There are several scenes in the novel in which people hide behind curtains and then reveal themselves. This could be symbolic of how people’s true characters can remain hidden. It may also be a device that Dostoevsky borrows from Shakespeare and many other works. In
Hamlet, for example, Polonius hides behind a curtain and is then killed by Hamlet for spying. The police commissioner is also spying on Grushenka and Dmitri.