This story is definitely on my list of strange symbolic tales. The idea of my barber accidentally cutting off my nose and then finding it in his bread is a scary image. Then waking up without my nose and seeing it walk down the street is just freaky. If I was in that situation the most exasperating part about it would be confronting my nose and seeing how “stuck up” it would be to me and having it dress as if it was superior to me. At first I really did not understand what the story was trying to emphasize. It was hard to envision the characters, especially Kovaloff’s nose as its own person. As I read I kept thinking of what Kovaloff’s voice would sound like without a nose, it would probably sound like a person with a nasal condition and kind of annoying. But what really boggled my mind was the image of a nose with arms, legs, and clothes speaking like a gentleman.
I also did not grasp how some of the characters in the story were so nonchalant about the situation. For example, the Clerk whom Kovaloff wanted to buy an advertisement from. He refused to make an advertisement for a lost nose because he thought it was ridiculous. Then he assumed that it was probably a metaphor for something else entirely Kovaloff may have lost. When Kovaloff shows the Clerk his flat face the Clerk is neither terrified nor disgusted he just looks in wonder at how flat, like a pancake Kovaloff’s face is. I would say that this would not be the correct response to the situation.
The story was so strange that it caused me to forget about any deeper meaning. From our group discussion the idea of a part of a man turning out to be me important socially than the man himself came to mind. That idea helped me interpret the story in a new way the second time I read it. This is similar to another story I read this year called The Importance of Being Earnest, in which something minor like a name can bepresented as something of greater importance than the character or dignity of the person it belongs to. I believe in this story Gogol could be using satire to highlight this po
int.
I definitely agree with the fact that the story’s strangeness caused you to not think about the deeper meaning. This was the same exact case for me, as I began to think about other things regarding the nose itself, rather than what the nose is used to represent.
Thankfully I’m not the only one who thought he would sound like Fran from The Nanny! It just seems so absurd that he would be okay with the fact that his nose is gone and only worried about how to approach it since it is now a rank higher. And if it is actually his nose, how did it become a rank higher? I also thought the picture of the statue would be how he looked like without his nose. I agree with many of your points, but I found this story to be second rate compared to the weirdness of Gregor waking up as a cockroach and only being worried about how to get to work.
While you thought the story was strange, I thought it was hilarious for being so. Perhaps it’s because I have a deep interest when imaginary scenarios clash with society’s values. I totally agree with the Importance of Being Earnest reference as now that you mention it, there was a similar focus on manners and being proper. Both pieces also share a satirical tone with over-the-top scenarios ultimately with an odd and confusing ending. Overall great post and thanks for sharing.
I completely agree with your point that it is strange that they are so nonchalant about the entire situation. I disagree with you with the strangeness part retracting from the story, I thought that the strangeness made me question what the meaning of it truly. One thing you did not make clear was whether or not you enjoyed the story, which is strange because it is mood diary. The fact that the nose becomes its own person is a major concept of the story and I think it is tough to imagine it also. I also got the theme of a superiority complex coming from the nose and its actions, which is funny because its literally is just a nose. It is nothing without the person attached to it, so how can it be “stuck up”.
THE BARBER DIDN’T CUT OFF KOVALOFF’S NOSE. I do like the fact that you address that the nose was stuck up and that shows how he is to others, but the picture of a nose running doesn’t seem accurate. This nose was a gentlemen and thus wouldn’t run, he would take a ride. Frankly, even though I like this as a post, I dislike this as a mood diary as you haven’t expressed your MOOD. Check yourself. I do count you as a good friend, so I will give you a pass this time, but one more time…this friendship is over. The Nanny was a great idea because that is the stereotypical annoying voice that a rich guy would have, similar to that of Ken’s voice. Your second paragraph reminds me a lot of Gregor’s response to finding out he was a bug; the response to Kovaloff’s face was not expressive enough. Finally, your last paragraph is similar to my ideas in that it takes two readings or at least stepping back in order to grasp the real meaning of this story.
I definitely agree that the story’s strangeness was a huge distraction to the true meaning of what was going on. Fortunately for me, about half way through I realized that no author would go through all of this just to tell a story about living nose. When started to look and focus on the real message of the story, it immediately became much easier to get through. Like I wrote in my blog post, what many of us were missing while reading was that we were focusing on the nose when instead we should have been focusing on the “meaning” of the nose.
Overall, I really looked reading about your feelings on the story.
I felt that the story’s obscure nature kept me from looking at it deeper at first too. I was thrown off by how weird it would be that a nose became a man and its owner would be running around town after it. Your reference to Fran from the Nanny is funny and I think that it also shows how people like the Clerk would not take Major Kovaloff seriously without it. You bring up an interesting theme regarding identity and maybe Major Kovaloff’s loss of his nose is like a loss of identity. He cannot go around as his usual self without it.