Crime and Punishment Chapter 18

Quite unexpectedly, Sonia comes to the door. She is sent by Katerina Ivanovna, to invite Raskolnikov to the funeral service and lunch. Sonia is embarrassed to be around such "respectable" people; she can hardly look the women in the eye. Observing the poor condition of the room, Sonia wonders how Raskolnikov could give what he gave. In Sonia's presence, the mother becomes bolder. As she gets up to leave, she invites Raskolnikov and Razumihin to dinner.

On the street, the mother wonders what will happen when Luzhin and Raskolnikov meet. Dounia assures her that whatever happens must come about. The mother also mentions her presentiment of Sonia being at the center of Raskolnikov's troubles. Dounia dismisses the notion and concludes, to the mother's disappointment, that Luzhin is a slanderer.

Raskolnikov asks Razumihin to take him to see Porfiry Petrovitch, the police examiner (and Razumihin's uncle) with the pretense of wanting to recover his pledges from the murdered pawnbroker. Razumihin tells Raskolnikov how much his uncle had wanted to meet him.

Sonia is relieved to leave at last. She never felt such emotions before. The moment she leaves Raskolnikov's place, Sonia is followed by a mysterious gentleman. He shadows her all the way to her residence. He is amused to find out that she is his neighbor-he had just come in to St. Petersburg yesterday. He greets Sonia, who hurries into her room without a reply.

On their way to see Porfiry, Razumihin cannot contain his enthusiasm. For him, things are finally beginning to make sense regarding Raskolnikov's role in connection with the murder. Razumihin apologizes for such vicious rumors flying about. Raskolnikov tells him not to talk about it. Raskolnikov is busy thinking of how he should approach Porfiry. He must find out whether Porfiry knows about his visit to the murdered woman's flat the other day. He decides to tease Razumihin about his obvious infatuation with Dounia. Razumihin tries to deny it. They enter Porfiry's flat in merry jest and laughter, just the way Raskolnikov planned.