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The view that the protagonist seems to be advancing here is that he cannot give any stable definition of himself. He can do no more than point out certain features of his personality and of his life, thereby attempting to describe rather than define himself. Each of these features, furthermore, may be called into question. In fact, even the simple division between description and definition may itself be called into question. To explain "just who …

…contradicted spitefulness. He must then have some embedded personality that determines who he is or isn't. Furthermore, while recognizing that staying in Petersburg is rationally inadvisable, the Underground Man insists on staying there but cannot give a reason. Something deeper than reason compels him to remain in the city. He is driven by something that is not rational and cannot be characterized. At the very beginning of the chapter the Underground Man states ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Bibliography**