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Raskolnikov’s psyche changes in many ways throughout this novel; in the beginning he is already agitated and on edge, once he murders the pawnbroker he almost loses his mind, but then Sonia comes along and shows him the way out of the madness. Also Raskolnikov seems to have two different personalities. One side is cold, intellectual, and unfeeling and concentrates on power and self will. The other side is warm and compassionate and seems to be rather meek and submissive. These two sides account for many of the changes Raskolnikov goes through.
The novel begins with Raskolnikov going to sell a silver watch to the local pawnbroker, Alyona Ivanovna. When he first leaves his apartment he is overstrained and irritable. He had become so absorbed in himself that he didn’t want to meet anybody, much less his landlady, so he sneaks out to avoid her. When he is almost to the pawnbroker’s he asks himself, “If I am so scared now, what would it be if it somehow came to pass that I were really going to do it?” This is an odd question because he talks about this visit to the pawnbroker being a rehearsal for something in the future. However, after he leaves the pawnbroker’s he asks himself how he could even consider doing such a despicable and loathsome thing (From reading the book we know this refers to murdering her). This is an example of Raskolnikov’s differing personalities, on one hand his intellectual side is planning to kill the woman for her money, but his compassionate side thinks that even thinking about it is disgusting.