As I continue to read all these bizarre and outrageous stories like “The Nose” and “The Metamorphosis,” I can’t help but think about how there must be a hidden meaning to everything! When reading “The Nose”, and trying to find the symbolism behind the story, I instantaneously thought back to a great quote from one of the best shows ever- How I Met Your Mother. The main character, Ted Mosbey, says to Robin “Maybe there aren’t any signs. Maybe… maybe a locket‘s just a locket, and..a chair’s just a chair. Maybe we don’t have to give meaning to every little thing.”
How I Met Your Mother
But beside the hidden symbolism that we must all look for in all these short stories, I couldn’t help but think how weird the entire story is. So many questions came to mind: How did he identify the nose? How does he get his nose back? Is the nose just a waddling nose or does it have human like attributes?
The Nose (maybe?)
However, I also thought the entire concept and hidden meaning in the story was very interesting. Who would’ve thought to see this whole other side of Kovalev when he loses his nose? I think the entire meaning behind the theme of “social class” relays back to any traditions in Russia. Being Russian, I understand the idea of adults/elders wanting to have respect and authority for them, as well the idea of Russians as a whole being very nationalistic and wanting to be the best.
In Soviet Russia…
While I slightly caught onto the theme of social class in “The Nose”, I was still slightly confused and had to dig a little further into learning about Gogol and the story itself. When reading about the themes of “The Nose”, it was mentioned to also have a surreal/dream like feel to the story, adding onto the plot itself. And that’s when the Russian in me came out and saw that “Nos” (the word nose translated to Russian) is “Son” spelled backwards (which means dream translated in English). According to dream Oneirology, dreaming of a “running nose” can mean that you will have a small lapse of health followed by an even better recovery. In relation to ‘story, Kovalev’s nose was literally running which followed to him being very happy when the Nose was back in place. Another interpretation behind seeing a nose in your dream can mean intuition, and wisdom, which suggests that you will learn more about a situation about to arrive. While the interpretation of weather this translation fact is relevant or not to the story, it is still interesting to ponder weather the absence of his nose is a symbol for dreaming.
Not relevant to the nose, but, looks like a complex situation of the inside of the brain to me
Pictures brought to you courtesy of…
Hart, Katie. How I Met Your Mother. N.d. Photograph. TV Breakroom. 22 Dec. 2012. Web. 8 Oct. 2013. <http://tvbreakroom.com/tag/how-i-met-your-mother/>.
The Nose Bookcover. N.d. Photograph. Feedbooks. Web. 8 Oct. 2013. <http://www.feedbooks.com/book/1430/the-nose>.
Now That’s A History Lesson. N.d. Photograph. Likes. Web. 8 Oct. 2013. <http://likes.com/comedy/best-of-in-soviet-russia-meme?page=2>.
Dream. N.d. Photograph. Groupname for Grapejuice. Blogger. Web. 8 Oct. 2013. <http://groupnameforgrapejuice.blogspot.com/2013_01_01_archive.html>.
As a fellow Russian speaker, I feel embarrassed that I did not see the relation between the word nose and dream. It would make sense because the whole thing seems like a dream. I mean there is no way a nose just falls off and winds up in some person’s bread. I like how you went beyond the story and looked at dream interpretation, although I did not fully understand how it applies. Nonetheless, as you said, it is interesting to think outside the box and see the stories from more perspectives.
I like the questions you brought up about what the nose looked like, and the images you inserted to go along with it all. Most of all though, I was interested in your analysis of the title and what it could mean. It’s definitely worthwhile that nose backwards means dream because it brings a little more clarity to this confusing story. Otherwise, I thought it was great that you looked into the even greater picture because you found that a dream about a running nose can mean a lapse in health and then better days to come. This certainly in some sense applies to The Nose for Kovalev seems to be going through some sort of period where his appearance has been altered for his nose is missing. Finally, it may also be significant that dreaming of a nose can imply that intuition and wisdom will arrive, for after reading this story I’m sure many of us would like some clarity on this piece as a whole.
I think that it is really interesting that you used what you already knew to really relate to a text written so long ago. I liked that you took your own language and really made it so insightful. I never would have known that because I am not Russian, but this is definitely shedding a lot of light on this story that I didn’t really understand. I also thought it was insightful that you related the 1800s text to your culture today. Respect and desire for the best is prominent in every culture, but I assume that it is particularly highlighted in Russian culture. After reading your post, it helped me understand the story a lot more. The Nose is very revealing of Russian culture back in the day (as well as relatable to now), which I was able to find out through your post.
Janice Fong
I love the How I Met Your Mother reference! Nice way to keep the story current. Also love the show 🙂 anyway, nice light-hearted approach to the analysis of the text