The symbol of “Underground” in the notes from the underground by Dostoevsky

Abstract

This research paper is based on Dostoevsky’s novella Notes from the Underground which represents the inner world of modern man. The nameless protagonist of Dostoevsky’s Notes from the Underground is known as the Underground Man to many critics. This paper explores how this novella is a dialogic text and the setting of the novella depicted the mental turmoil of the character. Moreover, the late eighteenth and nineteenth-century of Russian society was predominant by different philosophies which were imposed by the authority of Russia. Russian common people were bound to follow those philosophies in their everyday life although these philosophies were taken from Europe. Among other philosophies Enlightenment and Existentialism were significant. Then, in this novella, the narrator writes from a different standpoint which depicts the psyche of the Underground Man. Therefore, the term “underground” symbolizes that the underground is not necessarily a place; it is rather a kind of inner mental state. This paper aims to demonstrate how imposing different philosophy by authority shapes the psyche of a modern man like the “underground man”. Finally, by using Freud’s psychoanalytic theory, this paper tries to show how his actions and behaviors are regulated by his psyche which is influenced by his life experience and philosophies imposed by authority.