The Nose characters

Appears from the start

A barber in Saint Petersburg who discovers an impossible object in a loaf his wife has baked. Frightened that the police will blame him, he tries to dispose of it without attracting notice.

Appears from the start

Ivan's sharp-tempered wife, who finds his discovery disgusting and insists that he remove it from their home at once.

Also known as Major Kovalyov

First appears in chapter 2

A collegiate assessor who prefers the socially impressive title of major. Vain, status-conscious, and eager to make a good marriage, he is horrified to wake without his nose because the disfigurement threatens his public life.

Also known as The Nose

First appears in chapter 2

Kovalyov's missing nose, encountered dressed as a high-ranking official and behaving as an independent person. Its apparent rank makes Kovalyov hesitant even while he tries to demand its return.

First appears in chapter 2

An official at a newspaper office who hears Kovalyov's request for a notice about his missing nose. He is more concerned with the paper's dignity and the oddity of the proposed advertisement than with helping Kovalyov.

Also known as Madame Podtochina

First appears in chapter 2

A staff officer's widow whose daughter Kovalyov has courted without committing to marriage. Kovalyov begins to suspect that she has arranged his strange affliction to force his hand.

First appears in chapter 2

Madame Podtochina's daughter, a young woman whom Kovalyov finds attractive but has no immediate intention of marrying.

First appears in chapter 2

A police official who intercepts the wandering nose and brings it back to Kovalyov. His practical delivery does not solve the larger problem of how the nose can be restored.

First appears in chapter 2

A confident physician called after the nose has been recovered. He examines Kovalyov but advises against trying to attach it, leaving his patient with the object but no remedy.