The aquiline nose of a Roman showed physical power even if the person did not have political power.  The way bears whine is the sound I heard whenever the main character complained.  I imagined the courtship rituals to look a lot like the games of Eugene Onegin’s social parties. Gogol’s humor reminded me of Oscar Wilde- both very political, cerebral and witty. The main character’s swagger reminded me of the antics of these kind of gym men.The way the book incorporated a lot of city walking and eating and disdain reminded me of Mr. Bloom from Ulysses.