( I'M TAKING YOU ALONG FOR THE RIDE, I HAVE NO PLANNED ROUTINE AND WILL TRY MANY THINGS DOWN THE LINE, PLEASE REMEMBER I'M A SIMPLE MAN REREADING THIS WONDERFUL BOOK, TACKLING HIS BRILLIANT WORDS, ADDING MY THOUGHTS AND OBSERVATIONS. I WISH TO FINISH PART ONE, WHICH WILL BE TWO MORE CHAPTERS. WHETHER I GO ON IS AS YET UNDECIDED. PLEASE BY ALL MEANS LET ME KNOW IF IT'S WORTH DOING? Glen)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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RATHER INTERESTING HOW RASKOL HAPPENED BY LIZAVETA AT THE HAY MARKET, LATELY HE HAD BECOME SUPERSTITIOUS. HE WAS ALWAYS ABLE TO SEE A CERTAIN MYSTERIOUSNESS, IN THE WHOLE AFFAIR, SOME PECULIAR INFLUENCES AND COINCIDENCES.
ONCE IN CASUAL CONVERSATION AN ACQUAINTANCE TOLD HIM OF AN OLD WOMAN, ALYONA IVANOVA, IN CASE HE SHOULD EVER NEED TO PAWN SOMETHING. HE WAS GETTING BY AND NEVER NEEDED HER SERVICES UNTIL ABOUT A MONTH AND A HALF AGO, THEN HE RECALLED HER ADDRESS. HE PAWNS A GOLD RING, SEEING THE OLD WOMAN FROM THE VERY FIRST GLANCE FILLED HIM WITH INSURMOUNTABLE LOATHING.
AFTER RECEIVING THE MONEY FROM HER, HE STOPS AT A TAVERN FOR TEA, FALLING INTO DEEP THOUGHT , A STRANGE IDEA BEGAN HATCHING IN HIS HEAD.
AT ANOTHER TABLE WAS A STUDENT AND A YOUNG OFFICER, HE HEARS THE STUDENT TALKING ABOUT A MONEY-LENDER, ALYONA IVANOVA, TELLING THE OFFICER HER ADDRESS. THAT IS STRANGE SEEING AS HOW RASKOL HAD JUST LEFT THERE. BY CHANCE OF COURSE, SEEMS AS THOUGH SOMEONE THE STUDENT HAD COME TO HIS SERVICE; TELLING THE OFFICER DETAILS OF ALYONA IVANOVA.
The student says, "she's nice, you can always get money from her, she's rich as a Jew, a lot of us have gone to her, Only she's a terrible harpy . . ." (a shrewish woman)
IF YOUR PAYMENT WAS LATE YOUR PLEDGE WAS LOST, SHE GIVES YOU FOUR TIMES LESS THAN WHAT THE THING IS WORTH, INTEREST IS FIVE TO SEVEN PERCENT A MONTH.
THE OLD PAWNBROKER HAS A SISTER, LIZAVETA, WHOM SHE USED TO BEAT ALL THE TIME. KEEPS HER COMPLETELY ENSLAVED, LIKE A LITTLE CHILD, THOUGH LIZAVETA WAS SIX FEET TALL . . .
"She's quite a phenomenon herself!" said the student while laughing out.
THE STUDENT SPOKE OF LIZAVETA WITH SPECIAL PLEASURE AND KEPT LAUGHING! RASKOL WAS NOT MISSING A WORD, LEARNING LIZAVETA WAS THE OLD WOMAN'S YOUNGER HALF SISTER, THIRTY FIVE YEARS OLD, WORKING DAY AND NIGHT FOR HER SISTER. THE OLD WOMAN HAD MADE OUT A WILL, GIVING LIZAVETA NOT A PENNY. ALL THE MONEY WAS GOING TO A MONASTERY FOR THE ETERNAL REMEMBRANCE OF HER SOUL. LIZAVETA THE STUDENT EXPOUNDS WAS OF AWKWARD BUILT AND UNMARRIED, BUT KEPT HERSELF NEAT, ABOVE ALL THE STUDENT WAS SURPRISED AND LAUGHED AT THE FACT THAT LIZAVETA WAS CONSTANTLY PREGNANT . . .
"But you say she's ugly?" the officer remarked. "Well, yes she's dark-skinned, looks like a soldier in disguise, but, you know, she's not ugly at all, She has a kind face and eyes. Very much so. A lot of men like her--there's the proof. she's so quiet, meek, uncomplaining, agreeable--she agrees to everything. And she does have a very nice smile." "So you like her , too!" the officer laughed.
"For the strangeness of it. No, but I'll tell you one thing, I could kill and rob that cursed old woman, and that, I assure you, without any remorse," the student added with exclamation.
THE OFFICER LAUGHED HEARTEDLY, GIVING RASKOL A START. HOW STRANGE IT WAS!
The student "I was joking just now, I want to ask you a serious question. On one hand you have a worthless old crone, no good to anyone, on the contrary, harmful to everyone, who'll die on her own tomorrow, understand?"
"So I understand," the officer replied, staring at his friend.
The student continues "Listen now. On the other hand, you have fresh young forces that are being wasted for lack of support, a thousand good deeds that could be done from the the money that old woman has doomed to the monastery! Kill her and take her money, so that afterwards with its help you can devote yourself to the service of all mankind. What do you think, wouldn't thousand of good deeds make up for one tiny little crime? One death for hundreds of lives--it's simple arithmetic! The death of a louse, a cockroach, not even that much!"
"Of course she doesn't deserve to be alive," the officer remarked,"but that's nature."
IT WAS ALL THE MOST COMMON YOUTHFUL TALK AND THINKING. BUT WHY PRECISELY NOW DID HE HAVE TO HEAR SUCH TALK. EXACTLY THE SAME THOUGHTS HE HAD CONCEIVED? THIS COINCIDENCE SEEMED STRANGE. THIS TAVERN CONVERSATION HAD AN EXTREME INFLUENCE ON HIM IN THE FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF THE AFFAIR, THERE WAS INDEED SOME PREDESTINATION . . .
I enjoy reading what you are writing about the book. It's interesting to see what you have to say, how you interpreted what was going on. Now I am thinking of re-reading it myself even though it takes me forever these days to finish a book.
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