Part VI - Chapter VI Practice Quiz — Crime and Punishment
by Fyodor Dostoevsky — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: Part VI - Chapter VI
Where does Svidrigailov spend the evening before his final night?
He drifts through low taverns and pleasure gardens, treating clerks and singers to food and drink, though he himself does not drink any wine.
What does Svidrigailov do before leaving his lodgings in the storm?
He opens his bureau, takes out all his money, tears up two or three papers, and puts the money in his pocket.
What does Svidrigailov give Sonia during his visit?
Three five-per-cent bonds worth three thousand roubles for herself, plus receipts showing that Katerina Ivanovna's children are provided for.
What does Svidrigailov tell Sonia about Raskolnikov's future?
"Rodion Romanovitch has two alternatives: a bullet in the brain or Siberia." He tells her the money is for when she follows Raskolnikov to exile.
How much money does Svidrigailov give his young betrothed?
Fifteen thousand roubles, which he presents as a trifling gift he had long intended to give before their wedding.
What is the name of the hotel where Svidrigailov spends his last night?
The Adrianople—a large, blackened wooden building at the end of Y. Prospect.
What does Svidrigailov do just before leaving the hotel room at dawn?
He takes out a notebook and writes a few lines in large letters on the title page, then takes the revolver and walks out.
Who witnesses Svidrigailov's suicide and what does Svidrigailov tell him?
A watchman wearing a copper Achilles helmet. Svidrigailov tells him: "When you are asked, you just say he was going, he said, to America."
How does Sonia react when Svidrigailov tells her about Raskolnikov's two alternatives?
She looks wildly at him and starts in alarm, but she does not speak or ask questions at first, showing her characteristic fearful silence.
How does the betrothed's mother explain Svidrigailov's strange midnight visit?
She rationalizes that he is a great man of wealth and connections, comparing his eccentricity to that of the English, and insists the money be locked up and no one told.
What does Svidrigailov think about Raskolnikov while lying in bed?
"What a rogue that Raskolnikov is! He may be a successful rogue in time when he's got over his nonsense. But now he's too eager for life."
How does Svidrigailov describe his own emotional nature as a "bad sign"?
He says he never had a great hatred for anyone, never desired revenge, and never lost his temper—calling all of these things "a bad sign," recognizing his emotional hollowness.
Who is "Achilles" in this chapter?
A watchman standing at the gates of a large house, wearing a grey soldier's coat and a copper Achilles helmet. He is the last person Svidrigailov speaks to before his suicide.
What does "going to America" symbolize throughout the chapter?
Suicide—a one-way journey to a distant place from which there is no return. It also ironically represents the impossible ideal of freedom and new beginnings.
How does the chapter present the relationship between guilt and self-destruction?
Svidrigailov's three dreams progressively confront him with his sins against the innocent. Unable to escape his guilt or find redemption through human connection, suicide becomes his only exit.
What does Svidrigailov's suicide demonstrate about Dostoevsky's moral philosophy?
It illustrates that no person can set himself apart from humanity. Without genuine human warmth and connection, even a man who believes himself self-sufficient will be destroyed.
How does the chapter contrast Svidrigailov's and Raskolnikov's paths?
Both transgressed moral boundaries, but Raskolnikov still has the capacity for suffering and potential redemption (through Sonia). Svidrigailov, finding only emotional emptiness after Dunya's rejection, chooses self-destruction.
What is the pathetic fallacy in this chapter?
The violent thunderstorm, flooding Neva, and dawn mist mirror Svidrigailov's psychological journey from turmoil through despair to the numb finality of his suicide.
How does Dostoevsky use dramatic irony in Svidrigailov's farewell visits?
Sonia, the betrothed's family, and the hotel attendant all fail to understand they are witnessing a man's final hours. The reader grasps what the characters cannot.
What narrative technique structures Svidrigailov's three dreams?
Psychological escalation—each dream strips away another layer of self-deception, moving from physical revulsion (mouse) to guilt (drowned girl) to horror at his own corrupting nature (the child-turned-harlot).
What does "Vauxhall" refer to in the chapter?
A drinking-bar or pleasure garden establishment, named after the famous Vauxhall Gardens in London. In the chapter, it refers to a shabby outdoor drinking establishment.
What does the phrase "café chantant" mean?
A French term for a nightclub or cabaret with singing entertainment. Svidrigailov thinks the hotel staff must assume he looks like he came from one.
What does Svidrigailov say about Dunya as he lies awake in the hotel?
"Who knows?—perhaps she would have made a new man of me somehow. . . ." He then grinds his teeth and tries to banish the thought.
What are Svidrigailov's last words before pulling the trigger?
"When you are asked, you just say he was going, he said, to America." He then puts the revolver to his right temple.