Summary
Luzhin's Proposal
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Raskolnikov sits in his cramped, coffin-like room, wrestling with a terrible idea that has been consuming him for weeks. He's broke, desperate, and fixated on an old pawnbroker who lives nearby - a woman he sees as nothing more than a parasite feeding off the poor. As he lies on his couch, he runs through his plan over and over, trying to convince himself it would be justified. The old woman has money that could help people like his sister Dunya, who's about to marry a man she doesn't love just to help the family financially. Raskolnikov tells himself that killing one 'worthless' person to save many others would be a noble act - the kind of thing great men throughout history have done. But even as he builds this mental case, part of him is horrified by his own thoughts. He's caught between his desperate circumstances and his conscience, between his intellectual theories about extraordinary people being above ordinary morality and his human revulsion at the idea of murder. This internal battle reveals how poverty and isolation can warp a person's thinking, making the unthinkable seem logical. Raskolnikov isn't naturally evil - he's a young man pushed to the breaking point, trying to rationalize a horrific solution to very real problems. The chapter shows how dangerous it can be when we start seeing other people as less than human, and how desperation can make us believe our own twisted logic.
Coming Up in Chapter 15
Raskolnikov ventures out into the sweltering St. Petersburg streets, where a chance encounter will push him even closer to the point of no return. The city itself seems to mirror his feverish state of mind.
Share it with friends
An excerpt from the original text.(~500 words)
An elegant carriage stood in the middle of the road with a pair of spirited grey horses; there was no one in it, and the coachman had got off his box and stood by; the horses were being held by the bridle.... A mass of people had gathered round, the police standing in front. One of them held a lighted lantern which he was turning on something lying close to the wheels. Everyone was talking, shouting, exclaiming; the coachman seemed at a loss and kept repeating: “What a misfortune! Good Lord, what a misfortune!” Raskolnikov pushed his way in as far as he could, and succeeded at last in seeing the object of the commotion and interest. On the ground a man who had been run over lay apparently unconscious, and covered with blood; he was very badly dressed, but not like a workman. Blood was flowing from his head and face; his face was crushed, mutilated and disfigured. He was evidently badly injured. “Merciful heaven!” wailed the coachman, “what more could I do? If I’d been driving fast or had not shouted to him, but I was going quietly, not in a hurry. Everyone could see I was going along just like everybody else. A drunken man can’t walk straight, we all know.... I saw him crossing the street, staggering and almost falling. I shouted again and a second and a third time, then I held the horses in, but he fell straight under their feet! Either he did it on purpose or he was very tipsy.... The horses are young and ready to take fright... they started, he screamed... that made them worse. That’s how it happened!” “That’s just how it was,” a voice in the crowd confirmed. “He shouted, that’s true, he shouted three times,” another voice declared. “Three times it was, we all heard it,” shouted a third. But the coachman was not very much distressed and frightened. It was evident that the carriage belonged to a rich and important person who was awaiting it somewhere; the police, of course, were in no little anxiety to avoid upsetting his arrangements. All they had to do was to take the injured man to the police station and the hospital. No one knew his name. Meanwhile Raskolnikov had squeezed in and stooped closer over him. The lantern suddenly lighted up the unfortunate man’s face. He recognised him. “I know him! I know him!” he shouted, pushing to the front. “It’s a government clerk retired from the service, Marmeladov. He lives close by in Kozel’s house.... Make haste for a doctor! I will pay, see?” He pulled money out of his pocket and showed it to the policeman. He was in violent agitation. The police were glad that they had found out who the man was. Raskolnikov gave his own name and address, and, as earnestly as if it had been his father, he besought the police to carry the unconscious Marmeladov to his lodging at once. “Just here,...
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 to recognize when your own mind is building elaborate justifications for crossing moral boundaries you normally wouldn't cross.
Now let's explore the literary elements.
Terms to Know
Pawnbroker
A person who lends money in exchange for personal items as collateral. In 19th century Russia, pawnbrokers often exploited the poor by offering very little money for valuable items. The old woman Raskolnikov fixates on represents this predatory system.
Nihilism
A philosophical belief that traditional moral principles have no basis and that life is meaningless. This Russian intellectual movement influenced young people like Raskolnikov to question all established values and moral rules.
Extraordinary vs Ordinary People Theory
Raskolnikov's belief that some exceptional individuals have the right to break moral laws for the greater good. He thinks great historical figures like Napoleon were above ordinary morality and could commit crimes to achieve higher purposes.
Rationalization
The mental process of creating logical-sounding reasons to justify something you want to do anyway. Raskolnikov uses complex philosophical arguments to make murder seem reasonable and even noble.
Dehumanization
Viewing other people as less than human, often as objects or obstacles. Raskolnikov sees the pawnbroker as a 'louse' or parasite rather than a person, making it easier to consider killing her.
Utilitarian Ethics
The idea that actions are right if they produce the greatest good for the greatest number of people. Raskolnikov tries to convince himself that killing one 'worthless' person to help many others would be morally justified.
Characters in This Chapter
Raskolnikov
Protagonist
A poor former law student consumed by a terrible plan to murder an old pawnbroker. This chapter reveals his mental torment as he tries to justify the unjustifiable, showing how desperation and isolation can corrupt even intelligent, educated people.
Alyona Ivanovna
Intended victim
The elderly pawnbroker who becomes the target of Raskolnikov's murderous obsession. Though she appears only in his thoughts, she represents how he has dehumanized his victim to make his plan seem acceptable.
Dunya
Absent sister
Raskolnikov's sister who plans to marry for money to help their family. Her sacrifice weighs heavily on his mind and becomes part of his justification for considering murder as a way to get money quickly.
Key Quotes & Analysis
"Am I really capable of that? Is that really what I've been thinking about?"
Context: As he lies on his couch, horrified by his own murderous thoughts
This shows the internal battle between his rational mind and his desperate circumstances. He's shocked by his own capacity for evil, revealing that he hasn't completely lost his moral compass yet.
"Kill her and take her money, so that afterwards with its help I can devote myself to the service of all humanity and the common cause."
Context: Trying to justify murder as a noble act
This reveals how he's twisted his thinking to make murder seem heroic. He's convinced himself that stealing from one person to help others makes him a benefactor rather than a criminal.
"A hundred, a thousand good deeds and undertakings that could be arranged and set going by the money that old woman has doomed to the monastery!"
Context: Calculating how the pawnbroker's money could be better used
He's reducing a human life to a mathematical equation, showing how dangerous it becomes when we start viewing people as obstacles to our goals rather than as individuals with inherent worth.
Thematic Threads
Rationalization
In This Chapter
Raskolnikov transforms murder into a noble act through elaborate mental justification
Development
Introduced here
Class
In This Chapter
Poverty drives Raskolnikov to see the wealthy pawnbroker as expendable
Development
Introduced here
Identity
In This Chapter
Raskolnikov reimagines himself as an extraordinary person above ordinary morality
Development
Introduced here
Isolation
In This Chapter
His cramped room becomes a breeding ground for dangerous thoughts
Development
Introduced here
Dehumanization
In This Chapter
The pawnbroker becomes 'a louse' rather than a human being in his mind
Development
Introduced here
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
- 1
What specific circumstances push Raskolnikov toward his terrible plan, and how does he try to justify it to himself?
- 2
Why does Raskolnikov's mind work so hard to make murder seem logical and even noble? What role does his desperation play in this twisted reasoning?
- 3
Where do you see people today building elaborate justifications for behavior they know is wrong? What kinds of desperation drive these mental gymnastics?
- 4
When you catch yourself rationalizing something that feels off, what steps could you take to address the real need driving that rationalization?
- 5
What does Raskolnikov's internal struggle reveal about how good people can convince themselves to do terrible things when they feel cornered?
Critical Thinking Exercise
Spot Your Own Rationalization Engine
Think of a time when you found yourself building an elaborate justification for something that initially felt wrong—maybe cutting corners at work, being harsh with someone, or bending rules. Write down the story you told yourself to make it seem okay. Then identify what you were really desperate for underneath that reasoning.
Consider:
- •Notice how logical and airtight your justification felt at the time—that's how rationalization works
- •Look for the real need driving the behavior: security, recognition, control, fairness, or relief from pressure
- •Consider what healthier ways you might have met that underlying need without compromising your values
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 15: Porfiry's Game Begins
In the next chapter, you'll discover skilled interrogators work, and learn the psychology of cat-and-mouse dynamics. These insights reveal timeless patterns that resonate in our own lives and relationships.