Pathological Narcissism and the Underground Type
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In Dostoyevsky’s works the inner depths of various characters are progressively uncovered, many of whom often act as a vessel for an underlying philosophy or psychological complex. A common psychological type utilized by Dostoyevsky is the underground man. The clearest depiction of the underground type appears in Notes from the Underground, published in 1864, although traces of this type of character can be detected in earlier works such as The Double (1846), as well as in a more definite form in later works such as Crime and Punishment (1866). While the underground type is not a direct analogue for pathological narcissism, the two types share many commonalities. Modern analysis of pathological narcissism generally focus on “a life-long pattern of traits and behaviours which signify infatuation and obsession with one's self to the exclusion of all others and the egotistic and ruthless pursuit of one's gratification, dominance and ambition" (Vaknin and Rangelovska 30).
The underground types are usually of above-average intelligence, although despite this advantage are always of low social status and are generally physically weak. This tends to cause some tension in the characters, as they are smart enough to recognize their own intelligence, but also smart enough to realize that despite this they are failures. The gift of intelligence is viewed by the underground man as an “utterly worthless consolation [because] an intelligent man cannot make himself anything” (Dostoyevsky 5). The underground man is obsessed with status and hierarchy, and this is no doubt exacerbated by the fact that status is an objective and strictly quantified notion within the society Dostoevsky depicts. This is due to the introduction of the table of ranks by Peter the Great in 1722, in which all civil servants are precisely ordered into a fourteen place hierarchy. This causes the underground types to be ever so keenly aware of how they stand relative to others, and necessitates the creation of evermore elaborate rationalizations to reconcile their low-status with their grandiosity. A good example of this is found in Raskolnikov’s opening monologue, in which he states “man has the world in his hands, but he’s such a coward that he can’t even grab what’s under his nose…” (Dostoyevsky 6). Raskolnikov believes that he, a superior man, can “grasp the world” yet this grandiose monologue is juxtaposed with his squalid condition only a page later.
In some ways the underground type is best characterized as a failed narcissist. The underground type maintains the basic elements of narcissism yet is without any satisfaction of their need for status, attention, and achievement. This seems to necessitate the ferocious series of rearguard rationalizations and beliefs, all in an effort to dissipate the cognitive dissonance created by the juxtaposition of their grandiosity and objective failure in reality. This is the crux of the pathology, in that the underground man is the “secret king” in his own mental realm, and a failed student or collegiate assessor in reality.
Works Cited:
Vaknin, Samuel, and Lidija Rangelovska. Malignant Self-Love: Narcissism Revisited. Narcissus Publications, 2015.
Dostoyevsky, Fyodor, and Ronald Wilks. Notes from the Underground. Penguin Classics , 2009.
Dostoyevsky, Fyodor. Crime and Punishment. Translated by Oliver Ready, Penguin Classics, 2015.