Notes From Underground & The Dream of a Ridiculous Man

by Fyodor Dostoevsky, Constance Garnett (Translator)

Notes from the Underground , novella by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, first published in Russian as Zapiski iz podpolya in 1864. The work, which includes extremely misanthropic passages, contains the seeds of nearly all of the moral, religious, political, and social concerns that appear in Dostoyevsky’s great novels. Written in reaction to Nikolay Chernyshevsky’s ideological novel What Is to Be Done? (1863), which offered a planned utopia based on “natural” laws of self-interest, Notes from the Underground attacks the scientism and rationalism at the heart of Chernyshevsky’s novel. The views and actions of Dostoyevsky’s underground man demonstrate that in asserting free will humans often act against self-interest. The underground man is profoundly alienated from life, entombed in his room. The hero’s views are outlined in Part I, and Part II describes the underground man’s conflicts. When he turns to reason for salvation, it fails him, and he concludes that not reason but caprice ultimately prevails in human nature. The Dream of a Ridiculous Man is short story by Fyodor Dostoyevsky written in 1877. It begins with a man walking St. Petersburg's streets while musing upon how ridiculous his life is, as well as its distinct lack of meaning or purpose. This train of thought leads him to the idea of suicide, which he resolves to commit using a previously-acquired gun. However, a chance encounter with a distressed little girl in the street derails his drastic plans.

130 pages, Paperback

Published January 15, 2021

About the author

Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский (Russian)

Works, such as the novels Crime and Punishment (1866), The Idiot (1869), and The Brothers Karamazov (1880), of Russian writer Feodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky or Dostoevski combine religious mysticism with profound psychological insight.

Very influential writings of Mikhail Mikhailovich Bakhtin included Problems of Dostoyevsky's Works (1929),

Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky composed short stories, essays, and journals. His literature explores humans in the troubled political, social, and spiritual atmospheres of 19th-century and engages with a variety of philosophies and themes. People most acclaimed his Demons(1872) .

Many literary critics rate him among the greatest authors of world literature and consider multiple books written by him to be highly influential masterpieces. They consider his Notes from Underground of the first existentialist literature. He is also well regarded as a philosopher and theologian.

(Russian: Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский) (see also Fiodor Dostoïevski)

Reviews

[E H · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting story told in a first person narrative, by a man who is just pure cringe material.
You’d rarely encounter a protagonist of pure evil. This one finds his meaning of existence through betrayal; he lives for the shock on people’s faces, and feels excitement in the art of making promises and breaking them (jumping between submission and freedom).

I think man’s reason to live is to make footprints; through labor, art, charity, rebellion, etc., and the search for balance between freedom and submission propels us through life.
It seemed to highlight our universal philosophy using a radical cynic who is extremely hard to empathize with instead of a relatable hero. A fresh perspective.