Gogol's nose summary by chapters. Retelling of the work “The Nose” by N.V. Gogol The history of the story

Main characters

  • Platon Kuzmich Kovalev- collegiate assessor. Appearance is more important to him than internal content.
  • Ivan Yakovlevich- barber. Drinker.
  • Nose- a fugitive who ran away from his master.

Chapter 1

An unusual incident occurred in St. Petersburg on March 25. Ivan Yakovlevich woke up in the morning and, instead of the usual coffee, wanted to try fresh bread, just pulled out of the oven by his wife Praskovya Ivanovna. Taking the knife in his hands, he cuts the bread in half and freezes at the sight before his eyes. There was a nose inside the crumb. The most real, human one.

As it turned out, the nose had an owner. This is the collegiate assessor Kovalev, who came to shave twice a week. Ivan Yakovlevich is trying to get rid of the terrible discovery, but he is always getting in the way. Either friends will stop you, or acquaintances.

Approaching the St. Isaac's Bridge, he throws his nose into the river and, having calmed down that he has freed himself from it, goes to the tavern to have a snack. It was not possible to enjoy the food. The meal was interrupted by the appearance of the quarterly overseer, who interrogated him about what he was doing on the bridge.

Chapter 2

Platon Kuzmich goes to the mirror to look at the pimple that has popped up on his nose. Approaching the mirror, the man was stunned. Instead of a nose there is a smooth surface. Kovalev rushes to the police chief.

On the way home, his attention was attracted by a carriage from which a gentleman in uniform jumped out. He immediately recognized his nose. Judging by the clothes of the new owner of the nose, the man was not an ordinary man. Kovalev decides to keep him under surveillance. He follows on his heels. The road led to the Kazan Cathedral, where the nose went. Kovalev follows him. The nose prayed earnestly, not paying attention to anyone. The man asks him to return to his seat, but the nose ignores the request.

If it was not possible to influence the nose through persuasion, Kovalev decides to turn to the press for help by posting a missing person ad. The editors made it clear to him that they do not work with advertisements of this kind. In order to somehow calm down an upset man, he is offered to sniff excellent tobacco.

Kovalev is offended by such a proposal. He runs with a complaint to a private bailiff, but his visit is not welcome there. The bailiff makes it clear that such a situation would never happen to normal people.

Already at home, the collegiate assessor figured out who could be the culprit of what happened. This is staff officer Podtochina. She dreamed of marrying his daughter. Apparently she damaged him for refusing, and he took the rap. He sends a letter threatening her, but upon receiving the answer he realizes that she is not involved in the kidnapping of the nose.

The neighborhood warden, who had seen him on the bridge, paid an unexpected visit to Kovalev. He reports the good news that the nose was caught while trying to leave for Riga. The quarterly complains about life, but does not let go of the package. Kovalev understood the hint. He gives the policeman money, and in return receives the missing part of his face.

It seemed that everything had turned out well. The owner has the nose, but another problem arose. He stubbornly refused to return to his place. Even the doctors gave up in helplessness.

Meanwhile, rumors began to spread throughout St. Petersburg that the nose was walking throughout the city.

Chapter 3

In early April, the nose deigned to return to its original place. Everything fell into place. Ivan Yakovlevich now carefully shaves Kovalev, afraid to touch his nose again. The major is no longer hiding from anyone. Now he is always in a good mood and tries not to miss a single skirt.


As the narrator himself testifies, this incident happened on March 25 in the city of St. Petersburg. Ivan Yakovlevich, the barber, eating fresh bread in the morning that his wife Praskovya Osipovna had baked, found his nose in it. In his discovery, he immediately recognized the nose of the collegiate assessor Kovalev and was very discouraged by this event. Deciding to get rid of the nose he found, the barber throws it from Isaac's Bridge, but is immediately detained by a quarterly warden with sideburns.

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Meanwhile, the collegiate assessor, the same Kovalev, waking up in the morning, decides to squeeze out a pimple on his nose and discovers it’s missing. Major Kovalev (as he preferred to call himself) was very upset, because he simply needed a decent appearance, since the purpose of his visit to the capital was to get a job in some prominent department. In addition, Kovalev’s immediate plans included marriage, and he had already made acquaintances in several decent houses (state councilor Chekhtyreva, staff officer Pelageya Grigorievna Podtochina). The distressed Kovalev goes to the chief police chief and on the way meets his own nose, dressed in a chic uniform and a hat with a plume. Nose gets into the carriage and goes to the Kazan Cathedral, where he prays with a very pious look.

Major Kovalev chases his own nose and tries to talk to him, but he turns out to be a very unyielding interlocutor, and as soon as Kovalev is distracted by the lady in the hat, the nose disappears from sight. The chief police chief was not at home, and Kovalev went on a newspaper expedition to advertise the loss. The newspaper official sympathizes, but refuses him, fearing that the publication may lose its reputation. Next, Kovalev goes to the private bailiff, who turns out to be out of sorts and irritably remarks that decent people’s noses are not torn off. Arriving home, Kovalev thinks about the reason for what happened and comes to the conclusion that it was all the work of headquarters officer Podtochina, whose daughter he was in no hurry to marry. Therefore, apparently, she hired some kind of grandmother-witch to take revenge. Suddenly a police official appears and brings a nose wrapped in paper, which was intercepted on the way to Riga with false documents. Kovalev is endlessly happy.

However, his joy was short-lived. The nose did not stick to the same place. The doctor called was also unable to help, he only advised putting the nose in a jar of alcohol and selling it for good money. Kovalev writes a message to headquarters officer Podtochina, in which he threatens her and demands that his nose be returned to its place. Podtochina’s answer was not long in coming, and was so full of misunderstanding that Kovalev was finally convinced that the headquarters officer was not involved in the incident.

Meanwhile, rumors have already spread throughout the capital. The nose of the collegiate assessor is seen in a variety of crowded places, people gather to gawk at this wonderful phenomenon.

But on April 7, the nose again found itself in its usual place. Happy Kovalev manages to organize all his affairs and resolve all issues in one day.

At the end of the story, the writer states that there is a lot of implausibility in this story, but such incidents sometimes really happen.

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Updated: 2012-03-03

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This happened, according to the narrator, in St. Petersburg, on March 25. Ivan Yakovlevich, a barber, while eating, discovered a nose in the bread that his wife had baked. Extremely puzzled by the strange find, he recognizes, however, Kovalev’s nose and, in fright, tries to figure out how to get rid of it. Having found nothing better than throwing him off the St. Isaac's Bridge, he already felt that the danger had passed, but he was being detained by the quarterly warden.

Kovalev, a collegiate assessor, wakes up in the morning of the same day and discovers his nose is missing. Major Kovalev always strived to have the appearance that suited him, since his goal in the capital was to find an enviable place in the State Department and a wife. Heading to the chief police chief, he notices his own nose, dressed in a uniform lined with gold, and a hat with feathers. Having got into the cart, he arrives at the Kazan Cathedral and prays with incredible piety.


The assessor, at first a little timid, then speaks directly to the nose about its rightful place, achieves nothing and, focusing his attention for a moment on the girl in the hat, loses sight of his interlocutor. Kovalev does not find the Chief of Police at home and decides to go to the newspaper office in order to publish an announcement about the loss, but is refused by an elderly man who, trying to help, advises him to sniff tobacco, which completely upsets Kovalev. Having come to a private bailiff, but in response to all requests for help, he only hears dissatisfied sleepy remarks from the bailiff.

Once at home, the depressed Kovalev reflects on the reasons for this event and comes to the conclusion that the headquarters officer is to blame for this (he was in no hurry to ask her daughter to marry, and she probably took revenge with the help of witchcraft). At the moment of such reflections, a policeman appears, bringing his nose with him and explaining that he was intercepted due to the use of false documents, which causes a joyful shock in the major.


But, despite his happy mood, his nose could not be returned to his face. The doctor refuses to reattach it, explaining that it will turn out much worse, urging him to sell the nose preserved in alcohol for a lot of money. Having refused, Kovalev even writes a letter to officer Podtochina, reproaching her and demanding that her nose be returned to its rightful place. However, her answer completely proves her ignorance and innocence in what happened.

After a while, gossip begins to circulate around St. Petersburg: at 3 o'clock the collegiate assessor's nose was walking along Nevsky, later that he was seen in a store, and after another time - in the garden. All these places are beginning to attract huge masses of people.


Be that as it may, on April 7, Kovalev sees a nose on his face, which makes him truly happy. A barber already familiar to us arrives and, embarrassed, begins to carefully shave him. During these 24 hours, the major was able to visit everywhere: in a candy store, in the department, with his friend the major, having met a staff officer with her daughter, and managed to sniff tobacco. Suddenly, the description of the affairs of Kovalkov, raised on the wings of joy, ends, and the narrator admits that the narrated plot contains There is a lot of fiction, but what is especially surprising is the fact that there are authors who publish such stories. It also says that such incidents occasionally happen.

Year of writing: 1835 Genre: story

Heroes: Platon Kuzmich Kovalev - collegiate assessor, Ivan Yakovlevich - barber, drunkard, Nose - escaped from the owner

Plot: The story introduces us to the extraordinary episode that happened to Kovalev. One day while having breakfast, the hairdresser finds a nose in a loaf of bread that belonged to the major. He tries in every possible way to free himself from this unnecessary object, but for a long time he does not succeed. Finally he throws his nose into the river. And Kovalev, having discovered that his nose is missing, suffers greatly. And when he returns to the owner, we see how the collegiate assessor calms down, and life seems so sad to him.

The author tries to expose all the vices of the St. Petersburg environment, showing the example of the main character Kovalev. After all, at first he appears to the readers as an arrogant person with his own habits, but this loss exposes us to the major with all his negative qualities. Making people feel the vulgarity surrounding them is the main goal of the writer.

One day, a certain Ivan Yakovlevich found a nose belonging to Major Kovalev in bread. The barber wants to throw away an unusual thing, but those around him do not allow him to do this. Finally, he throws him into the water from the bridge, but the police chief reprimands him. In parallel with the events taking place, we see how the collegiate assessor, waking up, does not see the nose on his face. He gets hysterical. How so? How will he live next? Now he won’t be able to appear in decent families, and he won’t be able to hit on women either. And some beauties of St. Petersburg already know him well. But he was used to walking around the city in a neat uniform and always being a well-groomed man. What will they think when they see the gentleman in such an indecent form?

Covering himself with a handkerchief, Kovalev leaves the house and goes straight to the chief of police. On the way, he enters a drinking establishment and wants to look in the mirror. What if he imagined everything that happened? But instead of such an important organ there is only emptiness. Following further, he notices that his own nose, all dressed up, is coming out of the entrance of the neighboring house and is heading importantly towards the carriage. The major quickly rushes after him. And unexpectedly for him, the nose arrives at the temple for service. Kovalev, at first timidly and timidly tried to talk to him about returning to the owner, and at first he could not even speak, but his gaze turned to the beauty in a chic headdress. And he forgot why he was here. The major wanted to flirt with the ladies, but remembering what position he was in, he wanted to continue the conversation with his nose, but there was no trace of him.

Waking up from extraneous thoughts, he hurries to the chief of police. While hurrying on business, he meets many people he knows on the avenue, but Kovalev could not show himself to any of them or even say hello. He had to ride in a carriage. Having arrived at the desired point, he cannot talk to the chief of police. He's missing. Then Kovalev decides to go to the editorial office, where he asks the employees to place a missing person notice. Entering the room, he saw that there were many visitors there, and the smell was unbearable. He had to wait a long time and explain to everyone about his disappearance. The newspaper employees were surprised by such an unusual request. How will they print such text? After such an act, they will simply appear in a stupid guise before the residents of St. Petersburg.

The upset assessor rushes home, but at the same time wants to visit the bailiff. But the head of the family was about to rest, and therefore met his visitor with a dissatisfied look. Finding no support, the major returns home tired and sad. He goes to the mirror to make sure that all this actually happened to him. And then he thinks for a long time about who did such a nasty thing to him. A few minutes later the thought flashed through his mind that the loss was connected with the name Podtochina. She decided to take revenge because she failed to marry her daughter to Kovalev. And he was already thinking about a plan of action on how to call her to account for such an act, when at that time a policeman came in and announced that the major’s nose had been found. The official said that the barber, who had long been suspected of fraud, was probably to blame for the whole incident. Having handed the nose to the owner and received the appropriate reward, the policeman left, and Kovalev began to attach the nose, but, alas, nothing worked. Calling a servant, he sends him for a doctor. But the doctor who arrived only threw up his hands in his helplessness and suggested that the major put his nose in an alcohol-containing solution, or better yet, sell it at a profit.

After seeing the doctor off, the confused Kovalev writes an angry letter to Alexandra Grigorievna Podtochina, where he urgently asks to return his nose to its place. The lady's reply letter makes the major ascertain the honesty and nobility of the headquarters officer. In the meantime, Kovalev is in a dejected state, in St. Petersburg they began to talk about the adventures of the major’s nose. Either he was seen walking along the avenue, or as if he was making purchases in a store. And naturally, a crowd of people gathers in those places to admire such a spectacle.

And maybe everything would have continued indefinitely, and the major would have been lying at home upset. But, one April day, waking up from sleep, Kovalev finds his nose in place. How happy Kovalev was about this event. He asks several times to see if the barber who came to shave him has a pimple. Having put himself in order, the major decided to take a walk, as he usually did. He meets Podtochina with his daughter, against whom he no longer held a grudge and greeted her respectfully, slightly flirting, visited his friend, and went to the office where he was looking for a profitable place of employment. This is what happened in St. Petersburg. And no one knows whether this actually happened, or whether people made it up. But one thing is known: when rereading the pages, everyone should think about their own character.

Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol is known to readers for such famous works as “The Inspector General,” “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka,” and “Taras Bulba.” All of them were written during different periods of the writer’s creative work. One of these moments is his life in St. Petersburg. From his first days there, Nikolai Vasilyevich wrote down everything that surrounded him. This is how “Petersburg Tales” appeared, which included one of the most interesting creations - “The Nose”.

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  • Nikolai Gogol's story "The Nose" is one of the writer's most famous works. This absurdist story was written in 1832-1833.

    Initially, the Moscow Observer magazine refused to print this work, and the author decided to publish it in the Sovremennik magazine. Gogol had to hear a lot of cruel criticism addressed to him, so the story was subjected to significant changes several times.

    What is the story “The Nose” about?

    The story “The Nose” consists of three parts and tells about an incredible incident that happened to the collegiate assessor Kovalev. “The Nose” begins with the fact that one morning a St. Petersburg barber discovers that there is a nose in his bread, and subsequently realizes that this nose belongs to his client, Major Kovalev. All subsequent time, the barber tries by any possible means to get rid of his nose, but it turns out that he constantly drops his unfortunate nose and everyone around him constantly points this out to him. The barber was able to get rid of it only when he threw it into the Neva.

    Meanwhile, Kovalev, who has woken up, discovers that his own nose is missing, and somehow covering his face, he goes in search of it. Gogol shows us how the collegiate assessor diligently searches for his nose throughout St. Petersburg, and his feverish thoughts about how terrible it is to be in such a situation and not be able to appear before the people he knows. And when Kovalev finally meets his nose, he simply does not pay attention to him, and no requests from the major for his return to his place have any effect on the nose.

    The main character tries to submit an advertisement about his missing nose to the newspaper, but the editorial office refuses him due to the fact that such a fantastic situation could harm the reputation of the newspaper. Kovalev even sends a letter to his friend Podtochina, accusing her of stealing his nose in retaliation for his refusal to marry her daughter. In the end, the police supervisor brings the nose to its owner and tells him how hard it is to catch the nose, which was about to go to Riga. After the warden leaves, the main character tries to put his nose back in place, but he fails. And then Kovalev falls into terrible despair, he realizes that life is now meaningless, since without a nose he is nothing.

    Position of a person in society

    It was the absurdity and fantastic nature of the plot that caused such abundant criticism of the writer. But it should be understood that this story has a double meaning, and Gogol’s idea is much deeper and more instructive than it seems at first glance. It is thanks to such an incredible plot that Gogol manages to draw attention to an important topic at that time - the position of a person in society, his status and the dependence of the individual on him. From the story it becomes clear that the collegiate assessor Kovalev, who for greater importance called himself a major, devotes his entire life to his career and social status, he has no other hopes and priorities.

    Kovalev is losing his nose - something that, it would seem, cannot be lost for no apparent reason - and now he cannot appear in a decent place, in secular society, at work or in any other official institution. But he cannot come to an agreement with the nose; the nose pretends that it does not understand what its owner is talking about and ignores him. With this fantastic plot, Gogol wants to emphasize the shortcomings of the society of that time, the shortcomings of thinking and consciousness of that layer of society to which the collegiate assessor Kovalev belonged.

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