Chance #2

2. What role does chance play in the development of the novel? In which scenes does coincidence figure heavily in the outcome? Is Dostoyevsky interfering too much with the natural course of events in order to move his story along, or is he making a point about randomness of life, free will, and divine intervention?

Chance in Section 1:
In this section, the perception/deception of chance, leads Raskol to the murder. He believes that by knowing when Alyona will be alone and having heard the conversations about her, etc. he is destined to murder her.

Raskol is not doing this crime because of free will or divine intervention. As you said Kelley, he is doing this because he thinks it's his destiny. Weird eh.

I wonder if he thinks it is his destiny or if he is trying to convince himself that it is.

Hmmmmm. This is a man with too much time on his hands. The part of the crime could be destiny, but not using the goods or loot is puzzling. Poverty is poverty.