One of the characteristic features of the skill of N.V. Gogol is the ability to make a masterpiece out of a story or a popular anecdote he heard by chance. A vivid example of such writing ability is the story "The Nose", which caused a lot of controversy among contemporaries and has not lost its relevance to this day.
The work "Nose" was written by N.V. Gogol in 1832-1833, it is included in the collection "Petersburg Tales". The plot of the book is based on a well-known anecdote at the time, translated from French, about a missing nose. Such stories were very popular and had many variants. For the first time, the motif of a nose that interferes with a full life appears in Gogol's unfinished work The Lantern Was Dying in 1832.
This story underwent many changes over the course of several years, which was associated with censorship comments, as well as with the desire of the author the best way bring your idea to life. For example, Gogol changed the ending of The Nose, in one version all the incredible events are explained by the hero's dream.
Initially, the writer wanted to publish his work in the Moscow Observer magazine, but he was refused. A.S., who had already opened his own journal by that time, came to the rescue. Pushkin, and the story "The Nose" was published in Sovremennik in 1836.
Genre and direction
By the time The Nose was published, Gogol had already become famous for his collection Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka, where he addresses the theme of mysticism. But if "Evenings ..." for the most part rely on popular superstitions, then in " Petersburg stories» Nikolai Vasilyevich skillfully intertwines the motives of the supernatural with the image of sharp social problems. So in the work of Gogol a new direction for Russian literature is formed - fantastic realism.
Why does the author come to this writing method? Throughout his entire literary career, he heard social dissonances, but, as a writer, he could only identify them in his works, urge the reader to pay attention to them. He saw no way out, and turning to the fantastic allowed him to portray the picture of modernity even more dramatically. Saltykov-Shchedrin, Andrey Bely, M. Bulgakov and other authors will later use the same technique.
The composition of the story
Gogol divides the "Nose" into 3 parts, in a classic way: 1 - exposition and plot, 2 - climax, 3 - denouement, a happy ending for the main character. The plot develops linearly, sequentially, although the logic of certain events is not always explained.
- The first part includes a description of the characters, a description of their life, as well as the starting point of the entire story. In its structure, it also consists of three blocks: the discovery of the nose - the intention to get rid of it - the release from the burden, which turned out to be false.
- The second part introduces the reader to Major Kovalev himself. There is also a plot (detection of the loss), development of the action (an attempt to return the nose) and, as a result, the return of the nose.
- The third part is homogeneous, it is a concise and bright chord that completes the work.
About what?
Description of the story "The Nose" can be reduced to a fairly simple and schematic plot: the loss of the nose - the search - the acquisition. The main thing in this work is its ideological content.
On the morning of March 25, the barber Ivan Yakovlevich discovers the nose of one of his clients, Major Kovalev, in his bread. The discouraged barber hurried to get rid of the evidence, he could not think of anything better than, as if by chance, throwing his nose into the river. Ivan Yakovlevich was already feeling relieved, but a policeman approached him "and what happened next, absolutely nothing is known."
Collegiate assessor Kovalev, waking up, did not find his nose in place. He goes to the Chief Police Officer. He did not find him at home, but on the way he met his nose, which he behaved self-sufficiently and did not want to know his owner. Kovalev is making attempts to reunite with the nose, he wanted to publish an ad in the newspaper, but he is refused everywhere and treated quite rudely. Finally, the fugitive was caught while trying to emigrate and returned to the owner. But the nose was not going to grow to its former place. The major comes to the conclusion that this is a corruption induced by the staff officer Podtochina. He even writes a letter to her, but receives a bewildered answer and realizes that he was mistaken. Two weeks later, Kovalev finds his face in its original form, everything is resolved by itself.
Real and fantastic
Gogol skillfully combines in his story. If, for example, in "The Overcoat" the mystical element appears only at the end of the work, then "The Nose" from the first pages carries the reader into the fairy-tale world of the writer.
Basically, there is nothing special in the reality depicted by Gogol: Petersburg, the life of a barber and state councilor. Even topographic details and exact dates of events correspond to reality. The author dilutes such credibility with one single fantastic element: Major Kovalev's nose escapes. And throughout the work, he develops from a separated part to an independent independent personality, and in the finale everything returns to normal. It is curious that this fact, although it shocks the reader, is woven into the canvas of the work quite organically, because the greatest absurdity lies not so much in the escaped part of the face, but in the attitude towards what happened, in admiration for ranks and aspirations for public opinion. According to the writer, it is more difficult to believe in such cowardice than in the disappearance of the nose.
Main characters and their characteristics
- Petersburg Gogol's Nose is much more than just a city. This is a separate place with its own laws and realities. People come here to make a career for themselves, and those who have already achieved some success try not to fade in the eyes of others. Everything is possible here, even the nose is able to become independent for a while.
- Traditional for Gogol little man image represents the character Major Kovalev. For him, it is important how he looks, the loss of his nose leads him to despair. He believes that you can do without an arm or leg, but without a nose - you are not a person, "just take it and throw it out the window." The hero no longer occupies the lowest rank: 8 out of 14 according to the "Table of Ranks", but dreams of a higher rank. However, even being at this level, he already knows with whom he can be arrogant, and with whom he can be modest. Kovalyov is rude to the cab driver, does not stand on ceremony with the barber, but fawns before respected officials and tries not to miss the parties. But he is absolutely discouraged by the meeting with the Nose, which is 3 ranks higher than its owner. How to deal with a part of yourself that does not know its place in physical sense, but perfectly understands his position in society?
- Nose image bright enough in the story. He surpasses his master: his uniform is more expensive, his rank is more significant. An important difference between them is the behavior in the church: if the Nose prays humbly, then Kovalev stares at beautiful woman thinks about anything, but not about his soul.
Themes of the story
- The subject matter of the story is quite broad. main topic, of course, social inequality. Each hero is in his place in the social system. Their behavior and role in society is fully consistent with their position, but this idyll cannot be disturbed. It will be strange if the highest official does not be rude to the titular adviser, and the titular adviser to the groom.
- The theme of the little man in the story is illuminated quite brightly. Major Kovalev, having no special connections, cannot publish an advertisement in the newspaper about the loss of his nose. The victim of the "Table of Ranks" cannot even come close to his property, which turned out to be more noble.
- The theme of spirituality is also present in the work. Kovalev does not have good education, military service allowed him to become a major, the main thing for him is appearance, and not inner world. The nose is opposed to the hero: the fugitive is focused on worship, he is not distracted by the surrounding ladies, unlike the owner. The major is characterized by frivolous behavior: he invites girls to his place and deliberately torments his daughter Podtochina with an imaginary hope.
Problems
- Gogol in "The Nose" reveals the vices concerning both society as a whole and individuals. The main problem of the story is philistinism. Kovalev is proud of his rank, dreams of a brilliant career. He is worried that a facial defect will prevent him from fulfilling his future plans. He values public opinion, and what rumor can go about a man without a nose?
- The problem of immorality is raised in the story. The barber does not seek to return the nose to the owner, to confess his own, perhaps, the fault that he ruined the face. No, he is in a hurry to get rid of the strange object, hoping to go unpunished. And the immorality of Kovalev's behavior speaks for itself.
- Another vice highlighted by Gogol is hypocrisy. The Arrogant Nose does not want to communicate with those who are lower than his rank, like his cowardly master.
The meaning of the work
The main idea of the story is to show all the depravity and cowardice of St. Petersburg society against the contrast of paradoxes. You can consider the loss of the nose as a kind of punishment for Major Kovalev for his sins, but Gogol does not emphasize this, the story is devoid of direct moralizing. The author did not dare to indicate the way how to cure the society, he could only indicate the problems. From here the erroneous idea of the “natural school” will be formed: fix the society, and the problems will stop. Gogol understood: the maximum that he could do to improve the situation was to present the flaws of society in the brightest light. And he succeeded: the reader was blinded, many contemporaries recognized their acquaintances or even themselves, horrified by the insignificance of man.
What does it teach?
In his story The Nose, Gogol depicts the spiritual crisis of a person obsessed with vainglorious desires. Career, entertainment, women - that's all that attracts the main character. And this viciousness does not bother Kovalev, he has the right, together with all these aspirations, to be called a man, but without a nose - no. But the image of Major Kovalev is collective, he looks like the writer's contemporaries. The conclusion suggests itself: the position in society dictates the rules of behavior that no one dares to break: neither a small person will show perseverance, nor a high-ranking official will show generosity. About the approach of such a catastrophe that will affect society as a whole and each person individually, N.V. Gogol warns his readers.
Artistic originality
The story "The Nose" uses a very rich writing toolkit. Gogol most widely uses such a means of expression as the grotesque. Firstly, this is the autonomy of the Nose, superior in position to its owner. Secondly, comic exaggeration is typical for depicting the relationship of people of different social levels. Kovalev is afraid to approach the Nose, and Ivan Yakovlevich, with incredible trepidation and excitement, begins to relate to his client after what happened.
Gogol humanizes the nose, but the impersonation technique is also used on an enlarged scale. The nose becomes independent of the owner, almost a full member of society, he was even going to run abroad.
At the syntactic level, Gogol refers to zeugma: “Doctor<…>had fine resinous sideburns, a fresh, healthy doctor's wife. These features help the writer to portray humor and irony in the work.
Criticism
The story "The Nose" caused a wide resonance in the literary environment of the first half of the 19th century. Not all journals agreed to publish the work, blaming N.V. in vulgarity and absurdity written. Chernyshevsky, for example, treated this story as nothing more than a retold anecdote that existed at that time. The first to recognize the merits of the "Nose" was A.S. Pushkin, seeing the farcical nature of creation. The opinion of V.G. was significant. Belinsky, who urged the reading public to pay attention to the fact that such majors Kovalevs in society can be found not just one person, but hundreds, even thousands. S. G. Bocharov saw the greatness of the work in the fact that the author here encouraged the society to look into the eyes of reality. V. Nabokov considered this story one of the brightest images of the motive, which runs through all the work of N.V. Gogol.
Interesting? Save it on your wall!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, who needs a decent appearance, because the purpose of his arrival in the capital is to find a place in some prominent department and, possibly, to marry (on the occasion of which he is familiar with ladies in many houses: Chekhtyreva, state councilor, Pelageya Grigorievna Podtochina, 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, saddened
Engeny Kovalev ponders the reasons for the strange disappearance and decides that the staff officer Podtochina is to blame for everything, whose daughter he was in no hurry to marry, 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 the Juncker's store, 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 on April 7, 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 description of his happy mood is interrupted by the writer's sudden admission that there are many implausible things in this story and that it is especially surprising that there are authors who take such plots. After some reflection, the writer nevertheless declares that such incidents are rare, but they do happen.
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.
N.V. Gogol
Name: Nose
Genre: Story
Duration: 13min 04sec
Annotation:
The story has three parts:
Part one
On March 25, the barber Ivan Yakovlevich learns that his wife baked her nose. During breakfast, he cuts a roll into two parts and finds a nose in it. Terrified, he realizes that it is the nose of one of his regular clients, Collegiate Assessor Kovalev (known as Major Kovalev). Ivan's wife demands that he get rid of his nose, so he wraps his nose in cloth and tries to throw it off the bridge into the Neva, but is stopped by a guard. Ivan tries to bribe him, but the warden is impregnable.
Part two
Major Kovalev wakes up in the morning to find that his nose has disappeared. He leaves the house to report the incident to the Chief of Police. On the way to him, Kovalev sees his nose, dressed up as a state councillor. The nose pretends to be human. Kovalev overtakes the nose in the Kazan Cathedral, but receives a rebuff from it. The nose does not want to return to its place. Kovalev tries to contact the chief police chief, but does not find that house. So he goes to the newspaper office to advertise his missing nose, but is refused. Then he goes to a private bailiff, but even there he does not receive any help. Finally, Kovalev returns home. The warden, who grabbed Ivan, comes to him and returns the nose to the owner, stating that the nose was captured at the station in an attempt to sneak out of the city. But Kovalev's joy did not last long, as he cannot put his nose back, even with the help of a doctor. The next day, Kovalev writes a letter to Madame Podtochina Grigorievna, the woman whose daughter she wanted Kovalev to marry, accusing her of stealing his nose. He is sure that she put a curse on him, because he did not fail to take her daughter as his wife. In the letter, he demands that she cancel the spell, but she misinterprets his letter. Her answer assures Kovalev that she has nothing to do with it. Rumors about a runaway nose begin to circulate in the city, and crowds of onlookers gather in search of him.
Part three
April 7th Kovalev wakes up with a nose on his face. On the same morning, the barber shaves him carefully, after which Kovalev manages to do so many things. Old habits return to him, shopping and flirting with girls.
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, who needs a decent appearance, because the purpose of his arrival in the capital is to find a place in some prominent department and, possibly, to marry (on the occasion of which he is familiar with ladies in many houses: Chekhtyreva, state councilor, Pelageya Grigorievna Podtochina, headquarters 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, revealing 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 shy, 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 is to blame, whose daughter he was in no hurry to marry, and she, right out of revenge, hired some witches. 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, 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 on April 7, 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 description of his happy mood is interrupted by the writer's sudden admission that there are many implausible things in this story and that it is especially surprising that there are authors who take such plots. After some reflection, the writer nevertheless declares that such incidents are rare, but they do happen.
This interesting adventure happened on March 25 in the city of Petersburg. As before, Praskovya Osipovna, the barber's wife, had already baked a loaf of soft bread for breakfast. When her husband Ivan Yakovlevich bites off a piece, he sees a nose in bread. A little embarrassed, he finds that, according to signs, this is the nose of his collegiate assessor.
Thinking about where to put this nose, he tries to throw it off the bridge, but is detained by the quarter warden. Kovalev, waking up in the morning, wants to look at his nose, because of a pimple that popped up on it, but with horror he notices in the mirror the absence of a nose. The work of the collegiate assessor Kovalev obliges to always be decent in appearance, especially the purpose of his arrival in the capital is to find a place in the department or on the occasion of his marriage.
Among his familiar ladies are the civilian adviser Chekhtyreva and the staff officer Podtochina. Going to the chief of police, on the way he meets his nose, dressed in a uniform and hat. Nose, sitting in a carriage, leaves for the Kazan Cathedral to pray. Major Kovalev, timid, calls his nose by the name of the owner, but, seeing a lady in a hat, loses sight of his interlocutor.
The chief police chief was not at home, then he goes on a newspaper expedition to advertise the loss. The gray-haired official, after listening to his detailed speech, refuses him and with full compassion offers to sniff tobacco. Major Kovalev, completely upset, goes to a private bailiff, where he, after listening to Major Kovalev's annoyed remark, tries to explain that decent people do not go to unnecessary places and do not tear off their noses.
Already at home, he reflects on the cause of the missing nose and blames the staff officer Podtochina, whose daughter he did not want to marry. A police official appears at the house, who brings a nose wrapped in a piece of paper, announcing that he was discovered and taken on the road to Riga with a fake passport. Kovalev began to cling his nose to the same place, but he did not succeed. The doctor convinced Kovalyov to put his nose in a jar of alcohol and sell it for good money. The tortured Kovalev writes to the staff officer Podtochina to return her nose to its place.
A variety of rumors with details spread around the capital. Exactly at three o'clock, Kovalev's nose seemed to be walking along the Nevsky, then he was in the store, then in the Tauride Garden. Maybe it was, but on the seventh of April, the nose was in its place. The barber Ivan Yakovlevich shaves the happy Kovalev carefully and in embarrassment. Immediately in one day, Major Kovalev has time everywhere: to the confectionery, and to the department, and to his friend, meeting the staff officer Podtochina and her daughter on the way and talking with them. Having calmed down, he sniffs tobacco.