ABSTRACT
The author describes his momentous discovery of Dostoevsky, when he was an adolescent: the discovery of affect. He explains the critical importance of this novella. By constructing his character out of the clay of anguish, Dostoevsky set the foundation of modern literature: his narrative describes all aspect of the experience of solitude. De Macedo also points out Dostoevsky’s clinical astuteness, reminiscent of Freud’s. With much subtlety, Dostoevsky reveals the Underground Man to be suffering from an insomniac’s tension, a type of tension often seen in other central Dostoevskyan characters.
