Also known as the clean white handkerchief, the handkerchief soaked with blood, the handkerchief he had used to wipe Grigory's face, the handkerchief he had used to wipe Grigory’s face, stiff with blood.
The blood-stained handkerchief begins as the clean white handkerchief Dmitri carries after visiting Madame Hohlakov. After striking Grigory in the garden, he uses it to wipe the old servant's bloody face and temples. He carries it away in his pocket, already soaked and crushed in his hand.
VIII-V. A Sudden Resolution
In Perhotin's room, Dmitri jerks the handkerchief out while trying to clean himself and throws it on the floor. It has stiffened with blood and explains the stains that have soaked through his coat pocket.
IX-V. The Third Ordeal
During the preliminary investigation, the officials have seen the handkerchief and question Dmitri about why he used it on Grigory. His answer becomes part of the dispute over whether he returned to the old man from pity or calculation.
XII-I. The Fatal Day
At trial, the handkerchief lies on the table of material proofs beside the bloody clothes, pistol, envelope, and brass pestle. It has turned yellow and remains stiff with blood.
XII-X. The Speech For The Defense. An Argument That Cuts Both Ways
The defense argues that soaking the handkerchief in Grigory's blood created needless evidence against Dmitri. That reading makes the cloth support the claim that he acted from pity after Grigory's assault.
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