Part V - Chapter II Practice Quiz — Crime and Punishment
by Fyodor Dostoevsky — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: Part V - Chapter II
How much of Raskolnikov's donation does Katerina Ivanovna spend on the memorial dinner?
Nearly ten of the twenty roubles Raskolnikov gave for Marmeladov's funeral.
Who helps Katerina Ivanovna with the dinner preparations?
A Polish lodger who runs errands all morning, and Amalia Ivanovna who provides the kitchen, crockery, and linen.
What kinds of guests actually attend the memorial dinner?
Only the poorest and most insignificant lodgers appear, many not quite sober. The older and more respectable tenants all stay away by common consent.
Where does Raskolnikov sit at the dinner, and why?
Katerina seats him at her left hand because he is the one "educated visitor" who was "in two years to take a professorship in the university."
What does Sonia report about Luzhin when she arrives at the dinner?
She delivers Luzhin's apologies and says he will come later to discuss business and consider what could be done for Katerina.
What cruel joke is played on Sonia during the dinner?
Someone passes her a plate with two hearts pierced by an arrow, cut out of black bread — a mocking reference to her work as a prostitute.
What triggers the final explosion between Katerina and Amalia?
Amalia offers advice about the boarding school (mentioning laundry and novel-reading), Katerina insults her, and Amalia retorts about unpaid rent, escalating into a fight about whose father was more important.
Who appears at the very end of the chapter, and what does his arrival signal?
Pyotr Petrovitch Luzhin appears in the doorway with "severe and vigilant eyes," signaling the confrontation and trap he is about to set for Sonia.
What physical symptom reveals Katerina Ivanovna's advanced illness during the dinner?
She suffers agonizing coughing fits that produce blood-stained handkerchiefs, signs of her advanced consumption (tuberculosis).
How does Raskolnikov behave during the memorial dinner?
He sits in silence, listening with disgust. He only eats from politeness, tasting food Katerina puts on his plate to avoid hurting her feelings, while watching Sonia intently.
What is the commissariat clerk's role at the dinner?
He is a drunken guest who makes inappropriate comments — shouting about Marmeladov's drinking and hair-pulling — while downing glass after glass of vodka. He serves as comic relief and provocation.
Why does Sonia feel responsible for the "genteel ladies" not attending?
She knows the mother was offended at the invitation and asked how she could let her daughter sit beside "that young person" — a reference to Sonia's prostitution.
What grand plan does Katerina Ivanovna announce at the dinner?
She plans to open a boarding school for gentlemen's daughters in her native town T----, with Sonia as her assistant and a French teacher named Mangot.
What does Dostoevsky mean by "poor man's pride" in this chapter?
The irresistible compulsion of impoverished people to spend their last savings on social ceremonies to prove they are not inferior — exemplified by Katerina's ruinous spending on the dinner.
How does the memorial dinner illustrate the theme of appearance versus reality?
Katerina constructs elaborate fictions — about Luzhin's friendship, her father's status, her future school — while her actual circumstances (poverty, illness, impending eviction) grow ever more desperate.
What does the quarrel between Katerina and Amalia reveal about social class in the novel?
Both women cling to their fathers' status (colonel vs. burgomeister) as their only remaining claim to dignity, showing how past social standing becomes a psychological lifeline amid present degradation.
How does the chapter connect to the novel's broader theme of suffering and degradation?
The memorial dinner becomes a microcosm of suffering — poverty forces humiliating compromises, illness progresses unchecked, and the most vulnerable (Sonia, the children) bear the heaviest burdens in silence.
How does Dostoevsky use dramatic irony in this chapter?
Katerina boasts of Luzhin's friendship and promised patronage, while the reader knows Luzhin has hostile intentions and is about to frame Sonia for theft.
What narrative technique does Dostoevsky use to convey Katerina's mental state?
Free indirect discourse — the narrator blends Katerina's fevered thoughts and quoted speech with authorial commentary, creating a seamless mix of her delusions and objective reality.
What is the effect of the chapter ending with Luzhin's appearance?
It functions as a cliffhanger. His "severe and vigilant eyes" scanning the chaotic scene create suspense, linking the social comedy of the dinner to the serious plot machinations of the next chapter.
What does "paroxysms of pride" mean in the context of this chapter?
Sudden, uncontrollable outbursts of prideful behavior — the narrator uses this phrase to describe the intense, nervous episodes of vanity that afflict even the most broken-spirited poor people.
What is a "yellow ticket" as referenced in this chapter?
An official registration document carried by prostitutes in 19th-century Russia. Amalia's mention of it regarding Sonia is the ultimate insult, publicly naming her profession.
What does "en toutes lettres" mean when describing the certificate of honour?
A French phrase meaning "in full" or "spelled out explicitly." The certificate states in full that Katerina's father held the rank of major.
Who says "she might have been killed by circumstance, but her spirit could not have been broken"?
The narrator, describing Katerina Ivanovna. It captures her defining trait: despite poverty, illness, and abandonment, her will remains unbroken and her pride undiminished.
What does Katerina say about the silver spoons at the dinner?
"If your spoons should happen to be stolen, I won't be responsible, I warn you!" — a pointed joke directed at Amalia Ivanovna, implying the ragged guests might steal from her landlady.