How we cite our quotes: (Section.Paragraph)
Quote #7
"Ah, you!" Here Ivan Yakovlevitch glanced at the nose. Then he bent his head askew, and contemplated the nose from a position on the flank. "It looks right enough," finally he commented, but eyed the member for quite a little while longer before carefully, so gently as almost to pass the imagination, he lifted two fingers towards it, in order to grasp its tip—such always being his procedure. (3.12)
Ok, so first of all, why on earth would Kovalev still use the same barber after the cop clearly told him that this dude was involved in the nose business? Whatever. In any case, we are loving the idea that the barber can immediately identify each nose on sight—and that here, he's been through enough trouble with this thing that he still calls it "you" even though the nose is all done being its own person and is back to being an object on someone's face.
Quote #8
And from that time onwards Major Kovalev gadded about the same as before. He walked on the Nevsky Prospekt, and he visited theaters, and he showed himself everywhere. And always the nose accompanied him the same as before, and evinced no signs of again purposing a departure. Great was his good humor, replete was he with smiles, intent was he upon pursuit of fair ladies. Once, it was noted, he even halted before a counter of the Gusting Dvor, and there purchased the ribbon of an order. Why precisely he did so is not known, for of no order was he a knight. (3.22)
So, this is the opposite of a traditional story. You know, usually there's a character arc and the point of the reading the thing is to find out how a character goes from being one way to being another way. But here? This totally nightmarishly crazy thing happens, and then Kovalev just goes about his business like always. He doesn't even end up marrying that girl. What do we do with a protagonist that straight up refuses to change in any way. Is this aspect of "The Nose" the most mysteriously magical one of all?