Maximum-assistance view: every word above everyday vocabulary is explained at every appearance; each name is introduced at its first appearance in the chapter.

CHAPTER I

On an exceptionally (more than usually) hot evening early in July a young man came out of the garret (tiny room right under the roof) in which he lodged (where he rented a room) in S. Place (the author’s initial for a real street, ‘Stolyarny Lane’, in a poor quarter of Petersburg) and walked slowly, as though in hesitation (as if unable to decide), towards K. bridge (‘Kokushkin Bridge’ over the canal, its name also cut to an initial).

He had successfully avoided meeting his landlady (the woman he rents his room from) on the staircase (the set of steps between floors). His garret (his tiny room under the roof) was under the roof of a high, five-storied (five floors high) house and was more like a cupboard (small storage space with a door) than a room. The landlady who provided him with garret, dinners (main meals), and attendance (cleaning and service), lived on the floor below, and every time he went out he was obliged to (had to) pass her kitchen, the door of which invariably (always) stood open. And each time he passed, the young man had a sick, frightened (scared) feeling, which made him scowl (pull an angry face) and feel ashamed. He was hopelessly in debt to (owing far more than he could ever pay to) his landlady, and was afraid of meeting her.

This was not because he was cowardly (lacking courage) and abject (crushed and without spirit), quite the contrary (the opposite was true); but for some time past (for a while now) he had been in an overstrained (stretched past his limit) irritable (easily angered) condition, verging on hypochondria (close to a settled black gloom; the Russian word behind it means a low, heavy mood, not fear of illness). He had become so completely absorbed (thinking about nothing but himself) in himself, and isolated from his fellows (other people) that he dreaded (feared) meeting, not only his landlady (the woman he rents from), but anyone at all. He was crushed by poverty, but the anxieties (worries) of his position had of late (lately) ceased to weigh upon him (no longer troubled him). He had given up attending to matters of practical importance (had stopped dealing with the practical things of everyday life); he had lost all desire to do so. Nothing that any landlady could do had a real terror for him (really frightened him). But to be stopped on the stairs, to be forced to listen to her trivial (of no importance), irrelevant (not to the point) gossip (empty talk about other people), to pestering (asking again and again) demands for payment (her asking him to pay her), threats and complaints, and to rack his brains for excuses (to search his mind hard for reasons to give), to prevaricate (to dodge the truth), to lie--no, rather than that (instead of that), he would creep (move quietly) down the stairs like a cat and slip out unseen (without being seen).

This evening, however, on coming out into the street, he became acutely (sharply) aware of his fears.

“I want to attempt a thing like that (he is thinking, not speaking, and 'a thing like that' is the plan he will not name; the reader is meant to feel him avoiding the word) and am frightened (scared) by these trifles (small things),” he thought, with an odd (strange) smile. “Hm (a thinking sound)... yes, all is in a man’s hands and he lets it all slip from cowardice (everything is within a man’s power, and he lets it all go out of fear), that’s an axiom (a truth that needs no proof). It would be interesting to know what it is men are most afraid of. Taking a new step, uttering a new word is what they fear most (what they fear most is doing something new, saying something new).... But I am talking too much. It’s because I chatter that I do nothing (I talk instead of acting). Or perhaps it is that I chatter because I do nothing. I’ve learned to chatter this last month, lying for days together (for days on end) in my den (my room, said as if it were an animal’s hole) thinking... of Jack the Giant-killer (the hero of an English fairy tale who kills giants: he mocks his own plan as a child’s story). Why am I going there now? Am I capable of that? (Could I really do it?) Is that serious? It is not serious at all. It’s simply a fantasy to amuse myself (give myself something to enjoy); a plaything (toy)! Yes, maybe it is a plaything.”

The heat in the street was terrible: and the airlessness (the lack of fresh air), the bustle (busy noise and movement) and the plaster (the smooth covering on walls), scaffolding (the poles and planks builders work from), bricks (building blocks of baked clay), and dust all about him, and that special Petersburg stench (stink), so familiar to all who are unable to get out of town in summer (well known to everyone too poor to leave the city in summer)--all worked painfully upon (hurt and pressed on) the young man’s already overwrought (worn out by strain) nerves (his power to stay calm and steady). The insufferable (unbearable) stench from the pot-houses (cheap drinking places), which are particularly numerous in that part of the town, and the drunken (drunk) men whom he met continually (again and again), although it was a working day (on a weekday, when working men should have been sober), completed the revolting misery of the picture (made the whole ugly scene complete). An expression of the profoundest (deepest) disgust (strong dislike) gleamed (shone) for a moment in the young man’s refined (fine and delicate) face. He was, by the way (I should mention), exceptionally (more than usually) handsome, above the average in height, slim, well-built, with beautiful dark eyes and dark brown hair. Soon he sank (fell) into deep thought, or more accurately speaking (to be more exact) into a complete blankness (empty state) of mind; he walked along not observing (noticing) what was about him and not caring to observe it (not wanting to notice it). From time to time (Sometimes), he would mutter (say something quietly to himself) something, from the habit of talking to himself, to which he had just confessed (out of his habit of talking to himself, which he had just admitted). At these moments he would become conscious that (realise that) his ideas were sometimes in a tangle (confused) and that he was very weak; for two days he had scarcely (hardly) tasted (eaten) food.

He was so badly dressed that even a man accustomed (used) to shabbiness (worn, poor clothes) would have been ashamed to be seen in the street in such rags (torn old clothes). In that quarter (that district) of the town, however, scarcely (hardly) any shortcoming (fault) in dress would have created surprise (would have surprised anyone). Owing to the proximity of (Because it was so near) the Hay Market (the ‘Haymarket’, the rough market square of the city, with drink shops and the very poor all round it), the number of establishments of bad character (brothels and drinking houses, said politely), the preponderance (larger share) of the trading and working class population crowded in (packed tightly into) these streets and alleys (narrow back streets) in the heart of Petersburg (in the centre of the city), types so various were to be seen in the streets (so many different kinds of people were about in the streets) that no figure, however queer, would have caused surprise (however strange a person looked, nobody there would have been surprised). But there was such accumulated (built up) bitterness (an angry, hurt feeling) and contempt (the feeling that other people are worth nothing) in the young man’s heart, that, in spite of (even with) all the fastidiousness (care about looking proper) of youth, he minded his rags least of all in the street (of all the places he could be, the street was where his torn clothes worried him least). It was a different matter when (It was another thing when) he met with acquaintances (people he knew) or with former fellow students, whom, indeed, he disliked (did not like) meeting at any time. And yet when a drunken (drunk) man who, for some unknown reason, was being taken somewhere in a huge waggon (cart) dragged by a heavy dray horse (big cart horse), suddenly shouted (called out loudly) at him as he drove past: “Hey there, German hatter (a hat-maker; Germans ran many of the city’s trades, and his tall hat looks foreign and absurd)” bawling (shouting) at the top of his voice (as loudly as he could) and pointing at him--the young man stopped suddenly and clutched (grabbed) tremulously (with shaking hands) at his hat. It was a tall round hat from Zimmerman’s (a well-known hat shop in Petersburg), but completely worn out (used until it was falling apart), rusty with age (gone reddish-brown with age), all torn (ripped) and bespattered (splashed with dirt), brimless (missing its flat edge) and bent (not straight) on one side in a most unseemly (improper, not fit to be seen) fashion. Not shame, however, but quite another feeling (a very different feeling) akin to (close to) terror had overtaken (gripped him) him.

“I knew it,” he muttered (said quietly to himself) in confusion, “I thought so! That’s the worst of all (That is the worst part)! Why, a stupid thing like this (here ‘why’ is only an exclamation, not a question: a stupid thing like this), the most trivial (of no importance) detail might spoil (wreck) the whole plan. Yes, my hat is too noticeable (easy to notice).... It looks absurd (silly) and that makes it noticeable.... With my rags (torn old clothes) I ought to wear a cap, any sort of old pancake (a flat soft cap), but not this grotesque (absurd-looking) thing. Nobody wears such a hat, it would be noticed a mile off (from far away), it would be remembered.... What matters is that people would remember it, and that would give them a clue (that would help them find him). For this business (For this job) one should be as little conspicuous (easily noticed) as possible.... Trifles (small things), trifles are what matter! Why, it’s just such trifles (again ‘why’ is an exclamation: it is just such small things) that always ruin everything....”

He had not far to go (He did not have far to walk); he knew indeed how many steps it was from the gate of his lodging house (the house where he rented a room): exactly seven hundred and thirty. He had counted them once when he had been lost in dreams (deep in his own dreams). At the time he had put no faith in (did not believe in) those dreams and was only tantalising himself (teasing himself with something he could not have) by their hideous (horrible) but daring (brave) recklessness (wild daring). Now, a month later, he had begun to look upon them differently (see them in a new way), and, in spite of (even with) the monologues (talks with himself) in which he jeered at (mocked) his own impotence (lack of power) and indecision (not being able to decide), he had involuntarily (without meaning to) come to regard this “hideous” dream as an exploit to be attempted (come to see this dream, which he calls horrible, as a bold act he might really carry out), although he still did not realise this himself. He was positively (really) going now for a “rehearsal (practice run)” of his project (plan), and at every step his excitement grew more and more violent (stronger and stronger in feeling).

With a sinking heart (a heart full of fear) and a nervous tremor (shaking), he went up to (walked over to) a huge house which on one side looked on to the canal (faced the canal), and on the other into the street. This house was let out (rented out) in tiny tenements (cheap rented flats) and was inhabited (lived in) by working people of all kinds--tailors (makers of clothes), locksmiths (makers of locks), cooks (people who cook), Germans of sorts (of one kind or another), girls picking up a living as best they could (earning what they could, as prostitutes, said politely), petty (low-grade) clerks (office workers), etc. There was a continual (never-ending) coming and going through the two gates and in the two courtyards (open spaces inside the building) of the house. Three or four door-keepers (men who watch the gates) were employed on the building (kept to guard the building). The young man was very glad to meet none of them, and at once (immediately) slipped (went quietly) unnoticed (without being seen) through the door on the right, and up the staircase (the set of steps between floors). It was a back staircase, dark and narrow, but he was familiar with it already, and knew his way, and he liked all these surroundings (the place around him): in such darkness even the most inquisitive (curious) eyes were not to be dreaded (were nothing to fear).

“If I am so scared now, what would it be if it somehow came to pass that I were really going to do it (how would I feel if it really happened that I was going to do it)?” he could not help asking himself (could not stop himself asking) as he reached the fourth storey (floor). There his progress was barred (his way was blocked) by some porters (men hired to carry things) who were engaged in (busy) moving furniture out of a flat (a set of rooms where one family lives). He knew that the flat had been occupied by a German clerk in the civil service (government office work), and his family. This German was moving out then, and so the fourth floor on this staircase (the set of steps between floors) would be untenanted (with nobody living in it) except by the old woman. “That’s a good thing anyway (That at least is lucky),” he thought to himself, as he rang the bell (pulled the bell to be let in) of the old woman’s flat. The bell gave a faint (weak) tinkle (thin ringing sound) as though it were made of tin and not of copper (as if made of cheap light metal instead of the solid kind that rings well). The little flats (sets of rooms) in such houses always have bells (door bells a visitor pulls to be let in) that ring like that. He had forgotten the note of that bell (the sound of that bell), and now its peculiar (odd) tinkle seemed to remind him of something and to bring it clearly before him (make it clear to him).... He started (He gave a jump), his nerves (his power to stay calm and steady) were terribly (very badly) overstrained (stretched past his limit) by now. In a little while (After a moment), the door was opened a tiny crack (just a narrow gap): the old woman eyed (looked at) her visitor with evident (clear) distrust (lack of trust) through the crack, and nothing could be seen but her little eyes, glittering (shining) in the darkness. But, seeing a number of people on the landing (the flat space at the top of the stairs), she grew bolder (less afraid), and opened the door wide. The young man stepped into the dark entry (the small space just inside the front door), which was partitioned off (divided off by a thin wall) from the tiny kitchen. The old woman stood facing him in silence and looking inquiringly (as if asking a question) at him. She was a diminutive (tiny), withered up (dried up and small) old woman of sixty (60 years old), with sharp malignant (looking as if she wished you harm) eyes and a sharp little nose. Her colourless (without colour), somewhat (a little) grizzled (going grey) hair was thickly (in a thick layer) smeared (spread) with oil, and she wore no kerchief (head scarf) over it. Round her thin long neck, which looked like a hen’s (female chicken) leg, was knotted (tied) some sort of flannel (soft wool cloth) rag (torn piece of cloth), and, in spite of (even with) the heat, there hung (was hanging) flapping (moving loosely) on her shoulders, a mangy (worn bald in patches) fur cape, yellow with age (turned yellow because it is so old). The old woman coughed (made a rough noise from her chest) and groaned (made a low sound of pain) at every instant (all the time). The young man must have looked at her with a rather peculiar expression, for (because) a gleam (flash) of mistrust (lack of trust) came into her eyes again.

“Raskolnikov (a young man living in one rented room in Petersburg), a student, I came here a month ago,” the young man made haste to mutter (hurried to say it quietly, so it was hard to hear), with a half bow (bending slightly), remembering (thinking of it just then) that he ought to be more polite (showing respect in his words).

“I remember, my good sir (a very polite way of saying ‘sir’, said half as a joke), I remember quite well your coming here (I remember very well that you came here),” the old woman said distinctly (clearly), still keeping her inquiring (asking) eyes on his face.

“And here... I am again on the same errand (the thing I came here to do),” Raskolnikov continued, a little disconcerted (made a little uncertain and uncomfortable) and surprised at the old woman’s mistrust (lack of trust). “Perhaps she is always like that though, only I did not notice it the other time (last time),” he thought with an uneasy (worried) feeling.

The old woman paused (stopped), as though hesitating (unsure); then stepped on one side (moved aside), and pointing to the door of the room, she said, letting her visitor pass in front of her:

“Step in (Come in), my good sir (a very polite way of saying ‘sir’, said half as a joke).”

The little room into which the young man walked, with yellow paper (yellow wallpaper) on the walls, geraniums (red flowering pot plants) and muslin (thin cotton cloth) curtains (cloth hung over the windows) in the windows, was brightly (with a strong light) lighted up (filled with light) at that moment by the setting sun.

“So the sun will shine like this then too! (he thinks it, and 'then' means the day of the deed he will not name)” flashed (came quickly) as it were (in a way) by chance through Raskolnikov’s mind, and with a rapid glance (a fast turn of the eyes) he scanned (looked carefully at every part of) everything in the room, trying as far as possible (as much as he could) to notice and remember its arrangement (how everything was placed). But there was nothing special in the room. The furniture, all very old and of yellow wood, consisted of (was nothing more than) a sofa (long soft seat) with a huge bent (not straight) wooden back, an oval (egg-shaped) table in front of the sofa, a dressing-table with a looking-glass (mirror) fixed on it between the windows, chairs along the walls and two or three half-penny prints (cheap printed pictures) in yellow frames, representing German damsels (young ladies, an old word) with birds in their hands--that was all (there was nothing else). In the corner a light was burning before a small ikon (a holy picture, with a lamp burning before it as in every Russian home). Everything was very clean; the floor and the furniture were brightly (very well) polished (made shiny); everything shone (was bright and polished).

“Lizaveta’s (a name he thinks of: whoever it is that keeps this flat so clean) work,” thought the young man. There was not a speck (tiny spot) of dust to be seen in the whole flat (a set of rooms where one family lives).

“It’s in the houses of spiteful (mean, ill-natured) old widows (women whose husbands have died) that one finds such cleanliness (being so clean),” Raskolnikov thought again, and he stole a curious glance (looked secretly and curiously) at the cotton curtain (hanging cloth) over the door leading into another tiny room, in which stood the old woman’s bed and chest (a big heavy box for keeping things in) of drawers (sliding boxes in a piece of furniture) and into which he had never looked before. These two rooms made up (formed) the whole flat (a set of rooms where one family lives).

“What do you want?” the old woman said severely (in a hard voice), coming into the room and, as before, standing in front of him so as to look him straight in the face (look directly into his face).

“I’ve brought something to pawn (to leave a thing with her in exchange for money, and pay the money back later to get the thing back) here,” and he drew out of (took out of) his pocket an old-fashioned (of an old style) flat (thin, not thick) silver watch, on the back of which was engraved (cut into the metal) a globe; the chain was of steel.

“But the time is up (the month is over) for your last pledge (the thing you left here in exchange for money, to be given back when you pay). The month was up (ended) the day before yesterday.”

“I will bring you the interest (the charge on the loan) for another month; wait a little.”

“But that’s for me to do as I please (that is my choice, to do as I like), my good sir (a polite old-fashioned way of saying ‘sir’; here she says it sharply, to show she is the one who decides), to wait or to sell your pledge (the thing you left here in exchange for money, to be given back when you pay) at once (straight away, without waiting).”

“How much will you give me for the watch, Alyona Ivanovna (an old woman the young man knows)?”

“You come with such trifles (You bring me such worthless little things), my good sir (a very polite way of saying ‘sir’, said half as a joke), it’s scarcely (hardly) worth anything. I gave you two roubles (two of the Russian coins; one fed a poor man for days) last time for your ring and one could buy it quite new at a jeweler’s (seller of rings and watches) for a rouble and a half (one and a half, which is what it would cost new).”

“Give me four roubles (four of the coins) for it, I shall redeem (buy it back) it, it was my father’s. I shall be getting some money soon.”

“A rouble and a half (one and a half, less than half what he asked), and interest in advance (the loan charge paid now, before you get the money), if you like!”

“A rouble and a half! (one and a half of the coins)” cried the young man.

“Please yourself (Do as you like)”--and the old woman handed him back the watch. The young man took it, and was so angry that he was on the point of going away (was about to leave); but checked himself (stopped himself) at once, remembering (keeping in mind) that there was nowhere else he could go, and that he had had another object (another purpose) also in coming.

“Hand it over (Give it to me),” he said roughly (in a rough voice).

The old woman fumbled (felt about with awkward hands) in her pocket for her keys, and disappeared behind the curtain (hanging cloth) into the other room. The young man, left standing alone in the middle of the room, listened inquisitively (curiously), thinking. He could hear her unlocking (opening with a key) the chest (a big heavy box for keeping things in) of drawers (sliding boxes in a piece of furniture).

“It must be the top drawer (sliding box),” he reflected (he thought to himself). “So she carries the keys (he is noting where her keys and money are, for the plan he will not name) in a pocket on the right. All in one bunch (all together) on a steel ring.... And there’s one key there, three times as big as all the others, with deep notches (cuts in the edge); that can’t be the key of the chest of drawers (sliding boxes in a piece of furniture)... then there must be some other chest (a big heavy box for keeping things in) or strong-box (a locked iron money box)... that’s worth knowing (that is useful to know). Strong-boxes always have keys like that... but how degrading (shaming) it all is.”

The old woman came back.

“Here, sir: as we say (as people say) ten copecks the rouble a month (ten out of every hundred, each month: ten per cent a month, a crushing rate), so I must take fifteen copecks from a rouble and a half for the month in advance (so I hold fifteen of the small coins out of the one and a half, as this month’s charge, paid now). But for the two roubles I lent you (the two Russian coins I let you have last time) before, you owe me now twenty copecks on the same reckoning (way of counting) in advance. That makes thirty-five copecks altogether. So I must give you a rouble and fifteen copecks for the watch. Here it is.”

“What! only a rouble and fifteen copecks (the one and a half he was promised, minus her interest) now!”

“Just so (Exactly).”

The young man did not dispute (argue) it and took the money. He looked at the old woman, and was in no hurry to get away (was in no hurry to leave), as though there was still something he wanted to say or to do, but he did not himself quite know what.

“I may be bringing you something else in a day or two, Alyona Ivanovna--a valuable thing--silver--a cigarette-box, as soon as I get it back from a friend...” he broke off (stopped speaking) in confusion.

“Well (All right then), we will talk about it then, sir.”

“Good-bye--are you always at home alone, your sister is not here with you?” He asked her as casually as possible (trying hard to sound as if the question did not matter) as he went out into the passage (the narrow hallway outside the flat).

“What business is she of yours (Why do you want to know about her?), my good sir (an old-fashioned polite way of saying ‘sir’; here she says it sharply)?”

“Oh, nothing particular (nothing special), I simply asked. You are too quick (you take offence too fast).... Good-day (Goodbye), Alyona Ivanovna.”

Raskolnikov went out in complete confusion. This confusion became more and more intense. As he went down the stairs, he even stopped short (stopped suddenly), two or three times, as though suddenly struck by some thought (as if a thought had suddenly hit him). When he was in the street he cried out, “Oh, God, how loathsome (disgusting) it all is! and can I, can I possibly (could I really).... No, it’s nonsense, it’s rubbish (nonsense)!” he added resolutely (firmly). “And how could such an atrocious (horrible) thing come into my head (enter my mind)? What filthy things my heart is capable of (what dirty things my heart can hold). Yes, filthy above all (most of all), disgusting, loathsome, loathsome!--and for a whole month I’ve been....” But no words, no exclamations (cries), could express his agitation (how upset and shaken he was). The feeling of intense repulsion (disgust), which had begun to oppress (weigh down) and torture (hurt deeply) his heart while he was on his way to the old woman, had by now reached such a pitch (such a level) and had taken such a definite (clear) form that he did not know what to do with himself to escape from his wretchedness (he did not know what to do to get away from his own misery). He walked along the pavement (path beside the road) like a drunken (drunk) man, regardless of (paying no attention to) the passers-by (people walking past), and jostling (bumping and pushing) against them, and only came to his senses (became clear-headed again) when he was in the next street. Looking round, he noticed that he was standing close to a tavern (a cheap drinking house) which was entered by steps leading from the pavement to the basement (which you entered by going down steps from the street). At that instant (At that moment) two drunken men came out at the door, and abusing (shouting bad words at) and supporting one another (holding each other up), they mounted (climbed) the steps. Without stopping to think, Raskolnikov went down the steps at once. Till that moment (Until then) he had never been into a tavern, but now he felt giddy (dizzy) and was tormented (made to suffer) by a burning thirst (need to drink). He longed for (very much wanted) a drink of cold beer, and attributed (believed the cause was) his sudden weakness to the want of food (the lack of food). He sat down at a sticky (that things stick to) little table in a dark and dirty corner; ordered some beer, and eagerly (with a strong wish) drank off (drank it all down) the first glassful (full glass). At once he felt easier (felt better); and his thoughts became clear.

“All that’s nonsense,” he said hopefully, “and there is nothing in it all to worry about! It’s simply physical derangement (a sickness of the body). Just a glass of beer, a piece of dry bread--and in one moment the brain is stronger, the mind is clearer and the will is firm (the power to decide and act is strong)! Phew (a sound of disgust, as if throwing it all away), how utterly (completely) petty (small and mean) it all is!”

But in spite of (even with) this scornful (treating it as worthless) reflection (thought), he was by now looking cheerful (happy) as though he were suddenly set free from a terrible burden (as if a heavy load had suddenly been lifted off him): and he gazed (looked) round in a friendly (warm and open) way at the people in the room. But even at that moment he had a dim (weak) foreboding (a feeling that something bad is coming) that this happier frame of mind (mood) was also not normal.

There were few people at the time (just then) in the tavern (cheap drinking house). Besides the two drunken (drunk) men he had met on the steps, a group consisting of about five men and a girl with a concertina (a small squeeze-box, like a little accordion) had gone out at the same time. Their departure left the room quiet and rather empty. The persons still in the tavern were a man who appeared to be an artisan (skilled worker), drunk, but not extremely so, sitting before a pot of beer (a large mug of beer), and his companion, a huge, stout (fat) man with a grey beard, in a short full-skirted coat (a coat that spreads out wide below the waist, worn by men in trade). He was very drunk: and had dropped asleep (fallen asleep) on the bench; every now and then (sometimes), he began as though in his sleep (his body jerked suddenly, still asleep), cracking his fingers (making a sharp click with his fingers), with his arms wide apart and the upper part of his body bounding (jumping) about on the bench, while he hummed (sang with closed lips) some meaningless (without meaning) refrain (repeated line of a song), trying to recall some such lines as these (trying to remember lines something like these):

“His wife a year he fondly loved (a drunk’s song, sung half asleep: for a whole year he loved his wife dearly) His wife a--a year he--fondly loved.”

Or suddenly waking up (coming out of sleep) again:

“Walking along the crowded row (the same song; a row here is a street of market tables full of people) He met the one he used to know.”

But no one shared his enjoyment (pleasure): his silent companion looked with positive (plain and open) hostility (anger and dislike) and mistrust (lack of trust) at all these manifestations (all this noise and waving about). There was another man in the room who looked somewhat like (looked rather like) a retired government clerk (a former low official). He was sitting apart (sitting by himself), now and then (sometimes) sipping (drinking a little at a time) from his pot and looking round at the company (the people in the room). He, too, appeared to be in some agitation (an upset, shaken state).