Crime and Punishment & Other Great Novels of Dostoevsky
by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Contents
Chapter V. On the Eve Op the Fete
Overview
On the eve of Yulia Mihailovna’s charitable fete, the town’s elite descend into reckless pranks and scandal, culminating in a sacrilegious ikon theft. A sensational outing to a famed “saint” exposes the group’s cruelty and Lizaveta Nikolaevna’s turmoil. Meanwhile, Varvara Petrovna decisively breaks with Stepan Trofimovich, who defiantly clings to his ideals.
Summary
Preparations for Yulia Mihailovna’s grand charitable fete accelerate as she relies on Pyotr Stepanovich, Lyamshin, Liputin, and even Karmazinov. The town’s mood turns giddy and coarse, with practical jokes and public humiliations excused as amusement. Yulia alternately condemns and indulges the mischief, swayed by Pyotr and Karmazinov.
The circle engineers cruel episodes: they hound a newlywed couple in a cavalcade; Lyamshin orchestrates a bazaar outrage by planting obscene images on a gospel-seller, then charms the salon with his burlesque “Franco-Prussian War.” Soon a sacrilegious theft from a revered ikon shocks the town; Fedka is later deemed culprit, with rumors implicating Lyamshin in a mocking detail. At the shrine, Lizaveta Nikolaevna dramatically kneels and donates her diamond earrings.
On a pleasure outing, the party first gawks at a hotel suicide—a youth ruined after squandering family money—treating the tragedy with flippant remarks. They proceed to visit the reputed holy man, Semyon Yakovlevich, who doles out teas and offerings capriciously, humiliates supplicants, and insults a lady. At Liza’s insistence, Mavriky Nikolaevich kneels, but Liza panics and drags him up, revealing volatile distress; in the crush afterward, she may nearly strike Nikolay Vsyevolodovich.
That same day, Varvara Petrovna summons Stepan Trofimovich to Skvoreshniki and proposes a formal separation: she will continue his pension but requires him to live apart. They clash over his planned fete reading—she urges light anecdotes, he insists on defending the Madonna and condemning new ideas. Stepan vows to renounce her support and depart after speaking, while Varvara predicts he will remain dependent.
Who Appears
- Yulia Mihailovna von LembkeGovernor’s wife; drives the fete; tolerates and excuses her circle’s scandals despite qualms.
- Pyotr Stepanovich VerkhovenskyManipulator within Yulia’s circle; fuels pranks; rides with the cavalcade; strengthens Stavrogin’s mystique.
- LyamshinBuffoon pianist and mischief-maker; engineers bazaar outrage; performs “Franco-Prussian War”; rumored in ikon sacrilege.
- Lizaveta Nikolaevna (Liza)Impulsive; publicly donates earrings at the shrine; forces Mavriky to kneel, then panics; nearly strikes Stavrogin.
- Mavriky NikolaevichLiza’s earnest suitor; obediently kneels at her demand; calmly endures her humiliation and distress.
- Semyon YakovlevichLocal ‘saint’; dispenses arbitrary favors, humiliates petitioners, and crudely insults a fashionable lady.
- Varvara Petrovna StavroginDetermines to outshine society; formally separates from Stepan, offering pension but demanding independence.
- Stepan Trofimovich VerkhovenskyProud intellectual; insists on Madonna lecture; rejects dependence, vowing to leave after speaking.
- Nikolay Vsyevolodovich StavroginAloof presence on the outing; possibly provokes Liza’s near slap; remains pale afterward.
- KarmazinovFeted author; amuses Yulia’s circle; counsels Stepan to read light anecdotes at the matinee.
- Von LembkeGovernor; angered by scandals; depressed by the ikon desecration’s implications for order.
- Fedka (the convict)Later confirmed ikon thief; rumors link Lyamshin to the sacrilegious mockery.