This six-page chapter is the shortest one in the novel. It recalls Raskolnikov's view of the incident in Porfiry's office where the house painter, Nikolay, confesses to the murder. Ironically, as Porfiry is later to know, Nikolay belongs to an unusual religious sect that emphasizes the importance of suffering for the sins of others, and his desire to suffer is the exact thing that has already been recommended for Raskolnikov.
After the porter comes to apologize for falsely accusing Raskolnikov, he decides to "make a fight for it" — a new determination to live and surpass the stupidity of his crime.
