Short Fiction · Chapter
Short Fiction explained
A collection of Gogol's short stories exploring themes of the supernatural, social satire, and human folly, including tales of love, rivalry, and the absurd.
What happens
A collection of Gogol's short stories exploring themes of the supernatural, social satire, and human folly, including tales of love, rivalry, and the absurd.
Themes in this chapter
Absurdity and Satire
Gogol uses absurd events, like a missing nose, to satirize social pretensions and bureaucratic folly.
Social Class and Bureaucracy
The stories critique the dehumanizing effects of rank and the petty concerns of the lower and middle classes.
Characters to notice
- Akaki Akakievitch
Protagonist of 'The Overcoat,' a lowly clerk whose life revolves around his coat.
- Major Kovaloff
Central character in 'The Nose,' a social climber who loses his nose.
- Tchartkoff
Artist in 'The Portrait' who becomes corrupted by materialism.
- Ivan Ivanovitch
One of the feuding protagonists in 'The Tale of How Ivan Ivanovich Quarreled with Ivan Nikiforovich.'
- Ivan Nikiforovitch
The other feuding protagonist in the same story, known for his stubbornness.
Key passages
“The more it was limited, the more attractive did he find it, and he never even noticed that there was anything limited in it.”
Akaki finds comfort in the narrow routine of his copying work, unaware of its monotony.
Illustrates Akaki's contentment with his mundane existence.
“But the most strange and incomprehensible of all is how authors can choose such subjects.”
The narrator marvels at the absurdity of the story's premise.
Gogol's self-aware commentary on the bizarre nature of 'The Nose.'