The surname of the old pawnbroker is crime and punishment. Alena Ivanovna (Crime and Punishment)

Old woman-pawnbroker: character story

Minor character novel "Crime and Punishment". An old woman of sixty years old, the widow of an official, is engaged in usury. Killed by the main character of the novel.

History of creation

The old pawnbroker from Dostoevsky's novel has several prototypes. While working on the novel, the writer probably used materials about a murder that occurred in Moscow in the summer of 1865. Then two women, a cook and a laundress, became the victims of the killer. The killer turned out to be a 27-year-old clerk, the son of a merchant, a certain Mr. Chistov. A note about this crime was published in the magazine “Voice”. The details of the murder largely coincide with what is described in the novel, so researchers of Dostoevsky’s work believe that the writer could have used information about this crime in his work on the text.

The murderer Chistov was a schismatic by religion, which probably became the impetus for the appearance of the surname of the main character of the novel - Raskolnikov. The killer entered the apartment between seven and nine o'clock in the evening and killed two old women - a cook and a laundress. The murder weapon turned out to be an ax, and the purpose of entry was robbery. The killer gutted the chest and stole money, as well as gold and silver items. The things taken out of the chest were scattered around the apartment.

Researchers consider another prototype of the old pawnbroker to be the writer’s aunt, a certain A.F. Kumanin. This woman was the sister of Dostoevsky's mother. She was an unusually rich but crazy old woman. Kumanina had many poor relatives, but the woman bequeathed her own fortune not to them, but to the church - for decorating temples and commemorating her soul. The old woman-pawnbroker in Dostoevsky's novel left the same will and also left her own feeble-minded sister Lizaveta without a livelihood.

"Crime and Punishment"

The real name of the old woman-pawnbroker is Alena Ivanovna, the heroine's surname is unknown. This is a woman of sixty years old, a widow, married to an official - either a collegiate secretary, or a collegiate registrar. At her age, the heroine looks like a “tiny, dry old woman” with a thin and long neck, evil eyes and a small, sharp nose.

The heroine's hair is faintly touched with gray, Alena Ivanovna is blonde. The heroine greases her hair with oil, probably for the sake of care, and braids it in a thin rat braid. The author calls the heroine “small and nasty.” The heroine’s clothes are shabby - “flannel rags”; in addition, the heroine is cold even in hot weather and wears a fur jacket. Alena Ivanovna is sick with tuberculosis, constantly coughing and groaning.

The heroine lived in St. Petersburg, according to researchers, in one of the houses on the embankment of the Griboyedov Canal, known as the Walch house. The old woman is engaged in usury - she lends money to those in need on the security of valuables. Main character In the novel, poor student Rodion Raskolnikov learns about Alena Ivanovna and her trade from a friend. Raskolnikov turns to the old woman when there is an urgent need for money, and pawns the thing from that woman.

The usurious trade brings Alena Ivanovna a good income. The old woman gives clients an amount four times less than the real value of the things they leave with her. Some clients are not able to redeem the pledged items, then the old woman keeps what was left as collateral. It is enough to be overdue for one day. The pawnbroker probably resells the pledged items at a higher price. The heroine is indifferent to people and circumstances that force them to delay the payment of their debt.

Thus, Alena Ivanovna made a good fortune. The characters say that the old woman is “rich as a Jew” and is capable of handing over five thousand at once. Despite her wealth, the heroine is greedy and pathologically thrifty, wears worn-out clothes and spends practically nothing; the income does not bring the heroine any benefit or pleasure.

Alena Ivanovna has a bitchy character - angry and capricious. The heroine is stupid, her life is meaningless. Alena Ivanovna “is not needed by anyone” and she herself does not know why she lives. The heroine lives with her younger sister, the weak-minded Lizaveta, whom she constantly beats, oppresses and uses as a servant. Moreover, the old woman bequeathed her fortune not to her sister, but to a certain monastery for the sake of remembering her own soul. After the death of her elder sister, Lizaveta will receive only movable property - furniture, clothes, etc., but not a penny of money.

The heroine is indifferent to her sister's future and is heartless by nature, but at the same time she is religious. Further fate the incapacitated Lizaveta does not care at all about the pawnbroker, but she is worried about her own posthumous fate.

Alena Ivanovna is distrustful of people, does not go anywhere and all year round sits at home, complaining of sore legs. Those around her openly call the heroine an “old witch” and have no sympathy for her.

Student Raskolnikov plans to kill an old money-lender. The hero studied to become a lawyer, but dropped out of university, also gave up giving private lessons and fell into poverty. The hero lies around at home all day, messing around and thinking about life. Raskolnikov took money from the old woman as bail, but he planned the murder not for pure gain, but to confirm the theory he had invented and prove to himself that he, Raskolnikov, belongs to the best part of humanity.

Raskolnikov kills Alena Ivanovna and her weak-minded sister, robs the dead and escapes from the crime scene unnoticed. In fact, the old woman-pawnbroker is Raskolnikov's psychological double. The hero emphasizes the insignificance of the woman he killed, calling her a “louse.” However, at the end of the novel, Raskolnikov comes to the conclusion that he himself is exactly the same louse.

Film adaptations

In 1956, a French film adaptation of the novel Crime and Punishment entitled Crime Et Chatiment was released. This is a crime drama, the plot of which is noticeably altered in relation to the novel. The setting was France in the 40s of the twentieth century. The main character, a poor student Rene, decides to kill the old Madame Orvai for romantic reasons. The hero wants to get money to save his sister from an unwanted marriage, and at the same time help the beautiful prostitute Lily quit her indecent profession and live a better life. new life. Madame Orvai is played by actress Gabrielle Fontaine in this film.

In 1969, a Soviet film adaptation of the novel was released, a two-part drama directed by Lev Kulidzhanov. The role of Alena Ivanovna is played here by actress Elizaveta Evstratova. Critics called Kulidzhanov’s film a “cold intellectual interpretation” of Dostoevsky’s novel. The next film adaptation will be released in 2007. This is an eight-episode television series directed by Dmitry Svetozarov, where the role of the old pawnbroker was played by actress Vera Karpova.

Quotes

“I didn’t kill the old lady, I killed myself!”

“Lying is the only human privilege over all organisms.”

“She’s nice,” he said, “you can always get money from her. She is rich like a Jew, she can give out five thousand at once, and she does not disdain a ruble mortgage. She visited a lot of our people.”

“I just killed a louse, Sonya, a useless, nasty, harmful one.”

Dostoevsky's novel Crime and Punishment is a story about tragic destinies ordinary people weakened by injustice. The main character is a poor man, disappointed, but not willing to fall into powerlessness. He reflects on the laws of society, and in his fevered mind a terrible theory arises that for the sake of the common good one can sacrifice the life of an “unnecessary” person who does not benefit anyone. Such a person in the novel turns out to be the old money-lender, Alena Ivanovna.

What is known about her is that she was the widow of a middle-ranking official. She was already about 60 years old. The portrait characteristic emphasizes her inner unattractive essence. She looked faded and sickly. It is possible that she, like many at that time, was overcome by consumption. The woman was small in stature, with a skinny body, as if she had already dried up. She often wore her thin hair in a rat braid. The writer emphasizes great attention in front of the old woman’s eyes - they were sharp and angry.

In principle, portrait characteristics All characters in the novel must include an emphasis on their eyes. Dostoevsky shared the opinion that through a person’s eyes one can see his soul.

The woman wore something like a scarf on her thin, long neck. A fur coat, yellowed with age, was draped over his shoulders. As we can see, the pawnbroker saved on her clothes. Although she was quite rich.

How did this woman manage to get rich? She lived by giving clients money in exchange for things, which she returned by charging a percentage. The old woman was very scrupulous and never forgave delays. If a person delayed payment, the pledged item immediately became her property. Alena Ivanovna always gave the item an incomplete price, but then resold it for many times more. This is how the old money-lender got rich from the misfortunes of other people. For her stinginess and malice, they even called her a witch. She did not love anyone and lived unknown why and for whom. She just accumulated wealth that she didn’t even spend.

In the apartment with the old woman lived her sister Lizaveta, a woman of little intelligence, but good-natured and harmless. Alena Ivanovna did not like her, she treated her like a servant. She even bit her finger once. This attitude towards to a loved one reveals the heroine as a soulless, indifferent person. This is exactly what the author wanted to show us. He deliberately exaggerates this image so that readers do not have a feeling of sympathy for the heroine. Therefore, if Raskolnikov had dealt only with her, perhaps his repentance would have been incomplete. But the second victim of the “fair” student was the innocent Lizaveta.

Alena Ivanovna (“Crime and Punishment”), pawnbroker; Lizaveta's older sister (step-sister). There is some confusion with her “rank” in the novel: at first she is presented by the narrator as a collegiate registrar (14th grade), and literally two pages later it is said (in the scene of a conversation overheard by Raskolnikov in a tavern) that “the student tells the officer about the pawnbroker, Alena Ivanovna, college secretary,” and this is already much higher - 10th grade. “She was a tiny, dry old woman, about sixty years old, with sharp and angry eyes, a small pointed nose and bare hair. Her blond, slightly gray hair was greased with oil. Around her thin and long neck, similar to a chicken leg, there was some kind of flannel rag wrapped around her, and on her shoulders, despite the heat, a frayed and yellowed fur coat was hanging. The old woman was continually coughing and groaning...” The same student characterizes her in a conversation with his friend in a tavern: “She’s nice,” he said, “you can always get money from her. She is rich like a Jew, she can give out five thousand at once, and she does not disdain a ruble mortgage. She visited a lot of our people. Just a terrible bitch...

And he began to tell how angry and capricious she was, that if she only missed the mortgage one day, the thing would disappear. He gives four times less than the thing costs, and takes five and even seven percent a month, etc. The student blabbed and said, in addition, that the old woman has a sister, Lizaveta, whom she, so small and nasty, beats every minute and keeps him in complete enslavement, like a small child, while Lizaveta is at least eight inches tall...” It was the student who, with his reasoning that “stupid, senseless, insignificant, evil, sick old woman, no one needs and, on the contrary, harmful to everyone, who herself does not know why she lives, and who tomorrow will die of her own accord” can, by her death, save many from poverty and death - finally pushed Raskolnikov to “crime.”

And here is the murder scene: “The old woman, as always, was bare-haired. Her blond, grey-streaked, thin hair, greased with oil as usual, was braided into a rat braid and tucked under a fragment of a horn comb sticking out at the back of her head. The blow hit the very crown of the head, which was facilitated by her small stature. She screamed, but very weakly, and suddenly sank to the floor, although she still managed to raise both hands to her head. She still continued to hold the “mortgage” in one hand. Here he struck with all his might, once and twice, all with the butt and all on the crown of the head. Blood gushed out as if from an overturned glass, and the body fell backwards. He stepped back, let him fall, and immediately bent down to her face; she was already dead. The eyes were bulging, as if they wanted to jump out, and the forehead and whole face were wrinkled and distorted by a spasm ... "

But Alena Ivanovna would appear in all her disgusting form to Rodion Raskolnikov in a feverish delirious dream, when he dreamed that he had come to her apartment again: “At that very moment, in the corner, between a small wardrobe and a window, he saw as if hanging on wall cloak<…>He approached slowly and guessed that someone seemed to be hiding behind the cloak. He carefully pulled back his cloak with his hand and saw that there was a chair standing there, and an old woman was sitting on a chair in the corner, all hunched over and her head bowed, so that he could not see her face, but it was her. He stood over her: “Afraid!” - he thought, quietly released the ax from the loop and hit the old woman on the crown, once and twice. But it’s strange: she didn’t even move from the blows, like she was made of wood. He got scared, leaned closer and began to look at her; but she also bent her head even lower. He then bent down completely to the floor and looked into her face from below, looked and froze: the old woman was sitting and laughing - she burst into quiet, inaudible laughter, trying with all her might so that he would not hear her. Suddenly it seemed to him that the door from the bedroom opened slightly and that there, too, seemed to be laughing and whispering. Fury overcame him: with all his might he began to hit the old woman on the head, but with each blow of the ax, laughter and whispers from the bedroom were heard more and more loudly, and the old woman was shaking all over with laughter. He started running..."

Dostoevsky from the very early years he had to communicate with moneylenders and moneylenders (like A.I. Reisler, Eriksan), so he had more than enough material to depict Alena Ivanovna, her essence and way of life. He was even going to write separate work with the same name - “The Moneylender”.

In the tortured brain of the protagonist of the novel “Crime and Punishment,” a terrible theory was born, the main idea of ​​which justifies the murder for the common good by a representative of the “highest” category of people of an “unnecessary” person.

The image of an old woman-pawnbroker

The old pawnbroker becomes such a victim in the name of an idea. Her name was Alena Ivanovna. She was the widow of a minor official. Skinny, as if dried up by years, grandmother short, who is about sixty years old. Sickly looking, perhaps suffering from consumption, which was widespread at that time, for many years. A cough or grunt is constantly escaping from her throat. The eyes are small and angry, the nose is like a beak, the hair is shiny with oil and collected in a thin pigtail.

Alena Ivanovna wore a kind of scarf around her neck and threw a decrepit jacket lined with fur yellowed from age over her shoulders. But the old woman’s poverty is a visual deception; the pawnbroker earned very good money without leaving her home, issuing cash on bail.

The price for the valuable items offered is shamelessly tiny (25% of the cost), and the percentages are simply cosmic. Alena Ivanovna did not forgive anyone for delays; in case of even a slight delay, the collateral became her property and was resold for a good price. Due to such fraud, the old woman increased her capital, which she did not spend anywhere. For her pettiness, stinginess and malice, she was nicknamed a witch. And there was not a single person in the whole world who was dear to her.

Her sister Lisa lived under the same roof with Alena Ivanovna. A woman of small intelligence, but quiet and modest by nature. Despite the relationship, the pawnbroker did not have any warm feelings for her and kept her as a servant, sometimes even beating the poor fellow. And she even denied her an inheritance.

...The old woman had already made her will, which was known to Lizaveta herself, who, according to the will, did not receive a penny except movables, chairs and other things; the money was all assigned to one monastery in H province, for eternal remembrance of the soul...

Role in the plot

Raskolnikov chooses this old woman as his victim, because she only evokes fear and disgust in those around him. He hopes to steal money from her and at the same time “test” himself, proving that he is capable of “deed.” It’s unlikely that anyone will feel sorry for the disgusting, sickly grandmother who will soon say goodbye to life. Unfortunately, Lisa becomes an unplanned victim, having harmed no one. Dostoevsky emphasizes that the murder of any person is a crime of moral laws. This is how Rodion Raskolnikov’s theory about the justification of killing by “higher” people and “worthless” people is shattered.

Dispute between a student and an officer about an old woman

...Let me ask you a serious question,” the student became excited. - Now, of course, I was joking, but look: on the one hand, a stupid, senseless, insignificant, evil, sick old woman, useless to anyone and, on the contrary, harmful to everyone, who herself does not know what she lives for, and who tomorrow herself will die by itself. Understand? Understand?

“Well, I understand,” answered the officer, carefully staring at his excited comrade.

- Listen further. On the other hand, young, fresh forces are wasted without support, and this is in the thousands, and this is everywhere! A hundred, a thousand good deeds and undertakings that can be arranged and the old woman’s money doomed to the monastery can be repaid! Hundreds, thousands, perhaps, of existences directed towards the road; dozens of families saved from poverty, from decay, from death, from debauchery, from venereal hospitals - and all this with her money. Kill her and take her money, so that with their help you can then devote yourself to serving all of humanity and the common cause: do you think that one tiny crime will not be atone for with thousands of good deeds? In one life - thousands of lives saved from rot and decay. One death and a hundred lives in return - but this is arithmetic! And what does the life of this consumptive, stupid and evil old woman mean on the general scale? Nothing more than the life of a louse or a cockroach, and it’s not worth it, because the old woman is harmful. She eats up someone else's life: the other day she bit Lizaveta's finger out of spite; Almost got cut off!..