Porfiry In Crime And Punishment

Porfiry Petrovich is undoubtedly a skilled inspector and detective, as he is among the first to deduce who is really the murderer in Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment. Although the audience is not introduced to this character until he is formally met by Raskolnikov on page 249, Porfiry is incredibly important to this story. Through his interactions with Raskolnikov directly, as well as the reports he receives from others who come into contact with him, Porfiry is able to pin Raskolnikov as the killer, but he does not have enough evidence to cement these suspicions. What follows is a battle of wits between a cat and mouse, as Porfiry knows justice will eventually win out, but he has to bide his time until the moment is right to strike.

This segway into what could clearly be considered evidence against Raskolnikov is made entirely by Porfiry, and the following discussion is lead by him as well. Porfiry began suspecting Raskolnikov once he read this article, as it parallels the killer’s motives quite nicely, and if Raskolnikov was the killer (which the audience knows he was), then this article becomes a damning piece of evidence that Raskolnikov is now paranoid that Porfiry knows about. The bombardment of questions that follow show that Porfiry had every intent to bring this to light in their meeting, and he even brings it full circle in discussing murder among the dozens of interpretations that could be taken from “crime,” as Porfiry says, “Tell me, please, are there many people who have the right to kill others?” (Page 263). His patience in controlling this conversation and waiting until the time is right to drop these bombshells is masterfully done, as he lets his prey drop their guard before delivering the “knockout