What happens in Part I – Raskolnikov's Theory and the Murder Plan of Crime and Punishment?
Part I opens in the stifling heat of St. Petersburg's summer, where Raskolnikov—a broke former student—sneaks out of his tiny garret, careful to avoid his landlady to whom he owes rent. He makes a preliminary visit to the flat of Alyona Ivanovna, an elderly pawnbroker, where he pawns a small silver watch and mentally notes the layout of her rooms. Back on the city's sweltering streets and in the taverns, he meets Marmeladov, a fallen civil servant who shares the story of his family's decline and his daughter Sonya's forced entry into prostitution. Raskolnikov takes Marmeladov back home, catching a glimpse of the squalor they live in. Throughout, bits of his "theory" emerge: a belief that extraordinary individuals are above ordinary moral law and can break it for a greater purpose. By the end of the chapter, Raskolnikov has received a letter from his mother, revealing his sister Dunya's near-destruction at the hands of her employer Svidrigailov, and her upcoming marriage to the calculating Luzhin—a sacrifice made clearly for Raskolnikov's benefit. The letter sharpens his determination. The murder of the pawnbroker is no longer just an idea; it's about to happen.
Analysis
Dostoevsky begins with a tight spatial description that also acts as a psychological sketch: the garret feels more like a coffin, the staircase serves as a way out, and the city itself is a pressure cooker. The oppressive heat isn’t just a backdrop—it acts as a feverish external force, blurring the line between logical planning and madness right from the first paragraph. Raskolnikov’s practice visit to Alyona’s flat unfolds like a meticulously planned heist, but Dostoevsky disrupts this cool narrative with moments of involuntary disgust, indicating that Raskolnikov's theory and his actions are already at odds before they’re fully articulated.
The digression about Marmeladov introduces a deliberate shift in tone: it’s grotesque, almost operatic, and carries a Dickensian sense of pathos. This serves as a moral reflection for Raskolnikov, exposing him to a level of poverty that has already shattered a man, while also introducing Sonya as a symbol of redemptive suffering who will loom over the entire story. The letter from Raskolnikov’s mother then changes the tone once more—from a tavern confession to an intimate, heartfelt message—and its impact is profound. While Marmeladov's tale depicts public humiliation, the letter represents private sacrifice, and Raskolnikov’s inability to face either without anger offers the first clear insight into his troubled psyche.
Dostoevsky’s use of free indirect discourse is already in full swing: the reader experiences Raskolnikov’s rationalizations while also observing them from a distance, picking up on the self-deceptions he cannot see. The concept of the "extraordinary man" is presented not as a philosophical idea but as a symptom of his inner turmoil.
Key quotes from Part I – Raskolnikov's Theory and the Murder Plan
“He had successfully avoided meeting his landlady on the staircase. His garret was under the roof of a high, five-storied house and was more like a cupboard than a room.”
The novel's opening lines establish Raskolnikov's physical and psychological confinement simultaneously, making the architecture an index of his mental state.
“Am I capable of that? Is that serious? It is not serious at all. It's simply a fantasy to amuse myself; a plaything! Yes, maybe it is a plaything.”
Raskolnikov attempts to dismiss the murder plan as mere fantasy after his rehearsal visit, a moment of self-deception that Dostoevsky frames with quiet irony.
“She will sell herself for us… I love her, I love her as myself, and it was very bitter to me to learn that she is unhappy.”
Raskolnikov reads his mother's letter describing Dunya's impending marriage to Luzhin, and the language of love collapses into the language of transaction—the very logic he is applying to Alyona.