Toward the ending of Part 3 of Crime and Punishment, Raskolnikov encounters a stranger who claims to know him to be guilty of the crime of the murder of his landlord. Raskolnikov is confused - he asks the tradesman several of the many questions he has to ask: "But why do you ... come asking ... and say nothing ... what does it mean?" (272). Raskolnikov does not know where to begin, and feels threatened by this man. He makes another attempt: ""What do you .... what ... who is a murderer?" (272). Raskolnikov is so struck by the few words the tradesman does say that his reaction is both mental and physical. Upon being called a murderer, "his legs suddenly became terribly weak, a chill ran down his spine, and it was as if his heart stood still for a moment; then all at once it began pounding as if it had jumped off the hook" (272). As the tradesman walks away, Raskolnikov's face goes "pale," hi eyes "deadened," and stands "motionlessly" (272).
Raskolnikov's reaction demonstrates not only a guilty conscience, but disdain for his crime. Though the tradesman clearly knows Raskolnikov is a criminal, he does not reveal how he knows this, how he can prove this, or even if he intends to do either. The tradesman is only threatening in his ability to make Raskolnikov admit and suffer for his crime. The description of his legs becoming "weak" and of his heart "standing still" connote not physical pain, but death. The vocabulary Dostoesvsky employs - "pale," "deadened" and "motionlessly" - further portrays Raskolnikov as though he were dying. The words of the tradesman cause Raskolnikov to disintegrate, as it were, just like the murdered woman has. Raskolnikov feels such tremendous guilt over his crime that he seems to have a propensity to suffer the same consequences his victim did.
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