Luzhin

Luzhin, Pyotr Petrovich - lawyer, aged 45; engaged to Dunya.

Description: All his clothes were straight off the peg, and everything about them seemed right - except perhaps that it all looked too  and too obviously betrayed its purpose. Even his stylish new round hat bore witness to that: Pyotr Petrovich treated it with too much respect and held on to it too gingerly. And even his elegant pair of lilac-coloured Jouvin gloves told the same story - not least for the fact that he never put them on, but simply carried them about with him for show. In Pyotr Petrovich's choice of clothes there was a predominance of light and youthful colours.

He was wearing an attractive beige-coloured summer jacket, a pair of light, dapper trousers, a waistcoat of the same colour, a brand-new elegant shirt, a lightweight cambric cravat with pink stripes - above all, the whole effect was to show Pyotr Petrovich to his best advantage. His fresh, even handsome face seemed in any case to belie his forty-five years. His face was pleasingly framed by dark mutton-chop whiskers - which, just as agreeably, grew thickly on his gleaming, newly shaven chin. Even the fact that his hair, already slightly greying, had been combed and curled at a hairdresser's, even this did not make him look ridiculous or stupid - something that usually is the case with hair that's been curled, since it invariably suggests a German on his wedding day. If there was anything actually unpleasant or repellent about this handsome and impressive face, the causes lay elsewhere. 

Pronunciation

Part One

Chapter 3

Description from Pulkheria Alexandrovna’s letter to Raskolnikov

A court councillor. A businesslike man, always busy, and is now in a great hurry to get to St Petersburg. A dependable and well-to-do man, with two positions in government and already in possession of a large sum of money. Aged 45, still reasonably good-looking, still attractive to women, and in general, he is a highly respectable and upstanding man, just a little dour and seemingly rather conceited.

He considers himself ‘a man with a positive outlook on life, but who shares “the convictions of today’s generation of young people”, and an enemy to all prejudices.

He seems to be a vain man who loves being the centre of attention.

Dunya describes him as, ‘not a very well-educated man, but nonetheless clever and seemingly kind-hearted.’ Raskolnikov picks up on this ‘seemingly’ modifier in his interior monologue to follow in the next chapter.

A trifle abrupt, an outspoken man. Upon receiving Dunya’s consent to marry, he states that ‘he had always decided he would get married to an honest girl, but to one who came without a dowry, and definitely to someone who had experienced poverty — because […] not only should a husband never feel beholden to his wife, but it would be far better for a wife to look on her husband as her benefactor.’

He’s planning to practice law in St Petersburg.

Part One

Chapter 4

Luzhin can go to hell! So says Raskolnikov after reading his mother’s letter.

Part Two

Chapter 5

Description: see above

He shows up at Raskolnikov’s apartment. He’s nonplussed when Raskolnikov appears not to recognise him. He cheers up a little after Razumikhin talks with him good-naturedly. He’s dressed like a dandy in brand-new clothes.

He informs Raskolnikov that he has rented rooms for his mother and sister.

Part Four

Chapter 2

Shows up for the big meeting and is offended at finding Rodion there against his express wish. He ends up being ejected from the room and asked not come back, not that he would as he’d been caused great offence by the women.

Part Five

Chapter 1

Flatmate of Lebezyatnikov. We get a description of the relationship between these two characters. Luzhin is using him as a connected progressive but is coming to the conclusion that he’s not quite as connected as he thought.