Reason Against the Uncanny

The Nose

This flow traces the competing explanations for the nose’s disappearance and the story’s refusal to settle on a rational cause.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

A Familiar Cause Sought A Familiar Cause Sought from "The Nose". A Familiar Cause Sought The Barber Suspected Because the nose appears in Ivan Yakovlevitch’s bread, his wife immediately connects it to the barber’s work.

A Familiar Cause Sought from "The Nose". A Familiar Cause Sought The Barber Suspected Because the nose appears in Ivan Yakovlevitch’s bread, his wife immediately connects it to the barber’s work.

A Familiar Cause Sought The Barber Suspected Because the nose appears in Ivan Yakovlevitch’s bread, his wife immediately connects it to the barber’s work. Earlier complaints make carelessness seem possible. A Rational Story Fails The theory offers blame but no credible mechanism. Its apparent familiarity cannot explain a nose embedded in a roll.

The Dream Hypothesis The Dream Hypothesis from "The Nose". The Dream Hypothesis Self-Doubt Kovaloff wonders whether he is dreaming or has confused alcohol with water.

The Dream Hypothesis from "The Nose". The Dream Hypothesis Self-Doubt Kovaloff wonders whether he is dreaming or has confused alcohol with water.

The Dream Hypothesis Self-Doubt Kovaloff wonders whether he is dreaming or has confused alcohol with water. These explanations try to fit the event within personal error. Reality Resists A painful pinch confirms that he is awake, while the mirror confirms the vacancy. Ordinary tests eliminate one explanation without producing another.

Magic Suspected Magic Suspected from "The Nose". Magic Suspected A Personal Theory Kovaloff blames the Colonel’s wife and imagines that she has employed sorceresses.

Magic Suspected from "The Nose". Magic Suspected A Personal Theory Kovaloff blames the Colonel’s wife and imagines that she has employed sorceresses.

Magic Suspected A Personal Theory Kovaloff blames the Colonel’s wife and imagines that she has employed sorceresses. The supernatural explanation gives intention to an event that otherwise appears arbitrary. Evidence Weakens the Charge Her later letter denies the accusation and offers no sign of guilt. Kovaloff accepts that she is probably innocent, but the event remains unexplained.

Public Marvels Public Marvels from "The Nose". Public Marvels A Climate of Belief The city is described as receptive to miraculous claims and recent demonstrations of magnetism.

Public Marvels from "The Nose". Public Marvels A Climate of Belief The city is described as receptive to miraculous claims and recent demonstrations of magnetism.

Public Marvels A Climate of Belief The city is described as receptive to miraculous claims and recent demonstrations of magnetism. Rumors about the nose therefore find a ready audience. Competing Standards Some citizens believe, others demand government action, and still others mock the credulous. The conflict concerns not only what happened but what counts as credible knowledge.

No Final Explanation No Final Explanation from "The Nose". No Final Explanation Improbability Admitted The narrator acknowledges that the events make little sense, including the discovery in bread and the nose’s…

No Final Explanation from "The Nose". No Final Explanation Improbability Admitted The narrator acknowledges that the events make little sense, including the discovery in bread and the nose’s…

No Final Explanation Improbability Admitted The narrator acknowledges that the events make little sense, including the discovery in bread and the nose’s official disguise. The story does not disguise its own explanatory failure. Uncertainty Preserved The closing reflection allows that strange cases can happen rarely. Reason is neither mocked away nor given enough evidence to solve the mystery.

Morning of 25 March

Evening of 25 March

Days after 25 March

Near the ending