He is Dunya's former employer and the dark twin representing the possibility of Raskolnikov's moral decay. He is an ex-convict and, according to rumors, kept the murder of his wife Marfa Petrovna, whom he allegedly poisoned, in the shadows. He is a hedonist and a nihilist without limits; he has crossed all boundaries between good and evil (at times harming a little girl, while at other times gifting all his money to Sonya's orphaned siblings). He harbors a morbid love for Dunya and tries to win her through blackmail after secretly eavesdropping on Raskolnikov's secret. However, when he realizes with certainty that Dunya will not love him at any cost, he commits suicide at the final stage of his internal nihilism and darkness, at the end of ghosts, delusions, and a cold St. Petersburg night.
His youth was spent in rigged gambling, debauchery, and disgrace. At a time when he was about to go to prison for his debts, he was saved by Marfa Petrovna, an older and eccentric woman, and spent 7 years with her in the provinces living a kind of contracted and semi-free life of servitude/marriage. His falling in love with Dunya, his wife's death, and his arrival in St. Petersburg have launched a new but meaningless adventure for him.
Nearing his fifties, a man of medium-to-tall height, slightly stooped. He is wealthy and dressed elegantly, drawing attention with his luxury cane and rings. There is an immortal vitality in his face, cold blue eyes, and a blond but striking beard; however, when one looks closely at his face, he gives the feeling of a frightening, repulsive 'mask'.
Marfa Petrovna
His wife, whom he knew but never respected as an individual, and who appears to him in delusions after her death.
Pyotr Petroviç Lujin
A rival who, like himself, is self-serving, but whom he loathes for doing so hypocritically.
Avdotya Romanovna (Dunya)
The only weakness he wanted death-defyingly to possess, but ended up tasting death through.
Rodion Romanoviç Raskolnikov
The most loathsome endpoint to which Raskolnikov's theory of moral decay could lead; they engage in an interesting and perverse psychological duel.