Crime and Punishment — Part II — Chapter VI

After Nastasya leaves, Raskolnikov dresses in new clothes, pockets money, and slips into the stifling evening determined to end his torment “to-day.” He wanders through the Hay Market, compelled by street noise and singing, and muses bitterly on the will to live.

Seeking news, he enters a restaurant and combs old papers for reports on the pawnbroker’s murder. Police clerk Zametov joins him. Raskolnikov needles Zametov with mocking talk about criminals, then outlines in detail how a murderer could hide the loot under a heavy stone. In a shuddering whisper he blurts, “What if it was I who murdered the old woman and Lizaveta?” He then flaunts his money and abruptly leaves, leaving Zametov shaken and rethinking earlier suspicions.

On the steps Raskolnikov collides with Razumihin, who angrily tries to haul him home. Raskolnikov, craving solitude and resenting “benevolence,” rejects him. Razumihin storms off, then worries he has made a mistake and hurries back to question Zametov.

Weakened, Raskolnikov lingers on a bridge and witnesses a woman throw herself into the canal; a policeman rescues her. Disgusted by the method and sunk in apathy, he turns toward the police office, wavering about confessing.

Drawn by a morbid impulse, he detours to the murder house, ascends to the now-renovated flat, rings the bell repeatedly, and questions workmen about the blood. He startles them and the porters, gives his full name and address, and invites being taken to the station, only to be shoved away. At a crossroads he hesitates again, then moves toward a nearby commotion as he steels himself for an end.