A drunk and former government official, Marmeladov is later killed when run over by a wagon. His widow Katerina attempts to support their family on a very small amount of money. Marmeladov represents the endpoint of a total desire for intoxication—an inability to manage in life without the influence of alcohol.
Semyon Zakharovich Marmeladov Quotes in Crime and Punishment
The Crime and Punishment quotes below are all either spoken by Semyon Zakharovich Marmeladov or refer to Semyon Zakharovich Marmeladov. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Part 1, Chapter 2
Quotes
It is necessary that every man have at least somewhere to go.
Related Characters:
Semyon Zakharovich Marmeladov (speaker)
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2, Chapter 7
Quotes
He finally got it!
Related Characters:
Katerina Ivanovna Marmeladov (speaker), Semyon Zakharovich Marmeladov
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Crime and Punishment LitChart as a printable PDF.

Semyon Zakharovich Marmeladov Character Timeline in Crime and Punishment
The timeline below shows where the character Semyon Zakharovich Marmeladov appears in Crime and Punishment. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part 1, Chapter 2
...from drink” and is ill-shaved and dirty. He begins speaking to Raskolnikov, introducing himself as Marmeladov, a low-ranking civil servant. Raskolnikov begins explaining that he is a student, only to break...
(full context)
Marmeladov speaks eagerly. He says that poverty is not a vice, but total poverty, destitution, is...
(full context)
Marmeladov explains his problems more specifically, feeling that Raskolnikov is a “sorrowful” man and therefore might...
(full context)
But Marmeladov later lost his job and began drinking again. Over the next year and a half...
(full context)
...Katerina complained that Sonya, old enough to work, was not contributing to the family’s welfare. Marmeladov tells of one night, when Sonya finally went out to work and returned after eight,...
(full context)
Sonya is forced to carry a “yellow pass,” indicating she is a prostitute. Marmeladov then reveals the source of the quarrel between Katerina and Lebezyatnikov. At first, Lebezyatnikov attempted...
(full context)
Marmeladov went to his supervisor after Sonya’s dismissal and begged for one more chance at his...
(full context)
But Marmeladov’s alcoholism proved too much. He stole his salary from Katerina’s trunk and, for the past...
(full context)
After Marmeladov’s speech, Raskolnikov agrees to accompany him home. Marmeladov’s family lives in a subdivided corner of...
(full context)
Part 2, Chapter 7
...is lying in the street, mortally wounded. Raskolnikov realizes he knows this man: it is Marmeladov, the drunken former official. Raskolnikov says he will pay for a doctor and asks for...
(full context)
Marmeladov’s wife Katerina has become more crazed since Raskolnikov last visited; she often speaks about her...
(full context)
...also present (Luzhin’s roommate). The doctor arrives and informs Raskolnikov that there is no hope: Marmeladov will die in short order. A priest is called and administers last rites. Katerina cries...
(full context)
Katerina asks the priest what she will do with the children after Marmeladov’s death. She says she cannot forgive Marmeladov for his drunkenness; the priest argues that this...
(full context)
...is leaving he sees Nikodim the police chief, who tells Raskolnikov he is soaked in (Marmeladov’s) blood. Raskolnikov agrees. As he is walking outside Polenka, sent by Sonya, asks for Raskolnikov’s...
(full context)
...at the police station. While mounting the stairs to his room Raskolnikov tells Razumikhin of Marmeladov’s death. It appears that someone is in the room. Pulcheria and Dunya are there—they have...
(full context)
Part 3, Chapter 2
Luzhin reports that he saw Raskolnikov the day before at Marmeladov’s (Luzhin lives in the same apartment building), and that Raskolnikov gave 25 rubles to Sonya...
(full context)
Part 3, Chapter 3
...acting as though not quite sane nor mad, bur rather “in a dream.” Raskolnikov explains Marmeladov’s death and tells his family, apologetically, that he gave the 25 roubles to Katerina for...
(full context)
Part 3, Chapter 4
...sit. Sonya brings a message from Katerina, that Raskolnikov be so kind as to attend Marmeladov’s funeral the following morning. Sonya says her mother will also be preparing a funeral meal...
(full context)
Part 4, Chapter 2
...marriage and poverty; Pulcheria counters that Luzhin has lied about Raskolnikov’s actions the night of Marmeladov’s death, for he gave the roubles not to Sonya but to Katerina. Raskolnikov reports that...
(full context)
Part 4, Chapter 4
...Katerina has begun believing in her fantasies—that she can throw a large funeral banquet for Marmeladov being among them. Sonya pities her stepmother and asks Raskolnikov to do the same. She...
(full context)
Part 4, Chapter 6
Raskolnikov apologizes to Porfiry for losing his temper earlier, says he must be going to Marmeladov’s funeral, and finds it funny that Porfiry will attempt to dispute Nikolai’s confession point by...
(full context)
Part 5, Chapter 1
...learns that he, along with Lebezyatnikov, Raskolnikov, and Amalia the landlord, have been invited to Marmeladov’s funeral banquet. Luzhin has a certain fascination for his roommate Lebezyatnikov, who is a representative...
(full context)
Part 5, Chapter 2
Katerina continues to ridicule the guests, and one remarks on Marmeladov’s drinking problem, increasing her consternation. Sonya worries that her stepmother is going to cause a...
(full context)
Part 5, Chapter 5
...that Katerina is going insane out in the streets of Petersburg. She has run to Marmeladov’s old boss demanding money from him, and upon his refusal she has camped out in...
(full context)