Notes from the Underground characters

Appears from the start

An unnamed former civil servant in St Petersburg who has withdrawn from ordinary social life. Forty years old, financially independent on a small inheritance, and intensely self-conscious, he addresses an imagined audience while attacking fashionable theories of rational self-interest. He repeatedly catches himself exaggerating or contradicting his own claims.

First appears in chapter 12

A military officer whom the narrator encounters in a tavern years before writing his notes. The officer moves him out of the way without acknowledging him, and the narrator turns this slight into a prolonged private grievance.

First appears in chapter 14

A prosperous former schoolmate of the narrator, confident and socially successful. Friends arrange a farewell dinner before his departure for a new posting, and the narrator invites himself despite their mutual dislike.

First appears in chapter 14

A former schoolmate with whom the narrator has maintained a limited acquaintance. He organizes Zverkov's farewell dinner and reluctantly allows the narrator to join it.

First appears in chapter 14

One of the men attending Zverkov's farewell dinner. He is a fellow former schoolmate and takes part in the group's dismissive treatment of the narrator.

First appears in chapter 17

A young woman from Riga working in a St Petersburg brothel. The narrator meets her after the disastrous farewell dinner. She listens seriously when he describes how exploitation and isolation may shape her future.

First appears in chapter 19

The narrator's elderly servant, whom he resents for his composure and independence. Their household relationship has hardened into a struggle over wages, dignity, and who can force the other to yield.