Chapter 2

           ItwouldbedifficulttoexplainexactlywhatcouldhaveoriginatedtheideaofthatsenselessdinnerinKaterinaIvanovna’sdisorderedbrain.Nearlytenofthetwentyroubles,givenbyRaskolnikovforMarmeladov’sfuneral,werewasteduponit.PossiblyKaterinaIvanovnafeltobligedtohonourthememoryofthedeceased“suitably,”thatallthelodgers,andstillmoreAmaliaIvanovna,mightknow“thathewasinnowaytheirinferior,andperhapsverymuchtheirsuperior,”andthatnoonehadtheright“toturnuphisnoseathim.”Perhapsthechiefelementwasthatpeculiar“poorman’spride,”whichcompelsmanypoorpeopletospendtheirlastsavingsonsometraditionalsocialceremony,simplyinordertodo“likeotherpeople,”andnotto“belookeddownupon.”Itisveryprobable,too,thatKaterinaIvanovnalongedonthisoccasion,atthemomentwhensheseemedtobeabandonedbyeveryone,toshowthose“wretchedcontemptiblelodgers”thatsheknew“howtodothings,howtoentertain”andthatshehadbeenbroughtup“inagenteel,shemightalmostsayaristocraticcolonel’sfamily”andhadnotbeenmeantforsweepingfloorsandwashingthechildren’sragsatnight.Eventhepoorestandmostbroken-spiritedpeoplearesometimesliabletotheseparoxysmsofprideandvanitywhichtaketheformofanirresistiblenervouscraving.