THE PORTRAIT OF A ROMANTIC: IDEOLOGY AND PSYCHOLOGY IN NOTES FROM UNDERGROUND

Abstract

This paper provides a close analysis of the complex process by which F.M. Dostoevsky conveys the psychological underpinnings of Romantic ideology in one of his most renowned works, Notes from the Underground. This article will demonstrate that Dostoevsky presents the two extremes of the Romantic type, the angelic and the demonic, as manifestations that coexist simultaneously in the Underground man. The first part of the novel uses the protagonist's romantic discourse to argue against determinism and rational egoism. The second part shows the main character's psychological inconsistency, which is largely attributed to a romantic education. The flaw of the Underground man is that he learns Romantic ideology without being a true Romantic. He speaks the language of romanticism but does not live by its ideals. This psychological divide holds him captive in the eponymous Underground.