A narrator argues with himself
The Underground Man interrupts, retracts, and anticipates objections to his own account. The form makes contradiction part of the experience of hearing him.
Book · A CLOSER LOOK
Notes from Underground
ABOUT THE BOOK
An unnamed narrator argues, confesses, and repeatedly undermines his own account of himself.
A CLOSER LOOK
The story behind it.
An unnamed narrator argues, confesses, and repeatedly undermines his own account of himself.
An encounter follows the argument
The second part brings the earlier claims into humiliations, desires, and the encounter with Liza. An abstract defense of freedom meets the difficulty of treating another person well.
START HERE
Background & references (opens in a new tab)Source for Notes from Underground: Background & references.
Sources for this closer look
Background & references (opens in a new tab)Read the text · Project Gutenberg (opens in a new tab)Read the book.
Follow the original source to explore the work in its own context.
Sources & credits
Introductions are grounded in the sources below. Collection notes and reading prompts provide an editorial starting point; personal opinions are identified in the collection’s content.
KEEP EXPLORING
Discover the person. Follow the work.
PersonFyodor Dostoevsky
Selected work associated with Fyodor Dostoevsky.
START WITHThe Brothers Karamazov
LiteraturePhilosophy
BookCrime and Punishment
Read the narrator’s self-justification beside Raskolnikov’s theories and encounters.
EXPLORE THIS WORKFyodor Dostoevsky
LiteratureReflection
BookThe Brothers Karamazov
Another selected work from Fyodor Dostoevsky: A family novel about faith, doubt, responsibility, and the difficulty of judging another person.
EXPLORE THIS WORKFyodor Dostoevsky
LiteraturePhilosophy
ChapterThe Grand Inquisitor
Another selected work from Fyodor Dostoevsky: Ivan’s imagined encounter between Christ and an inquisitor, told to Alyosha.
EXPLORE THIS WORKFyodor Dostoevsky
LiteratureFaithPolitical thought
PassageMarmeladov’s Tavern Confession
Another selected work from Fyodor Dostoevsky: Early in the novel, Marmeladov tells Raskolnikov about drink, poverty, shame, and his family.
EXPLORE THIS WORKFyodor Dostoevsky
LiteratureCompassion
BookThe Idiot
Another selected work from Fyodor Dostoevsky: Prince Myshkin’s openness and compassion meet a world of rivalry, pride, and social calculation.
EXPLORE THIS WORKFyodor Dostoevsky
LiteratureReflection