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I am a person in my own right. Furthermore, I don’t see that we can have anything in common. Judging from your uniform buttons, I should say you’re from another government department.

After Kovalyov’s nose escapes his face, it quickly becomes a gentleman and is promoted to a state councilor position. Since Kovalyov understands personhood through the lens of status, the fact that his nose takes on a different level of rank marks it as a totally separate and different being from him. In this passage, Kovalyov’s nose insults its former owner, remarking that the buttons on Kovalyov’s uniform expose that he is a lower rank than the nose. The nose insinuates that this discrepancy in rank means that they are such totally different types of people that they would have nothing in common to discuss.

He turned round to tell the nose in uniform straight out that it was only masquerading as a state councilor, that it was an impostor and a scoundrel.

In this passage, Kovalyov succinctly states one of the most pivotal themes of the short story—that most people are only performing their status, and that the power they pretend to have is ultimately an illusion. What’s ironic is that Kovalyov does not realize that his statement about his nose masquerading as a highly important official could be said about him as well. Kovalyov dresses and behaves like an important man, but if he were to be stripped of those appearances—just as he is stripped of his nose—there would be little about him that would suggest he is a powerful or influential person.

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