Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Notes from Underground: A Study in Humility, Irrationality, and Spiritual Friendship as an Expression of Christian Eschatalogical Hope

Tyler HillTHEO 496: Senior Seminar

December 7, 2014

Hill

“I am a sick man…I am a spiteful man.”1 These are the opening words of Fyodor

Dostoevsky’s, Notes from Underground; words that are echoed throughout literary

history by authors such as D.H. Lawrence, and words that immediately set the tonal

framework for understanding one of the most complex protagonists in all of literature.2

Notes from Underground expresses and explores many of the tensions at the root of

existentialism; among these are the paradox of human connection and the confrontation

of the absurd. The following essay will be a reflection upon Dostoevsky’s existentialist

reasoning in regards to human relationship synthesized with the thoughts of the

philosophers and theologians whom have been examined throughout the course of this

seminar. It will ultimately express the necessity for spiritual friendship and community

in working to achieve peace and restoration. In addition, it will emphasize the

importance of friendship not only as evidence of God’s love for the cosmos, but also as

an expression of the challengingly hopeful and beautifully irrational mystery of Christian

eschatology.

Prior to exploring the relational implications of Notes from Underground, one

must first familiarize oneself with its historical and philosophical context, as well as with

the biographical context of its author. The following paragraphs will aim to provide a

necessarily over-simplified description of the intellectual and social milieu within which

the book was written. In addition, relevant life events of the author will be discussed

before delving into the ideas offered by the novel in regards to Christianity, friendship,

and the combination thereof.

1 Fyodor M. Dostoevsky, Notes from Underground (New York: Everyman’s Library, 1993) p.62 Michele Frucht Levy, “D.H. Lawrence and Dostoevsky: The Thirst for Risk and the Thirst for Life,” Modern Fiction Studies, 33:2 (1987): p.281.

1

Hill

Fyodor M. Dostoevsky lived from 1821 to 1881, a politically tumultuous time for

his native Russia and an equally turbulent era in terms of intellectual atmosphere across

the globe.3 Russia has historically been a nation plagued by the tension between Eastern

and Western thought, and at the center of Russia’s embrace of Western ideology was

Czar Peter the Great, who ruled from 1682-1785.4 Dostoevsky grew up in the wake of

both the Enlightenment, and Peter’s influence. In his youth, Dostoevsky’s familial

circumstances instilled in him a deeply rooted sense of compassion for the Russian

peasants though the Dostoevsky family themselves were technically considered nobility.5

This sympathy for the marginalized was one of several factors that contributed to Fyodor

falling in with the nihilistic, young intelligentsia of 19th century Russia. As he matured,

he was increasingly influenced by the ideologies of French utopian socialism and rational

egoism, which permeated the intellectual milieu of the day.6 Eventually, Dostoevsky was

arrested for being part of radical political groups concerned with, among other things,

eliminating the Russian institution of serfdom.7 After the emotionally scarring ordeal of

a mock execution, followed by nearly a decade in Siberian labor camps, Dostoevsky was

given his freedom, and returned with drastically different political and religious views,

though he had always maintained a surprisingly firm Christian system of belief.8

This brings us back to the intellectual and philosophical culture of the mid to late

19th century to which Notes from Underground, and existentialism in general, was largely

3 David J. Colley, “Three Acts of Love: Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Social Ethic as Authentic Christian Brotherhood,” Center for Advanced Theological Studies, School of Theology, Fuller Theological Seminary (2013) p.20.4 Ibid.5 Ibid. 6 Colley, p.267 Colley, p.318 Ibid.

2

Hill

a reaction. The Russian intelligentsia of the 1840s and 1850s was heavily influenced by a

combination of the French and German romantic and idealist movements, as well as

utopian socialism and rational egoism, all of which were gaining traction in the wake of

the Enlightenment and Russia’s embrace of Western ideologies.9 One of the major

characteristics of Notes from Underground’s unnamed protagonist, whom critics call “the

Underground Man,” is his vehement opposition to the aforementioned hyper-rational,

deterministic mode of thought. In part, Notes from the Underground is an argument

against Chernyshevsky’s What is to be Done?, in which the author imagines a future of a

programmatic utopian society brought about by man’s scientific progress.10 Another

ideology that goes hand in hand with the utopian socialism and rational egoism of the day

is a specific category of determinism in which humankind’s actions are thought to be

completely pre-determined on a biological level. One implication of this theory is the

hope that it would eventually be possible to map a person’s entire life – every decision

and event – on some sort of table.11 Unprecedented scientific progress in the mid 19th

century had much of the Western world convinced that humankind no longer had any

need for God. The Underground Man rails against these ideologies in the first half of the

novel, which is written as a type of manifesto laying out his intellectual and political

beliefs.

When reading Notes from Underground, it is not difficult for a reader to feel

overwhelmed by the plethora of philosophical ideas being considered. The fact that the

Underground Man is an extremely unreliable narrator, who constantly contradicts himself

and indulges in all manners of self-deprecating rants, does not make it any easier.

9 Colley, p.2810 Dostoevsky, p.xiv11 Dostoevsky, p.xv

3

Hill

However, this essay will attempt to focus purely on the elements of Dostoevsky’s

existentialist thought which pertain to human relationship and connection. Though these

ideas may not initially seem interconnected, the root of the Underground Man’s

resistance to the previously mentioned ideologies and “-isms” lies in what he believes to

be a basic human desire for irrationality and control. This also is a key component of

many concepts surrounding spiritual friendship.

As has been previously mentioned, the first half of Notes from the Underground is

a manifesto in which the Underground Man lays out his character to the reader, he claims

that he is writing only for himself, yet he consistently refers to his readers and anticipates

their objections.12 The Underground Man is approximately 40 years old, and has been

living in his “Underground” apartment on the outskirts of St. Petersburg – Russia’s great

Western city – for nearly 20 years since receiving “a modest inheritance” and resigning

from his post as a civil servant.13 “He characterizes himself as a spiteful, insecure, overly

sensitive man.”14 He also describes himself as “hyper-conscious” and intelligent; a man

who is constantly mistreated and misunderstood; a bookish man who is pushed to the

margins of society because he lives a life of the mind rather than being a man of action.15

From the beginning, the reader can sense the Underground Man’s self-loathing and the

conflict within his heart in a way that is difficult to pin down even when one reads the

book, let alone within the limitations of a brief summary such as this one. The

Underground Man is, in an ironic way, quite vain, which not only conflicts with his

pathetic state but also serves to increase his isolation.

12 Peter Roberts, “The Stranger Within: Dostoevsky’s Underground,” Educational Philosophy and Theory, 45:1 (2013): 398.13 Ibid.14 Ibid.15 Roberts, p.399

4

Hill

The second half of the novel is comprised of the descriptions of three separate

events, each of which captures the self-inflicted torment of the Underground Man. These

anecdotes are prime examples of Dostoevsky’s masterful ability to describe events that,

at first glance seem ridiculous, but actually speak eerily familiar truths about human

nature, resulting in a biting self-awareness as the reader recognizes his or herself in a

purposefully loathsome protagonist.16 The first of these episodes is the story of the

Underground Man plotting revenge against a coworker whom he feels has slighted him.

In an uncomfortably comedic and trivial inner-dialogue, he decides the best way to do

this is to bump into his enemy on the sidewalk. He plots for months, and even borrows

money to buy a new outfit solely to bump into the official. He tries to gain the courage to

walk into his foe, backing out several times before finally achieving his goal. Much to

his chagrin, the official seems not to notice, and the Underground Man convinces himself

that his coworker must be truly ashamed, and is merely feigning indifference to his

comically petty attempt at revenge.17

In the following episode, the Underground Man runs into some of his former

schoolmates, and invites himself to a farewell party they are planning for a member of

their friend group. After not being able to pay in advance for his share of the expenses of

the party, he crashes the event, only to experience a series of excruciating and humiliating

interactions.18 The friends eventually leave to spend the remainder of the night at a

brothel, while the Underground Man is left behind at the restaurant. After wallowing in

his humiliation for a period of time, the Underground Man decides to chase after them

and challenge one of them to a duel in order to regain his honor. Once he gets to the

16 Roberts, p.39817Roberts, p.39918 Roberts, p.400

5

Hill

brothel, he meets a young prostitute named Liza.19 His interactions with her make up the

third episode, and these events, along with the course material, will be the basis of this

essay’s commentary concerning spiritual friendship and human connection.

The Underground Man sleeps with Liza before ranting extensively to her about

“the horrors that await her in her profession.”20 This all happens in a way that is

reminiscent of the classic literary trope of the redeemed prostitute, another indication of

the Underground Man’s blurred reality between books and real life. He expresses to his

readers his desire to dominate Liza, to be cruel to her, to make her suffer, but

simultaneously expresses being drawn to her and wanting to save her. She bursts into

tears as he expounds on the terrible things that happen to prostitutes in St. Petersburg, and

he feels guilty for the way he has made her feel.21 He leaves, ashamed, but invites her to

come visit him at his house. Back home, in the comfortable and safe isolation of his

Underground, he waits anxiously for Liza to come see him. For three days he obsesses

over her and plans exactly what he will say, laying out elaborate speeches and

romanticizing the situation as if it were a story in one of his books.

Finally, while he is in the midst of a heated argument with his servant Apollon

over the delivery of an apology letter written to his school friends for the earlier night’s

antics, Liza visits the Underground Man’s decrepit apartment. He takes out his

frustration on her in a string of verbal abuse, but, “she receives this with compassion and

understanding.”22 His complicated feelings of both love and hate for Liza conflict the

Underground Man tremendously. After collapsing in tears into her arms, and what some

19 Ibid.20 Ibid.21 Roberts, p.40122 Ibid.

6

Hill

scholars believe to be an implied sexual encounter, his hate gains the upper hand. He

lashes out again at Liza, telling her to leave and placing a crumpled wad of money in her

hand as if to imply that he is merely paying for her services; that the caring friendship

and relationship that had been expressed over the past few days meant nothing to him.

She throws the money back at him and the still unnamed protagonist is left to indulge in

the comfortable self-pity and solitude of the Underground.23

Among the countless philosophical issues brought up in Notes from Underground

and the difficult-to-decipher theses of the story is the theme of isolation. The

Underground Man is painfully lonely, yet also finds comfort in this loneliness because it

is easier than trying to get along with people. He rails against the determinism of the

rational egoists, preaching the necessity of irrationality, yet remains a man of inaction,

trapped in his books and incapable of committing to the ultimate expression of

irrationality: relationship. When the Underground Man finally happens upon somebody

who is willing to care for him and who understands him, he rejects her love, unwilling to

put aside his own pride and the naturally human, yet selfish, desire to wallow in despair.

Though there are many contributing factors to the Underground Man’s isolation,

two of the most prominent are pride and vanity. In order to further understand how pride

and vanity prevent meaningful human connection, it is important to contrast these

qualities with the qualities of spiritual friendship that have been explored throughout the

course of the semester’s seminar discussions and readings.

Aristotle places a great deal of importance upon virtue and similarity within

friendship. This is made evident in Nicomachean Ethics where he defines complete

23 Ibid.

7

Hill

friendship as, “the friendship of good people similar in virtue.”24 This does not bode

particularly well for the Underground Man, because he does not seem to be an especially

virtuous person. On the other hand, the reader does see glimpses of virtue in actions such

as his desire to save Liza from the brothel. Additionally, in his masochistic spite for the

system, the Underground Man – a self-proclaimed unreliable narrator – may intentionally

depict himself in a poor light. On the last pages of the novel he claims,

“To tell long stories of how I defaulted on my life through moral corruption in a

corner, through an insufficiency of milieu, through unaccustom to what is alive,

and through vainglorious spite in the underground – is not interesting, by God; a

novel needs a hero, and here there are purposely collected all the features for an

anti-hero.”25

Once again we see that the Underground Man is convinced he is unlovable, and in the

vanity of self-pity, refuses to swallow his pride in order to accept any sort of

understanding or affection.

Another characteristic of spiritual friendship is the idea of common goals. In De

Amicita, Cicero says, “the one element indispensable to friendship [is], a complete

agreement in aims, ambitions, and attitudes.”26 Aelred of Rievaulx Christianizes this

idea, claiming, “those who share the same view on everything human and divine and

have the same intentions, with good will and charity, have reached the perfection of

24 Michael Pakaluk, editor, Other Selves: Philosophers on Friendship (Indianapolis: Hackett, 1991) p.3325 Dostoevsky, p.11826 Pakaluk, p.85

8

Hill

friendship.”27 For Christians to have meaningful spiritual friendship, the common goal is

obvious: the peace and justice of God’s Kingdom. We see in the Underground Man’s

isolation that he does not have common goals with the people in his life because he

refuses to assimilate to the intellectual milieu of his time. This causes him to be pushed

to the margins. It is hard to negatively attribute this stubbornness to pride, because from

a Christian perspective, the Underground Man is correct in his refusal to indulge in the

nihilism and rational egoism of his surrounding culture. Nonetheless, he displays an

amount of arrogance and perhaps takes too much pleasure in his marginalization, again

out of vanity.

Also essential to a Christian understanding of spiritual friendship is the idea that

friends are timely, providential gifts from God, and they serve as an expression of God’s

love for creation. This concept is mentioned by Wadell in his chapters on Augustine.

The following, necessarily-long, excerpt captures the beauty and poignance of these

ideas:

“Friendships are concrete, highly personal expressions of how God loves us

insightfully and redemptively in the actual circumstances of our everyday lives.

They are blessed manifestations of how God, like all skilled lovers, knows what

is best for us and works, with much grace and creativity, to bring timely gifts

into our lives. If benevolence is an attribute of all true friendships, the friends

God gives us are examples of the very practical, ingenious, and care-filled ways

God befriends each of us. Sometimes we wonder if God’s love is real. Or even

if we believe in the reality of God’s love, we wonder if God loves us. How can

27 Aelred of Rievaulx, Spiritual Friendship (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical, 2010) p.57

9

Hill

we ever be sure? Augustine answers that we know God’s love for us is real

through the real friends who love us. They do not enter our lives accidentally,

but providentially.”28

It is somewhat unclear whether or not the Underground Man believes in God, but it

is apparent in his interactions with Liza that his pride certainly gets in the way of

allowing himself to be loved.

In regards to the negative effects of pride on Christian community, Bonhoeffer

argues that self-justification and the desire to dominate others – both stemming from

vanity – are incredibly harmful to relationships. “From the first moment when a man

meets another person he is looking for a strategic position he can assume and hold over-

against that person.”29 This is seen in the Underground Man’s desire to dominate Liza

both physically and intellectually despite the fact that he cares for her. In the moment

that he decides to cut her down for his own sadistic pleasure by giving her money after

she tries to comfort him, the Underground Man’s desire for domination triumphs over his

hunger for connection. He makes it clear throughout the novel that his insistence on

irrationality is, in part, a means of maintaining some sense of control and free will.

Notes from Underground is considered one of the frontrunners of existential

literature, and as such, deals with the idea of what is referred to as “the absurd.”

Absurdity is not an easy concept to define, but it can be said that it is the tension within

which humankind lives as a result of being faced with a seemingly indifferent universe

and meaningless life. In short, absurdity is the collective puzzlement of humans at the

28 Paul J. Wadell, Becoming Friends: Worship, Justice, and the Practice of Christian Friendship (Grand Rapids: Brazos, 2002) p.7929 Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together (New York: Harper One, 1954) p.90

10

Hill

fact that life rarely happens the way they expect. Christian existential thinkers

(Dostoevsky, Kierkegaard, etc.) offer a surprisingly hopeful alternative to the

aforementioned meaninglessness: relationship with God, and with people. This is a

difficult concept for many to grasp because society is still enraptured with an obsessively

empirical epistemology. A key tenet of Christian existentialism is the necessity of risk,

irrationality, and faith for the achievement of a flourishing life.

As it pertains to friendship, the dangerous act of setting vanity aside and rendering

oneself vulnerable by entering into a relationship with people or with God is completely

irrational. However, by taking a leap into seemingly illogical behavior, one finds that as

one learns to love God better, one discovers more about the nature of people; similarly, as

one learns to love people better, one discovers more about the nature of God. In the

seminar discussions, this has been summed up by a quote stating, “Friendship is a

school.” This school educates its students in virtue, love for their neighbors, and love for

their Creator.

Wadell states, “we cannot separate intimacy with God from intimacy with

others,”30 going on later to add:

“If God is a communion of persons joined together by generous, life-giving,

mutual love, then we will grow and flourish only insofar as we practice such

love in our own lives. If we imitate the friendship love of God, we will

affirm the dignity and identity of one another. We will draw each other

30 Wadell, p.78

11

Hill

more fully to life and, through the love we share, shall become one – not

despite our differences but in them.”31

Carol Flath claims that in Notes from the Underground, Dostoevsky makes the

point that the only solution to isolation (and perhaps absurdity as well) is Christ’s

transformative love and the way it teaches people to connect with others.32 “Hovering

solitary in the void, such a soul [that turns away from God] finds no true access to men –

for only in God can man truly be known by man.”33

According to Colley, Dostoevsky suggests that though relationship defies human

reason, it is in fact the embodiment of a higher kind of reason with God at its center.

“Love is contingent upon God, and reason, in turn, is contingent upon love. So,

even for Dostoevsky’s infamous antihero – the Underground Man – existence

that is ignorant of the existence of God as a benevolent Creator is not only

devoid of love, but of reason […] If God is ultimately a being of divine love,

then reason is an understanding of and participation in that love.”34

It has been mentioned in the seminar discussions and this essay that spiritual

friendship and intimate connection with human beings can result in all involved parties

coming closer to God and being made more virtuous. It has also been suggested in the

discussion of Notes from Underground that friendship is often a means to overcoming

31 Wadell, p.8232 Carol A. Flath, “Fear of Faith: The Hidden Religious Message of Notes from Underground,” The Slavic and East European Journal, 37:4 (1993): 510-529. 33 Flath, p.51034 Colley, p.88

12

Hill

life’s perceived meaninglessness and finding a way to flourish. Additionally, it has been

proposed that some of the key traits responsible for preventing one from making the

beautifully irrational leap into the fulfilling vulnerability of friendship have their roots in

pride and vanity. It could be argued that in addition to bringing people closer to God,

spiritual friendship and intimate relationships within Christian community serve the

purpose of God’s Kingdom itself.

In the act of having faith in something irrational, embracing vulnerability, and

swallowing one’s pride, there are profound implications concerning the establishment of

God’s peace, justice, and restoration on the earth. The Underground Man lives in

isolation. He is tormented, angry, bitter, and full of hate. We see evidence of tenderness

in his interactions with Liza, but his lack of connection has created in him a lack of hope,

and in the end, his love for the comfort of despair outweighs his desire for relationship.

The inherent hopefulness of Christian theology demands that one take advantage of the

opportunity to step out into relationship.

Though it is uncomfortable and at times even painful, friendship changes its

participants as it enables them to learn more about connecting with people and

connecting with God. The restoration that results in their own lives from embracing the

risk of vulnerability creates in them a passion for the things that God is passionate about.

As they are given the ability to love better, they are also given the means to work towards

bringing restoration into the lives of others. Spiritual friendships between Christians

should always be built on the foundation of working towards knowing God better.

Hence, Christian community, by its very nature, fosters the peace and justice of God’s

Kingdom.

13

Hill

It is easy, and even natural, in friendships to become fixated on what one can get

out of them. In fact, the line between Aristotle’s friendship of utility and the truly

spiritual Christian friendship that has been discussed so far is surprisingly thin. It would

not be out of the ordinary for one to think that they were in a friendship that was bringing

them closer to God, but in reality, to have their focus purely on the ways in which they

might benefit from the relationship by feeling closer to God. Many societies teach their

children that they are in some way special, unintentionally creating egocentric

individuals. This can lead to serious problems when learning to connect with others

because it conditions people to believe that their own individual happiness is the most

important thing in a relationship. To bring up another quote from class discussions, “the

purpose of friendship is not to make us happy, it is to make us holy.”

The Underground Man’s need to maintain control over his life and to create

meaning by being spiteful is an indication of the same kind of vanity.35 He is convinced

that he is individually important and special; a delusion that, though easy to scoff at, is

systematically taught in the institutions of nearly every Western society in the world, not

least of these being the American Evangelical church. To refer back to Bonhoeffer,

humility is a fundamental characteristic of Christian community, not only in avoiding

pride, but in being aware of the reality that, as humans, we are creatures. As such, our

highest calling is not to create our own meaning out of spite but to be a part of the larger

restorative plan of our Creator. “Only he who lives by the forgiveness of his sin in Jesus

Christ will rightly think little of himself. He will know that his own wisdom reached the

end of its tether when Jesus forgave him.”36 This does not, however, give members of

35 Linda L. Williams, “The Underground Man: A Question of Meaning,” (Ohio: Kent State University, 2002) p.13636 Bonhoeffer, p.95

14

Hill

Christian community permission to indulge in the strangely comfortable and pleasurable

self-loathing which the Underground Man has perfected. In fact, Bonhoeffer adds later,

“You are a sinner, a great, desperate sinner; now come as the sinner that you are, to God

who loves you. [God] wants you as you are; [God] does not want anything from you, a

sacrifice, a work; [God] wants you alone […] [God] wants to see you as you are, [God]

wants to be gracious to you.”37

Lastly, it is important to acknowledge Christian friendship and community as an

expression of eschatological hope. The Underground Man, living in a culture of nihilism,

is desperately trying to find a way to convince himself that life has meaning. As

mentioned in the previous paragraph, one of the main ways he does this is by being

spiteful so he can feel that he has control. He catches a glimpse of meaning in the

moment that Liza acknowledges his humanity, but his pride will not allow him to engage

in the riskiness and vulnerability of relationship. As Christians, our hope is not for

control, domination or even worldly happiness. Nor is our hope – contrary to popular

belief – in the naïve dualism and pagan escapism of our disembodied souls living in

heaven, far, far away from anybody and anything that is different or makes us

uncomfortable.

Ultimately, our hope is in the resurrection of the dead – of which Jesus is the first

fruit – and in an eschatological leveling of the playing field: a restoration of the material

and spiritual worlds, and of the entire Cosmos; in which peace, justice, harmony, and

equality conquer all our brokenness. Truly intimate spiritual friendship is an expression

of our Christian hope for transformation, redemption, and restoration. As we are friends

with people, we learn to be friends with God, and as we are friends with God, God

37 Bonhoeffer, p.111

15

Hill

teaches us to love people. In this way, friendship is an active way of working towards

bringing the harmony of God’s Kingdom here to earth, and a way of encouraging one

another to hope for the coming reign of Christ.

In terms of current events, this semester has presented reason after reason to

believe that humankind is beyond redemption. These feelings are hardly unique to our

time and it has never been difficult to convince oneself that life is meaningless. This is

where the human desire for illogical behavior, which is expressed so viscerally by the

Underground man, is redeemed and fulfilled: in choosing to hope. We maintain the

beautifully irrational belief that Jesus is returning, that God’s restoration will one day

come to Earth, and that the Holy Spirit is with us now, making all things new. We take a

leap of faith by engaging in the painful vulnerability and the complete abandonment of

reason required for friendship with people and with God. In so doing, we not only

express any hope we might already maintain, but are given the strength to overcome our

unbelief so that we may continually increase that hope. We move with our brothers and

sisters toward a way of life that displays optimism. Not in the naïve, neo-liberal,

hedonistic “happiness” of Western culture, but in an earthy, gritty, passionate, and

practical way; in a way that is steeped in humility and selflessness, just as the incarnation

came not in a blaze of affluent, violent, political, glory, but in a subversive and servant-

hearted peace. In this season of Advent, as we are presented daily with the brokenness,

violence, and atrocity of which humankind is capable, let us remind ourselves through the

sacrament of friendship that this is our hope: Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will

come again.

16

Hill

ReferencesBonhoeffer, Dietrich, Life Together (New York: Harper One, 1954).

Colley, David J., “Three Acts of Love: Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Social Ethic as Authentic Christian Brotherhood,” Center for Advanced Theological Studies, School of Theology, Fuller Theological Seminary (2013).

17

Hill

Dostoevsky, Fyodor M., Notes from Underground (New York: Everyman’s Library, 1993).

Flath, Carol A., “Fear of Faith: The Hidden Religious Message of Notes from Underground,” The Slavic and East European Journal, 37:4 (1993): 510-529.

Levy, Michele Frucht “D.H. Lawrence and Dostoevsky: The Thirst for Risk and the Thirst for Life,” Modern Fiction Studies, 33:2 (1987): 281-288.

Pakaluk, Michael, editor, Other Selves: Philosophers on Friendship (Indianapolis: Hackett, 1991).

Rievaulx, Aelred of, Spiritual Friendship (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical, 2010).Roberts, Peter, “The Stranger Within: Dostoevsky’s Underground,” Educational Philosophy and Theory, 45:1 (2013): 396-408.

Wadell, Paul J., Becoming Friends: Worship, Justice, and the Practice of Christian Friendship (Grand Rapids: Brazos, 2002).

Williams, Linda L. “The Underground Man: A Question of Meaning,” (Ohio: Kent State University, 2002).

18