Gogol's "Petersburg Tales" enjoyed unchanging popularity among the reading public from the moment it was published. But for those who do not want to plunge into the atmosphere of Gogol's Petersburg or simply do not have time for this, we suggest reading summary. Gogol, "The Nose". Let's try to convey the special mood of this work.
Chapter 1
The story begins with the fact that the hairdresser Ivan Yakovlevich wakes up at home and is about to have breakfast. Thinking he should drink coffee or maybe eat bread with onions. Ivan Yakovlevich is forced to choose, since the nature of his wife is such that she does not allow her husband to eat a sandwich with onions and drink hot coffee with him. The hero stops at bread and onions, cuts, and then discovers in him the nose of the collegiate assessor Kovalev (he preferred to be called a major). This is the summary from the very beginning. Gogol wrote The Nose in such a way that it intrigues the reader from the first lines.
Ivan Yakovlevich becomes ill. In addition, the wife, seeing the nose, begins to shout at him and demand that he throw this abomination out of the house.
Despite the fact that the character of the first chapter was a barber, he looks untidy: there are not enough buttons on his clothes, and the man himself was always unshaven and hungover. And it was in this usual form that he trudged away from the house to fulfill his wife's order.
But luck did not accompany the hero, because he went through a lot, but he did not find a suitable place to get rid of his nose. He was constantly distracted by familiar people. And now he finds himself at St. Isaac's Bridge and, having thrown his ill-fated find from it, he expects to go about his business. But he is detained by the quarter warden. Here the summary stops. Gogol created The Nose in such a way that the main action of this story was transferred to the second chapter.
Chapter 2
On the morning of the same day, when the hairdresser found his nose in his bread, Major Kovalev did not find it. He wanted to look at the pimple, which just now jumped up, but neither the pimple nor the nose was in place, but instead of them there was only a flat surface. Despite the creepiness of everything that happens (which is what the summary tells about), Gogol's "The Nose" generously flavors with unique author's humor.
Of course, Kovalev, like any person, was terribly frightened and immediately ran to the chief police chief, and already leaving him (the major did not find the peace officer), he sees how his own nose gets into the carriage and goes to the Kazan Cathedral for service. The main thing is that the hero's nose is dressed in the attire of a state adviser, i.e. he is superior in rank to his master. Kovalev followed the part of his body to the cathedral, where he tried to speak timidly with him, but his nose cut off all communication, saying that they were definitely not familiar with him. The discouraged hero leaves the church. Gogol's "The Nose" (a brief summary, we hope this makes you feel) was written in such a way that the plot retains intrigue until the last chapter.
Wandering around the city in search of a solution, Kovalev wanders into the newspaper, where he begs to advertise the missing nose, but he is refused under various plausible pretexts, referring to the rules of decency, they say, it is not worth publishing any nonsense in worthy print publications.
Kovalev returns home in despair. He thinks about who and, most importantly, how he was able to steal his nose. A version pops up: the staff officer Podtochina took revenge and brought healers on him in retaliation for the fact that he did not want to marry her daughter.
The sad reflections of the hero are interrupted by the appearance of a major policeman in the house. He informs the owner: his nose with a fake passport has been intercepted. Apparently, he intended to leave for Riga. Kovalev is beside himself with happiness, he even gave money to a campaigner. And it seemed that here Gogol's "Nose" (the summary would also have been cut off) could finish, but this is not the end of the story.
As it turns out later, it’s too early to rejoice: the nose does not want to return to its original place. Kovalev even calls the doctor, but Tom cannot help, only asks to sell his nose for experiments. True, the doctor says that he will buy this amazing anatomical specimen only for a reasonable price. Kovalev says in a rage: “I won’t sell it for anything.” The hero again returns to the version of damage and even writes a letter to the lady indicated above (Podtochina). True, nothing comes of this, since she answers in such a spirit that there can be no doubts, Kovalev's fears are in vain. This is not witchcraft. N.V. Gogol "The Nose" (a brief summary proves this) wrote so that it could be seen: main character experiencing severe suffering.
Gossip
In the meantime, rumors are spreading all over St. Petersburg that in one place or another they see a nose walking independently. Some daring people even make money on it, but the crowd gathering here and there does not have the honor of seeing a nose walking independently through the streets of the city.
Chapter 3
One way or another, but two weeks after the beginning of the story, the nose returns to its original place. And I must say that the absence of a very important part of the face only benefited the major. He is friendly and kind to everyone. In other words, "peace and quiet - God's grace."
Gogol's story "The Nose" (the summary does not contain this part) ends with the author's afterword, which, although amusing, no longer has a direct bearing on the matter.
"Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol - a work in which Pushkin saw "so much unexpected, fantastic, funny and original."
The incident described, according to the narrator, happened in St. Petersburg on March 25th. The barber Ivan Yakovlevich, eating fresh bread baked by his wife Praskovya Osipovna in the morning, finds his nose in it. Puzzled by this unrealistic incident, having recognized the nose of collegiate assessor Kovalev, he is looking in vain for a way to get rid of his find. Finally, he throws him off the Isakievsky Bridge and, against all expectations, is detained by a district warden with large sideburns. The collegiate assessor Kovalev (who was more fond of being called a major), waking up that very morning with the intention of inspecting a pimple that had just jumped up on his nose, did not even find the nose itself.
Major Kovalev, having a need for a decent appearance, because the purpose of his arrival in the capital was to find a place in some prominent department and, possibly, to marry (on the occasion of which he is familiar with the ladies in many houses: Chekhtyreva, a state adviser, Pelageya Grigorievna Podtochina, a staff officer), - goes to the chief police chief, but on the way he meets his own nose (dressed, however, in a uniform embroidered with gold and a hat with a plume, denouncing him as a state adviser). Nose gets into the carriage and goes to the Kazan Cathedral, where he prays with an air of the greatest piety.
Major Kovalev, at first timid, and then directly calling his nose by his proper name, does not succeed in his intentions and, distracted by a lady in a hat light as a cake, loses his uncompromising interlocutor. Not finding the chief police chief at home, Kovalev goes on a newspaper expedition, wanting to advertise the loss, but the gray-haired official refuses him (“The newspaper may lose its reputation”) and, full of compassion, offers to sniff tobacco, which completely upsets Major Kovalev. He goes to a private bailiff, but finds him in a position to sleep after dinner and listens to irritated remarks about "all sorts of majors" who are dragged around the devil knows where, and that a decent person's nose will not be torn off. Arriving home, the saddened Kovalev ponders the reasons for the strange loss and decides that the staff officer Podtochina, whose daughter he was in no hurry to marry, is to blame for everything, and she, right out of revenge, hired some money-boxes. The sudden appearance of a police official, who brought a nose wrapped in a piece of paper and announced that he was intercepted on the way to Riga with a fake passport, plunges Kovalev into joyful unconsciousness.
However, his joy is premature: the nose does not stick to its former place. The called doctor does not undertake to put his nose on, assuring that it will be even worse, and encourages Kovalev to put his nose in a jar of alcohol and sell it for decent money. The unfortunate Kovalev writes to the staff officer Podtochina, reproaching, threatening and demanding to immediately return the nose to its place. The response of the staff officer reveals her complete innocence, for it shows such a degree of misunderstanding that cannot be imagined on purpose.
Meanwhile, rumors are spreading around the capital and acquiring many details: they say that exactly at three o'clock collegiate assessor Kovalev is walking along Nevsky, then - that he is in Juncker's shop, then - in the Tauride Garden; to all these places many people flock, and enterprising speculators build benches for the convenience of observation. One way or another, but April
On the 7th, the nose was again in its place. To the happy Kovalev, the barber Ivan Yakovlevich appears and shaves him with the greatest care and embarrassment. One day, Major Kovalev manages to go everywhere: to the confectionery, and to the department where he was looking for a place, and to his friend, also a collegiate assessor or major, he meets on the way the staff officer Podtochina with her daughter, in a conversation with whom he thoroughly sniffs tobacco.
The remarkable story by N.V. Gogol "The Nose" consists of three parts and tells about the amazing events that happened to the collegiate assessor Kovalev.
... On March 25, the St. Petersburg barber Ivan Yakovlevich discovers his nose in freshly baked bread. Ivan Yakovlevich is surprised to learn that the nose belongs to one of his clients, collegiate assessor Kovalev. The barber tries to get rid of his nose: he throws it away, but he is constantly pointed out that he has dropped something. With great difficulty, Ivan Yakovlevich manages to throw his nose off the bridge into the Neva. Meanwhile, the collegiate assessor wakes up and cannot find his nose. He is shocked. Covering his face with a handkerchief, Kovalev goes out into the street. He is very upset by what happened, because now he will not be able to appear in the world, and besides, he has many familiar ladies, for some of whom he is not averse to hanging around. Suddenly he meets his own nose, dressed in a uniform and pantaloons, the nose gets into the carriage. Kovalev is in a hurry for the nose, it turns out in the cathedral. The nose prays hard. Kovalev approaches him, explains the current situation, asks that the nose "return to its rightful place." However, the nose pretends not to understand Kovalev.
Kovalev goes to the Chief of Police, but he is not at home. Kovalev comes to the newspaper ad department, hoping to advertise the missing nose. But he is turned down because the ad is too unusual and could damage the newspaper's reputation. Frustrated, Kovalev returns home. He wonders who could have played such a cruel joke on him. He suspects the staff officer Podtochina, a familiar lady who wants to marry him to her daughter. It is possible that with the help of some witchcraft tricks, Podtochina made sure that Kovalev was left without a nose. And this is because he did not want to marry Podtochina's daughter! Angry, Kovalev sends Podtochina a letter accusing her of missing her nose. In a response letter, Podtochina is sincerely surprised at such strange conclusions of the assessor.
Rumors are circulating in St. Petersburg about Kovalev's nose roaming the streets. In the evening of the same day, the police officer brings Kovalev his nose, adding that he managed to catch him with difficulty, since the nose was already getting into the stagecoach and was about to go to Riga. Kovalev thanks the warden, gives him a banknote, and when he leaves, he tries to put his nose back in place. To Kovalyov's dismay, the nose does not hold up and falls on the table. Kovalev sends for the doctor, but he does not know how to help Kovalev. Kovalev thinks that his life is now meaningless: he is nobody without a nose.
... On the morning of April 7, Kovalev wakes up and is surprised to find that his nose is where it should be, between his cheeks. After some time, the barber Ivan Yakovlevich comes to shave Kovalev. But now, shaving Kovalev, he does not hold him by the "sniffing part of the body." Although it is difficult, but from that day on, the barber, doing his usual work, rests his hand on the cheek and on the lower gum of Kovalev.
This is how N.V. Gogol's story "The Nose" ends.
Nikolay Gogol
I
On the 25th of March an extraordinarily strange incident happened in Petersburg. The barber Ivan Yakovlevich, who lives on Voznesensky Prospekt (his last name has been lost, and even on his signboard , which depicts a gentleman with a soapy cheek and the inscription: “And the blood is opened” , nothing else is displayed), the barber Ivan Yakovlevich woke up quite early and heard the smell of hot bread. Rising a little on the bed, he saw that his wife, a rather respectable lady who was very fond of drinking coffee, was taking freshly baked bread out of the oven. Today, Praskovya Osipovna, I will not drink coffee, said Ivan Yakovlevich, but instead I want to eat hot bread with onions. (That is, Ivan Yakovlevich would have liked both, but he knew that it was absolutely impossible to demand two things at once, for Praskovya Osipovna did not like such whims very much.) “Let a fool eat bread; It’s better for me, the wife thought to herself, there will be an extra portion of coffee.” And threw one bread on the table. Ivan Yakovlevich, for decency, put on a tailcoat over his shirt and, sitting down in front of the table, sprinkled salt, prepared two onions, took a knife in his hands and, making a significant mine, began to cut bread. Cutting the bread into two halves, he looked into the middle and, to his surprise, saw something whitish. Ivan Yakovlevich poked carefully with his knife and felt it with his finger. “Dense! he said to himself, what would it be? He put his fingers in and pulled out his nose! .. Ivan Yakovlevich lowered his hands; He began to rub his eyes and feel: his nose, like a nose! and yet, it seemed as if someone's acquaintance. Horror was portrayed in the face of Ivan Yakovlevich. But this horror was nothing against the indignation that took possession of his wife. Where are you, beast, cut off your nose? she screamed in anger. Fraudster! drunkard! I'll report you to the police myself. What a robber! I’ve heard from three people that when you shave, you pull on your noses so much that you can barely hold on. But Ivan Yakovlevich was neither alive nor dead. He learned that this nose was none other than collegiate assessor Kovalyov, whom he shaved every Wednesday and Sunday. Stop, Praskovya Osipovna! I will put it, wrapped in a rag, in a corner; let it lie there a little, and then I'll take it out. And I don't want to listen! So that I would let my severed nose lie in my room? .. Roasted biscuit! Know he can only carry a razor on a belt, and soon he will not be able to fulfill his duty at all, a slut, a scoundrel! So that I become responsible for you to the police? .. Oh, you messy, stupid log! Get him out! out! take it wherever you want! so that I can't hear him! Ivan Yakovlevich stood absolutely as if dead. He thought and thought and did not know what to think. The devil knows how it happened, he said at last, scratching behind his ear with his hand. Whether I returned drunk yesterday or not, I can’t say for sure. And according to all the signs, there should be an unrealizable incident: for bread is a baked thing, but the nose is not at all the same. I can't figure out anything! Ivan Yakovlevich fell silent. The thought of the police finding his nose and blaming him drove him completely unconscious. Already he was imagining a scarlet collar, beautifully embroidered with silver, a sword ... and he was trembling all over. At last he took out his underwear and boots, pulled on all this rubbish, and, followed by Praskovya Osipovna's difficult exhortations, wrapped his nose in a rag and went out into the street. He wanted to slip it somewhere: either into a pedestal under the gate, or somehow accidentally drop it, and turn into an alley. But, unfortunately, he came across some familiar person who immediately began with a request: “Where are you going?”, Or: “Whom were you going to shave so early?” so that Ivan Yakovlevich could not seize the minute in any way. On another occasion, he had already completely dropped it, but the watchman pointed out to him with a halberd from a distance, saying: “Get up! there you dropped something!” And Ivan Yakovlevich had to raise his nose and hide it in his pocket. Despair took possession of him, all the more so since the people constantly multiplied in the street, to the extent that shops and shops began to be unlocked. He made up his mind to go to the Isakievsky Bridge: would it be possible somehow to throw him into the Neva? .. But I am somewhat to blame for not saying anything about Ivan Yakovlevich, a man respected in many respects. Ivan Yakovlevich, like any decent Russian artisan, was a terrible drunkard. And although every day he shaved other people's chins, his own was always unshaven. Ivan Yakovlevich's tailcoat (Ivan Yakovlevich never wore a frock coat) was piebald; that is, he was black, but all in brown-yellow and gray apples; the collar was shiny, and instead of three buttons, only threads hung. Ivan Yakovlevich was a great cynic, and when collegiate assessor Kovalev used to say to him while shaving: “Your hands always stink, Ivan Yakovlevich!” then Ivan Yakovlevich answered this with a question: “Why would they stink?” “I don’t know, brother, they just stink,” said the collegiate assessor, and Ivan Yakovlevich, sniffing tobacco, lathered him for it on his cheek, and under his nose, and behind his ear, and under his beard in a word, wherever he wanted to. This respectable citizen was already on the Isakievsky bridge. He looked around first; then he bent down on the railing, as if to look under the bridge: how many fish are running around, and slowly threw the rag with his nose. He felt as if ten pounds had fallen off him at once; Ivan Yakovlevich even chuckled. Instead of going to shave the chins of officials, he went to an institution with the inscription "Food and Tea" to ask for a glass of punch, when he suddenly noticed at the end of the bridge a quarterly warden of noble appearance, with wide sideburns, in a three-cornered hat, with a sword. He froze; and meanwhile the quarterly nodded his finger at him and said: Come here, my dear! Ivan Yakovlevich, knowing the form, took off another cap from a distance and, coming up quickly, said: I wish health to your nobility! No, no, brother, not nobility; tell me, what were you doing there, standing on the bridge? By God, sir, I went to shave, but only looked to see if the river was going fast. You lie, you lie! You won't get away with this. Feel free to answer! I am your grace twice a week, or even three, ready to shave without any prejudice, answered Ivan Yakovlevich. No, buddy, it's nothing! Three barbers shave me, and they honor me as a great honor. Now, can you tell me what you did there? Ivan Yakovlevich turned pale... But here the incident is completely obscured by fog, and what happened next is absolutely unknown. December 25, 2014The story "The Nose" is one of the most fun, original, fantastic and unexpected works of Nikolai Gogol. The author did not agree to the publication of this joke for a long time, but his friends persuaded him. The story was first published in the Sovremennik magazine in 1836, with a note by A.S. Pushkin. Since then, heated debates have not subsided around this work. The real and the fantastic in Gogol's story "The Nose" are combined in the most bizarre and unusual forms. Here the author reached the pinnacle of his satirical skill and painted a true picture of the mores of his time.
Brilliant grotesque
This is one of the most favorite literary devices of N.V. Gogol. But if in early works it was used to create an atmosphere of mystery and mystery in the narrative, then in a later period it turned into a way of satirical reflection of the surrounding reality. The story "The Nose" is a clear confirmation of this. The inexplicable and strange disappearance of the nose from the physiognomy of Major Kovalev and its incredible independent existence separately from the owner suggest the unnatural order in which a high status in society means much more than the person himself. In this state of affairs, any inanimate object can suddenly acquire significance and weight if it acquires its proper rank. This is the main problem of the story "The Nose".
Features of realistic grotesque
In the late works of N.V. Gogol, the realistic grotesque prevails. It aims to reveal the unnaturalness and absurdity of reality. Incredible things happen to the heroes of the work, but they help to reveal the typical features of the world around them, to reveal people's dependence on generally accepted conventions and norms.
Gogol's contemporaries did not immediately appreciate the satirical talent of the writer. Only V.G. Belinsky, who did a lot for a correct understanding of the work of Nikolai Vasilyevich, once noted that the "ugly grotesque" that he uses in his work contains "an abyss of poetry" and "an abyss of philosophy", worthy of "Shakespeare's brush" in its depth and authenticity.
The "nose" begins with the fact that on March 25 an "extraordinarily strange incident" happened in St. Petersburg. Ivan Yakovlevich, a barber, discovers his nose in freshly baked bread in the morning. He throws him off the St. Isaac's Bridge into the river. The owner of the nose, collegiate assessor, or major, Kovalev, waking up in the morning, does not find an important part of the body on his face. In search of the loss, he goes to the police. On the way, he meets his own nose in the garb of a state councilor. Pursuing the fugitive, Kovalev follows him to the Kazan Cathedral. He tries to return his nose to its place, but he only prays with "the greatest zeal" and points out to the owner that there can be nothing in common between them: Kovalev serves in a different department.
Distracted by the graceful lady, the major loses sight of the rebellious part of the body. Having made several unsuccessful attempts to find the nose, the owner returns home. There he is returned the loss. The police chief grabbed his nose while trying to escape to Riga on someone else's documents. Joy Kovalev does not last long. He cannot put the body part back in its original place. The summary of the story "The Nose" does not end there. How did the hero manage to get out of this situation? The doctor can do nothing to help the major. In the meantime, curious rumors are creeping around the capital. Someone saw the nose on Nevsky Prospekt, someone - in the Tauride Garden. As a result, he himself returned to his original place on April 7, which brought considerable joy to the owner.
Theme of the work
So what is the point of such an incredible plot? The main theme of Gogol's story "The Nose" is the loss by the character of a piece of his "I". Probably, this happens under the influence of evil spirits. An organizing role in the plot is assigned to the motive of persecution, although Gogol does not indicate the specific embodiment of supernatural power. The mystery captures readers literally from the first phrase of the work, it is constantly reminded of, it reaches its climax ... but there is no clue even in the finale. Covered in obscurity is not only the mysterious separation of the nose from the body, but also how it could exist independently, and even in the status of a high-ranking official. Thus, the real and the fantastic in Gogol's story "The Nose" are intertwined in the most unthinkable way.
Real Plan
It is embodied in the work in the form of rumors, which the author mentions all the time. This is gossip that the nose regularly makes a promenade along Nevsky Prospekt and other crowded places; about how he seemed to be looking into the store and so on. Why did Gogol need such a form of communication? Maintaining an atmosphere of mystery, he satirically ridicules the authors of stupid rumors and naive belief in incredible miracles.
Characteristics of the main character
Why did Major Kovalev deserve such attention from supernatural forces? The answer lies in the content of the story "The Nose". The fact is that the protagonist of the work is a desperate careerist, ready to do anything for a promotion. He managed to get the rank of collegiate assessor without an exam, thanks to his service in the Caucasus. The cherished goal of Kovalev is to marry profitably and become a high-ranking official. In the meantime, in order to give himself more weight and significance, he everywhere calls himself not a collegiate assessor, but a major, knowing about the advantage of military ranks over civilian ones. “He could forgive everything that was said about himself, but did not apologize in any way if it related to rank or title,” the author writes about his hero.
So the evil spirits laughed at Kovalev, not only taking away an important part of his body from him (you can’t make a career without it!), But also endowing the latter with the rank of general, that is, giving it more weight than the owner himself. That's right, nothing to turn up your nose! The real and the fantastic in Gogol's story "The Nose" makes one think about the question "what is more important - a personality or its status?". And the answer is disappointing...
Hints of a brilliant author
There are many satirical subtleties in Gogol's story, transparent allusions to the realities of his contemporary time. For example, in the first half of the 19th century, glasses were considered an anomaly, giving the appearance of an officer or official some kind of inferiority. In order to wear this accessory, a special permit was required. If the heroes of the work exactly followed the instructions and corresponded to the form, then the Nose in uniform acquired for them the importance of a significant person. But as soon as the police chief "left" the system, violated the severity of his uniform and put on glasses, he immediately noticed that in front of him was just a nose - a part of the body, useless without its owner. This is how the real and the fantastic are intertwined in Gogol's story "The Nose". No wonder the author's contemporaries read this extraordinary work.
Many writers noted that "The Nose" is a magnificent example of fantasy, Gogol's parody of various prejudices and people's naive faith in the power of supernatural forces. Fantastic elements in the works of Nikolai Vasilyevich are ways of satirically depicting the vices of society, as well as affirming a realistic beginning in life.