Crime and Punishment — Part VI — Chapter III

Driven by anxiety that Svidrigaïlov might exploit his secret against Dounia, Raskolnikov decides he must confront him. He imagines being forced to confess to protect his sister and, in cold despair, resolves to kill Svidrigaïlov if necessary. Wandering distractedly, he unexpectedly spots Svidrigaïlov at a tavern window and goes inside.

In a dingy back room, amid music and noise, Raskolnikov finds Svidrigaïlov with a street singer, Katia, and an organ boy. After paying them off, Svidrigaïlov speaks with playful candor. He claims there is no miracle in their meeting, says he has watched Raskolnikov’s distracted habits, and warns that others might notice. Raskolnikov presses him about hiding at the window; Svidrigaïlov parries with a similar observation of Raskolnikov’s earlier feigned sleep.

Raskolnikov declares he will kill Svidrigaïlov if he harms Dounia or uses the murder secret against her, demanding any information at once. Svidrigaïlov, amused and evasive, says he sought Raskolnikov as an “interesting subject,” not to pursue schemes, and hints he expected to profit by hearing something new from him. He sketches his past and current aimless life, claiming he lives for women and vice.

They argue about vice, moderation, and aesthetics. Svidrigaïlov glorifies his appetites yet unexpectedly reveals a fear of death and an aversion to speaking of suicide. He admits a streak of mysticism and disavows recent apparitions in Petersburg. He hints at an imminent engagement elsewhere but lingers to talk, half-raised by champagne and “a certain fact” he withholds.

As Raskolnikov rises to leave in disgust, Svidrigaïlov urges him to stay and proposes a story answering Raskolnikov’s initial concern: how a woman tried to “save” him—namely, Avdotya Romanovna. He insists he respects her and begins to frame this promised revelation.