‘On the one hand, man is a body. On the other hand, man has a body. That is, man experiences himself as an entity that is not identical with his body, but that, on the contrary, has a body at its disposal' (Berger and Luckmann). With reference to TWO works studied on this course, discuss the body as the source of identity, and also as a source of confusion about identity.
Kafka's 'Metamorphosis' and Gogol's 'The Nose' are both novellas that centre on a bodily catastrophe. The protagonists' bodies undergo a strange change at the start of the texts, which then explore the consequences and the circumstances of the change. In 'Metamorphosis', Gregor becomes a giant insect; in 'the Nose,' Kovalyov's nose disappears from his face and reappears in …show more content…
The phallic associations of the nose are clear, and the text can be read as a castration narrative: 'Kovalev's nose is not really a nose but something quite different,' argues Spycher.5 Much as in a dream, the nose stands both for the penis and for the status and masculinity often associated with the male genitalia. That the nose embodies the idea of status is clear by the fact that it immediately ascends to a rank higher than Kovalyov's, as if the rest of his body, and his mind, held it back from its ambitions. At this moment, the nose has itself undergone a remarkable transformation, and appears to be a complete person- it wears a hat and a high collar; it stands, bows, and turns around; it has a face and eyebrows. It also speaks, and says that it is 'a person in [its]own right'.6 Here, the nose has an identity, independent of Kovalyov, and defined by its military rank- it affirms its identity by saying that it doesn't see how it and Kovalyov can 'have anything in common- judging from [Kovalyov's] uniform buttons [...] [he is] from another government department.' The difference in department is more important than their separate bodies in declaring them two separate
Kafka's 'Metamorphosis' and Gogol's 'The Nose' are both novellas that centre on a bodily catastrophe. The protagonists' bodies undergo a strange change at the start of the texts, which then explore the consequences and the circumstances of the change. In 'Metamorphosis', Gregor becomes a giant insect; in 'the Nose,' Kovalyov's nose disappears from his face and reappears in …show more content…
The phallic associations of the nose are clear, and the text can be read as a castration narrative: 'Kovalev's nose is not really a nose but something quite different,' argues Spycher.5 Much as in a dream, the nose stands both for the penis and for the status and masculinity often associated with the male genitalia. That the nose embodies the idea of status is clear by the fact that it immediately ascends to a rank higher than Kovalyov's, as if the rest of his body, and his mind, held it back from its ambitions. At this moment, the nose has itself undergone a remarkable transformation, and appears to be a complete person- it wears a hat and a high collar; it stands, bows, and turns around; it has a face and eyebrows. It also speaks, and says that it is 'a person in [its]own right'.6 Here, the nose has an identity, independent of Kovalyov, and defined by its military rank- it affirms its identity by saying that it doesn't see how it and Kovalyov can 'have anything in common- judging from [Kovalyov's] uniform buttons [...] [he is] from another government department.' The difference in department is more important than their separate bodies in declaring them two separate