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Kovalev
Drunk barber Ivan Yakovlevich, Praskovya Osipovna’s husband, is the central character in the first of the story's three sections. In this section, he finds and attempts to dispose of Kovalev's nose, which inexplicably appeared in the barber’s breakfast. The narrator introduces Yakovlevich as a man who has lost his name in two ways: figuratively from poverty and literally as his name faded from the rundown sign outside his barbershop. In this vein, Ivan Yakovlevich represents the working-class men in Russia who fail to obtain any position in the Table of Ranks, Russia's social hierarchy. He thus sits below men like Kovalev and the police officers. Ivan Yakovlevich's poor conditions also reflect on his outward appearance: his coat is in poor shape, and his hands are filthy. Despite his low standing in Russian society, though, Ivan Yakovlevich demonstrates an odd reverence for elite men, and particularly the sumptuous clothes they wear. In particular, he admires the police in uniform, even as he imagines his arrest. His attunement to clothing points to the story’s overarching idea that clothing in the world of the novel is a kind of visual language that reflects one’s status.
Ivan Yakovlevich Quotes in The Nose
The The Nose quotes below are all either spoken by Ivan Yakovlevich or refer to Ivan Yakovlevich. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Section 1
Quotes
On the twenty-fifth day of March,1 an extraordinarily strange incident occurred in Petersburg. The barber Ivan Yakovlevich, who lives on Voznesensky Prospect (his family name has been lost, and even on his signboard— which portrays a gentleman with a soaped cheek along with the words “Also Bloodletting”— nothing more appears), the barber Ivan Yakovlevich woke up quite early and sensed the smell of hot bread.
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“Devil knows how it happened,” he said finally, scratching himself behind the ear. “Whether I came home drunk yesterday or not, I can’t say for sure. But by all tokens this incident should be unfeasible: for bread is a baking matter, and a nose is something else entirely. I can’t figure it out! . . .”
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Ivan Yakovlevich fell silent. The thought of the police finding the nose at his place and accusing him drove him to complete distraction. He could already picture the scarlet collar, beautifully embroidered with silver, the sword . . . and he trembled all over.
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Ivan Yakovlevich Quotes in The Nose
The The Nose quotes below are all either spoken by Ivan Yakovlevich or refer to Ivan Yakovlevich. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Section 1
Quotes
On the twenty-fifth day of March,1 an extraordinarily strange incident occurred in Petersburg. The barber Ivan Yakovlevich, who lives on Voznesensky Prospect (his family name has been lost, and even on his signboard— which portrays a gentleman with a soaped cheek along with the words “Also Bloodletting”— nothing more appears), the barber Ivan Yakovlevich woke up quite early and sensed the smell of hot bread.
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Explanation and Analysis:
“Devil knows how it happened,” he said finally, scratching himself behind the ear. “Whether I came home drunk yesterday or not, I can’t say for sure. But by all tokens this incident should be unfeasible: for bread is a baking matter, and a nose is something else entirely. I can’t figure it out! . . .”
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Ivan Yakovlevich fell silent. The thought of the police finding the nose at his place and accusing him drove him to complete distraction. He could already picture the scarlet collar, beautifully embroidered with silver, the sword . . . and he trembled all over.
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