Dostoevsky and Notes from the Underground

Second Portion of Notes from Underground. The second portion begins with a memory of himself 16 years before, when he was 24. He is certain of his unattractiveness and so to compensate, prides himself on his intelligence. He is quick to take affront; and one day, an officer in a tavern picks him up and sets him aside without a word. For a long time he studies how to be revenged for such an insult. Frequents the place where officers walk, but finds himself giving way on the sidewalk whenever he encounters this particular officer. One day, however, he braces himself to hold his ground and in fact shoulders the other fellow off the sidewalk. The man does not seem to notice, but our hero believed that he was simply covering up and considers that he has had a great victory.