The Nose - Nikolai Gogol (1836)

 

The Nose

“The Nose” by Nikolai Gogol is a bizarre concoction.

The first thing you notice is that it is remarkably short (which I guess is why it is labelled a “short story”) at just 38 pages with a very large font. It was very quick to get through.

The topic of the story is... strange. Major Kovaloff wakes up one day and discovers that his nose is gone. Where it used to be is just a flat piece of skin. Apparently, his nose has left him and gone on adventures. He recognizes it out in town posing as a State Councillor, a functionary several degrees above his own, which presents him with some problems in getting it back. The nose gets away and Kovaloff tries to insert an advertisement in a local newspaper for his nose. He is refused due to the absurdity of the request. The same happens at the police station.

He is busy accusing a lady-friend, who wants him to marry her daughter, for his lost nose, when a policeman shows up with his nose. Kovaloff’s barber found it in a piece of bread... Unfortunately, the doctor says it will not get back on, yet the next morning it is back in its place.

The story ends with the author exclaiming that he has no clue what this story was about, that it is totally absurd and that it is strange that authors can choose to write on such useless topics.

I must say, I am equally confused.

I do understand that this is an absurd story and that the absurdity makes it comedic. It is actually very funny. Major Kovaloff is a man very impressed with himself and his appearance so to suddenly find himself without a nose is a terrible hit to his pride. Add to that the humiliation that the nose has simply left him, posing as somebody else. Even without an intimate knowledge of the vanity of Russian officers in the 1830’ies, I can sense how this tickles him the wrong way.

What I am missing is the point of the story. While it must have been fun to write and certainly is fun to read, such a story does not get the fame it has unless there is a point. The closest I get (with the help of Wikipedia) is that this has to do with, yes, vanity. With the, absurd, obsession of physical appearance of officials in St. Petersburg.

It is fun, easy and not a little silly.