# Pyotr Petrovich Luzhin — Crime and Punishment character guide

> Pyotr Petrovich Luzhin in Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Luzhin, Pyotr Petrovitch, Mr. Luzhin

**First appearance:** 0001-crime-and-punishment

## Snapshot

A self-made Petersburg lawyer who has risen from nothing, Luzhin intends to marry Dounia Raskolnikova and expects gratitude he considers his due.

## Who they are

Luzhin has clawed his way up from insignificance and now measures his worth by the money he has amassed, brooding in solitude over his own reflection. He offers marriage to Dounia as though it were a heroic rescue, genuinely indignant when others fail to admire his generosity. His theories of rational self-interest and his petty vindictiveness toward anyone who resists his control make him a quietly corrosive presence in the Raskolnikov family's calculations.

## Relationships

### [Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crime_and_punishment/characters/rodion_romanovich_raskolnikov)

_rivalry_

Luzhin is Raskolnikov's despised antagonist, representing the petty, calculating egoism that Raskolnikov scorns, leading to immediate and intense mutual hatred.

### [Sofya Semyonovna Marmeladova](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crime_and_punishment/characters/sofya_semyonovna_marmeladova)

_rivalry_

Luzhin attempts to frame Sonya for theft to discredit Raskolnikov, making her an innocent victim in his petty, vindictive scheme.

### [Andrey Semyonovich Lebezyatnikov](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crime_and_punishment/characters/andrey_semyonovich_lebezyatnikov)

_rivalry_

Lebezyatnikov is Luzhin's naive, progressive former ward who now scorns him, exposing Luzhin's hypocrisy and foiling his plot against Sonya.

### [Sofya Semyonovna Marmeladova](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crime_and_punishment/characters/sofya_semyonovna_marmeladova)

_rivalry_

Luzhin attempts to frame Sonya for theft to discredit Raskolnikov, making her an innocent victim in his petty, vindictive scheme.

### [Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crime_and_punishment/characters/rodion_romanovich_raskolnikov)

_rivalry_

Luzhin is Raskolnikov's despised antagonist, representing the petty, calculating egoism that Raskolnikov scorns, leading to immediate and intense mutual hatred.

### [Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crime_and_punishment/characters/rodion_romanovich_raskolnikov)

_rivalry_

Luzhin is Raskolnikov's despised antagonist, representing the petty, calculating egoism that Raskolnikov scorns, leading to immediate and intense mutual hatred.

### [Andrey Semyonovich Lebezyatnikov](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crime_and_punishment/characters/andrey_semyonovich_lebezyatnikov)

_rivalry_

Lebezyatnikov is Luzhin's naive, progressive former ward who now scorns him, exposing Luzhin's hypocrisy and foiling his plot against Sonya.

### [Andrey Semyonovich Lebezyatnikov](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crime_and_punishment/characters/andrey_semyonovich_lebezyatnikov)

_rivalry_

Lebezyatnikov is Luzhin's naive, progressive former ward who now scorns him, exposing Luzhin's hypocrisy and foiling his plot against Sonya.

### [Sofya Semyonovna Marmeladova](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crime_and_punishment/characters/sofya_semyonovna_marmeladova)

_rivalry_

Luzhin attempts to frame Sonya for theft to discredit Raskolnikov, making her an innocent victim in his petty, vindictive scheme.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crime_and_punishment/characters/pyotr_petrovich_luzhin
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crime_and_punishment
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crime_and_punishment/characters