Horror for Newbies
OngoingRain asked this question about Notes from Underground:
Hello :) So, what is the mataphor of the underground? Is it all the circumstances he is in and the position from which he sees the world? Everyone out there , above him , and he's under them, like watching life appart from them and feeling all those bad and angry feelings that make him happy at the same time? Thank you :)
Harrison Wilson The underground describes the place where those "self-conscious" souls, i.e. the refined and educated people of society, dwell when they behave indece…moreThe underground describes the place where those "self-conscious" souls, i.e. the refined and educated people of society, dwell when they behave indecently for the sake of spite. The educated know they act contrary to justice and reason which gives them a sense of guilt--an unclean feeling that is evoked by the metaphor of dirt. But like a mouse (p. 9) the enlightened man who wants to insist that he is a person with a will seems to delight in his filth and revels in it. Dostoevsky wants to underscore that humans will not be reformed simply because it is advantageous to them, and so to posit a philosophy which sees enlightenment of the intellect alone as a definite course to reform society betrays a truncated view of human nature. The narrative resembles the parable of the prodigal son in some features.(less)
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Notes from Underground
by Fyodor Dostoevsky
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