Chapter V also gives us a first glimpse at how the Underground Man
directs his own self-loathing at others. Earlier in the novel, we see
him resenting people who may have reason to disdain him or judge
him. However, his timidity and indecision before these “active figures”
have always prevented him from acting on his hatred. He has therefore
always turned his anger or frustration on himself. In this chapter,
we encounter people over whom the Underground Man can safely exert
some power. The coachman and the prostitute are both members of
the lower classes. Moreover, as the Underground Man is paying both
of them for their services, he already exerts financial power over
them. For someone like the Underground Man, who constantly feels
impotent in his daily interactions with others, the ability to feel
superior to another is somewhat intoxicating. With the coachman,
the Underground Man can express his frustration with himself through
physical violence—something he could never have done with the officer
or Zverkov. Although the Underground Man is still somewhat intimidated
by the young prostitute, wondering what she thinks of his appearance, he
takes a certain pleasure in the fact that she will not enjoy her
time with him but will not be able to do much about it.
