The Nose

by

Nikolai Gogol

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The Nose Symbol Analysis

The Nose Symbol Icon

Kovalev’s nose symbolizes fragile masculinity predicated on exerting dominance over women. As the narrator describes, Kovalev is obsessed with moving up in rank (and, by proxy, his social status.) But Kovalev, having earned his title of collegiate assessor the shady way, is insecure about his rank. To boost his fragile ego, Kovalev constantly seeks reassurance about his status, particularly by manipulating women. Specifically, Kovalev notoriously uses his rank to trick women into sleeping with him. Without a nose, though, Kovalev feels unable to perform his toxic masculinity with full enthusiasm: he shamefully backs down when gawking at a woman’s body in church and pauses his manipulative trysts with young women. Because the absence of the nose inhibits Kovalev’s ability to perform his signature despicable flavor of masculinity, the nose itself stands in for Kovalev’s manhood. Additionally, Kovalev's nose serves as a symbol of physical virility; in the final section of the story, the nose operates as a stand-in for a penis, with Kovalev feeling superior to men with smaller noses.

The Nose Quotes in The Nose

The The Nose quotes below all refer to the symbol of The Nose. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Fashion, Appearances, and Status Theme Icon
).
Section 1 Quotes

On the twenty-fifth day of March,1 an extraordinarily strange incident occurred in Petersburg. The barber Ivan Yakovlevich, who lives on Voznesensky Prospect (his family name has been lost, and even on his signboard— which portrays a gentleman with a soaped cheek along with the words “Also Bloodletting”— nothing more appears), the barber Ivan Yakovlevich woke up quite early and sensed the smell of hot bread.

Related Characters: The Narrator (speaker), Ivan Yakovlevich
Related Symbols: The Nose
Page Number: 301
Explanation and Analysis:

“Devil knows how it happened,” he said finally, scratching himself behind the ear. “Whether I came home drunk yesterday or not, I can’t say for sure. But by all tokens this incident should be unfeasible: for bread is a baking matter, and a nose is something else entirely. I can’t figure it out! . . .”

Related Characters: Ivan Yakovlevich (speaker)
Related Symbols: The Nose
Page Number: 302
Explanation and Analysis:

Ivan Yakovlevich fell silent. The thought of the police finding the nose at his place and accusing him drove him to complete distraction. He could already picture the scarlet collar, beautifully embroidered with silver, the sword . . . and he trembled all over.

Related Characters: Ivan Yakovlevich (speaker)
Related Symbols: The Nose
Page Number: 302-303
Explanation and Analysis:
Section 2 Quotes

Kovalev stretched and asked for the little mirror that stood on the table. He wished to look at a pimple that had popped out on his nose the previous evening; but, to his greatest amazement, he saw that instead of a nose he had a perfectly smooth place!

Related Characters: The Narrator (speaker), Kovalev
Related Symbols: The Nose
Page Number: 304
Explanation and Analysis:

“Of course, I . . . anyhow, I’m a major. For me to go around without a nose is improper, you must agree. Some peddler woman selling peeled oranges on Voskresensky Bridge can sit without a nose; but, having prospects in view . . . being acquainted, moreover, with ladies in many houses: Chekhtareva, the wife of a state councillor, and others . . .Judge for yourself. . . I don’t know, my dear sir . . .”

Related Characters: Kovalev (speaker)
Related Symbols: The Nose
Page Number: 307
Explanation and Analysis:

The clerk himself seemed to be moved by Kovalev’s difficult situation. Wishing to soften his grief somehow, he deemed it fitting to express his sympathy in a few words:

“I’m truly sorry that such an odd thing has happened to you. Would you care for a pinch? It dispels headaches and melancholy states of mind; it’s even good with regard to hemorrhoids.”

Related Characters: The Newspaper Clerk (speaker), Kovalev
Related Symbols: The Nose
Page Number: 314
Explanation and Analysis:

But nothing in this world lasts long, and therefore joy, in the minute that follows the first, is less lively; in the third minute it becomes still weaker, and finally it merges imperceptibly with one’s usual state of mind, as a ring in the water, born of a stone’s fall, finally merges with the smooth surface. Kovalev began to reflect and realized that the matter was not ended yet: the nose had been found, but it still had to be attached, put in its place.

Related Characters: The Narrator (speaker), Kovalev
Related Symbols: The Nose
Page Number: 318
Explanation and Analysis:

He called Ivan and sent him for the doctor, who occupied the best apartment on the first floor of the same building. This doctor was an imposing man, possessed of handsome, pitch-black sidewhiskers and of a fresh, robust doctress, ate fresh apples in the morning, and kept his mouth extraordinarily clean by rinsing it every morning for nearly three quarters of an hour and polishing his teeth with five different sorts of brushes.

Related Characters: The Narrator (speaker), Kovalev, The Doctor
Related Symbols: The Nose
Page Number: 319
Explanation and Analysis:
Section 3 Quotes

Perfect nonsense goes on in the world. Sometimes there is no plausibility at all: suddenly, as if nothing was wrong, that same nose which had driven about in the rank of state councillor and made such a stir in town was back in place—that is, precisely between the two cheeks of Major Kovalev.

Related Characters: The Narrator (speaker), Kovalev
Related Symbols: The Nose
Page Number: 323
Explanation and Analysis:

And Major Kovalev strolled on thereafter as if nothing was wrong, on Nevsky Prospect, and in the theaters, and everywhere. And the nose also sat on his face as if nothing was wrong, not even showing a sign that it had ever gone anywhere. And after that Major Kovalev was seen eternally in a good humor, smiling, chasing after decidedly all the pretty ladies and even stop­ping once in front of a shop in the Merchants’ Arcade to buy some ribbon or other, no one knows for what reason, since he was not himself the bearer of any decoration.

Related Characters: The Narrator (speaker), Kovalev
Related Symbols: The Nose
Page Number: 325
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire The Nose LitChart as a printable PDF.
The Nose PDF

The Nose Symbol Timeline in The Nose

The timeline below shows where the symbol The Nose appears in The Nose. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Section 1
Absurdity, Magic, and Reality Theme Icon
...mass, pulling at the pale object a buried deep inside. To his surprise, it’s a nose. (full context)
Fashion, Appearances, and Status Theme Icon
Ivan Yakovlevich recognizes the nose as belonging to one of his regular clients, collegiate assessor Kovalev. This realization fills Yakovlevich... (full context)
Fashion, Appearances, and Status Theme Icon
Insecurity, Masculinity, and Identity Theme Icon
Unable to make sense of how the nose got to his table, Ivan Yakovlevich begins to imagine a well-dressed police officer placing him... (full context)
Fashion, Appearances, and Status Theme Icon
Insecurity, Masculinity, and Identity Theme Icon
...his only coat is oddly formal and in terrible condition. Just before he throws the nose into the water, he recalls how Kovalev would berate him for his smelly hands. Making... (full context)
Absurdity, Magic, and Reality Theme Icon
With the nose gone, Ivan Yakovlevich feels great, and he decides to celebrate with a drink. However, before... (full context)
Section 2
Fashion, Appearances, and Status Theme Icon
Insecurity, Masculinity, and Identity Theme Icon
...wakes up and immediately reaches for a mirror to check on a zit on his nose. However, to his complete shock, there’s no nose. Smooth, flat skin now covers the center... (full context)
Fashion, Appearances, and Status Theme Icon
Insecurity, Masculinity, and Identity Theme Icon
...entering a cathedral. To his great shock, Kovalev realizes that the man is his missing nose. (full context)
Insecurity, Masculinity, and Identity Theme Icon
Astonished, Kovalev races into the cathedral behind his nose, tripping over the “old beggar women with bandaged faces” he would typically mock. (full context)
Fashion, Appearances, and Status Theme Icon
Once inside the cathedral, Kovalev spots his nose praying diligently in a high, fancy collar. Kovalev stumbles to confront the nose, spluttering ineloquently... (full context)
Fashion, Appearances, and Status Theme Icon
Absurdity, Magic, and Reality Theme Icon
The nose demands that Kovalev get to the point. Kovalev continues to sputter details about his rank... (full context)
Insecurity, Masculinity, and Identity Theme Icon
...young, he moves in. But then Kovalev suddenly remembers that his face is missing a nose, and he “jump[s] back as if burnt.” The realization of his face's odd state fills... (full context)
Fashion, Appearances, and Status Theme Icon
Absurdity, Magic, and Reality Theme Icon
Kovalev notices that the nose is gone. Unable to locate the nose, Kovalev heads to the police station. With the... (full context)
Absurdity, Magic, and Reality Theme Icon
The newspaper clerk agrees that Kovalev, with his nose missing, is not likely pulling a prank. Still, the newspaper clerk concludes that request is... (full context)
Fashion, Appearances, and Status Theme Icon
Insecurity, Masculinity, and Identity Theme Icon
...his time at home, the police commissioner refuses help, implying that Kovalev probably had his nose removed by roughhousing in the usual manner of a major. The insult to men of... (full context)
Absurdity, Magic, and Reality Theme Icon
...at the end of first section. The police officer announces that he has Kovalev’s missing nose. (full context)
Fashion, Appearances, and Status Theme Icon
Absurdity, Magic, and Reality Theme Icon
When Kovalev asks the officer how he got the nose, the police officer recounts that, due to his poor eyesight, he first thought that the... (full context)
Fashion, Appearances, and Status Theme Icon
...with a little money. With the officer gone, an exuberant Kovalev attempts to plop the nose back to his face. But the nose doesn't stay in place. Kovalev calls for a... (full context)
Fashion, Appearances, and Status Theme Icon
...the doctor knocks Kovalev’s head around, groping the smooth surface in the center where Kovalev’s nose once sat. After a rough examination, the doctor concludes that reattaching the nose will do... (full context)
Absurdity, Magic, and Reality Theme Icon
With the doctor gone, a now-miserable Kovalev returns to the mystery of losing his nose. Determined to make sense of recent events, Kovalev reflects on his actions over the past... (full context)
Absurdity, Magic, and Reality Theme Icon
Podtochina quickly pens a reply. In her note, she assumes that Kovalev's mention of a nose is figurative, taking it to mean a social snub. When he reads the letter, Kovalev... (full context)
Absurdity, Magic, and Reality Theme Icon
Insecurity, Masculinity, and Identity Theme Icon
...– especially those involving young women. Meanwhile, the general public excitedly spreads rumors about the nose. Eventually, circulation of the fantastical story of  Kovalev’s nose blends in with more mundane social... (full context)
Section 3
Absurdity, Magic, and Reality Theme Icon
In early April, some two weeks after the nose disappeared, Kovalev wakes to find his regular face with a nose in the middle. (full context)
Insecurity, Masculinity, and Identity Theme Icon
...appearance. He even goes so far as to say that Kovalev was proud of his nose, feeling superior to men with smaller noses. (full context)