Home Descriptions and Character
By: Gretta Hotz
Why Would a Room Reveal Character?
-Private Area
-Raw emotions
-Traces are left
-Preferences are apparent
-Layout/décor is a personal choice
Bias
-Raskolnikov provides all descriptions
-He has preconceived notions of the people living there
-Objective analysis will be limited, but worth the endeavor
-His descriptions of other people's homes could reveal his own character traits.
Evidence?
Alyona Ivanovna
Controlling
"spiteful old widow"
"Not a speck of dust to be seen in the whole flat" (Dostoyevsky 4)
-defense mechanism
-Pawning Raskolnikov's watch
-controlled Lizaveta
Wise & Financially Responsible
"The furniture, all very old and of yellow wood..."
"half penny prints in yellow frames..."
-Aged
-Responsible business ventures
-Successful widow (rare)
-Raskolnikov confused this for malice
Katerina Ivanovna
Honorable
"A grimy little door at the very top of the stairs..."
"...an old deal kitchen-table, unpainted and uncovered."
"...littered up with rags of all sorts, especially children’s garments"
"the family had a room to themselves, not part of a room"
-Once was and still is honorable
-Gives herself completely to her children
-Labors away washing children's clothes
-Provided more than the bare minimum
Weakened through Hardship
"At the edge of the table stood a smoldering tallow-candle..."
" It was all in disorder..."
-Sonia's prostitution shows signs of Katerina's weakness
-She wants to give up because she lost all control
-Frustration is evident in her dialogue with Marmeladov
-Coughing up blood
Raskolnikov
Stagnant
"...a tiny little cubby-hole of a place, no more than six paces long, and so low that anybody of even a little more than average height felt uncomfortable in it..."
"...fearful that at any moment he might bump his head against the ceiling."
"books and papers so covered with dust that it was plain that they had not been touched for a long time..."
"... a large and comfy sofa...served Raskolnikov as a bed."
-trapped in indecision
-does he want to escape? (desire to confess is an act)
-makes no attempt to grow, no initiative
-disregards how he lacks essentials (disregards how he lacks sanity and continues without making attempts to change)
Mechanical/ No emotion
"... yellowish dusty wall-paper..."
"...a stained deal table...so covered in dust..."
"...a print cover now old and worn into holes..."
-symbolized death of emotion
-mechanical movement during the murders
-loses interest in the girl who was taken advantage of
-no reaction to attempted bride suicide
-resentment towards Razumikhin
Discussion Questions
1. Was Katerina's apartment a foil to Sonya's character?
2. What significance does the color yellow play in descriptions throughout the novel?
3. Why did Alyona's door bell sound more like tin than copper?
4. Did apartment descriptions reveal anything more than character traits?
5. Is the layout of furniture in an apartment significant?
6. Does a person's physical appearance bring about different conclusions than the physical appearance of his or her home?