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Part I: Underground — Chapter 1

The Underground Man introduces himself as a sick, spiteful, and unattractive civil servant who has spent years in isolation.

Part I: Underground — Chapter 2

The Underground Man launches into his theory about educated, hyper-conscious people and why they cannot act. He contrasts himself with the 'man of action,' who he sees as limited…

Part I: Underground — Chapter 3

The Underground Man continues attacking the idea that humans naturally pursue their own best interest. He mocks the rationalist view that if people just understood what was good f…

Part I: Underground — Chapter 4

The Underground Man keeps pushing his argument about human nature, now focusing on the idea that people are not rational optimizers and never have been.

Part I: Underground — Chapter 5

The Crystal Palace appears here as the target of the Underground Man's sharpest attack. The Crystal Palace was a real building and a symbol of rational, scientific progress.

Part I: Underground — Chapter 6

The Underground Man turns to the question of inertia and the 'man of action,' arguing that truly conscious people are paralyzed by over-thinking while simpler men just act.

Part I: Underground — Chapter 7

The Underground Man attacks the idea that enlightened self-interest explains all human behavior. He insists that people sometimes act against their own advantage on purpose, just…

Part I: Underground — Chapter 8

The Underground Man develops his theory of human nature further, arguing that people are not basically good or basically rational but basically contrary.

Part I: Underground — Chapter 9

The Underground Man begins to wind down the philosophical argument of Part I, acknowledging that his position is contradictory and that he cannot actually escape the 'wall' he kee…

Part I: Underground — Chapter 10

The final chapter of Part I closes the philosophical monologue and transitions toward Part II. The Underground Man says that educated, conscious people in his society cannot becom…

Part I: Underground — Chapter 11

The Underground Man wraps up his philosophical monologue by turning on the reader directly. He admits he has been writing partly out of shame and partly to prove something, though…

Part II: Apropos of the Wet Snow — Chapter 1

Part II shifts from philosophy to memory. The Underground Man is now around twenty-four years old, working a low-level government job, and spending most of his time alone reading…

Part II: Apropos of the Wet Snow — Chapter 2

The Underground Man finally engineers a physical encounter with the officer on a public street, refusing to step aside and bumping into him.

Part II: Apropos of the Wet Snow — Chapter 3

The dinner with Zverkov and the others is a disaster from the first minute. The Underground Man arrives an hour early and waits alone.

Part II: Apropos of the Wet Snow — Chapter 4

The dinner ends and the group leaves for a brothel without inviting the Underground Man. He follows them in a cab, rehearsing a dramatic confrontation with Zverkov that he plans t…

Part II: Apropos of the Wet Snow — Chapter 5

The dinner at the hotel is a disaster from the start. The Underground Man arrives late, already humiliated, and finds the others have started without him.

Part II: Apropos of the Wet Snow — Chapter 6

The Underground Man arrives at the brothel and finds the others have already moved on to their rooms. He ends up alone with a young woman named Liza.

Part II: Apropos of the Wet Snow — Chapter 7

The Underground Man keeps talking to Liza through the night. He paints a picture of what a good life could look like for her: a husband, a home, children, love.

Part II: Apropos of the Wet Snow — Chapter 8

Back at his apartment, the Underground Man spirals. He replays the dinner humiliation and works himself into a rage about Zverkov and the others.

Part II: Apropos of the Wet Snow — Chapter 9

Liza arrives at the apartment. The Underground Man is in the middle of his humiliating standoff with Apollon when she walks in, which is exactly the exposure he feared.

Part II: Apropos of the Wet Snow — Chapter 10

The Underground Man's story with Liza ends here, and it ends badly. She comes to his apartment after he sent her his address, expecting some version of the connection he promised.