Introduction
The analysis of the novel "The Master and Margarita" has been the subject of study of literary critics throughout Europe for many decades. The novel has a number of features, such as the non-standard form of "a novel within a novel", an unusual composition, rich themes and content. It was not in vain that it was written at the end of the life and career of Mikhail Bulgakov. The writer put all his talent, knowledge and imagination into the work.
Genre of the novel
The work "The Master and Margarita", the genre of which critics define as a novel, has a number of features inherent in its genre. These are several storylines, many heroes, the development of action over a long period of time. The novel is fantastic (sometimes it is called phantasmagoric). But the most striking feature of the work is its "novel within a novel" structure. Two parallel worlds - the masters and the ancient times of Pilate and Yeshua, live here almost independently and intersect only in the last chapters, when Levi, a disciple and close friend of Yeshua, pays a visit to Woland. Here, two lines merge into one, and surprise the reader with their organicity and closeness. It was the structure of the "novel within the novel" that enabled Bulgakov to show two such different worlds so skillfully and fully, events today and almost two thousand years ago.
Composition features
The composition of the novel "The Master and Margarita" and its features are due to the author's non-standard methods, such as the creation of one work within the framework of another. Instead of the usual classical chain - composition - plot - climax - denouement, we see the interweaving of these stages, as well as their doubling.
The plot of the novel: the meeting of Berlioz and Woland, their conversation. This happens in the 30s of the XX century. Woland's story also takes the reader back to the thirties, but two millennia ago. And here begins the second plot - a novel about Pilate and Yeshua.
Next comes the tie. These are tricks of Voladn and his company in Moscow. From here the satirical line of the work also originates. A second novel is also developing in parallel. The culmination of the master's novel is the execution of Yeshua, the climax of the story about the master, Margaret and Woland is the visit of Levi Matthew. An interesting denouement: in it both novels are combined into one. Woland and his retinue are taking Margarita and the Master to another world to reward them with peace and quiet. Along the way, they see the eternal wanderer Pontius Pilate.
"Free! He is waiting for you!" - with this phrase, the master releases the procurator and completes his novel.
Main themes of the novel
Mikhail Bulgakov concluded the meaning of the novel "The Master and Margarita" in the interweaving of the main themes and ideas. No wonder the novel is called both fantastic, and satirical, and philosophical, and love. All these themes are developed in the novel, framing and emphasizing the main idea - the struggle between good and evil. Each theme is both tied to its characters and intertwined with other characters.
satirical theme- this is Woland's "tour". The public, maddened by material wealth, representatives of the elite, greedy for money, the tricks of Koroviev and Behemoth sharply and clearly describe the diseases of the contemporary society writer.
Love Theme embodied in the master and Margarita and gives tenderness to the novel and softens many poignant moments. Probably not in vain, the writer burned the first version of the novel, where Margarita and the master were not there yet.
Empathy Theme runs through the whole novel and shows several options for sympathy and empathy. Pilate sympathizes with the wandering philosopher Yeshua, but being confused in his duties and fearing condemnation, he "washes his hands." Margarita has a different sympathy - she sympathizes with the master, Frida at the ball, and Pilate with all her heart. But her sympathy is not just a feeling, it pushes her to certain actions, she does not fold her hands and fights for the salvation of those she worries about. Ivan Bezdomny also sympathizes with the master, imbued with his story that "every year, when the spring full moon comes ... in the evening he appears on the Patriarch's Ponds ...", so that later at night he can see bittersweet dreams about wondrous times and events.
The theme of forgiveness goes almost alongside the theme of sympathy.
Philosophical themes about the meaning and purpose of life, about good and evil, about biblical motives have been the subject of controversy and study of writers for many years. This is because the features of the novel "The Master and Margarita" are in its structure and ambiguity; with each reading they open up more and more questions and thoughts for the reader. This is the genius of the novel - it does not lose either relevance or poignancy for decades, and is still as interesting as it was for its first readers.
Ideas and main idea
The idea of the novel is good and evil. And not only in the context of struggle, but also in the search for a definition. What is really evil? Most likely, this is the most complete way to describe the main idea of \u200b\u200bthe work. The reader, accustomed to the fact that the devil is pure evil, will be sincerely surprised by the image of Woland. He does not do evil, he contemplates, and punishes those who act low. His tours in Moscow only confirm this idea. He shows the moral illnesses of society, but does not even condemn them, but only sighs sadly: "People, like people ... The same as before." A person is weak, but it is in his power to resist his weaknesses, to fight them.
The theme of good and evil is ambiguously shown on the image of Pontius Pilate. In his heart he opposes the execution of Yeshua, but he lacks the courage to go against the crowd. The verdict on the wandering innocent philosopher is passed by the crowd, but Pilate is destined to serve the punishment forever.
The struggle between good and evil is also the opposition of the literary community to the master. It is not enough for self-confident writers to simply refuse the writer, they need to humiliate him, to prove their case. The master is very weak to fight, all his strength has gone into the romance. No wonder devastating articles for him acquire the image of a certain creature that begins to seem like a master in a dark room.
General analysis of the novel
The analysis of The Master and Margarita implies immersion in the worlds recreated by the writer. Here you can see biblical motifs and parallels with Goethe's immortal Faust. The themes of the novel develop each separately, and at the same time coexist, collectively creating a web of events and questions. Several worlds, each of which has found its place in the novel, are portrayed by the author surprisingly organically. It is not at all surprising to travel from modern Moscow to ancient Yershalaim, Woland's wise conversations, a huge talking cat and Margarita Nikolaevna's flight.
This novel is truly immortal thanks to the talent of the writer and the undying relevance of the topics and problems.
Artwork test
Despite the fact that the novel was written a long time ago and is a classic, it still enjoys great popularity among the younger generation. Thanks to the school curriculum, almost everyone knows this novel and the one who wrote it. "The Master and Margarita" is a novel created by the greatest author, Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov.
Indifference to the novel
In relation to this work, it practically does not exist. In fact, readers are divided into two camps: those who love the novel and admire it, and those who simply hate it and also do not recognize Bulgakov's genius. But there is a third, the smallest, category. It can be attributed, perhaps, only to small children. These are those who have not heard about the novel and do not know who the author is.
"The Master and Margarita" is one of the most extraordinary and mysterious. Many writers and literary critics have tried to unravel the mystery of his popularity and success with the reader. To the end, no one has yet succeeded.
Not many can be remembered and named such works that would give rise to so much controversy around them. They do not stop talking about Bulgakov's novel to this day. They talk about the biblical component of the plot, about the prototypes of the main characters, about the philosophical and aesthetic roots of the novel, about who the main character is, and even about the genre in which the work is written.
Three stages of writing a novel, according to B. V. Sokolov
The opinions of literary critics about the history of the writing of The Master and Margarita, as well as about the essence of this work, differ. For example, Sokolov, the author of the Bulgakov Encyclopedia, divides the editions of the novel into three stages. He says that work on the work began in 1928. Presumably, it was then that the author of the novel The Master and Margarita conceived it, and began writing individual chapters only in the winter of 1929. Already in the spring of the same year, the first complete edition was handed over. But then it was not yet directly said who the author of the book was, who wrote it. "The Master and Margarita" even then did not appear as the title of the work. The manuscript entitled "Furibunda" was given to the publishing house "Nedra" under the pseudonym K. Tugai. And on March 18, 1930, it was destroyed by the author himself. Thus ends the first stage of the editions of the work, singled out by Boris Vadimovich Sokolov.
The second stage began in the autumn of 1936. And at that time no one knew that the novel would be called the way we are now accustomed to. Bulgakov himself, the one who wrote it, thought differently. "The Master and Margarita" - a work that received different names from its author: "He appeared" and "He appeared", "The Coming", "The Great Chancellor", "Here I am", "Black Magician", "Hat with a Feather" , "Counselor's Hoof" and "Foreigner's Horseshoe", "Black Theologian", and even "Satan". Only one subtitle remained unchanged - "A Fantastic Romance".
And, finally, the third stage - from the second half of 1936 to the end of 1938. At first, the novel was called "The Prince of Darkness", but then it nevertheless acquired such a familiar name for us. And at the beginning of the summer, in 1938, it was completely reprinted for the first time.
Nine editions, according to Losev
V. I. Losev studied the biography and work of Mikhail Afanasyevich for more than twenty years. He divides the history of writing the novel into nine parts, just like the author himself.
- The first edition is "The Black Magician". These are drafts of the novel, the first notebook, written in 1928-1929. There is no Master and Margarita in it yet and there are only four chapters.
- The second is "The Hoof of the Engineer". This is the second draft notebook of the same years. It is like a continuation, the second part of the first edition of the work. There are only three chapters in it, but here the idea of one of the most important parts of the novel has already appeared - this is a section called "The Gospel According to Woland".
- The third is "Evening of a terrible Saturday." Drafts, sketches for the novel, written in 1929-1931. There are also three chapters. And only the case in Griboyedov reached the final version of them.
- The fourth is the "Great Chancellor". First complete manuscript edition. Margarita and her lover are already appearing here. That's just his name is not the Master yet, but the Poet.
- Fifth - "Fantastic novel". These are chapters rewritten and completed in 1934-1936. New details appear, but there are no significant modifications.
- The sixth is the "Golden Spear". This is an unfinished manuscript, torn off at the chapter "Magic Money".
- Seventh - "The Prince of Darkness". The first thirteen chapters of the novel. not here, and in general everything ends on the appearance of the protagonist. And Berlioz is called Mirtsev here.
- The eighth part is "The Master and Margarita". Complete and mature handwritten revision 1928-1937. And it was this version that was printed by Elena Bulgakova's sister Olga Bokshanskaya.
- The ninth is also The Master and Margarita. The last and final edition, including all the latest additions and comments by Mikhail Afanasyevich. It was published after the death of the writer Elena Sergeevna, his wife, in 1966.
Version of the story of Belobrovtseva and Kuljus
In many ways, their version is similar to that of Losev, since they completely agree with the critic about the first edition. However, they call the chapters of the novel "The Hoof of an Engineer" given to the publishing house "Nedra" as the second edition. It is here that the Master appears for the first time, who is also called Fesey. He plays the role of Faust even without Marguerite. The third version, according to Belobrovtseva and Kuljus, is the Fantastic Novel written by Bulgakov in 1932, where the Master turns from Fesi into the Poet and Margarita already appears. They consider the fourth edition of 1936, the one that was completed for the first time with the word "end". Next comes the work of 1937 - the unfinished novel "The Prince of Darkness". And then the manuscript printed by O. S. Bokshanskaya. Already its editing by the authors is considered the seventh edition. And the eighth and last is the one that was ruled by Bulgakov's wife before his death and was published after his death.
The novel was published in the form in which we know it, for the first time in the Moscow magazine in 1966. The work immediately gained popularity, and Bulgakov's name did not leave the lips of his contemporaries. Then, for sure, no one had a question about who the author of the work was, who wrote it. The Master and Margarita is a novel that made a great impression. And he still holds the mark.
At the end of the novel, both lines intersect: the Master releases the hero of his novel, and Pontius Pilate, after his death, languishing on a stone slab with his faithful dog Banga for so long and wanting to end his interrupted conversation with Yeshua all this time, finally finds peace and sets off on an endless journey through the flow of moonlight along with Yeshua. The master and Margarita find in the afterlife the "peace" given to them by Woland (which differs from the "light" mentioned in the novel - another variant of the afterlife).
Place and time of the main events of the novel
All events in the novel (in its main narrative) unfold in Moscow in the 1930s, in May, from Wednesday evening to Sunday night, and on these days there was a full moon. It is difficult to determine the year in which the action took place, since the text contains conflicting indications of time - perhaps conscious, and perhaps as a result of the author's unfinished editing.
In the early editions of the novel (1929-1931), the action of the novel is pushed into the future, 1933, 1934 and even 1943 and 1945 are mentioned, the events take place at different periods of the year - from early May to early July. Initially, the author attributed the action to the summer period. However, most likely, in order to comply with the peculiar outline of the narrative, the time was transferred from summer to spring (see Chapter 1 of the novel “Once in the Spring ...” And in the same place, further: “Yes, the first strangeness of this terrible May evening should be noted”).
In the epilogue of the novel, the full moon, during which the action takes place, is called festive, while the version suggests itself that the holiday means Easter, most likely Orthodox Easter. Then the action should begin on the Wednesday of Holy Week, which fell on May 1, 1929. Proponents of this version also put forward the following arguments:
- May 1 is the day of international solidarity of workers, widely celebrated at that time (despite the fact that in 1929 it coincided with Passion Week, that is, with the days of strict fasting). Some bitter irony is seen in the fact that Satan arrives in Moscow on this very day. In addition, the night of May 1 is Walpurgis Night, the time of the annual witches' sabbath on Mount Broken, from where, therefore, Satan directly arrived.
- the master in the novel is "a man about thirty-eight years old." Bulgakov turned thirty-eight on May 15, 1929.
It should, however, be pointed out that on May 1, 1929, the moon was already waning. The Easter full moon never falls in May at all. In addition, the text contains direct indications of a later time:
- the novel mentions a trolleybus launched along the Arbat in 1934, and along the Garden Ring in 1936.
- the architectural congress mentioned in the novel took place in June 1937 (the First Congress of Architects of the USSR).
- very warm weather settled in Moscow at the beginning of May 1935 (the spring full moons then fell in mid-April and mid-May). The 2005 film adaptation takes place in 1935.
The events of the "Romance of Pontius Pilate" take place in the Roman province of Judea during the reign of Emperor Tiberius and management on behalf of the Roman authorities by Pontius Pilate, on the day before the Jewish Passover and the night following, that is, Nisan 14-15 according to the Jewish calendar. Thus, the time of action is presumably the beginning of April or 30 AD. e.
Interpretation of the novel
It has been argued that the idea for the novel came from Bulgakov after visiting the editorial office of the newspaper The Bezbozhnik.
It was also noted that in the first edition of the novel, the session of black magic was dated June 12 - June 12, 1929, the first congress of Soviet atheists began in Moscow, with reports from Nikolai Bukharin and Emelyan Gubelman (Yaroslavsky).
There are several opinions on how this work should be interpreted.
Response to militant atheist propaganda
One of the possible interpretations of the novel is Bulgakov's answer to the poets and writers who, in his opinion, promoted atheism and denied the existence of Jesus Christ as a historical person in Soviet Russia. In particular, the response to the publication of anti-religious poems by Demyan Bedny in the Pravda newspaper of that time.
As a result of such actions on the part of militant atheists, the novel became an answer, a rebuke. It is no coincidence that in the novel, both in the Moscow part and in the Jewish part, there is a kind of caricature whitewashing of the image of the devil. It is no coincidence that the presence of characters from Jewish demonology in the novel is, as it were, in opposition to the denial of the existence of God in the USSR.
According to one of the researchers of Bulgakov's work, hieromonk Dimitry Pershin, the idea to write a novel about the devil comes from the writer after visiting the editorial office of the Bezbozhnik newspaper in 1925. In his novel, Bulgakov tried to construct some kind of apology proving the existence of the spiritual world. This attempt, however, is based on the contrary: the novel shows the reality of the presence in the world of evil, demonic forces. At the same time, the writer raises the question: “How is it that if these forces exist, and the world is in the hands of Woland and his company, then why is the world still standing?”
The interpretation itself lies in the hidden allegorical forms of the narrative. Bulgakov gives something related to Freemasonry in a veiled, not explicit and semi-hidden form. Such a moment is the transformation of the poet Bezdomny from an ignorant person into an educated and balanced person, who has found himself and knows something more than writing poems on an anti-religious topic. This is facilitated by a meeting with Woland, who is a kind of starting point in the search for the poet, passing tests and meeting with the Master, who becomes his spiritual mentor.
The master is the image of a master mason who has completed all the stages of Masonic initiation. Now he is a teacher, mentor, guide of those who seek the Light of knowledge and true spirituality. He is the author of a moral work on Pontius Pilate, which correlates with the architectural work performed by the Freemasons in the course of their knowledge of the Royal Art. He judges everything in a balanced way, not allowing emotions to get the better of him and return him to the ignorant state of a profane person.
Margarita is being initiated into one of the mysteries. The whole description of what is happening, those images that take place in the series of events of the initiation of Margaret, everything speaks of one of the Hellenistic cults, most likely of the Dionysian mysteries, since Satyr appears as one of the priests performing the alchemical combination of water and fire, which determines the completion of the initiation of Margaret. In fact, having passed the Big Circle of Mysteries, Margarita becomes a student and gets the opportunity to go through the Small Circle of Mysteries, for which she is invited to the Woland Ball. At the Ball, she is subjected to many trials, which is so characteristic of Masonic initiation rituals. Upon completion of which Margarita is informed that she was tested and that she passed the tests. The end of the Ball is a dinner by candlelight, in the circle of loved ones. This is a very characteristic symbolic description of the "Table Lodge" (agape) of the Freemasons. By the way, women in purely female lodges or mixed ones, such as the International Mixed Masonic Order "Right of Man", are allowed to membership in Masonic lodges.
There are also a number of smaller episodes that show interpretations and descriptions of Masonic rituals and general initiatic practices in Masonic lodges.
Philosophical interpretation
In this interpretation of the novel, the main idea stands out - the inevitability of punishment for deeds. It is no coincidence that supporters of this interpretation point out that one of the central places in the novel is occupied by the acts of Woland's retinue before the ball, when bribe-takers, libertines and other negative characters are punished, and Woland's court itself, when everyone is rewarded according to his faith.
Interpretation by A. Zerkalov
There is an original interpretation of the novel, proposed by science fiction writer and literary critic A. Zerkalov-Mirrer in the book "The Ethics of Mikhail Bulgakov" (published in 1999). According to Zerkalov, Bulgakov disguised in the novel a “serious” satire on the mores of Stalin’s time, which, without any decoding, was clear to the first listeners of the novel, to whom Bulgakov himself read. According to Zerkalov, Bulgakov, after the caustic Heart of a Dog, simply could not descend to satire in the style of Ilf-Petrov. However, after the events around The Heart of a Dog, Bulgakov had to mask the satire more carefully, placing peculiar “notes” for understanding people. It is worth noting that in this interpretation, some inconsistencies and ambiguities in the novel received a plausible explanation. Unfortunately, Zerkalov left this work unfinished.
A. Barkov: "The Master and Margarita" - a novel about M. Gorky
According to the conclusions of the literary critic A. Barkov, "The Master and Margarita" is a novel about M. Gorky, depicting the collapse of Russian culture after the October Revolution, and the novel depicts not only the reality of Bulgakov's contemporary Soviet culture and literary environment, led by Soviet sung with such a title newspapers by the “master of socialist literature” M. Gorky, erected on a pedestal by V. Lenin, but also the events of the October Revolution and even the armed uprising of 1905. As A. Barkov reveals the text of the novel, M. Gorky served as the prototype of the master, Margarita - his common-law wife, artist of the Moscow Art Theater M. Andreeva, Woland - Lenin, Latunsky and Sempleyarov - Lunacharsky, Levi Matvey - Leo Tolstoy, Variety Theater - Moscow Art Theater.
A. Barkov reveals the system of images in detail, citing the novel's indications of the prototypes of the characters and the connection between them in life. Regarding the main characters, the instructions are as follows:
- Master:
1) In the 1930s, the title "master" in Soviet journalism and newspapers was firmly entrenched in M. Gorky, which Barkov gives examples from periodicals. The title "master" as the personification of the highest degree of the creator of the era of social realism, a writer capable of fulfilling any ideological order, was introduced and promoted by N. Bukharin and A. Lunacharsky.
2) In the novel there are indications of the year of the events taking place - 1936. Despite numerous indications of May as the time of events, references are made to June in relation to the death of Berlioz and the master (linden blossoms, lacy shade of acacias, strawberries were present in early editions). In Woland's astrological phrases, the researcher finds indications of the second new moon of the May-June period, which in 1936 fell on June 19. This is the day when the whole country said goodbye to M. Gorky, who had died the day before. The darkness that covered the city (both Yershalaim and Moscow) is a description of a solar eclipse that happened on this day, June 19, 1936 (the degree of closing of the solar disk in Moscow was 78%), accompanied by a decrease in temperature and a strong wind (on the night of this day over Moscow there was a severe thunderstorm) when Gorky's body was exhibited in the Kremlin's Hall of Columns. The novel also contains details of his funeral (“Hall of Columns”, the removal of the body from the Kremlin (Alexandrovsky Garden), etc.) (absent in early editions; appeared after 1936).
3) The novel written by the “master”, which is an openly Talmudic (and defiantly anti-evangelical) presentation of the life of Christ, is a parody not only of the work and creed of M. Gorky, but also of L. Tolstoy, and also denounces the credo of all Soviet anti-religious propaganda.
- Margarita:
1) “Gothic mansion” of Margarita (the address is easily established from the text of the novel - Spiridonovka) is the mansion of Savva Morozov, with whom Maria Andreeva, an artist of the Moscow Art Theater and a Marxist, beloved S. Morozov, lived until 1903, to whom he transferred huge sums used by her for the needs of Lenin's party. Since 1903, M. Andreeva was the common-law wife of M. Gorky.
2) In 1905, after the suicide of S. Morozov, M. Andreeva received S. Morozov's insurance policy bequeathed to her for one hundred thousand rubles, ten thousand of which she transferred to M. Gorky to pay his debts, and gave the rest to the needs of the RSDLP (in the novel, the master finds a bond “in a basket of dirty laundry”, on which he wins one hundred thousand rubles (for which he begins to “write his novel”, that is, he starts large-scale literary activity), “hires from the developer” rooms, and after that the remaining ten thousand are taken for safekeeping by Margarita).
3) The house with a "bad apartment" in all editions of the novel was held with the pre-revolutionary continuous numbering of the Garden Ring, which indicates pre-revolutionary events. The “bad apartment” in the novel originally appeared with the number 20, not 50. According to the geographical indications of the first editions of the novel, this is apartment No. the training base for armed Marxist militants, created by M. Andreeva, and where V. Lenin visited Gorky and Andreeva several times (a memorial plaque on the house reports several of his stays in this house in 1905: Vozdvizhenka, 4). The “housekeeper” “Natasha” (the party nickname of one of Andreeva’s henchmen) was also here, and there were episodes of shooting when one of the militants, working with a weapon, shot through the wall into a neighboring apartment (the episode with Azazello’s shot).
4) The museum mentioned in the master's monologue regarding his wife ( " - Were you married? - Well, yes, here I am clicking ... on this ... Varenka, Manechka ... no, Varenka ... also a striped dress ... a museum "), refers to the work of Gorky and Andreeva in the post-revolutionary years in the commission for the selection of museum valuables for sale abroad; Andreeva reported on the sale of museum treasures to Berlin personally to Lenin. The names mentioned by the master (Manechka, Varenka) refer to Gorky's real women - Maria Andreeva, Varvara Shaikevich and Maria Zakrevskaya-Benkendorf.
5) The Falerno wine mentioned in the novel refers to the Italian region of Naples-Salerno-Capri, closely connected with Gorky's biography, where he spent several years of his life, and where Lenin repeatedly visited Gorky and Andreeva, as well as with the activities of the RSDLP militant school in Capri , in which Andreeva, who was often on Capri, took an active part. The darkness that came precisely from the Mediterranean Sea also refers to this (by the way, the eclipse of June 19, 1936 really began over the territory of the Mediterranean Sea and passed over the entire territory of the USSR from west to east).
- Woland - Woland's life prototype comes from the system of images created in the novel - this is V. I. Lenin, who personally participated in the relationship between M. Andreeva and M. Gorky and used Andreeva to influence Gorky.
1) Woland marries the Master and Margarita, at a great ball with Satan - in 1903 (after Andreeva met Gorky), Lenin in Geneva personally ordered Andreeva to involve Gorky more closely in the work of the RSDLP.
2) At the end of the novel, Woland and his retinue stand on the building of the Pashkov house, reigning over it. This is the building of the Lenin State Library, a significant part of which is filled with the works of Lenin (in the early editions of the novel, Woland, explaining the reason for his arrival in Moscow, instead of mentioning the works of Herbert Avrilaksky, says: “Here in the state library is a large collection of works on black magic and demonology”; also in the early editions of the novel, in the finale, the fire engulfed not some buildings, but the whole of Moscow, and Woland and his company descended from the roof into the state library building and went out into the city to observe the Moscow fire, thus symbolizing the spread of catastrophic events from the library building, bearing the name of Lenin and largely filled with his works).
Characters
Moscow in the 30s
Master
A professional historian who won a large sum in the lottery and got the opportunity to try his hand at literary work. Becoming a writer, he managed to create a brilliant novel about Pontius Pilate and Yeshua Ha-Nozri, but turned out to be a man not adapted to the era in which he lived. He was driven to despair by persecution from colleagues who severely criticized his work. Nowhere in the novel is his name and surname mentioned; to direct questions about this, he always refused to introduce himself, saying - "Let's not talk about it." Known only by the nickname "master" given by Margarita. He considers himself unworthy of such a nickname, considering it a whim of his beloved. A master is a person who has achieved the highest success in any activity, which may be why he is rejected by the crowd, which is not able to appreciate his talent and abilities. The Master, the protagonist of the novel, writes a novel about Yeshua (Jesus) and Pilate. The master writes the novel, interpreting the gospel events in his own way, without miracles and the power of grace - like Tolstoy. The master communicated with Woland - Satan, a witness, according to him, of the events that took place, the described events of the novel.
“From the balcony, a shaven, dark-haired man with a sharp nose, worried eyes and a tuft of hair hanging over his forehead, about thirty-eight years old, carefully looked into the room.”
margarita
The beautiful, wealthy but bored wife of a famous engineer, suffering from the emptiness of her life. Having met the Master by chance on the streets of Moscow, she fell in love with him at first sight, passionately believed in the success of his novel, prophesied glory. When the Master decided to burn his novel, she only managed to save a few pages. Then she makes a deal with the devil and becomes the queen of the satanic ball hosted by Woland in order to regain the missing Master. Margarita is a symbol of love and self-sacrifice in the name of another person. If you call the novel without using symbols, then "The Master and Margarita" is transformed into "Creativity and Love".
Woland
Satan, who visited Moscow under the guise of a foreign professor of black magic, a "historian". At the first appearance (in the novel "The Master and Margarita") he narrates the first chapter from the novel (about Yeshua and Pilate). Eye defects are the main feature of appearance. Appearance: growth was not small and not huge, but just tall. As for his teeth, he had platinum crowns on the left side, and gold crowns on the right. He wore an expensive gray suit, expensive foreign shoes to match the color of the suit, he always had a cane with him, with a black knob in the shape of a poodle's head; the right eye is black, the left one is green for some reason; a crooked mouth. Shaved smoothly. He smoked a pipe and always carried a cigarette case with him.
Fagot (Koroviev) and the cat Behemoth. A live cat Behemoth, who takes part in performances, poses next to them. Sculpture by Alexander Rukavishnikov installed in the courtyard of the Bulgakov House in Moscow
Bassoon (Koroviev)
One of the characters of Satan's retinue, all the time walking in ridiculous checkered clothes and pince-nez with one cracked and one missing glass. In his true form, he turns out to be a knight, forced to pay with constant stay in the retinue of Satan for one once said unsuccessful pun about light and darkness.
Koroviev-Fagot has some resemblance to a bassoon - a long thin tube folded in three. Moreover, the bassoon is an instrument that can play both high and low keys. Now bass, then treble. If we recall the behavior of Koroviev, or rather the change in his voice, then another character in the name is clearly visible. Bulgakov's character is thin, tall and in imaginary subservience, it seems, is ready to triple in front of his interlocutor (in order to calmly harm him later).
In the image of Koroviev (and his constant companion Behemoth), the traditions of folk laughter culture are strong, these same characters retain a close genetic connection with the heroes - picaros (rogues) of world literature.
There is a possibility that the names of the characters in Woland's retinue are associated with the Hebrew language. So, for example, Koroviev (in Hebrew cars- close, that is, approximate), Behemoth (in Hebrew behemoth- cattle), Azazello (in Hebrew azazel- daemon).
Azazello
A member of Satan's retinue, a killer demon with a repulsive appearance. The prototype of this character was the fallen angel Azazel (in Jewish beliefs - who later became the demon of the desert), mentioned in the apocryphal book of Enoch - one of the angels whose actions on earth provoked the wrath of God and the Flood. By the way, Azazel is a demon who gave men weapons, and women - cosmetics, mirrors. It is no coincidence that he goes to Margarita to give her the cream.
Behemoth cat
The character of the retinue of Satan, a playful and restless spirit, appearing either in the form of a giant cat walking on its hind legs, or in the form of a full citizen, with a face that looks like a cat. The prototype of this character is the demon of the same name Behemoth, a demon of gluttony and debauchery, who could take the form of many large animals. In its true form, the Behemoth turns out to be a thin young man, a page demon.
Belozerskaya wrote about the dog Buton, named after Molière's servant. “She even hung another card on the front door under the card of Mikhail Afanasyevich, where it was written: “Buton Bulgakov”. This is an apartment on Bolshaya Pirogovskaya. There Mikhail Afanasyevich began work on The Master and Margarita.
Gella
A witch and vampire from the retinue of Satan, who embarrassed all his visitors (from among the people) by the habit of not wearing almost anything. The beauty of her body is spoiled only by a scar on her neck. In the retinue, Woland plays the role of a maid. Woland, recommending Gella to Margarita, says that there is no service that she could not provide.
Mikhail Alexandrovich Berlioz
The chairman of MASSOLIT is a writer, a well-read, educated and skeptical person. He lived in a “bad apartment” at 302-bis Sadovaya, where Woland later settled during his stay in Moscow. He died, not believing Woland's prediction about his sudden death, made shortly before her. At the ball of Satan, his further fate was determined by Woland according to the theory, according to which everyone will be given according to his faith .... Berlioz appears before us at the ball in the form of his own severed head. Subsequently, the head was turned into a bowl in the form of a skull on a golden leg, with emerald eyes and pearl teeth .... the lid of the skull was thrown back on a hinge. It was in this cup that the spirit of Berlioz found non-existence.
Ivan Nikolaevich Homeless
Poet, member of MASSOLIT. The real name is Ponyrev. Wrote an anti-religious poem, one of the first heroes (along with Berlioz) who met Koroviev and Woland. He ended up in a clinic for the mentally ill, and was also the first to meet the Master. Then he recovered, stopped studying poetry and became a professor at the Institute of History and Philosophy.
Stepan Bogdanovich Likhodeev
Director of the Variety Theatre, Berlioz's neighbor, who also lives in a "bad apartment" on Sadovaya. A slacker, a womanizer and a drunkard. For "official discrepancy" was teleported to Yalta by Woland's henchmen.
Nikanor Ivanovich Bosoy
Chairman of the housing association on Sadovaya Street, where Woland settled during his stay in Moscow. Zhadin, the day before, he committed the theft of funds from the cash desk of the housing association.
Koroviev entered into an agreement with him for temporary housing and gave a bribe, which, as subsequently stated by the chairman, "she herself crawled into his briefcase." Then, on the orders of Woland, Koroviev turned the transferred rubles into dollars and, on behalf of one of the neighbors, reported the hidden currency to the NKVD.
Trying to somehow justify himself, Bosoy confessed to bribery and announced similar crimes on the part of his assistants, which led to the arrest of all members of the housing association. Due to further behavior during interrogation, he was sent to a psychiatric hospital, where he was haunted by nightmares related to the requirements to hand over the available currency.
Ivan Savelyevich Varenukha
Administrator of the Variety Theatre. He fell into the clutches of Woland's gang when he carried to the NKVD a printout of correspondence with Likhodeev, who had ended up in Yalta. As a punishment for "lying and rudeness on the phone", he was turned into a vampire gunner by Gella. After the ball, he was turned back into a human and released. At the end of all the events described in the novel, Varenukha became a more good-natured, polite and honest person.
An interesting fact: the punishment of Varenukha was a "private initiative" of Azazello and Behemoth.
Grigory Danilovich Rimsky
Financial Director of the Variety Theatre. He was shocked by the attack on him by Gella, along with his friend Varenukha, so much that he completely turned gray, and after that he preferred to flee from Moscow. During interrogation at the NKVD, he asked for an "armored camera" for himself.
Georges of Bengal
Entertainer at the Variety Theatre. He was severely punished by Woland's retinue - his head was torn off - for the unsuccessful comments that he made during the performance. After returning the head to its place, he could not recover and was taken to the clinic of Professor Stravinsky. The figure of Bengalsky is one of many satirical figures, the purpose of which is to criticize Soviet society.
Vasily Stepanovich Lastochkin
Accountant Variety. While I was handing over the cash register, I found traces of the presence of Woland's retinue in the institutions where he had been. During the delivery of the cash register, he suddenly discovered that the money had turned into a variety of foreign currencies.
Prokhor Petrovich
Chairman of the Spectacle Commission of the Variety Theatre. Behemoth the cat temporarily kidnapped him, leaving an empty suit sitting at his workplace. For taking the wrong position.
Maximilian Andreevich Poplavsky
Yershalaim, I c. n. e.
Pontius Pilate
The fifth procurator of Judea in Jerusalem, a cruel and domineering man, nevertheless managed to feel sympathy for Yeshua Ha-Nozri during his interrogation. He tried to stop the well-functioning mechanism of execution for insulting Caesar, but failed to do this, which he later regretted all his life. He suffered from a severe migraine, from which he was relieved during interrogation by Yeshua Ha-Nozri.
Yeshua Ha-Nozri
A wandering philosopher from Nazareth, described by Woland at the Patriarch's Ponds, as well as by the Master in his novel, compared with the image of Jesus Christ. The name Yeshua Ga-Notsri means in Hebrew Jesus (Yeshua ישוע) from Nazareth (Ga-Notsri הנוצרי). However, this image differs significantly from the biblical prototype. Characteristically, he tells Pontius Pilate that Matthew Levi (Matthew) wrote down his words incorrectly and that “this confusion will continue for a very long time.” Pilate: “But what did you say about the temple to the crowd in the bazaar?” Yeshua: “I, hegemon, said that the temple of the old faith would collapse and a new temple of truth would be created. He said it in such a way that it was clearer.“ A humanist who denies resisting evil with violence.
Levy Matvey
The only follower of Yeshua Ha-Nozri in the novel. Accompanied his teacher until his death, and subsequently took him down from the cross to bury him. He also had the intention of slaughtering Yeshua, who was led to the execution, in order to save him from the torment on the cross, but in the end he failed. At the end of the novel, Woland comes to Woland, sent by his teacher Yeshua, with a request to grant peace to the Master and Margarita.
Joseph Kaifa
Jewish high priest, head of the Sanhedrin, who condemned to death Yeshua Ha-Nozri.
Judas of Kiriath
A young resident of Yershalaim who delivered Yeshua Ha-Nozri into the hands of the Sanhedrin. Pontius Pilate, surviving his involvement in the execution of Yeshua, organized the secret murder of Judas in order to take revenge.
Mark Ratslayer
Centurion, Pilate's guard, crippled sometime in the battle with the Germans, acting as an escort and directly carrying out the execution of Yeshua and two more criminals. When a severe thunderstorm began on the mountain, Yeshua and other criminals were stabbed to death in order to be able to leave the place of execution. Another version says that Pontius Pilate ordered the convicts to be stabbed to death (which is not allowed by law) in order to alleviate their suffering. Perhaps he got the nickname "Rat-Slayer" because he himself was a German.
Aphranius
Head of the secret service, colleague of Pilate. Supervised the execution of the murder of Judas and planted the money received for the betrayal at the residence of the high priest Kaifa.
Niza
A resident of Jerusalem, an agent of Aphranius, who pretended to be the beloved of Judas in order to lure him into a trap on the orders of Aphranius.
Versions
First edition
Bulgakov dated the start of work on The Master and Margarita in various manuscripts, now and then in 1929. In the first edition, the novel had variants of the names “Black Magician”, “Engineer's Hoof”, “Juggler with a Hoof”, “V.'s Son”, “Tour”. The first edition of The Master and Margarita was destroyed by the author on March 18, 1930, after receiving news of the ban on the play The Cabal of Saints. Bulgakov wrote about this in a letter to the government: “And personally, with my own hands, I threw a draft of a novel about the devil into the stove ...”.
Work on The Master and Margarita resumed in 1931. Rough sketches were made for the novel, and here already appeared margarita and her then nameless companion is the future Master, A Woland got his lush retinue.
Second edition
The second edition, created before 1936, had the subtitle "Fantastic novel" and variants of the titles "The Great Chancellor", "Satan", "Here I am", "Black Magician", "Engineer's Hoof".
Third Edition
The third edition, begun in the second half of 1936, was originally called "Prince of Darkness", but already in 1937 the title "Master and Margarita" appeared. On June 25, 1938, the full text was reprinted for the first time (printed by O. S. Bokshanskaya, sister of E. S. Bulgakova). The author's editing continued almost until the writer's death, Bulgakov stopped it at Margarita's phrase: “So this, then, is the writers following the coffin?”...
Publication history of the novel
During his lifetime, the author read certain passages at home to close friends. Much later, in 1961, the philologist A. Z. Vulis wrote a work on Soviet satirists and remembered the half-forgotten author of Zoya's Apartment and Crimson Island. Vulis learned that the writer's widow was alive and established contact with her. After an initial period of distrust, Elena Sergeevna gave the manuscript of The Master to be read. The shocked Vulis shared his impressions with many, after which rumors about a great novel spread throughout literary Moscow. This led to the first publication in the magazine "Moscow" in 1966 (circulation 150 thousand copies). There were two prefaces: by Konstantin Simonov and Vulis.
The full text of the novel, at the request of K. Simonov, was published after the death of E. S. Bulgakova in the 1973 edition. In 1987, for the first time after the death of the writer's widow, access to the Bulgakov fund in the Department of Manuscripts of the Lenin Library was opened to textual critics preparing a two-volume edition published in 1989, and the final text was published in the 5th volume of collected works, published in 1990.
Bulgakov studies offer three concepts for reading the novel: historical and social ( V. Ya. Lakshin), biographical ( M. O. Chudakova) and aesthetic with a historical and political context ( V. I. Nemtsev).
“Five days before his death, his wife bent over Mikhail Afanasyevich, because his speech began to be taken away. He could not clearly pronounce the beginnings and endings of words.
“He let me know that he needed something. I offered him medicine, drink - lemon juice, but I realized that this was not the case. I guessed: “Your things?” He nodded with an air of yes and no. I said: "Master and Margarita"? He, overjoyed, made a sign with his head that "yes, it is." And squeezed out two words: "... To know, to know ..."
Elena Sergeevna crossed herself and swore an oath that she would publish the novel. (Later, when she fell ill, she was always afraid to die without fulfilling her promise.)
After some time, the writer became blind (a consequence of nephrosclerosis).
Until the early 1950s, there was neither a cross nor a stone on Bulgakov's grave - only a rectangle of grass with forget-me-nots and a tree. In search of a slab, Elena Sergeeva went to the cutters.
Once she saw a huge black stone among the fragments of granite. "What is it?" she asked the workers. “Golgotha,” they answered. - "How is Golgotha?" They explained that on the grave Gogol in the Danilovsky monastery there was a "Golgotha with a cross". Then, when a new monument was made for Gogol's anniversary in 1952, "Golgotha" was thrown into a pit in a barn. “I'm buying,” Elena Sergeevna said without hesitation. "So how do you pick it up?" - "Do whatever you want! I will pay for everything,” she said. The stone was transported and placed on Bulgakov's grave. A chipped top without a cross looked ugly. The stone was turned upside down.
Bulgakov himself found those words spoken about another master, but surprisingly suitable for him. How he wanted to hear it about himself! But also Hoffman during his lifetime, he hardly read anything like that about himself (higher critics remained silent). Probably, this is the eternal fate of great artists - to be ahead of time. And only future readers fully "pay" with them for their loyalty to the vocation with their love.
Rylev K.E., A course of treatment from postmodernism: a guide to modern culture, M., Kraft +, 2011, p. 410-412.
The history of writing Bulgakov's work "The Master and Margarita"
An outstanding Russian prose writer and playwright who called himself a "mystical writer" In his original work, along with "magic realism", a powerful satirical charge plays an extremely important role. Bulgakov's heroes are always preoccupied with global problems that are of a universal nature. As a satirist writer, Bulgakov was one of the first who had the courage to show the degradation of a totalitarian society and the tragedy of a thinking person in it.
The novel by Mikhail Afanasovich Bulgakov (1891-1940) "The Master and Margarita", having come to the reader a quarter of a century after the death of the author, immediately after publication became famous not only in Russian literature and in the world as well. In this we find both a new artistic version of the gospel legend and satirical sketches of Moscow life in the late 1920s, but above all, this novel is about good and evil, about betrayal, heroism, art and the power of love...
The Master and Margarita, first published in the Moscow magazine with a foreword by K. Simonov, was immediately noticed by critics.
Some authors of articles did not approve of the novel, they despised the writer for the lack of a class approach.
This point of view did not find support in the following literary works.
In the following articles, the novel was studied primarily as a work devoted to the "eternal" question of good and evil, taken in the broadest cultural and philosophical context, as a kind of "urban" novel. Writers and critics noted the main problems presented in the novel: freedom of creativity, the moral responsibility of a person for his actions, - much attention was paid to the analysis of the text to the main characters - Yeshua, Pilate, the Master, Margarita. There is a well-known article by V. Lakshin, which not only was an actual critical response to the publication, but also represents the first serious literary study of the work. A lot of research work appeared in this direction in the 70s and 80s.
On October 4, 1939, convinced of a fatal illness, Bulgakov began to dictate corrections to the novel to his wife and continued this work until the last day of his life.
Back in 1928, the writer began work on his famous work, the novel The Master and Margarita. The first complete version of The Master and Margarita was completed in 1934, and the last in 1938. Already on his deathbed, the blinded Bulgakov dictated the proofreading of his main work, but did not have time to complete the work. The writer died on March 10, 1940, and the first magazine publication of The Master and Margarita in his homeland became possible only 26 years later.
The first full text of the book was published as a separate edition in 1967 in Paris, in the USSR - in 1973. The novel is today one of the most popular works of Russian prose, a "cult" book for several generations of readers.
Schemes quite common in world literature are developed in the novel: the adventures of the devil in the world of people, the sale of the soul, variations on gospel themes, etc.
Using the compositional technique of “text in text”, Bulgakov connected within the framework of space (“Moscow” and “Yershalaim” lines of the plot), which are inextricably linked. The action of the two plots takes place in 29 and 1929 from the Nativity of Christ, and thus, they develop, as it were, simultaneously.
“The interpenetration of these texts, the clash of their” points of view “forms a very important collision” of the “mythologized” and “real” images of a particular person.
Bulgakov's principle of using the Gospel plot is that the Master's novel is polemically correlated with it; the historical Gospel takes on the features of an unreliable version.
Bulgakov's devil Woland differs from the traditional Satan primarily in that he does not create purposeful evil. The essence of Woland is that the living world does not know good and evil.
Woland's only evaluative criterion is "from the point of view of eternity."
Bulgakov emphasizes the gap between creative titanism and human "ordinary". In fact, the only creative stimulus for the Master is the desire to leave the present, to find an illusory existence in another time. Having created a brilliant book, restoring the historical reality in its living primevalness, the Master as a cultural hero and as an artist, “ruler of souls” turned out to be weaker than Levi Matthew, who, blindly believing in his truth, made it a flag of faith for centuries.
