An Argumentative Analysis on Kovalyov’s Nose Loss and Reattachment in Nikolai Gogol’s The Nose

An Argumentative Analysis on Kovalyov’s Nose Loss and Reattachment in Nikolai Gogol’s The Nose

Introduction

The story, The Nose by Nikolai Gogol, revolves around Major Kovalyov and the events that take place after losing and during the realization of his nose. The story starts when a barber, Ivan Yakovlevich, finds the Kovalyov’s nose attached to a loaf of bread during his breakfast. Ivan realized that the nose belonged to Major Kovalyov, who was one of his customers. However, his attempts to displace the nose on various occasions are unsuccessful. On the other hand, Major Kovalyov wakes up to realize that his nose was missing. Soon after, he comes across his nose in the city assuming a higher rank as a state councilor. As he tries various means to get his nose back, the Major links the loss of his nose with a mother of a particular girl that he liked but had no plan to marry. However, he finds the nose back in its position after two weeks, and his life resumes to normalcy.

Thesis Statement

Gogol’s explanation about the loss and reattachment of Kovalyov’s nose does not conform to a logical sense due to its inability to link the two incidences with definite causes.

The Loss and Reattachment of Kovalyov’s Nose

Initially, a barber, Ivan Yakovlevich, baked inside a loaf of bread that he wanted to take for his breakfast. “Yes, it was a nose all right, no mistake about that. And, what’s more, it seemed a very familiar nose. His face filled with horror” (Gogol 43-44). Ivan gets horrified by the incidence. At the same time, his wife is also shocked by the scene, and she blames her husband for his drunkenness and carelessness which might have landed him in such a situation. Thus, the lack of proper explanation on the origin of the nose makes Ivan’s wife angrier. She asks her husband to take the nose away and throw it into the river. Ivan learns that the nose belonged to one of his frequent customers. “He knew that the nose belonged to none other than Collegiate Assessor Kovalyov, whom he shaved on Wednesdays and Sundays” (Gogol 43).

By then, Kovalyov also realized that his nose was missing after waking up. His appearance without the nose makes him feel embarrassed as he tries to cover his face using a handkerchief. “As if this were not bad enough, there was not a cab in sight, and he had to walk home, keeping himself huddled up in his cloak and with a handkerchief over his face to make people think he was bleeding” (Gogol 47). Eventually, Kovalyov finds out that his nose assumed a role as a councilor of the state after coming across it in the city. As a result, he tries to plead with his nose to come back, but it refuses to claim that it did not belong to him. “It was wearing a gold-braided uniform with a high stand-up collar and chamois trousers and had a sword at its side. From the plumes on its hat, one could tell that it held the exalted rank of state councilor” (Gogol 48).

As he tries to create a scene involving the loss of a nose and its indefinite appearance in the loaf, Gogol introduces various stages in his story. Firstly, he presents Ivan, who is a barber, and also his wife. The nose’s disappearance story does not seem to make any sense. However, it shows the relationship between Ivan and Major Kovalyov. At the same time, the story shows the lives of various characters including Ivan as a barber, Kovalyov as a Major, and about Kovalyov’s girlfriend and her mother. The nose story depicts the relationship between the characters in the plot. At the same time, it brings them together for various interactive moments. In the end, Kovalyov associates the loss of his nose with a mother to a girl whom he befriended but failed to propose for her. “I cannot understand this strange behavior on your part. You can be sure, though, that it won’t get you anywhere and you certainly won’t force me to marry your daughter. Moreover, you can rest assured that, regarding my nose, I am familiar with the whole history of this affair from the very beginning, and I also know that you, and no one else, are the prime instigator” (Gogol 64). Eventually, the nose, which remained in the headlines at St. Petersburg for weeks, was back to its owner. Major Kovalyov found his nose in its position upon waking up. “This was on 7 April. He woke up and happened to glance at the mirror – there was his nose! He grabbed it with his hand to make sure – but there was no doubt this time” (Gogol 67).

This absurd story couples with indefinite explanations of the loss and reattachment of the nose. Despite looking for the nose in various places across the city and along the Nevsky Avenue, Major Kovalyov seemed completely confused and lost in this case. At the same time, he associates almost everyone in the town with his story while accusing others of being involved in the case. However, the loss of a nose and its appearance in the bread is not a realistic occurrence in life. Also, the story of the nose turning into a state councilor and wearing a uniform which depicts a higher rank to Major Kovalyov links the nose with a symbolic aspect of the storyline. In the end, the failure of a surgeon to deal with the case of the nose eliminates medical operations in the story. Thus, it becomes clear that the nose loss and reattachment did not relate to any medical processes. Later in the story, the nose mysteriously attaches itself back to its position, and Major Kovalyov learns about this after waking up in the morning. Again, this reappearance does not link the reader or the story with a definite explanation of the reason behind such an occurrence. Instead, it eliminates other characters who might have been the primary cause of the nose loss and reattachment.

Conclusion

Although Gogol does not give the reasons behind the loss and reattachment of Kovalyov’s nose, he successfully links the incidences with various characters and scenes in the story. Therefore, the loss and reattachment aids in the development of the plot and the delivery of the overall message of the entire story. However, the failure to explain the incidence critically or to relate the loss or reattachment with any of the characters in the story denies the narrative a correct flow of events leading to both occurrences. Therefore, at the end of the story, the two incidences appear not to be related to all the characters in the story as the nose disappears and returns in mysterious ways.