Summary On the way to the brothel, the Underground Man compared what happened at dinner with his dreams of the pope, Lake Como, and the grand ball. The memory of how he cringed before Simonov begging for the six rubles made him double up in shame. He was determined to […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Part 2: Section 5Summary and Analysis Part 2: Section 4
Summary When the Underground Man arrived at the hotel, not only did he have difficulty finding his comrades, but he also had truble finding the room. After many inquiries he discovered that the dinner had been rescheduled for an hour later, at six o’clock. He sat sullenly and brooded about […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Part 2: Section 4Summary and Analysis Part 2: Section 3
Summary When the Underground Man arrived at Simonov’s, he found two other old schoolmates there. He was disgusted that all three completely ignored his entrance even though Simonov seemed positively surprised at his coming. The three were planning a farewell dinner for a comrade called Zverkov whom the Underground Man […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Part 2: Section 3Summary and Analysis Part 2: Section 2
Summary The Underground Man’s periods of dissipation would be followed by periods of deep remorse. And then to escape the sickening feeling of remorse, he would resort to daydreaming which would totally occupy him for long periods of time, even up to three months. After a particularly lurid spell of […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Part 2: Section 2Summary and Analysis Part 2: Section 1
Summary Even at age twenty-four, the Underground Man says, he lived a gloomy and solitary existence with no friends or companions. At the office where he worked, he constantly imagined that his colleagues looked upon him “with a sort of loathing.” He could never understand why the other workers were […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Part 2: Section 1Summary and Analysis Part 1: Section 11
Summary The Underground Man concludes that, in the final analysis, to do nothing — to be consciously inert — is the best thing an intelligent man can do. Even though he envies the normal man, he would not change places with him. For the present, a life underground is more […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Part 1: Section 11Summary and Analysis Part 1: Section 10
Summary The Underground Man is afraid of such an edifice as the “Crystal Palace,” a place which can never be destroyed. For, if it were not a palace, and if he were caught in a rainstorm, he would then creep into it to avoid getting wet. But he rejects the […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Part 1: Section 10Summary and Analysis Part 1: Section 9
Summary The Underground Man asks his audience: even if it were possible to reform men to act “in accordance with science and good sense,” is it desirable to do so? Do “man’s inclinations need reforming?” and would it be a benefit to man? Recognizing that man is essentially a creative […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Part 1: Section 9Summary and Analysis Part 1: Section 8
Summary The Underground Man realizes that some people will object to his ideas by saying that choice and freedom of will can be reduced to a mathematical formula. But, he explains, if things are explained scientifically, then man will cease to feel desire, for if reason and desire should conflict, […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Part 1: Section 8Summary and Analysis Part 1: Section 7
Summary The Underground Man wonders who first proposed this theory: that man’s evil acts are performed from a mistaken knowledge of his own best interests and that if he were only educated he would at once become good and noble because he would then understand his own advantages. If this […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Part 1: Section 7