Nose Operation

Andrew Dinn andrew at cee.hw.ac.uk
Tue Jun 25 08:24:23 CDT 1996


Brian D. McCary writes:

> Side question: Could this have been the inspiration for Gogol's "The
> Nose?"  I always thought that the loss of a nose was a very peculiar
> idea, but if happened to someone Gogol knew of heard of, it could
> certainly have suggested the rest of the story.

The above being in response to an account of mediaeval plastic
surgery, the nose which dropped off would have been a replacement for
an already missing nose. So, the noseless conundrum still attends its
Oedipus.

And I think Gogol's problem was that he was one facial adornment short
of a fizzog.


Andrew Dinn
-----------
And though Earthliness forget you,
To the stilled Earth say:  I flow.
To the rushing water speak:  I am.





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