Letters from the Underworld (Magill Book Reviews)
At a glance:
- Author: Fyodor Dostoevsky
- First Published: 1864
- Type of Work: Novella
- Genres: Long fiction, Impressionistic literature
- Subjects: Philosophy or philosophers, Nineteenth century, Prostitution or prostitutes, Antiheroes, Letter writing, Life, philosophy of, Students or student life, Russia or Russian people, Parties
- Locales: St. Petersburg, Russia
Set in St. Petersburg, the narrative consists of two parts. The first contains the Underground Man’s general pronouncements on the hollowness of 19th century civilization. Despite the ostensible triumph of reason, he contends that human beings are fundamentally perverse, that they will seek pleasure in a toothache simply to assert free will.
The sight of snow leads the Underground Man to the second part, which he titles “A Propos of the Wet Snow.” It is the memoir of an incident when he was 24 that helps to explain how he became the morbidly self-conscious recluse he is in...
[The entire page is 527 words long]
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