The Nose's Rank
Irony is one of Gogol's most masterful tools of satire. In a particularly painful example for Major Kovalev, his disassociated nose somehow takes on a higher rank in the Russian bureaucracy than the Major himself. When Major Kovalev attempts to bring up the problem, the nose is haughty, condescending, and takes its leave without much regard to what the Major is saying. Yet in reality, the nose belongs to the Major, and it is a cruel and ironic twist of fate that it has assumed this level of power and status.
