Raskolnikov's last visit to Sonya shows his intentions to "take up his cross" and begin his re-entry into humanity. When he has taken on the cypress-wood cross, he makes the sign of the cross for Sonya's sake, which is a step toward redemption. It is the wooden cross and not the copper one, saving the latter for another day.
In his suffering, he also sees that Sonya suffers. As he goes to make his confession, he remembers her words to "Bow down to the people, kiss the earth, and say aloud, I am a murderer." As he begins to do these, he immediately provokes laughter; earlier his pride prevented him from becoming an object of ridicule of the people and still he has his fear of being laughed at because he still has a strong belief in the validity of his theory.
At the police station, he hates to confess to the supercilious Ilya Petrovitch, but with Zametov gone, and Ilya prattling on in a silly fashion, the news that Svidrigailov has shot himself causes him to leave the station without making a confession. As he leaves the station, the sight of Sonya, the symbol of suffering humanity, causes him to return. And with the confession, the novel comes to a thematic close. The confession is a culmination of the many attempts at confession that he has contemplated since his murder of the pawnbroker and her sister.
