Simonov

Who He Is

Simonov is the only former school friend whom the underground man still visits. He avoids the others since leaving school, which he curses like years of hard labor, and perhaps changed offices precisely so as not to meet them (ch. II of Part Two). At school Simonov was an unremarkable boy, calm, in whom the narrator recognized some independence of character and honesty, and whom he does not even judge very limited. There were clearer moments between the two, which have since been clouded: the narrator thinks Simonov tires of memories and fears that the old tone will return. He lives on the fourth floor, and the narrator climbs the stairs already thinking that the man is annoyed with him and that going is useless, and goes in all the same, because calculations of that kind, he says, always push him into the awkward situation.

He is the narrator's bridge to the rest of the school. Through him pass the list, the timetable and the six rubles, and each small gesture of his (accepting the name, forgetting to announce the change of hour) feeds the night at the Hôtel de Paris.

Trajectory

In ch. II of Part Two, on a Thursday, the narrator, who could not bear the solitude and knew that on that day Anton Antonovich's door was closed, goes to see him, after almost a year without meeting him. In ch. III of Part Two he finds Trudolyubov and Ferfichkin at his house discussing Zverkov's farewell dinner. Simonov, chosen to organize, hears the narrator say that it will be twenty-eight rubles if he is counted, and asks with displeasure whether he also wants to go, without looking at him, because he knows him by heart. He ends by having him put on the list. When the others leave, he asks with embarrassment whether he will now pay what he owes (an old debt of fifteen rubles), walks about the room clicking his heels, and, two minutes of silence later, admits that the narrator is in his way and that he must go out. He walks him to the antechamber, agitated and visibly glad to see him go.

In ch. IV of Part Two he forgets to tell the narrator that the dinner has been moved to six and, when called to account, does not apologize and goes to look after the appetizers. During the evening he says the argument is foolish, calls the narrator a grudge-holder, asks that he be thrown out after the toast and, at the end, regrets having given him a place on the list. It is to him that the narrator runs, when the others leave, to ask for six rubles. Drunk, Simonov answers that he has no money and smiles with contempt; the narrator grabs him by the overcoat and swears that his future depends on it; Simonov takes out the money and almost throws it at him, saying he may take it, if he is so shameless, and runs after the others. In ch. V of Part Two the memory of this gesture is what makes the narrator fall into the sledge. The house the narrator goes to had already been warned by Simonov that perhaps one more man would come. In ch. VIII of Part Two, the next morning, the narrator writes him a gentleman's letter, lying about the drinking, and sends six rubles inside by Apollon.

Themes Embodied

In Part Two Simonov plays the part the underground man does not have: that of someone who has a place in the group and a little reluctance. He is the one to whom the narrator turns on his own, in solitude (when Anton Antonovich's door is closed) and in the squeeze of money, and he is also the one who most clearly wants him away. What he wants, as far as one can see, is peace and the good harmony of the farewell. What he knows is who the other is, and the narrator recognizes this: Simonov knows him by heart. Where he is mistaken, if he is: in accepting the narrator's name on the list out of embarrassment, which obliges him to bear the night that follows. Two readings of the final generosity of the six rubles: a concession by someone who wants to be rid of him, or the only kindness left to someone who has been cornered, thrown with the haste of someone who has already gone too far. Both motives fit the gesture. Within the themes, it is through him that Pride passes: it is to him that the narrator asks for money and pardon, and it is before him that he most fears losing his reputation (ch. VIII of Part Two).

Relationships

• The underground man: the acquaintance who puts up with him and whom he seeks out for solitude (ch. II of Part Two, ch. III of Part Two, ch. IV of Part Two, ch. VIII of Part Two).
• Zverkov: the friend for whom he organizes the farewell dinner (ch. III of Part Two, ch. IV of Part Two).
• Trudolyubov and Ferfichkin: the two guests with whom he decides on the dinner (ch. III of Part Two).
• Apollon: the servant who carries to him the letter of apology (ch. VIII of Part Two).