Sethe was only able to control the outcome of her life in her later years. She wasn't able to sulk and blame everyone for her problems like The Underground Man was, she constantly had to move forward because society didn't feel sorry for him and didn't allow him to feel sorry for oneself. Unlike Sethe, the Underground Man was able to experience his condition. This shows that even though they express the same feelings, they are not experiencing the same situation. This is a 19th century topic, the world is moving into the modern era and people are becoming more aware of the impact of society. While at the same time the effects of a barbaric system are being felt. These otherwise foreign stories are linked to the fact that they express the mental exhaustion of the new modernity.