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The Haymarket recurs throughout the novel. A seedy part of St. Petersburg, it is filled with taverns and vendors of cheap wares, and serves as a gathering-place for prostitutes, gamblers, and criminals. Raskolnikov often finds himself in the Haymarket, especially when he sets out walking with no given destination in mind. Sonya works in this area as a prostitute, and many of Raskolnikov’s chance encounters take place here. It is near the Haymarket that he overhears Lizaveta telling two vendors when she will be out of the old woman’s apartment; it is also near the Haymarket that Raskolnikov spots Svidrigailov, much later, in a tavern, only to realize that Svidrigailov told him two days earlier to meet in exactly that spot. In this sense the Haymarket represents a location of “eternal return”: a place where Raskolnikov seems fated to go, and where important events inevitably happen. The disorder and criminality of the Haymarket are an external representation of the chaos and madness overtaking Raskolnikov’s mind.
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Haymarket Symbol Timeline in Crime and Punishment
The timeline below shows where the symbol Haymarket appears in Crime and Punishment. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part 1, Chapter 1
Near the Haymarket, a poor neighborhood and gathering-place for prostitutes, a drunk man yells at Raskolnikov about his...
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Part 1, Chapter 5
...murder in reality. He decides to return home but takes a longer route, through the Haymarket.
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It is nighttime. Raskolnikov enjoys walking through the Haymarket because his rags and poor appearance do not attract people’s attention here, amidst other signs...
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...have known with such exactness when to find her alone. The chance encounter in the Haymarket must, then, have been fated.
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Part 1, Chapter 6
...exactly the same lines. He later attributes this overheard conversation to fate. After leaving the Haymarket, he returns to his room and sleeps heavily the entire night. He is awoken by...
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Part 2, Chapter 6
...by Razumikhin after the clothing purchases, and slips outside unnoticed. On his way to the Haymarket he spots a young girl of fifteen singing and accompanied by an organ-grinder. He gives...
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Raskolnikov passes through the Haymarket and continues to a building filled with taverns and bars. He approaches one, is propositioned...
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Part 6, Chapter 3
Raskolnikov passes through the Haymarket and sees Svidrigailov seated in a tavern; the latter attempts to leave but thinks better...
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Part 6, Chapter 8
...and confess to the murders in a public place. He leaves Sonya, walks through the Haymarket, and gives a five kopeck piece to an old woman. He falls down in the...
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