Crime and Punishment

Crime and Punishment

by

Fyodor Dostoevsky

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Haymarket Symbol Analysis

Haymarket Symbol Icon
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
Criminality, Morality, and Guilt Theme Icon
Madness and Intoxication Theme Icon
Money and Poverty Theme Icon
Near the Haymarket, a poor neighborhood and gathering-place for prostitutes, a drunk man yells at Raskolnikov about his... (full context)
Part 1, Chapter 5
Criminality, Morality, and Guilt Theme Icon
Madness and Intoxication Theme Icon
Coincidence and Free Will Theme Icon
Family Theme Icon
...murder in reality. He decides to return home but takes a longer route, through the Haymarket. (full context)
Criminality, Morality, and Guilt Theme Icon
Madness and Intoxication Theme Icon
Coincidence and Free Will Theme Icon
Money and Poverty Theme Icon
Family Theme Icon
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... (full context)
Criminality, Morality, and Guilt Theme Icon
Madness and Intoxication Theme Icon
Coincidence and Free Will Theme Icon
...have known with such exactness when to find her alone. The chance encounter in the Haymarket must, then, have been fated. (full context)
Part 1, Chapter 6
Criminality, Morality, and Guilt Theme Icon
Madness and Intoxication Theme Icon
Coincidence and Free Will Theme Icon
Money and Poverty Theme Icon
...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... (full context)
Part 2, Chapter 6
Criminality, Morality, and Guilt Theme Icon
Madness and Intoxication Theme Icon
Coincidence and Free Will Theme Icon
Money and Poverty Theme Icon
...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... (full context)
Criminality, Morality, and Guilt Theme Icon
Madness and Intoxication Theme Icon
Money and Poverty Theme Icon
Raskolnikov passes through the Haymarket and continues to a building filled with taverns and bars. He approaches one, is propositioned... (full context)
Part 6, Chapter 3
Criminality, Morality, and Guilt Theme Icon
Madness and Intoxication Theme Icon
Coincidence and Free Will Theme Icon
Raskolnikov passes through the Haymarket and sees Svidrigailov seated in a tavern; the latter attempts to leave but thinks better... (full context)
Part 6, Chapter 8
Criminality, Morality, and Guilt Theme Icon
Madness and Intoxication Theme Icon
Coincidence and Free Will Theme Icon
Money and Poverty Theme Icon
Family Theme Icon
...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... (full context)