of "some curiosity and even a sort of prudence."
What does Svidrigailov say about his own boredom?
He says there is hardly anything he takes interest in, he is "very much bored," and he has been in Petersburg for three days without visiting anyone. He admits he is delighted to see Raskolnikov simply because he has no one to talk to.
How does Part IV, Chapter I develop the theme of the "double" or doppelganger?
Svidrigailov explicitly calls himself and Raskolnikov "birds of a feather" — both have placed themselves above conventional morality. Svidrigailov represents what Raskolnikov's "extraordinary man" theory looks like when lived without guilt or philosophical torment.
What does Svidrigailov's spider-room vision of eternity suggest about his worldview?
It reveals a profoundly nihilistic outlook — he imagines the afterlife as a cramped, grimy bathhouse full of spiders rather than something vast and grand. This suggests both spiritual emptiness and a subconscious dread that contradicts his outward nonchalance.
How does this chapter explore the theme of money corrupting human relationships?
Svidrigailov's marriage was essentially a financial transaction (Marfa bought him for 30,000 roubles), and he now tries to use money to influence Dunya. He argues that marrying Luzhin is also "taking money" — suggesting all relationships are transactional.
What role does the supernatural play in Part IV, Chapter I?
Svidrigailov describes seeing Marfa Petrovna's ghost three times, which introduces the theme of conscience manifesting through supernatural means. He argues that ghosts are "shreds and fragments of other worlds" visible only to the sick — linking moral corruption to perceptual disturbance.
What literary device does Dostoevsky use by having Svidrigailov appear as a mirror of Raskolnikov?
The doppelganger or double — Svidrigailov functions as Raskolnikov's foil and dark mirror, representing the logical endpoint of Raskolnikov's theory about extraordinary men who can transgress without consequences.
How does Dostoevsky use dramatic irony in Svidrigailov's references to a "journey"?
Svidrigailov repeatedly mentions planning a "journey" or "voyage," which Raskolnikov takes literally. The reader senses a darker meaning — the "journey" is a veiled reference to his eventual suicide, giving his casual remarks an ominous double significance.
What is the effect of building this chapter almost entirely through dialogue?
The dialogue-driven structure creates an intense psychological duel between the two characters. Svidrigailov's smooth, confessional monologues reveal more than he intends while maintaining surface charm, and Raskolnikov's short, hostile responses expose his inner conflict between revulsion and fascination.
What does the Latin phrase "et nihil humanum" mean as used by Svidrigailov?
It alludes to the classical maxim "Homo sum, humani nihil a me alienum puto" (I am human, and nothing human is alien to me). Svidrigailov uses it to justify his pursuit of Dunya as a natural human impulse.
What does "bonne guerre" mean when Svidrigailov uses it?
A French expression meaning "fair play" or "legitimate tactics in warfare." Svidrigailov uses it to characterize his attempts to manipulate Raskolnikov as an innocent form of deception.
What does Svidrigailov mean by "j'ai le vin mauvais"?
A French expression meaning "I am a nasty drunk" or "wine makes me mean." Svidrigailov uses it to explain why he avoids drinking, saying there is nothing left but wine and he hates it.
Who says: "Instead of all that, what if it's one little room, like a bath house in the country, black and grimy and spiders in every corner, and that's all eternity is?"
Svidrigailov, during his philosophical conversation with Raskolnikov. The quote is one of the most famous in Crime and Punishment, expressing Svidrigailov's nihilistic vision of the afterlife.
Who says: "It's simply that whether you are right or wrong, we dislike you. We don't want to have anything to do with you. We show you the door. Go out!"
Raskolnikov, cutting through Svidrigailov's self-justifying monologue about his pursuit of Dunya. It demonstrates Raskolnikov's directness and moral disgust, though he ultimately cannot bring himself to end the conversation.