Katerina Ivanovna Marmeladova

Marmeladov's consumptive and proud wife

From "Crime and Punishment" by Dostoyevsky, Fyodor

Core Belief

"Katerina Ivanovna believes in the importance of maintaining appearances and upholding social status, even in the face of extreme poverty. She clings to the memory of her past and dreams of a better future for her children."

Worldview

Katerina Ivanovna sees the world as a cruel and unforgiving place, where social status and economic stability are paramount. She is determined to protect her children from the harsh realities of poverty and clings to her dreams of a better future, even as her health deteriorates.

Personality

Katerina Ivanovna is a proud, educated, and impoverished woman, driven to desperation by her husband's alcoholism and her own failing health. She is prone to emotional outbursts, delusions of grandeur, and a fierce protectiveness towards her children. Her suffering is immense, but she clings to remnants of her former dignity.

In Their Own Words

"“And the more I drink the more I feel it. That’s why I drink too. I try to find sympathy and feeling in drink.... I drink so that I may suffer twice as much!”"

"“Well, so be it, I am a pig, but she is a lady! I have the semblance of a beast, but Katerina Ivanovna, my spouse, is a person of education and an officer’s daughter. Granted, granted, I am a scoundrel, but she is a woman of a noble heart, full of sentiments, refined by education.”"

"“Oh, accursed life! And you, are you not ashamed?”--she pounced all at once upon Raskolnikov--“from the tavern! Have you been drinking with him? You have been drinking with him, too! Go away!”"