Crime and Punishment — Part IV — Chapter VI

Nikolay is forced into Porfiry Petrovitch’s office and abruptly falls to his knees, declaring he alone murdered Alyona and Lizaveta with an axe. Porfiry, startled and annoyed, questions the confession and hustles Raskolnikov out, revealing agitation and an eagerness to postpone further discussion.

On the stairs, Porfiry catches Raskolnikov to promise more formal questions later. They trade barbs about Porfiry’s “psychology,” Gogol, and the likelihood that Nikolay’s story is not his own. Raskolnikov leaves unsettled but sensing temporary reprieve.

Back home, Raskolnikov reviews the encounter, fearing Porfiry’s psychological “lead” yet noting the absence of concrete facts. He resolves to go to Katerina Ivanovna’s memorial dinner to see Sonia, believing the danger may be deferred.

At that moment, the “visitor from underground” appears: a workman from the house’s gateway. He confesses he informed Porfiry that Raskolnikov had questioned the porters about the blood and bells, and that Porfiry hid him next door during the interview as the promised “surprise.”

Realizing Porfiry possesses only psychological suspicions and this trivial testimony, Raskolnikov concludes the case “cuts both ways.” With renewed defiance and shame at his earlier panic, he vows to fight on.