Crime and Punishment Chapter 2 Summary

Summary

Raskolnikov returns to his room, finds the hidden loot untouched, and hurriedly pockets eight articles and a purse. Fearful of discovery, he wanders trying to decide how to dispose of the things—first considering the canal, then the Neva, then a distant island—before noticing a deserted yard where he discovers a heavy unhewn stone with a hollow beneath. He empties the pockets into the hollow, replaces the stone, and feels a momentary, almost delirious relief, convinced he has covered his tracks.

Unable to endure solitude and agitation, he impulsively goes to see Dmitri Prokofych Razumikhin. Razumikhin, cheerful and practical, offers work translating a pamphlet and pays him three roubles; Raskolnikov takes the money and leaves almost without speaking, returns briefly to leave the sheets and coin, then departs again. While crossing a bridge he is struck by a coachman, then given twenty copecks by a compassionate woman; he throws the coin into the Neva as if cutting himself off from others. After six hours of wandering he returns home exhausted, sinks into an uneasy sleep, and is awakened by a terrible scream and tumult in the stairwell. He believes he hears Ilya Petrovitch beating the landlady, but Nastasya later insists nothing like that occurred—she tells him, cryptically, “It’s the blood,” and gives him water; he lapses into forgetfulness again.

Key events

1. Raskolnikov recovers eight articles and a purse from under the paper in his room and conceals them in his pockets.
2. He rejects throwing the items into the canal, and instead buries them in a hollow under a heavy stone in a deserted yard.
3. A brief ecstatic relief follows, then disturbing recollections and self-reproach unsettle him.
4. He visits Razumikhin, accepts three roubles and German sheets, behaves strangely and leaves abruptly.
5. On the Nikolaevsky Bridge he is lashed by a coachman, given twenty copecks by a passerby and tosses it into the Neva.
6. He returns home exhausted, wakes to a violent disturbance in the stairwell, misinterprets it as Ilya Petrovitch beating the landlady, and then is calmed by Nastasya.

Analysis

This chapter dramatizes Raskolnikov’s conflicted psyche and the practical consequences of his recent action. The physical act of burying the stolen goods under a commonplace stone is both concrete and symbolic: it registers his attempt to bury traces of guilt while highlighting how ordinary settings accommodate terrible secrets. The narrative juxtaposes his frantic, clandestine labor with sudden moments of childish elation (“I have buried my tracks!”) and immediate self-reproach, showing rapid oscillation between triumph and doubt.

Raskolnikov’s interactions with Razumikhin reveal social contrast: Razumikhin’s earthy practicality and cheerfulness expose Raskolnikov’s isolation and incapacity for ordinary human contact. The bridge episode—humiliation from the coachman, charity from strangers, and the coin thrown into the Neva—functions as a ritual severing of ties, emphasizing his self-imposed exile. The confusing, possibly hallucinatory disturbance on the stairs and Nastasya’s diagnosis, “It’s the blood,” add a physiological dimension: his conscience and body both protest. Dostoevsky uses close focalization and immediate sensory detail to track Raskolnikov’s interior state, foreshadowing continued psychological unrest and the difficulty of concealing inner crimes beneath everyday surfaces.

Important quotes

“He put them all in the different pockets of his overcoat, and the remaining pocket of his trousers, trying to conceal them as much as possible.”

NarratorMarks the furtive consolidation of the stolen items and the start of Raskolnikov’s effort to hide his crime.

“I have buried my tracks! And who, who can think of looking under that stone? It has been lying there most likely ever since the house was built, and will lie as many years more.”

NarratorShows his brief elation and the mistaken security he feels after hiding the loot under the stone.

“Take it, my good man, in Christ’s name.”

elderly womanA stranger’s charitable action that prompts Raskolnikov to throw the coin away, symbolizing his attempt to cut himself off from common kindness.

““It’s the blood,” she answered at last softly, as though speaking to herself.”

Nastasya PetrovnaNastasya’s puzzling remark suggests a physiological or psychological cause for Raskolnikov’s hallucinations and intensifies the atmosphere of unease.

Characters in Chapter 2

• Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov
• Dmitri Prokofych Razumikhin
• Nastasya Petrovna
• Ilya Petrovitch
• Heruvimov
• landlady