The Nose (Gogol short story)

"The Nose" (Russian: Нос, romanized: Nos) is an 1836 satirical short story by Nikolai Gogol written during his time living in St. Petersburg. During this time, Gogol's works were primarily focused on the grotesque and absurd, with a romantic twist. Written between 1835 and 1836, "The Nose" tells the story of a St. Petersburg official whose nose leaves his face and develops a life of its own. The story was originally published in The Contemporary, a literary journal owned by Alexander Pushkin. The use of a nose as the main source of conflict could have been due to Gogol's own experience with an oddly shaped nose, which was often the subject of self-deprecating jokes in letters. The use of iconic landmarks in the story, as well as its sheer absurdity, has made "The Nose" an important part of St. Petersburg's literary tradition.
"The Nose" is divided into three parts and tells the story of Collegiate Assessor ("Major") Kovalyov, who wakes up one morning without his nose. He later finds out that his nose has developed a life of its own and has apparently surpassed him by attaining the rank of State Councillor. The short story showcases the obsession with social rank that plagued Russia after Peter the Great introduced the Table of Ranks. By allowing commoners to gain hereditary nobility through service to the state, a huge population was given the chance to move up in social status. This opportunity, however, also gave way to large bureaucracies, in which many of Gogol's characters worked.
The story is divided into three parts:
On 25 March, the barber Ivan Yakovlevich finds out that his wife has made bread. During breakfast, he cuts a loaf in half and finds a nose in it. With horror, he recognizes this nose as that of one of his regular customers, Collegiate Assessor Kovalyov (known as "Major Kovalyov"). Ivan's wife demands that he remove the nose from her home, so he wraps it up in cloth and attempts to throw it off a bridge into the Neva River. However, he is caught by a police officer, who refuses Ivan's attempts to bribe him.
Major Kovalyov awakens to discover that his nose is missing. He grabs a mirror to see his face, finding only a smooth, flat patch of skin in its place. He leaves his home to report the incident to the chief of police. On his way, he sees his nose pretending to be human, dressed in the uniform of a high-ranking official. He chases it, but it refuses to return to his face. Kovalyov becomes distracted by a pretty girl, and while he is not watching, the nose escapes.
Kovalyov attempts to contact the chief of police, but he is not home. He next visits the newspaper office to place an advertisement about the loss of his nose, but he is refused. He then speaks to a police inspector, who also refuses to help. Finally, he returns to his flat, where the police officer who caught Ivan returns the nose (which was apprehended at a coach station, trying to flee the city). Kovalyov's joy is cut short when he finds out that he is unable to reattach the nose, even with the help of a doctor.
The next day, Kovalyov writes a letter to Madame Alexandra Grigorievna Podtochina, a woman who wants him to marry her daughter, and accuses her of stealing his nose; he believes that she has placed a curse on him for his fickleness towards her daughter. He writes to ask her to undo the spell, but she is confused by his letter and reiterates her desire to have him marry her daughter. Her reply convinces him that she is innocent. In the city, rumours of the nose's activities have spread, and crowds gather in search of it.
On 7 April, Kovalyov wakes up with his nose reattached. He is carefully shaved by the barber and returns to his old habits of shopping and flirting with girls.
Some critics analyze the story literally instead of searching for symbolic significance. A literal interpretation suggests that Gogol's story is about the importance of olfactory perception, which is obscured in Western society by a focus on vision and appearance. This interpretation is consistent with Gogol's belief that the nose is the most important part of a person's anatomy. Major Kovalyov obsesses over his appearance, cleanliness, and rank, behavior that reflects the influence of a vision-oriented Western culture that emphasizes deodorization and hygiene. At the same time, he is deeply upset when he loses his nose, which shows that olfactory sensation is still important despite Western influence.
Society and class played a very important role in determining one's life during the time of Gogol. With the introduction of the Table of Ranks by Peter the Great, a wholly new portion of the population was able to move up socially if it worked hard enough. In a society that was obsessed with status, people had to always look their best and prioritize their outside appearance. When Major Kovalyov sees his own nose dressed in the uniform of a higher-ranking official than himself, he is momentarily embarrassed and unable to approach the nose. Even within the context of a ridiculous scenario, feelings of inferiority and jealousy still manage to creep into Major Kovalyov's mind.
According to Igor Pilshchikov, the nose disguising itself as an official is a "grotesque hyperbole of Kovalyov's petty imposture." Kovalyov, despite being a civilian official, prefers to be called by the military rank of major. The rank of collegiate assessor occupied the same grade as major in the Table of Ranks, but military ranks were considered higher than civilian ones, and it was prohibited for a civilian official to be addressed by a military title. Near the end of the story, Kovalyov is described as having bought the ribbon for some chivalric order, although he is not a member of any such order.
The theme of identity is highlighted by how the nose is both easy and hard to identify at various points in the story. The barber realizes the owner of the nose very quickly when he sees it. However, the nose is able to slip away from Kovalyov by disguising itself as a doctor. This back and forth between the identity of the nose emphasizes how Gogol's Petersburg valued outward appearance much more than one's true identity. Major Kovalyov is a minor official who acts like he is much higher ranking than he actually is. He refers to women as prostitutes and asks them to come to his apartment. His main objectives in life are to climb the table of ranks and marry well, but without his nose, he can do neither.
The supernatural also comes into play in this story. The nose is able to transform its size depending on what is needed to further the plot. Sometimes it is portrayed as the size of a common nose, while other times it is portrayed as the same size as a human. This strange ability plays into the absurdity of the story and adds to its comedic tone.
Ivan Yermakov first noted that the story's title in Russian (Нос, Nos) is the reverse of the Russian word for "dream" (сон, son). As the unreliable narrator himself notes, the story "contains much that is highly implausible", while an earlier version of the story ended with Kovalyov waking and realizing that the story was indeed a dream. Without the awakening, however, the story becomes a precursor of magical realism, as an unreal element is woven into a realistic narration. Critics also note the abrupt changes in the narrative that appear to them to be pieced together like fragments. The storyline appears to have multiple branches to facilitate the nature of unpredictability as a theme.
Major Kovalyov is a person with many inconsistencies and contradictions. Gogol uses this to highlight the "fractured identity of the main character". There is a significant imbalance in how Kovalyov views himself and how the outside world perceives him. Rather than focusing on his inner appearance, all of his energy and thought goes towards maintaining his outward appearance. "The collegiate assessor’s private and public faces seem almost unrelated." This kind of portrayal of an average citizen of Saint Petersburg reflects Gogol's position as a transplant to the city, who views the social hierarchy of the city from an outside perspective.
At the end of the story, it appears that Gogol is talking directly to the reader. It is never explained why the nose fell off in the first place, why it could talk, nor why it found itself reattached. By doing this, Gogol plays on the assumptions of readers, who may happily seek absurd stories but at the same time still want an explanation.
In Russia, the nose has been host to a variety of proverbs that range from "torn off" (if it is too curious) to "lifted up" (if you have a high opinion of yourself) to "hung up" (with obvious defeat and failure). By the 19th century, there was extensive literature in Russian prose dedicated to nose references. Critic V.V. Vinogradov believes the nose is not only a symbol of human personality but also a source of comedy and pathos in literature.
Some critics have equated the garbled language between Kovalyov's nose and the other characters in the story to mythological consciousness. Due to the situation the characters find themselves in, human qualities are transferred to natural objects and a mythological sense of perception pervades the characters' thoughts as opposed to the former modern man sense of perception noted for its self-interest consciousness. The story juxtaposes the nose as a symbol of salvation for Major Kovalyov with the nose as a symbol of self-destruction for barber Ivan Yakovlevitch.
Major Kovalyov's nose serves as a symbol of his own snobbery and pretentious attitude. Once he loses it, his entire demeanor towards the world changes. His nose acts as the source of his own pride and is what allows him to look down on everyone else. Since his identity is primarily defined by his outward appearance, the loss of his nose represents a loss of his identity, devastating him.
The nose has been seen as a literary theme by Russian authors at least ever since the 1807 translation of Laurence Sterne's Tristram Shandy, in which the subject of noses is elaborately dealt with, especially in "Slawkenbergius's Tale". Noses, and even heads, that run about on their own, disappear and then return, or are baked in bread (as in Part I of Gogol's story) are to be found in Russian literature of the 1820s and 1830s. Out of these works, Gogol's is the most famous because it presents an absurd tale that serves as not only social commentary but also a comedic tale for all ages.
In A History of Russian Literature, the critic D. S. Mirsky writes, "The Nose is a piece of sheer play, almost sheer nonsense. In it more than anywhere else Gogol displays his extraordinary magic power of making great comic art out of nothing."
Ever since it was published, "The Nose" has intrigued critics with its absurd story and social commentary. The absurdity creates a certain distance between the author and the reader, which provides an opportunity for readers to enjoy the story's comedic aspects, but closer analysis allows readers to see that it is a critique of their everyday lives.
As a Petersburg tale, "The Nose" has many references to the city of Saint Petersburg, where the action of the story takes place.