Sonia, the compassionate character in Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, has the surname Marmeladova.
Sofia Semyonovna Marmeladova is the daughter of the impoverished former civil servant Semyon Marmeladov. Economic desperation forces her into prostitution, but Dostoevsky portrays her as compassionate, self-sacrificing, and spiritually resilient.
Sonia becomes central to Raskolnikov’s moral development. She listens to his confession, reads him the biblical story of Lazarus, and later follows him to Siberia after his conviction. Her presence contrasts with his intellectual pride and helps make repentance possible.
The surname is sometimes confused with names of other Dostoevsky characters, especially Raskolnikov and Epanchin. Sonia is a familiar form of Sofia, while Marmeladova is the feminine form of her family name in Russian usage.