Dostoyevsky was passive-aggressive!

This will be - - I think - - the last in a long line of Notes from the Underground posts. So enjoy. This is the part where I tell you what it all means. Finally.

And here is the theme summed up: A human being may have such an enormous ego that they kill everything good that comes their way just so that they can stay aloof and in control. The classic example of this happening in N fr U, is when the unnamed narrator woos a prostitute, (just for the heck of it, just to see if he can have that kind of power over someone), and then rejects her when she shows up at his door. What an a-hole. Why is this significant? The lesson I learned is this: every time you are mean and unkind and you reject the world and the people around you, you need to look inside of you. The problem is inside of you. Not outside of you. Fix yourself. Human beings have the power to choose what kinds of lives they will live. That power of choice can be used for good or for evil. Use it for good!

N of U brilliantly illustrates how a person may deceive themselves into believing that the world is a terrible place and therefore it is their duty to manipulate, control, and ultimately reject the world. The anonymous narrator (admittedly of above average sensitivity and intelligence) finds that he is unable to connect with the world around him. People are mean to him, his talents are unappreciated. He writes a compelling essay for us explaining how hard it is for him, a dreamer, an adventuresome intellectual, to ever "connect." People and reality are just a ball and chain. So he commits himself to an "underground life."

Then he starts telling us stories about his life, and, at first, it seems like his theories hold up. The friends he meets with really are jerks and it seems like the world is truly the grim place the narrator makes it out to be. And then the narrator starts doing strange things. Like not wanting to pay his man servant on time, just for the heck of it. Just to have the power of withholding wages. Or making a woman fall in love with him and then casting her away. We begin to see that the narrator is actually heartless and very much to blame for his empty life. He sees the world through a twisted lense, and, above all, insists on seeing the world through that twisted lense so that he can have an excuse to be angry and abusive. At the end of the day, he is choosing to use a combination of isolation and abusive manipulation to feel apart and above it all. He never wants to be understood, he never wants to love, he never wants to let his guard down in any way . . . because, well, ultimately he is insecure and is nursing a fat ego. He tells himself that he is so awesome and that's why he's misunderstood. Turns out that he's misunderstood because he wants to be misunderstood. Life sucks for him, and he wouldn't have it any other way . . . because, pathetic as it may be, he feels strong and safe in his little cubby hole.

The cool thing about N fro U is the way the narrator is portrayed. At first, he comes off as extremely intelligent, likeable, and superior. His high flown theories are impressive and I found myself buying everything he said, even identifying with what he said (yikes!!!) . . . until he started telling stories about his life and then, unwittingly, exposes himself for the shallow fiend that he is. It was rather startling to experience that reversal. Dostoyevsky set it up beautifully.

Great read . . .

It made me think hard about the times when I've felt cynical and mean-spirited. Usually those feelings have gone hand-in-hand with narcissism. It's true, there are bad people out there and bad things in the world. But with some heart and intelligence, you can find the good in the world if you want to find it.