Crime and Punishment · Character

Pulcheria Alexandrovna Raskolnikova

Raskolnikov's devoted mother, who arrives in Petersburg full of hope for her son's future and blind to the dangers gathering around them.

supporting

Also known as Pulcheria Alexandrovna, Pulcheria Raskolnikov

First appearance: part iii i

As a supporting figure in Crime and Punishment, Pulcheria Alexandrovna Raskolnikova is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

Pulcheria Alexandrovna has pinched and saved for years, staking everything on Rodion's brilliance and on Dounia's advantageous marriage to Luzhin. She grows more timid the longer she keeps silent, loving her children so much that she cannot see clearly what Petersburg is doing to them. Her anxious, hopeful presence sharpens the novel's early tension between family sacrifice and Rodion's secret guilt.

See Pulcheria Alexandrovna Raskolnikova in part iii i Book page

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Character Web

11 connections

A slice of how Pulcheria Alexandrovna Raskolnikova sits in the book — open the reader for the full interactive map.

Relationship types

Family
Friendship
Other

Character groups

Supporting Household Figures
Central Characters
Protagonist

+6 more in the full Character Web

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.

Setup
Escalation
Breaking point
Aftermath
Closing

This is the emotional peak where Katerina Ivanovna's desperate, final appeal for respect and protection is pub…

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Relationships

Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov
family · positive
Pulcheria is Raskolnikov's deeply loving and anxious mother, whose blind adoration and… How this plays out →
Dmitri Prokofych Razumikhin
friendship · positive
Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov
family · positive
Pulcheria is Raskolnikov's deeply loving and anxious mother, whose blind adoration and… How this plays out →
Dmitri Prokofych Razumikhin
friendship · positive
Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov
family · positive
Pulcheria is Raskolnikov's deeply loving and anxious mother, whose blind adoration and… How this plays out →
Dmitri Prokofych Razumikhin
friendship · positive

Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov
Pulcheria is Raskolnikov's deeply loving and anxious mother, whose blind adoration and worry for him are a source of both comfort and guilt.
Dmitri Prokofych Razumikhin
Razumikhin acts as a protective son-figure and devoted caretaker for Pulcheria, managing her affairs and comforting her during Raskolnikov's illness.
Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov
Pulcheria is Raskolnikov's deeply loving and anxious mother, whose blind adoration and worry for him are a source of both comfort and guilt.
Dmitri Prokofych Razumikhin
Razumikhin acts as a protective son-figure and devoted caretaker for Pulcheria, managing her affairs and comforting her during Raskolnikov's illness.
Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov
Pulcheria is Raskolnikov's deeply loving and anxious mother, whose blind adoration and worry for him are a source of both comfort and guilt.
Dmitri Prokofych Razumikhin
Razumikhin acts as a protective son-figure and devoted caretaker for Pulcheria, managing her affairs and comforting her during Raskolnikov's illness.

Relationship notes

How these ties play out is in the reading companion — open the free preview.

See Pulcheria Alexandrovna Raskolnikova in part iii i