Bernard J. Paris: The Withdrawn Man: Notes from Underground I really like this Bernard J. Paris essay on Dostoevsky's Underground Man. He uses Horneyan theory in his literary criticism and argues that, although the Underground Man also expresses aggressive and compliant trends, he is predominantly a withdrawn, or detached, type. Chapter VI The Withdrawn Man: Notes from Underground "It is not difficult to see that, in Horneyan terms, the underground man's predominant solution is detachment. His values, character structure, and life style all display the characteristics of this solution. He prizes freedom, will, caprice, individuality, peace, and intellectual superiority above all else, and has a profound aversion toward anything suggesting coercion, conformity to law, ordinariness, or stupidity. When his privacy is invaded or emotional demands are made of him (as in the episode with Liza), he becomes hysterical. He defends himself against his feelings of shame and failure by protestations of indifference—"I don't care"; "it doesn't matter"—and by escaping into dreams of glory "I was a terrible dreamer, I would dream for three months on end, tucked away in my corner .... I suddenly became a hero." He has the same "onlooker" attitude toward himself that he has toward life and is, as a result, an excellent observer of his own inner processes. His explanations of these processes are often rationalizations, however, and are not to be trusted." I believe that, more specifically, the Underground Man best fits the Paranoid Type Bernard J. Paris (1974). A psychological approach to fiction;: Studies in Thackeray, Stendhal, George Eliot, Dostoevsky, and Conrad. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

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