Notes from Underground is a study of a single character, and a revelation of Dostoyevsky's own deepest beliefs. In this work we follow the unnamed narrator of the story, who, disillusioned by the oppression and corruption of the society in which he lives, withdraws from that society into the underground. On the surface this is a story of one man's rant against a corrupt, oppressive society, but this philosophical book also explores the deeper themes of alienation, torment, and hatred.
* The author of the diary and the diary itself are, of course, imaginary.
Nevertheless it is clear that such persons as the writer of these notes not
only may, but positively must, exist in our society, when we consider the
circumstances in the midst of which our society is formed. I have tried to
expose to the view of the public more distinctly than is commonly done, one of
the characters of the recent past. He is one of the representatives of a
generation still living. In this fragment, entitled “Underground,”
this person introduces himself and his views, and, as it were, tries to explain
the causes owing to which he has made his appearance and was bound to make his
appearance in our midst. In the second fragment there are added the actual
notes of this person concerning certain events in his
life.—AUTHOR’S NOTE.
