Summary
At the Police Station
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Raskolnikov faces his first real test after the murders when the police summons him to the station. His paranoia kicks into overdrive - every glance, every word feels like a trap. But the visit turns out to be about unpaid rent, not murder. Still, the psychological pressure nearly breaks him. He faints at the police station, drawing unwanted attention and suspicion from the officers. This moment shows how guilt works like poison in the mind - even innocent encounters become torture chambers. Raskolnikov thought he could commit the perfect crime and walk away clean, but his conscience won't let him rest. The fainting spell is his body betraying his carefully constructed facade. It's a turning point where we see that his intellectual theories about extraordinary people being above the law crash against the reality of human psychology. The police clerk Zametov starts paying closer attention to him, planting seeds of future trouble. Dostoevsky masterfully shows how criminals often defeat themselves - not through detective work, but through the unbearable weight of their own guilt. Raskolnikov's arrogance told him he was strong enough to handle murder, but his humanity proves stronger than his philosophy. This chapter reveals that the real punishment isn't external - it's the internal war between what we think we can handle and what our conscience will actually allow. The visit to the police station becomes a preview of the psychological hell that will consume him, showing that some boundaries, once crossed, can never be uncrossed.
Coming Up in Chapter 11
Raskolnikov's suspicious behavior at the police station has consequences, and his paranoia reaches new heights. Meanwhile, a surprise visitor arrives with news that will shake his world and force him to confront uncomfortable truths about his family.
Share it with friends
An excerpt from the original text.(~500 words)
He was not completely unconscious, however, all the time he was ill; he was in a feverish state, sometimes delirious, sometimes half conscious. He remembered a great deal afterwards. Sometimes it seemed as though there were a number of people round him; they wanted to take him away somewhere, there was a great deal of squabbling and discussing about him. Then he would be alone in the room; they had all gone away afraid of him, and only now and then opened the door a crack to look at him; they threatened him, plotted something together, laughed, and mocked at him. He remembered Nastasya often at his bedside; he distinguished another person, too, whom he seemed to know very well, though he could not remember who he was, and this fretted him, even made him cry. Sometimes he fancied he had been lying there a month; at other times it all seemed part of the same day. But of _that_--of _that_ he had no recollection, and yet every minute he felt that he had forgotten something he ought to remember. He worried and tormented himself trying to remember, moaned, flew into a rage, or sank into awful, intolerable terror. Then he struggled to get up, would have run away, but someone always prevented him by force, and he sank back into impotence and forgetfulness. At last he returned to complete consciousness. It happened at ten o’clock in the morning. On fine days the sun shone into the room at that hour, throwing a streak of light on the right wall and the corner near the door. Nastasya was standing beside him with another person, a complete stranger, who was looking at him very inquisitively. He was a young man with a beard, wearing a full, short-waisted coat, and looked like a messenger. The landlady was peeping in at the half-opened door. Raskolnikov sat up. “Who is this, Nastasya?” he asked, pointing to the young man. “I say, he’s himself again!” she said. “He is himself,” echoed the man. Concluding that he had returned to his senses, the landlady closed the door and disappeared. She was always shy and dreaded conversations or discussions. She was a woman of forty, not at all bad-looking, fat and buxom, with black eyes and eyebrows, good-natured from fatness and laziness, and absurdly bashful. “Who... are you?” he went on, addressing the man. But at that moment the door was flung open, and, stooping a little, as he was so tall, Razumihin came in. “What a cabin it is!” he cried. “I am always knocking my head. You call this a lodging! So you are conscious, brother? I’ve just heard the news from Pashenka.” “He has just come to,” said Nastasya. “Just come to,” echoed the man again, with a smile. “And who are you?” Razumihin asked, suddenly addressing him. “My name is Vrazumihin, at your service; not Razumihin, as I am always called, but Vrazumihin, a student and gentleman; and he is my friend. And...
Master this chapter. Complete your experience
Purchase the complete book to access all chapters and support classic literature
As an Amazon Associate, we earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you.
Available in paperback, hardcover, and e-book formats
Intelligence Amplifier™ Analysis
Why This Matters
Connect literature to life
This chapter teaches how guilt transforms innocent interactions into psychological minefields, helping readers identify when their own conscience is creating the problems they fear.
Now let's explore the literary elements.
Terms to Know
Psychological realism
A literary technique that shows characters' inner thoughts and mental states in detail. Dostoevsky pioneered this approach, diving deep into how guilt, fear, and paranoia actually feel from the inside. This makes characters feel incredibly real and relatable.
Tsarist bureaucracy
The complex, often corrupt government system in 19th century Russia. Police stations and clerks had enormous power over ordinary citizens. Understanding this helps explain why being summoned to the police would terrify anyone, even for something minor.
Fainting as social stigma
In Dostoevsky's time, fainting in public was seen as suspicious and weak, especially for men. It suggested either illness, guilt, or emotional instability. Raskolnikov's fainting spell immediately marks him as someone to watch.
Guilt manifestation
The physical and mental ways guilt shows up in the body - sweating, fainting, paranoia, seeing threats everywhere. Dostoevsky shows how psychological pressure creates real physical symptoms that can't be hidden.
Ironic reversal
When the opposite of what's expected happens. Raskolnikov goes to the police station terrified of being caught for murder, but it's actually about unpaid rent. This literary device shows how guilt distorts perception.
Police clerk
Low-level government workers who processed paperwork and minor legal matters. They had limited power but could make life difficult for citizens. Zametov represents the watchful eye of authority that Raskolnikov now fears.
Characters in This Chapter
Raskolnikov
Tormented protagonist
His paranoia reaches a breaking point when summoned to the police station. The fainting spell reveals that his body is betraying his attempts to appear normal, showing how guilt creates its own punishment.
Zametov
Observant police clerk
A young clerk who becomes suspicious when Raskolnikov faints at the station. He represents the danger of drawing attention to yourself when you're trying to hide something major.
Ilya Petrovitch
Police lieutenant
The officer who questions Raskolnikov about his unpaid rent. His routine bureaucratic manner contrasts sharply with Raskolnikov's internal terror, highlighting how guilt makes everything feel threatening.
Nastasya
Servant witness
The servant who was present when the police came looking for Raskolnikov. Her casual mention of his strange behavior adds to the growing web of suspicious circumstances surrounding him.
Key Quotes & Analysis
"Could they have found out already? Could they have discovered it?"
Context: His first panicked thoughts when summoned to the police station
This shows how guilt creates paranoia - he immediately assumes the worst. His conscience is already punishing him by making every interaction feel like a trap, even before anyone suspects him.
"What if it's all imagination? What if I'm going mad and it's all a delusion?"
Context: As his paranoia intensifies during the police station visit
He's starting to question his own perception of reality. This reveals how psychological pressure can make someone doubt everything, including their own sanity. It's the beginning of his mental breakdown.
"He felt he was being watched, that they all had their eyes on him."
Context: Describing Raskolnikov's state of mind at the police station
This captures the suffocating feeling of guilt-induced paranoia. When you're hiding something major, every normal interaction feels loaded with suspicion and danger.
Thematic Threads
Guilt
In This Chapter
Raskolnikov's body betrays his carefully constructed facade through fainting at the police station
Development
Evolved from theoretical justification to physical manifestation of psychological torment
Class
In This Chapter
The police summons reveals his financial vulnerability - he's there about unpaid rent, not murder
Development
Continues showing how poverty creates additional layers of surveillance and control
Identity
In This Chapter
His intellectual self-image as an extraordinary person crashes against his human psychological limits
Development
The gap between who he thinks he is and who he actually is widens dangerously
Deception
In This Chapter
Every interaction becomes a performance, with his fainting spell drawing the exact attention he's trying to avoid
Development
Self-deception evolving into exhausting social deception that's increasingly unsustainable
Power
In This Chapter
The police clerk Zametov gains power over Raskolnikov simply by paying attention to his suspicious behavior
Development
Power dynamics shifting as Raskolnikov's guilt makes him vulnerable to those he once felt superior to
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
- 1
What specific event triggered Raskolnikov's visit to the police station, and how did his body betray his mental state?
- 2
Why does Raskolnikov interpret an innocent summons about unpaid rent as a trap, and what does his fainting reveal about guilt's physical effects?
- 3
Where do you see this pattern of guilt-induced hypervigilance in modern life - people reading threats into innocent situations?
- 4
If you noticed yourself becoming paranoid about normal interactions, what steps would you take to determine if it's real danger or guilty conscience?
- 5
What does Raskolnikov's experience teach us about the relationship between our moral boundaries and our mental health?
Critical Thinking Exercise
Map Your Stress Signals
Think of a time when you felt guilty about something - maybe cutting corners at work, lying to someone you care about, or breaking a promise to yourself. Write down three physical symptoms you experienced (sweating, trouble sleeping, jumpy reactions) and three ways your thinking changed (reading into comments, avoiding certain people, over-explaining). Then identify what your body was trying to tell you about your values.
Consider:
- •Notice how guilt affects your body before your mind admits there's a problem
- •Consider whether your stress was proportional to the actual consequences or amplified by shame
- •Reflect on whether addressing the guilt directly would have been less exhausting than managing the symptoms
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 11: Return to the Scene
As the story unfolds, you'll explore criminals return to the scene, while uncovering the compulsion to confess disguised as curiosity. These lessons connect the classic to contemporary challenges we all face.