Notes from the Underground as Booker's Seven Basic Plots Analysis: Rebirth Plot

Plot Type :

The Shadow of the Dark Power

Almost all of Notes from the Underground

The shadow here is so many things…the Underground Man's isolation, his need for suffering, his enjoyment of suffering, his hyper-consciousness, the wall that is the laws of nature, his poverty, etc.

The Shadow Recedes

The Underground Man reaches out to Liza

The shadow of self-imposed isolation and insular hyper-consciousness starts to recede when the Underground Man breaks through his crusty exterior to reach out to Liza. Unfortunately, his version of "reaching out" is a lecture on how she will likely get a disease and die without ever being loved or remembered (but we can give him points for trying).

The Shadow Recedes Some More

Liza actually shows up to the Underground Man's apartment; he talks about his feelings, and they have sex

Things seem the most hopeful for the Underground Man when he breaks down crying and confesses everything to Liza. She comforts him and they have sex, and we have to wonder for a moment if, perhaps, there isn't some Miraculous Redemption coming soon.

Miraculous Redemption (Or Not…)

Liza leaves forever.

Unfortunately, while there was potential for a Miraculous Redemption, the Underground Man messes this up royally. Far from redeeming him, Liza's exit condemns our narrator to a lifetime of solitude and suffering.