Dounia In Crime And Punishment

In Crime and Punishment, Dounia is a young woman who demands to be respected. Dounia faces many different problems throughout the novel, and faces them with courage. Dounia comes out of her work with Svidrigailov, and gets engaged to Luzhin. Dounia is always conscious of her surroundings and acts to make sure she is treated fairly. Dounia has strong boundaries and uses her confidence to put herself first.

Dounia has a strong will to marry Luzhin, but questions their relationship. When confronted about making her decision to marry Luzhin, Dounia says, ‘“I am marrying Pyotr Petrovitch because of the two evils I choose the less. I intend to do honestly all he expects of me, so I am not deceiving him’” (184). In this passage, Dounia states that

When Dounia begins to question her relationship with Luzhin, she says, “‘be the sensible and generous man I have always considered, and wish to consider, you to be. I’ve given you a great promise, I am your betrothed’” (238). Dounia tells Luzhin that she believes he is a good man, and that she has always thought he was a good man. She stands up and defends herself, when she says that she still hopes he is the man she thought he was. This shows that Dounia doubts their relationship and is questioning their engagement. When she is upset, Dounia says, “‘Pyotr Petrovitch, go away,’ she turned to him, white with anger...‘what insolence’ cried Dounia, spring up from her seat. ‘I don’t want you to come back again’” (241). Dounia is confronting Luzhin, and showing her confidence. Dounia breaks off her engagement with Luzhin and tells him to leave her alone. Dounia knows that she was incorrect, and makes sure that Luzhin knows that their relationship is over. Later, Dounia says to her mother, “‘No, I am more to blame than anyone...I was tempted by his money...If I hadn’t seen through him before, nothing would have tempted me’” (244). In this quote, Dounia takes responsibility for her actions. She admits that one of the reasons she was going to marry Luzhin was because she wanted his money to help her family. Dounia shows that she is confident and owns up to her mistake. Since earlier in the novel Dounia proclaimed that her love for Luzhin was real, she shows that she knows it is her fault that she messed