Notes from Underground — Pre-Reading Guide
Read this before you start the book
📖 What Is This Book?
Notes from Underground, published in 1864, is a foundational text of existentialist literature. It is written as a confession and a philosophical manifesto by an unnamed narrator, often called the Underground Man. He is a 40-year-old former civil servant who has retired to a “cellar” in St. Petersburg to write down his cynical, spiteful, and deeply complex thoughts about humanity, reason, and free will.
Basic Facts:
- Author: Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821-1881)
- Published: 1864
- Length: ~120 pages
- Genre: Existentialist Fiction, Philosophical Novella
- Setting: St. Petersburg, Russia (1860s)
- Status: Considered the first “existentialist” novel and the introduction of the modern anti-hero.
🏆 Why Is This Book Important?
Literary Significance
- The Birth of the Anti-Hero
- The Underground Man is the opposite of a traditional hero. He is petty, sick, spiteful, and self-loathing. Dostoevsky created him to show that humans are not “rational animals” but complex, contradictory beings.
- A Critique of Rationalism
- Dostoevsky wrote this as a response to the “Rational Egoists” of his time (like Chernyshevsky) who believed that if society were organized scientifically, all crime and suffering would vanish.
- Psychological Depth
- The interiority of this book influenced everyone from Friedrich Nietzsche to Jean-Paul Sartre. It explores the darker corners of the human psyche before psychoanalysis even existed.
Historical and Cultural Impact
- The 2+2=4 Problem: The Underground Man’s rebellion against the “stone wall” of logic and nature became a rallying cry for those who felt that science and technology were “dehumanizing” the soul.
- Russian Intellectual History: It captures the tension in 19th-century Russia between “Westernized” rationalism and the “Russian” soul.
🎯 What to Think About As You Read
Key Questions to Keep in Mind
- Why is he so spiteful?
- The narrator opens with: “I am a sick man… I am a spiteful man.” Pay attention to why he refuses to see a doctor. It is his way of asserting his will against the “logical” choice.
- What is the “Crystal Palace”?
- This is a symbol of a perfect, rational, transparent society. Why does the Underground Man hate the idea of a perfect world? What would he do if he lived in one?
- The “Mouse” vs. The “Bull”
- The narrator compares himself (the “mouse” of hyper-consciousness) to the “bull” (the man of action). Which one is happier? Which one is more “human”?
- Free Will vs. Happiness
- If you were offered a world of total happiness but you had to give up your ability to choose irrationally, would you take it?
Literary Elements to Notice
- The Unreliable Narrator: The Underground Man frequently contradicts himself. He will say something is true, then say he was lying, then say he was lying about lying. Don’t look for “objective truth” in his words.
- The Two-Part Structure:
- Part 1 (“Underground”): Pure philosophy and monologue.
- Part 2 (“Apropos of the Wet Snow”): A memory of his younger self (age 24) to show how his philosophy plays out in real life.
- Addresses to the Reader: He constantly speaks to “you” (the imaginary audience). This shows his desperate need for connection even as he rejects it.
🎓 About Dostoevsky’s Style
Polyphony
Dostoevsky doesn’t just present his own ideas; he allows the character’s voice to be fully independent and even argue against the author. The prose is feverish, repetitive, and often “ugly”—on purpose.
The Psychology of Humiliation
The book is famous for “cringe comedy” before the term existed. The Underground Man frequently puts himself in humiliating situations just to feel the “pleasure” of his own degradation.
💡 Reading Tips
- Be Patient with Part 1: The first 40 pages are very dense philosophy. If you find it difficult, keep going until Part 2, where the “story” begins.
- Embrace the Contradictions: Don’t try to make the narrator “make sense.” His whole point is that humans don’t make sense.
- Watch out for Irony: He is often making fun of himself even when he seems serious.
🎯 Your Reading Goals
- Identify the Underground Man’s argument against the “laws of nature.”
- Analyze the character of Liza in Part 2. How does she represent a “threat” to his underground existence?
- Evaluate whether the Underground Man is actually “free” or if he is just a slave to his own spite.
📝 Before You Start
Take a moment to consider:
- Do you ever do things that you know are bad for you, just because you can?
- Would you rather be a “happy slave” in a perfect world or a “miserable free man” in a chaotic one?
Ready to read?
Turn to Chapter 1: “I am a sick man… I am a spiteful man. I am an unattractive man.”
Pre-Reading Guide created: 2025-12-25
For Great Literature 101 - Book 7 of 10