Why is Kovalev most upset that he has lost his nose?

In Nikolai Gogol’s “The Nose,” I argue that the major reason that Kovalev is concerned that he has lost his nose is that this will negatively affect his ability to court women. Kovalev is obviously distraught that he has lost his nose, but he seems most affected by the fact that he will have a harder time calling on the wives of titled men. Kovalev is an unrepentant bachelor with tendencies reminiscent of the archetypal rake. Indeed, critics have obviously labeled the nose as a phallic signifier and applied a Freudian reading to the tale, and this reading makes sense when one considers Kovalev’s rakish habits. He pleads his case to a clerk:

“Consider for yourself, how indeed can I do without such a conspicuous part of the body? It's not like some little toe that I can put in a boot and no one will see it's not there. On Thursdays I call on the wife of the state councillor Chekhtarev; Palageya Grigorievna Podtochina, a staff officer's wife-- and she has a very pretty daughter-- they, too are my very good acquaintances, and consider for yourself, now, how can I... I can't go to them now” (312).

Later, when Kovalev miraculously finds his nose reattached, he is overjoyed, and continues to lead his bachelor lifestyle:

“And the nose also sat on his face as if nothing was wrong, not even showing a sign that it had ever gone anywhere. And after that Major Kovalev was seen eternally in a good humor, smiling, chasing after decidedly all the pretty ladies, and even stopping once in front of a shop in the Merchants' Arcade to buy some ribbon or other, no one knows for what reason, since he was not himself the bearer of any decoration” (325).

Thus, the reason, for me, that Kovalev is most upset by the mysterious disappearance of his nose concerns his relationships with women. He is concerned with being viewed as ridiculous and unattractive, and is relieved to continue with his bachelor life once he regains his nose.

I pulled my textual support from The Collected Tales of Nikolai Gogol, translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky.