The Nose
Nikolai Gogol
1836
(original in Russian)
(Read ebook)
Gogol’s ‘The Nose’ presents his take on authority and identity. In a society driven by hierarchies, where relationships are marked by power, the story presents a strong take on how people tend to define themselves. The fictional account presents the story of a civil servant waking up one day to find that his nose is missing. This loss of nose is of course not taken lightly and he immediately ventures out in search of his nose. The barber who happens to find it, and in one episode, the Nose assuming an identity of its own, has strong symbolic reference to social structures. In Freudian terms, this will also be seen as an indication of castration anxiety. In whichever form of symbolism it may be seen, the Nose is a take on bureaucratic relationships and how individual’s sense of self and identity changes in response to changing social structures. Interesting.
Nikolai Gogol
1836
(original in Russian)
(Read ebook)
Gogol’s ‘The Nose’ presents his take on authority and identity. In a society driven by hierarchies, where relationships are marked by power, the story presents a strong take on how people tend to define themselves. The fictional account presents the story of a civil servant waking up one day to find that his nose is missing. This loss of nose is of course not taken lightly and he immediately ventures out in search of his nose. The barber who happens to find it, and in one episode, the Nose assuming an identity of its own, has strong symbolic reference to social structures. In Freudian terms, this will also be seen as an indication of castration anxiety. In whichever form of symbolism it may be seen, the Nose is a take on bureaucratic relationships and how individual’s sense of self and identity changes in response to changing social structures. Interesting.
Every Book Has a Story
This one has been read in a race to meet the brunch book challenge of this year. I don’t regret it. It is a good read. Recommended to everyone.