Dostoevksy 3/19
In chapter 6 of Notes From Underground, a more humane side of the Underground Man comes out. Although he gets drunk and sleeps with a prostitute, when he awakens he feels remorse and guilt. There is no love between the two of them and that makes him feel very uncomfortable. Instead of being his natural, hateful self, he attempts to get to know this prostitute. He seems to be genuinely interested in her. As their conversation deepens, the Underground Man gets more angry with her for choosing this lifestyle. He harshly tells her that she may die soon or that she will lose her value in a year. It does not seem that he is trying to be mean intentionally, but that he is giving her “tough love”. He doesn’t want to see a young, attractive girl waste her life away as a prostitute. He tells her that there is still hope for her to meet a nice man, fall in love and get married. From this scene I have seen a different side of the Underground Man. There is compassion inside of him, he is just choosing to cover it up with a cynical, rude attitude. It also had me thinking that he might be so miserable because he is looking for love himself.
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