The story was inspired by a news report that Dostoyevsky read in April 1876 about the suicide of a seamstress. Dostoyevsky referred to it as a "meek suicide" that "keeps haunting you for a long time."
Dostoyevsky's novel was inspired by a news report he read in April 1876 about a seamstress who committed suicide. He described the event as a "meek suicide" that lingered in his thoughts for an extended period.