Crime and Punishment, Part VI - Chapter VI quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. What does Svidrigailov do with his money and papers before leaving his lodgings?

   • He burns all the money and papers in the fireplace
   • Correct answer: He takes out all his money and tears up two or three papers
   • He locks the money in a safe and mails the papers to a lawyer
   • He hides the money under floorboards and shreds the papers

   Svidrigailov opens his bureau, takes out all his money, tears up papers, puts the money in his pocket, and leaves without even locking his door.

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2. 2

   Question 2. What does Svidrigailov tell Sonia about Raskolnikov's future?

   • That Raskolnikov has been offered a prestigious government position
   • That Raskolnikov plans to flee Russia by ship within the week
   • Correct answer: That Raskolnikov has two alternatives: a bullet in the brain or Siberia
   • That Raskolnikov has already been arrested and is awaiting trial

   Svidrigailov bluntly tells Sonia that Raskolnikov faces either suicide or exile to Siberia, and advises her to keep the money for when she follows him.

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3. 3

   Question 3. How much money does Svidrigailov leave with his young betrothed?

   • Three thousand roubles in government bonds
   • Five thousand roubles in a sealed envelope
   • Correct answer: Fifteen thousand roubles, presented as a pre-wedding gift
   • Ten thousand roubles, deposited with her mother for safekeeping

   He brings fifteen thousand roubles and presents them as "this trifling present" he had long intended to give before their wedding.

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4. 4

   Question 4. What appears in Svidrigailov's second dream, set in a flower-filled cottage?

   • The ghost of his dead wife Marfa Petrovna, demanding confession
   • Correct answer: A fourteen-year-old girl lying in a coffin, who had drowned herself
   • Raskolnikov standing over a body, reenacting his crime
   • Dunya holding a revolver and pointing it at Svidrigailov's heart

   The dream leads to a coffin containing a girl of fourteen who drowned herself after being "crushed by an insult that had appalled and amazed that childish soul." No holy icons or candles are present.

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5. 5

   Question 5. What happens to the five-year-old girl in Svidrigailov's third dream?

   • She transforms into Dunya and rejects Svidrigailov's embrace
   • She speaks in the voice of Svidrigailov's dead wife Marfa Petrovna
   • Correct answer: Her face takes on a depraved, unchildlike expression, grinning shamefully
   • She grows wings and flies away, leaving the room filled with light

   The girl's crimson lips part into a broad grin with "something shameless, provocative in that quite unchildish face; it was depravity, it was the face of a harlot." Svidrigailov wakes in horror.

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6. 6

   Question 6. What is the Adrianople in the chapter?

   • A bridge Svidrigailov crosses over the Little Neva at midnight
   • A pleasure garden where Svidrigailov settles a dispute between clerks
   • Correct answer: A rundown wooden hotel where Svidrigailov spends his last night
   • A tavern where Svidrigailov listens to Katia sing gutter songs

   The Adrianople is "a long, blackened wooden building" serving as a hotel, where Svidrigailov rents a cramped room under the stairs for his final night.

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7. 7

   Question 7. What does Svidrigailov mean when he tells the watchman "I am going to foreign parts... to America"?

   • He plans to emigrate to New York to start a new life
   • Correct answer: He is using a euphemism for suicide—the ultimate one-way journey
   • He intends to take a ship departing from St. Petersburg that morning
   • He is delirious from fever and speaking incoherently about travel plans

   "Going to America" is Svidrigailov's recurring euphemism for suicide throughout the chapter. He uses the phrase with Sonia, the betrothed's family, and finally the watchman before pulling the trigger.

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8. 8

   Question 8. Which of the following events actually happens in Part VI, Chapter VI?

   • Svidrigailov drinks heavily throughout the evening at multiple taverns
   • Correct answer: Svidrigailov gives Sonia three thousand roubles in bonds for herself
   • Raskolnikov follows Svidrigailov through the streets and confronts him
   • Svidrigailov confesses his crimes to a priest before dawn

   Svidrigailov gives Sonia three 5-per-cent bonds worth three thousand roubles. Notably, he does NOT drink wine all evening (only tea), Raskolnikov does not appear, and there is no confession to a priest.

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9. 9

   Question 9. Which of the following does NOT occur in the chapter?

   • Svidrigailov gazes at the black waters of the Little Neva with special interest
   • Svidrigailov writes a few lines in his notebook before leaving the hotel
   • Correct answer: Svidrigailov's dead wife Marfa Petrovna appears to him as a ghost
   • A cannon fires twice to signal that the river is overflowing

   Although Svidrigailov invites Marfa Petrovna to appear ("now is the time for you to turn up"), she does not come. All the other events happen as described in the chapter.

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10. 10

    Question 10. In the chapter, what does "perturbation" mean when Svidrigailov's midnight visit "at first caused great perturbation"?

    • Correct answer: A state of anxious uneasiness or disturbance
    • A feeling of warm hospitality and welcome
    • A sense of legal formality and procedure
    • A mood of festive celebration and excitement

    "Perturbation" means anxiety or agitation. The betrothed's family is initially alarmed by Svidrigailov arriving soaking wet at midnight, though he quickly charms them.

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11. 11

    Question 11. What does "smirched" mean in the phrase "had smirched that angel purity with unmerited disgrace"?

    • Protected and shielded from harm or danger
    • Correct answer: Sullied, stained, or made dirty (especially a reputation)
    • Celebrated and praised with great enthusiasm
    • Examined and studied with careful scholarly attention

    "Smirched" means to make dirty, stain, or sully—here referring to the destruction of a young girl's innocence through undeserved disgrace, which drove her to suicide.

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12. 12

    Question 12. What is a "nosegay" as used in Svidrigailov's dream of the flower-filled cottage?

    • A type of ornamental garden gate covered in climbing roses
    • A decorative window frame carved with floral patterns
    • Correct answer: A small bunch of sweet-smelling flowers arranged as a bouquet
    • A large greenhouse structure used for growing tropical plants

    A "nosegay" is a small bouquet of fragrant flowers. In the dream, Svidrigailov notices "nosegays of tender, white, heavily fragrant narcissus bending over their bright, green, thick long stalks."

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