Notes from the Underground

(1874) The Underground Man, our first-person narrator, begins by telling us how hateful and unattractive he is. It seems he's been living "underground" for 20 years in Russia, unable to act in any way because he's so intelligent he can debunk any justification for doing so.  Suffering, the Underground Man argues, is enjoyable, particularly when you're conscious of it. For instance, when he knows he's at rock bottom and has no chance of ever getting better, he takes pleasure in that.  The Underground Man considers that we may someday figure out all the laws of nature, and then be able to predict what everyone will do, think, and want.  The reader is lead into the deepest recesses of human consciousness by the author.