The psychologization of the Underground Man
Nietzsche’s image of Dostoevsky through the French translation L’esprit souterrain
After reading L’esprit souterrain, the first French translation of Dostoevsky’s Notes
from the Underground, Nietzsche embraced Dostoevsky as a master psychologist, notwithstanding their ideological
differences. This article argues that the much-discussed influence of Dostoevsky on Nietzsche can be better understood by
unraveling the specific nature of the translation L’esprit souterrain. An analysis shows that as a consequence of
the adopted translation strategy, the character of the Underground Man, who in the Russian context functions as a
philosophical-ideological type, becomes a purely psychological type. This is all the more important, since Nietzsche’s enthusiasm
for Dostoevsky led to rereadings of Dostoevsky through a Nietzschean lens.
Article outline
- Introduction
- Dostoevsky’s Underground Man as an ideological-philosophical type
- Halpérine-Kaminsky and Morice’s Underground Man as a psychological type
- Paving the path for Dostoietzsche
- Conclusion
- Notes
-
References
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