The Underground Man
The narrator and only fully developed character. He is intelligent, bitter, self-aware, and cruel. He argues brilliantly about human freedom and then demonstrates his own inability to use it well. His contradictions are the book.
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Characters
Come here when you need to sort out who matters, what they want, and where they actually help your argument in Notes from Underground.
Contents
Characters
Who matters and what they help you prove.
Liza
A young woman working at a brothel who responds to the Underground Man's speech with genuine emotion. She is the only character who shows him real feeling. He repays her by humiliating her when she's most vulnerable. Her dignity at the end of their encounter makes her the moral center of Part Two.
Zverkov
A former schoolmate the Underground Man despises for being confident, popular, and shallow. He barely notices the Underground Man's hostility. His indifference is more insulting than any direct attack could be.
The Officer
A minor figure who physically moves the Underground Man out of his way without acknowledging him. He never becomes aware of the Underground Man's obsession. The episode shows how a single moment of social invisibility can become a years-long wound.
Apollon
The Underground Man's servant. He is slow, contemptuous, and impossible to intimidate. The Underground Man resents him intensely and can't control him. Apollon is a small but sharp detail: even his own servant won't take him seriously.
Simonov
A former schoolmate who organizes the dinner for Zverkov. He is the one the Underground Man contacts to get himself invited. He's not hostile, just indifferent, which the Underground Man finds almost as unbearable.
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