How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph). We used Constance Garnett's translation.
Quote #7
"Why, do you suppose he really loves you, that lover of yours? I don't believe it. […] He laughs at you and robs you – that is all his love amounts to! You are lucky if he does not beat you. Very likely he does beat you, too. Ask him, if you have got one, whether he will marry you. He will laugh in your face, if he doesn't spit in it or give you a blow." (2.7.1)
The Underground Man is guilty of the same prejudice against lower classes of which he accused Zverkov; he is not able to see Liza as anything more than a prostitute.
Quote #8
"I am not ashamed of my poverty.... On the contrary, I look with pride on my poverty. I am poor but honourable.... One can be poor and honourable," I muttered. (2.9.5)
Can one be both poor and honorable in Notes from the Underground?
Quote #9
"I told you just now that I was not ashamed of my poverty; so you may as well know that I am ashamed of it; I am more ashamed of it than of anything, more afraid of it than of being found out if I were a thief, because I am as vain as though I had been skinned and the very air blowing on me hurt. Surely by now you must realise that I shall never forgive you for having found me in this wretched dressing-gown." (2.9.28)
The Underground Man's self-professed shame at his poverty raises interesting questions about his value system. If he's such a romantic, shouldn't he take pride in his bohemian or informal lifestyle?