Critique on Nikolai Gogol’s The Nose

Abstract

This paper challenges traditional interpretations of Nikolai Gogol’s The Nose as a political or socio-economic metaphor. Instead, it argues that the story should be understood and appreciated as a purely absurdist work—one that does not seek to convey hidden meanings or critiques, but rather exists for the sake of absurdity itself. The literature studied in this context is not in the language of the studied writer—Gogol was a Ukrainian writer who wrote in Russian. As a result, this work incorporates Russian literature. This is utilized to substantiate the main arguments, including the presence of defamiliarization in his absurdist works and absurdity existing for absurdities sake.