Previous
Allusions
Part 2, Chapter 1
Explanation and Analysis—German-Russian:
When Raskolnikov is called, to his surprise, to the police station following his murder of the pawnbroker and Lizaveta, he witnesses an exchange between a police officer and a woman who speaks with a distinct German-Russian dialect:
Und here I run und call the caretaker, und Karl comes, und he hitten Karl in the eye, und he hitten Henriette in the eye, too, und me he shlapped five times on the cheek. Und this is so indelicate in a noble house, Mr. Kapitän, und I am yelling. Und he opened the vindow on the canal und shtarted sqvealing out the vindow like a little pig; und it is a disgrace. Und mit all his might he is sqvealing out the vindow to the street like a little pig; und vat a disgrace it is! Fui, fui, fui!
The woman, extravagantly dressed, has been called to the police station due to a complaint about fighting and drinking at an establishment that she runs. The woman tells her side of the story, concerning an unruly patron, in a dialect and accent that marks her as a member of the German-Russian ethnic minority living in St. Petersburg. Her language combines German and Russian vocabulary alongside other linguistic quirks that speak to her mixed heritage. She is one of several individuals of German background or ancestry depicted in the novel, usually on the margins of polite society and occasionally experiencing prejudice or mockery from other denizens of the diverse city.
