"Consciousness" in Notes From Underground relate to the goals of the 19th century

The man in Notes from Underground seems to talk a lot about how he is more conscious than others who are living in St. Petersburg and society in general.  He explains that consciousness is not necessarily a good thing.  He says that people who are more active and prominent in society and display less consciousness seem to fair the best.  The man seems to have been somewhat of an introvert throughout his entire life.  I believe that the author Dostoevsky is trying to get the point across the 19th century was a time of technological advancement and changing life as the industrial revolution occurred  and realism flourished.  Through his use of the man, Dostoevsky shows that consciousness and spiritual thinking were not as important as they once were and that sporadic thinking and activity in order to come up with technological advances seemed to be what people during the 19th century were looking for.  The man also appears unconfident as he constantly goes back on what he says and is inconsistent.

The man seems to be somewhat of an existentialist.  He separates himself from others and the technological advancement of the 19th century.  He seems only concerned with his individual self and therefore becomes isolated.