Notes from Underground Summary

The story revolves around a solitary, embittered man residing in St. Petersburg, Russia during the 1860s, a retired civil servant due to an inherited fortune. The narrative unfolds through his "notes," a jumbled and often contradictory set of memoirs or confessions outlining his estrangement from modern society. The story is split into two parts. The first, "Underground," is brief and set in the 1860s, when the protagonist is forty. This section serves as an introduction to the character's persona, clarifying his contrarian stance towards society.

From the onset, the character identifies himself as a "sick, wicked, and unattractive man," whose intense self-contempt and bitterness have distorted him. Despite being well-read and highly intellectual, he attributes his wretchedness to these traits. He insists that all knowledgeable and conscious individuals should share his misery in contemporary society, having grown disenchanted with all forms of philosophy. He admires the romantic notion of "the sublime and lofty," yet recognizes its ridiculousness in his limited, mundane life. He holds deep scorn for 19th-century utilitarianism, a philosophical movement that sought to align man's desires with his best interests through mathematical formulas and logical proofs. He argues that humanity's primary desire is to exert free will, even when it contradicts their best interests. This explains his claim of deriving pleasure from his own physical ailments, a form of rebellion against the predictability of modern society.

The second segment of the story, "Apropos of the Wet Snow," illustrates specific events from the protagonist's life during the 1840s when he was twenty-four. It serves as a practical demonstration of the abstract notions established in the first section. This part portrays the narrator's evolution from his youthful outlook, swayed by romanticism and ideals of "the sublime and lofty," to his mature perspective in 1860, which is purely cynical. This segment details his interactions with the various individuals in his life: soldiers, former classmates, and sex workers. His estrangement from society is so profound that he's incapable of normal interactions. His treatment of others oscillates between revulsion and apprehension, leading to his own humiliation and subsequent self-loathing. The story ends with the character's decision to cease his notes. However, a concluding footnote reveals that his notes extend for many pages beyond the chosen cutoff point, indicating his inability to follow through even with this simple decision.