The person01–03
01·Who they are
Who is Simonov?
Simonov occupies a precise and telling position in the social world of Part II of Notes from Underground: he is the Underground Man's last remaining point of contact with ordinary human society. A former schoolfellow, he is described as a man of practical temperament and easy social integration — the kind of person who organizes dinners, maintains friendships, and navigates the world without excessive self-consciousness. He is not cruel in any dramatic sense; he is simply conventional, and that conventionality is, for the Underground Man, its own form of condemnation. Dostoevsky gives him no grand speeches or philosophical weight. His power in the narrative operates almost entirely through reluctance, silence, and the cold economy of a glance.
02·Arc & motivation
What is Simonov's arc and motivation?
Simonov does not change across the novella, and that stasis emphasizes a key theme. He begins Part II as someone who has already, internally, written the Underground Man off; the scene in his apartment merely confirms what has already been decided. His motivation is social self-preservation. When the Underground Man arrives uninvited and discovers the plans for Zverkov's farewell dinner, Simonov's primary concern is damage limitation — how to handle this awkward intrusion without an open scene. His decision to allow the Underground Man to contribute money and attend the dinner is not generosity; it is the path of least resistance, a way to end the discomfort of the apartment visit. Throughout the dinner at the hotel, his behavior remains consistent: he does not mock, but he does not defend. He endures. His final act — lending the Underground Man money with a "cold, contemptuous glance" before the group departs for the brothel — represents the end of whatever goodwill once existed between them. He has simply stopped trying to pretend otherwise.
03·Key moments
What are Simonov's key moments?
The apartment scene is Simonov's most revealing moment. The Underground Man notes the visible irritation on Simonov's face when he realizes his visitor has overheard the dinner arrangements, and Simonov's failure to exclude him is rendered as a kind of exhausted resignation. At the dinner itself, Simonov's silences are as significant as any dialogue: he does not intervene when Ferfichkin needles the Underground Man, nor does he validate the Underground Man's increasingly desperate attempts at conversation with Zverkov. The borrowed money scene at the evening's end crystallizes his character in a single image — the contemptuous glance that accompanies the three roubles conveys everything Simonov will never say aloud. It is the look of a man paying to be rid of a problem.
The cast04–05
04·Relationships
What are Simonov's most important relationships?
With the Underground Man: Simonov is, bleakly, the best the Underground Man has. The narrator acknowledges that he visits Simonov partly because there is no one else. This asymmetry — one man clinging to a connection the other has quietly abandoned — drives the tragedy of Part II. Simonov's tolerance is more wounding than open hostility would be, because it offers just enough access to ensure humiliation.
With Zverkov: Simonov's genuine admiration for Zverkov positions him on the far side of a social divide from the Underground Man. He organizes the farewell dinner as an act of real friendship, which underscores how thoroughly the Underground Man misreads his own standing in the group. Simonov belongs to Zverkov's world; the Underground Man does not.
With Ferfichkin and Trudolyubov: Together, these three form a coherent social unit — practical, status-conscious, mutually reinforcing. Simonov is the most temperate of the three, but his moderation reads less as decency than as social polish. He shares their values; he is simply better mannered about expressing contempt.
With Liza: Simonov has no direct relationship with Liza, but his passive decision to let the Underground Man join the dinner — and then to lend him money at its conclusion — forms the chain of events that leads directly to the brothel encounter. He is an unwitting hinge between the public humiliation and the private one.
05·Connected characters
How is Simonov connected to the other characters?
Study06–07
06·Questions
Questions readers ask about Simonov
Who is Simonov in Notes from Underground?
Simonov is a former schoolfellow of the Underground Man and the most socially adept member of the dinner-party group in Part II. Practical, conventional, and conflict-averse, he serves as the Underground Man's last remaining point of contact with ordinary society — a role that makes his cold tolerance far more damaging than open hostility.
Why does Simonov let the Underground Man join the Zverkov dinner?
Simonov allows the Underground Man to contribute money and attend the dinner not out of friendship, but as the path of least resistance. When the Underground Man arrives uninvited and overhears the plans, Simonov's chief concern is damage limitation — ending the awkward apartment visit without an open scene. This decision arises from exhausted resignation rather than generosity, setting the evening's humiliations in motion.
How does Simonov treat the Underground Man at the farewell dinner?
Simonov neither mocks nor defends the Underground Man throughout the dinner; he simply endures him. He does not intervene when Ferfichkin needles the narrator, nor does he validate the Underground Man's desperate attempts at conversation with Zverkov. His silences and studied indifference are as cutting as any direct insult, embodying a contempt too polished to be spoken.
What is the significance of Simonov lending the Underground Man money at the end of the dinner?
When Simonov lends the Underground Man three roubles so he can follow the group to the brothel, he accompanies the gesture with a cold, contemptuous glance — an image Dostoevsky uses to crystallize the collapse of their relationship. It signifies a man paying to be rid of a problem and marks the definitive end of whatever goodwill once existed between them.
What is Simonov's relationship with Zverkov?
Simonov is a genuine friend and admirer of Zverkov; he organizes the farewell dinner in Zverkov's honor. This real friendship positions Simonov firmly within the socially successful clique, highlighting how thoroughly the Underground Man misreads his own standing with the group: Simonov belongs to Zverkov's world in a way the Underground Man never will.
How does Simonov differ from Ferfichkin in his attitude toward the Underground Man?
Ferfichkin is openly mocking, while Simonov exercises social restraint, never expressing contempt aloud. Dostoevsky implies that Simonov's cold endurance is a more wounding mode of rejection: because it offers just enough tolerance to grant access, it guarantees humiliation rather than simply shutting the Underground Man out. The novella suggests that cruelty with manners cuts deeper than cruelty without them.
Does Simonov change or develop over the course of Notes from Underground?
Simonov does not change at all, and that stasis is deliberate. He has already, internally, written the Underground Man off before Part II begins; every scene merely confirms what has been decided. His consistent passivity — tolerating but never welcoming, enduring but never defending — functions less as a character arc than as a fixed social verdict against which the Underground Man struggles.
How does Simonov's role connect to the Underground Man's later encounter with Liza?
Simonov has no direct relationship with Liza, but he is an unwitting hinge between the novella's two humiliations. His passive decision to admit the Underground Man to the dinner, and then to lend him money at its conclusion, creates the chain of events that leads directly to the brothel visit — and, consequently, to the far more intimate and painful encounter with Liza.
07·Essay angles
Use this in your essay
Tool · Essay angles
Passivity as narrative force: How does Simonov's refusal to act