Variation Of Consciousness

With any person, trait, or object that varies, one variation is usually seen as better than another. An early bus is preferred over a late bus, a friend is viewed more positively when in a good mood instead of a bad mood, and intelligence is valued more in higher quantities opposed to lower quantities. These examples are assigned their higher values in contrast to their opposites. They are more appreciated because they are different from the variation that is less appreciated. These lesser variations typically cause more negative outcomes, in turn they are less appreciated. A late bus will cause you to arrive late, an early bus will not, an angry friend might end up yelling at you, a happy friend will not, lower intelligence could cause you

to receive a bad grade, higher intelligence will not. People will usually prefer the more positive outcome, so they prefer and value the variation that will give it to them. Like most people, the characters in Dostoevsky’s Notes for the Underground prefer the variations with more positive outcomes. Anything that is different from what is valued is seen negatively, which includes most of what makes the underground man who he is. This is no coincidence. The underground man defines himself in contrast to what is normal or valued in society, he uses this differentiation to form his identity, but society refuses to validate this identity, and although the underground man is different from others, he still needs that validation.
The underground man purposefully uses extreme contrasts to clearly define himself as the opposite of what society expects and values in someone. In his first paragraph as the narrator he defines himself as “a sick man… a spiteful man… an unattractive man… educated enough not to be superstitious, but [he is]” (17). This is the first impression the reader receives about who he is, and he purposefully makes it negative. He wants to make it blatantly obvious that he is not a person people view positively, he does not want the reader to question it, or for anyone else to define him this way. He continues his introduction with his unflattering job history, including how he “was a spiteful bureaucrat. [He] was rude and took pleasure in it” (17). The underground man wants to make his self-definition clear because he wants to define himself in opposition to what is normal. If someone else defines him, or if his actions define him, the definition might be different. He confesses that he “never really managed to be spiteful” (18). His previous actions do not define him as spiteful or negative, which is in direct opposition to how he wants to be defined, so he must define himself as such. He makes this definition obvious in the first half of the novel so there is no confusion or ambiguity when his actions come into play in the second half.
Furthermore, the underground man uses this self-definition of his difference in the formation of his identity.

Throughout the first half he points out his difference from others, and uses it to form and inform others, like the reader, of his identity. With “I swear to you, gentlemen, that to be too conscious is a sickness” he implies that the readers do not understand or possess too much consciousness, and that he is too conscious, and that he is knowledgeable enough to help others understand (20). He is more obvious about how different he is when he says that he is “the most intelligent person [he knows]” (22). He continues, on the same page, with how he “would not even be able to get back at anybody for anything” like other men he calls “men of action” (22). In all of these instances he is defining himself in contrast to others. He is highlighting his difference, even if it is negative. Most of these traits, like arrogance, hubris, or cowardice, are not positive or valued, but he uses them in his identity formation because they define him as different from others and what others

value.
However, an identity is not usually formed by self-definition alone, it is formed through self-definition and actions, and his actions do not support his arrogance, hubris, or cowardice. He typically does not act like other people, but he also does not act like a man with arrogance, hubris, or cowardice. Although his actions do not seem to support his identity and self-defined traits, they support his self-defined difference. He defines himself in contrast to others, which supports his identity as different, and he acts differently than others. He does not act in the bitter and extremely aggressive ways he wants to, but his actions are still not the normal way to behave. For example, his revenge plot against the officer does not seem to come from the superior yet surly genius he defines himself as, but it still matches up with him being different from others. He claims that his “spite even grew and intensified over the years” (57). A person who is as smart as he says he is would not waste all of that time or anguish, like when “for several nights [he] couldn’t even sleep” because he was so ashamed that he had to borrow money from his boss for the beaver skin collar, but no “normal” person would do this either (60). Along with maintaining his difference, his actions also maintained how he identifies himself. His actions are not as spiteful, superior, or aggressive as he would like them to be, but they have all of the spiteful, superior, and aggressive emotions behind them. Although this incident is just bumping into someone, it was very emotion for the underground man. His action might not seem spiteful or aggressive, but the emotions behind his actions are. His actions, although it does not seem like it, support his self-definition, and both form his identity as different. His emotions and reasons for his actions support his previous self-definitions as spiteful, superior, and aggressive, although others might not be able to view it from the outside. Some people the underground man comes across do not see the spite, superiority, or aggression in his actions and identity.
As a result of this misunderstanding or disapproving of his identity, the characters the underground man interacts with do not validate his identity, which cause him to pursue the validation he needs from these people.

These people have invalidated him so to maintain his superiority over them he seeks their validation. This can be seen when he feels he needs to get revenge on the cop who moved him, the friends who laugh at him but he still goes to the brothel to try to prove himself and slap on of them, and especially in his interactions with Liza. This happens because these characters do not validate him due to the fact that they cannot see the underground man’s emotions or reasoning for his actions, so to them his actions only seem different. This still aligns with his difference as a part of his identity, but it excludes the identifying traits he is so proud of. His speech to Liza seems kind, and like it comes from a friendly place of concern, especially since Liza feels cared about and comfortable enough to see him again. If she does not think he cares about her she would not go out of her way to visit him at his home. Liza cannot see when cruelly he describes how he understands that he “had stricken her very soul and broken her heart” and goes on to describe trying to help her as a game that “had carried [him] away” (101). The reasoning behind the underground man trying to help Liza is to play with her emotions so he can feel superior to her. This cannot be seen

outwardly through his actions, so Liza cannot validate that he is superior and rude. She validates that he is kind and thoughtful by trying to be his friend when she visits him, which invalidates his actual traits. The traits he does want validated are traits usually looked at negatively by society, so when he does show the traits he identifies as he is usually met with anger. For example, when his encounter with Liza continues, and he shows his true nature by trying to pay her after having sex the second time, she leaves his money. Like anyone else, he needs his identity to be validated, so he tries to reassert his aggression, dominance, arrogance, and lack of care, all of the traits that form his identity, by defining their relationship as prostitute and customer, not as friends like how Liza defines it. When Liza sees this she does not validate his rudeness as a friend, or his superiority as a customer. She invalidates his identity, because she views it negatively, by not allowing him to aggressively reassert his identity. She does not allow him to behave in accordance with his identity as different, like when he was kind to her even though she was a prostitute, because she proves that in the end he was not kind, he was like any other customer. She does not allow him to behave in accordance with his self-definition as rude, superior, and surly by taking away his opportunity to, she does not allow him the satisfaction of knowing he paid her like a prostitute. In both ways she invalidates his identity as different and as spite, superior, prideful, and every other negative trait he defines himself with.
This invalidation of identity from others due to lack of understanding and approval in Notes from the Underground can be seen in and help better understand Don Quixote. Don Quixote also defines himself as different, and as having traits seen as negative through his self-definition and his actions, which cause both men to experience invalidation from society. Both men claim to not need this validation, this can be seen in the underground man’s consistent assertion that he does not care what the reader thinks of him, and in Don Quixote’s persistence in spite of his friends and strangers questioning his identity, but claims are just that, claims. Through both men’s action we can see that they both needed validation. This can be seen in the underground man trying to prove himself, and Don Quixote seeking to be knighted and trying to help others through knight-errantry. Notes from the Underground supports the understanding forged in Don Quixote, that no matter what someone says, all identities, no matter how different, need some sort of validation.