Is the Underground Man in Love?

Underground Man & Liza

From my perspective, the Underground Man's relationship with Liza in Notes from the Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky is quite perplexing. Liza is a prostitute who I believe the Underground Man is attracted to. She is the first person who he is able to connect with because they share similar views which do no comply with societies norms. When the Underground Man first talks with Liza and urges her to get married, she goes agaisnt the status quote and says "not all married women are happy" (Dostoevsky 86). This attracts the Underground Man because it correlates with his nonstandard beliefs. However, she eventually breaks into tears.

Things become more interesting when the Underground Man invites Liza to his house and speaks unscrupulously towards her. He goes hysterical and cries as Liza comforts him. It is difficult to understand his true emotions towards Liza because at first he swore "she really did interest" (Dostoevsky, 87) him. Yet, towards the end of the novel, he tells her that he "had been, humiliated, so [he] wanted to humiliate" (Dostoevly 113) her. However, his intimidating behavior may be his way of expression love because at one point he says "loving meant tyrannizing" (Dostoevsky 117). Therefore, I personally believe that the underground man loves Liza, however this is debatable. 

Philosophical Viewpoints

Dostoevsky

In Fyodor Dostoevsky’s “Notes from the Underground”, the Underground Man, argues in opposition to the Enlightment philosophy which grew popular in his era. “Rational egoists” beleive that everything man does is “according to the laws of nature” (Dostoevsky 23). In addition, according to them, by following these natural laws, man can avoid destructive or absurd behavior. The underground Man uses the metaphor of a “piano key”, which creates the same, predictable effect, to portray this philosophy. 

Existentialism 

However, the Underground Man’s existentialist philosophy opposes this theory. He gives harsh criticism of societies intellectual attempts at dictating human actions and behavior. He believes that human’s ability to desire is a beautiful aspect of their nature.  Therefore it is more valuable for humans to make decisions based on their desires even if it runs contrary to their interests because “it is impossible to retain [both] reason and desire” (Dostoevsky 25).  Existentialists believes that “what man needs is simply independent choice, whatever that independence may cost and whatever it may lead” (Dostoevsky 24). The Underground Man’s loneliness depicts the existentialist notion that humans are in isolation from each other because they all make decisions that satisfy their desires, not those are made simply because they have been “worked out on paper” (Dostoevsky 25) for everyone to follow.

A Contradictory Man

“Notes from the Underground” by Fyodor Dostoevsky is considered to be the first existentialist novel. Existentialism is a 20^thth century philosophical movement that was based on the analysis of human existence and the centrality of human choice. This novel focuses on the troubled psychological state of a bitter and isolated man who is a retired civil servant who resides in St. Petersberg.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

The Underground Man is a character motivated by many contradictory impulses. Even though he believes himself to be more intelligent and perceptive than most other people, he also despises himself and frequently feels himself to be inferior or humiliated. In addition, he indicates that he “used to be in the civil service, but no longer [is]. [He is] a spiteful official” (Dostoevsy 4). It is a contradiction for someone in the civil service to be malevolent because they are expected to be righteous and good-natured. However, he later explains that he “could never really become spiteful (Dostoevsky 4). It is therefore difficult to undisclose the true nature of this contradictory man.

After a class discussion, I realized that we all possess contradictory traits. People’s first impression of me is that I epitomize a typical “girly girl” because I have a big princess crown over my bed and I love to shop. However, they are shocked to find that I am somewhat a “math geek” because math is typically associated with boys. In addition, girls typically have bad handwriting, but I am an exception.