Introduction
Analysis of the novel “The Master and Margarita” has been the subject of study by literary scholars throughout Europe for many decades. The novel has a number of features, such as the non-standard form of a “novel within a novel”, unusual composition, rich themes and content. It is not for nothing that it was written at the end of life and creative path Mikhail Bulgakov. The writer put all his talent, knowledge and imagination into the work.
Novel genre
The work “The Master and Margarita,” the genre of which critics define as a novel, has a number of features inherent to its genre. These are several storylines, many characters, and the development of action over a long period of time. The novel is fantastic (sometimes called phantasmagorical). But the most striking feature of the work is its structure of a “novel within a novel.” Two parallel worlds - the masters and the ancient times of Pilate and Yeshua - live almost independently here and intersect only in the last chapters, when Woland is visited by Levi, Yeshua’s student and close friend. Here, two lines merge into one, and surprise the reader with their organic nature and closeness. It was the structure of the “novel within a novel” that made it possible for Bulgakov to so masterfully and fully show two such different worlds, events today and almost two thousand years ago.
Features of the composition
The composition of the novel “The Master and Margarita” and its features are determined by the author’s non-standard techniques, 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 beginning of the novel: the meeting of Berlioz and Woland, their conversation. This happens in the 30s of the 20th century. Woland's story also takes the reader back to the thirties, but two thousand years ago. And here begins the second plot - the novel about Pilate and Yeshua.
Next comes the plot. These are the tricks of Voladn and his company in Moscow. This is also where the satirical line of the work comes from. The second novel is also developing in parallel. The climax of the master’s novel is the execution of Yeshua, climax story about the master, Margarita and Woland - the visit of Levi Matthew. The denouement is interesting: it combines both novels into one. Woland and his retinue take 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 frees the procurator and ends his novel.
Main themes of the novel
Mikhail Bulgakov concluded the meaning of the novel “The Master and Margarita” in the interweaving of main themes and ideas. It’s not for nothing that the novel is called fantastic, satirical, philosophical, and love. All these themes develop in the novel, framing and emphasizing 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 diseases contemporary writer society.
Love theme embodied in the master and Margarita and gives the novel tenderness and softens many poignant moments. It was probably not in vain that the writer burned the first version of the novel, where Margarita and the master were not yet present.
Theme of sympathy runs through the entire novel and shows several options for sympathy and empathy. Pilate sympathizes with the wandering philosopher Yeshua, but, confused in his duties and fearing condemnation, he “washes his hands.” Margarita has a different kind of sympathy - she wholeheartedly empathizes with the master, and Frida at the ball, and Pilate. But her sympathy is not just a feeling, it pushes her to take certain actions, she does not fold her arms and fights to save those for whom she worries. 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.
Theme of forgiveness goes almost next to the theme of sympathy.
Philosophical topics about the meaning and purpose of life, about good and evil, about biblical motives have been the subject of debate and study among 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, more and more new questions and thoughts are revealed to the reader. This is the genius of the novel - it has not lost its 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 definition. What is really evil? Most likely, this is the most complete way to describe main idea works. 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 basely. His tour in Moscow only confirms this idea. He shows the moral illnesses of society, but does not even condemn them, but only sighs sadly: “People are like people... The same as before.” A person is weak, but he has the power to confront his weaknesses and fight them.
The theme of good and evil is shown ambiguously in the image of Pontius Pilate. In his soul he opposes the execution of Yeshua, but he does not have the courage to go against the crowd. The verdict is passed on the wandering innocent philosopher by the crowd, but Pilate is destined to serve his sentence 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 a writer; they need to humiliate him and prove that they are right. The master is very weak to fight, all his strength went into the novel. It is not for nothing that devastating articles for him take on the image of a certain creature that begins to appear to the master in a dark room.
General analysis of the novel
Analysis of “The Master and Margarita” implies immersion in the worlds recreated by the writer. Here you can see biblical motifs and parallels with the immortal “Faust” by Goethe. The themes of the novel develop separately, and at the same time coexist, collectively creating a web of events and questions. The author depicts several worlds, each finding their own place in the novel, in a surprisingly organic way. The journey from modern Moscow to ancient Yershalaim, the wise conversations of Woland, the talking huge cat and the flight of Margarita Nikolaevna are not at all surprising.
This novel is truly immortal thanks to the talent of the writer and the undying relevance of the themes and problems.
Work test
In this article we will look at the novel that Bulgakov created in 1940 - “The Master and Margarita”. A brief summary of this work will be brought to your attention. You will find a description of the main events of the novel, as well as analysis of the work"The Master and Margarita" by Bulgakov.
Two storylines
There are two storylines in this work that develop independently. In the first of them, the action takes place in Moscow in May (several days of the full moon) in the 30s of the 20th century. In the second storyline, the action also takes place in May, but already in Jerusalem (Yershalaim) about 2000 years ago - at the beginning new era. The chapters of the first line echo the second.
The appearance of Woland
One day Woland appears in Moscow, introducing himself as a specialist in black magic, but in reality he is Satan. A strange retinue accompanies Woland: this is Gella, a vampire witch, Koroviev, a cheeky type, also known by the nickname Fagot, the sinister and gloomy Azazello and Behemoth, a cheerful fat man, appearing mainly in the form of a huge black cat.
Death of Berlioz
On Patriarch's Ponds The first to meet Woland were the editor of a magazine, Mikhail Alexandrovich Berlioz, as well as Ivan Bezdomny, a poet who created an anti-religious work about Jesus Christ. This “foreigner” intervenes in their conversation, saying that Christ really existed. As proof that there is something beyond human understanding, he predicts that a Komsomol girl will cut off Berlioz's head. Mikhail Alexandrovich, in front of Ivan’s eyes, immediately falls under a tram driven by a Komsomol member, and his head is actually cut off. The homeless man tries unsuccessfully to pursue his new acquaintance, and then, having arrived in Massolit, he talks about what happened so confusingly that he is taken to a psychiatric clinic, where he meets the Master, the main character of the novel.
Likhodeev in Yalta
Arriving at the apartment on Sadovaya Street, occupied by the late Berliz together with Stepan Likhodeev, director of the Variety Theater, Woland, finding Likhodeev in a severe hangover, presented him with a signed contract to perform in the theater. After this, he escorts Stepan out of the apartment, and he strangely ends up in Yalta.
Incident in the house of Nikanor Ivanovich
Ongoing Bulgakov's work“The Master and Margarita” is that barefoot Nikanor Ivanovich, the chairman of the house’s partnership, comes to the apartment occupied by Woland and finds Koroviev there, who asks to rent this room to him, since Berlioz has died and Likhodeev is now in Yalta. After lengthy persuasion, Nikanor Ivanovich agrees and receives another 400 rubles in addition to the payment stipulated in the contract. He hides them in the ventilation. After this, they come to Nikanor Ivanovich to arrest him for possession of currency, since rubles have somehow turned into dollars, and he, in turn, ends up in the Stravinsky clinic.
At the same time, Rimsky, the financial director of Variety, as well as Varenukha, the administrator, are trying to find Likhodeev by phone and are perplexed when reading his telegrams from Yalta asking him to confirm his identity and send money, since he was abandoned here by the hypnotist Woland. Rimsky, deciding that he is joking, sends Varenukha to take the telegrams “to the right place,” but the administrator fails to do this: the cat Behemoth and Azazello, taking him by the arms, carry him to the above-mentioned apartment, and Varenukha faints from the kiss of the naked Gella.
Woland's presentation
What happens next in the novel that Bulgakov created (“The Master and Margarita”)? A summary of further events is as follows. Woland's performance begins on the Variety stage in the evening. The bassoon causes money to rain with a pistol shot, and the audience catches the falling money. Then a “ladies’ store” appears where you can dress for free. There is a line immediately forming into the store. But at the end of the performance, the chervonets turn into pieces of paper, and the clothes disappear without a trace, forcing women to rush through the streets in their underwear.
After the performance, Rimsky lingers in his office, and Varenukha, transformed into a vampire by the kiss of Gella, comes to him. Noticing that he does not cast a shadow, the director tries to run away, scared, but Gella comes to the rescue. She tries to open the latch on the window, and Varenukha, meanwhile, is standing guard at the door. Morning comes, and with the first crow of the rooster, the guests disappear. Rimsky, instantly turning gray, rushes to the station and leaves for Leningrad.
The Master's Tale
Ivan Bezdomny, Having met the Master at the clinic, he tells how he met the foreigner who killed Berlioz. The master says that he met with Satan and tells Ivan about himself. Beloved Margarita gave him this name. A historian by training, this man worked in a museum, but suddenly he won 100 thousand rubles - a huge amount. He rented two rooms located in the basement of a small house, left his job and began writing a novel about Pontius Pilate. The work was almost finished, but then he accidentally met Margarita on the street, and a feeling immediately flared up between them.
Margarita was married to a rich man, lived in a mansion on Arbat, but did not love her husband. She came to the Master every day. They were happy. When the novel was finally finished, the author took it to the magazine, but they refused to publish the work. Only an excerpt was published, and soon devastating articles appeared about it, written by critics Lavrovich, Latunsky and Ariman. Then the Master fell ill. One night he threw his creation into the oven, but Margarita snatched the last pack of sheets from the fire. She took the manuscript with her and went to her husband to say goodbye to him and in the morning to reunite with the Master forever, but a quarter of an hour after the girl left, there was a knock on the writer’s window. On a winter night, after returning home a few months later, he found that the rooms were already occupied, and went to this clinic, where he has been living for four months without a name.
Meeting of Margarita with Azazello
Bulgakov's novel The Master and Margarita continues with Margarita waking up with the feeling that something is about to happen. She sorts through the sheets of manuscript and then goes for a walk. Here Azazello sits down next to her and reports that some foreigner is inviting a girl to visit. She agrees, as she hopes to find out something about the Master. Margarita rubs her body with a special cream in the evening and becomes invisible, after which she flies out the window. She causes destruction in the home of the critic Latunsky. Then the girl is met by Azazelo and escorted to the apartment, where she meets Woland’s retinue and himself. Woland asks Margarita to become queen at his ball. As a reward, he promises to fulfill the girl's wish.
Margarita - queen at Woland's ball
How does Mikhail Bulgakov describe further events? "The Master and Margarita" is a very multi-layered novel, and the narrative continues with the full moon ball, which begins at midnight. Criminals are invited to attend, who come in tailcoats, and the women are naked. Margarita greets them, offering her knee and hand for a kiss. The ball is over, and Woland asks what she wants to receive as a reward. Margarita asks her lover, and he immediately appears in a hospital gown. The girl asks Satan to return them to the house where they were so happy.
Some Moscow institution, meanwhile, is interested in the strange events taking place in the city. It becomes clear that they are all the work of one gang, headed by a magician, and the traces lead to Woland’s apartment.
Pontius Pilate's decision
We continue to consider the work that Bulgakov created (“The Master and Margarita”). The summary of the novel consists of the following further events. Pontius Pilate in the palace of King Herod, Yeshua Ha-Nozri is interrogated, to whom the court sentenced him to death for insulting the authority of Caesar. Pilate was obliged to approve it. Interrogating the accused, he realizes that he is dealing not with a robber, but with a wandering philosopher who preaches justice and truth. But Pontius cannot simply release a person who is accused of acts against Caesar, so he confirms the sentence. Then he turns to Caiaphas, the high priest, who, in honor of Easter, can release one of the four sentenced to death. Pilate asks to release Ha-Nozri. But he refuses him and releases Bar-Rabban. There are three crosses on Bald Mountain, and the condemned are crucified on them. After the execution, only the former tax collector, Levi Matvey, a disciple of Yeshua, remains there. The executioner stabs the condemned to death, and suddenly a downpour falls.
The procurator summons the head of the secret service, Afranius, and instructs him to kill Judas, who received a reward for allowing Ha-Nozri to be arrested in his house. Nisa, a young woman, meets him in the city and arranges a date, where unknown men stab Judas with a knife and take his money. Afranius tells Pilate that Judas was stabbed to death and the money was planted in the high priest's house.
Levi Matthew is brought before Pilate. He shows him recordings of Yeshua's sermons. The procurator reads in them that the most serious sin is cowardice.
Woland and his retinue leave Moscow
We continue to describe the events of the work “The Master and Margarita” (Bulgakov). We return to Moscow. Woland and his retinue say goodbye to the city. Then Levi Matvey appears with an offer to take the Master to him. Woland asks why he is not accepted into the world. Levi replies that the Master did not deserve light, only peace. After some time, Azazello comes to the lovers’ house and brings wine - a gift from Satan. After drinking it, the heroes fall unconscious. At the same moment, there is turmoil in the clinic - the patient has died, and on the Arbat, in a mansion, a young woman suddenly falls to the floor.
The novel that Bulgakov created (“The Master and Margarita”) is coming to an end. Black horses carry away Woland and his retinue, and with them the main characters. Woland tells the writer that the character in his novel has been sitting on this site for 2000 years, seeing the lunar road in a dream and wanting to walk along it. The master shouts: “Free!” And the city with the garden lights up over the abyss, and a lunar road leads to it, along which the procurator runs.
A wonderful work was created by Mikhail Bulgakov. "The Master and Margarita" ends as follows. In Moscow, the investigation into the case of one gang continues for a long time, but there are no results. Psychiatrists conclude that the gang members are powerful hypnotists. After a few years, the events are forgotten, and only the poet Bezdomny, now professor Ponyrev Ivan Nikolaevich, every year on the full moon sits on the bench where he met Woland, and then, returning home, sees the same dream in which the Master and Margarita appear to him , Yeshua and Pontius Pilate.
Meaning of the work
The work “The Master and Margarita” by Bulgakov amazes readers even today, since even now it is impossible to find an analogue of a novel of this level of skill. A modern writer It is not possible to note the reason for such popularity of the work, to highlight its fundamental, main motive. This novel is often called unprecedented for all world literature.
The main idea of the author
So, we looked at the novel and its summary. Bulgakov's "The Master and Margarita" also needs analysis. What is the author's main intention? The narrative takes place in two eras: the time of the life of Jesus Christ and the contemporary period of the author. Soviet Union. Bulgakov paradoxically combines these very different eras and draws deep parallels between them.
The master, the main character, himself creates a novel about Yeshua, Judas, Pontius Pilate. Mikhail Afanasyevich unfolds a phantasmagoria throughout the work. The events of the present turn out to be connected in a surprising way with what has changed humanity forever. It is difficult to single out a specific topic to which M. Bulgakov devoted his work. "The Master and Margarita" touches on many eternal, sacramental issues for art. This, of course, is the theme of love, tragic and unconditional, the meaning of life, truth and justice, unconsciousness and madness. It cannot be said that the author directly reveals these issues; he only creates a symbolic holistic system, which is quite difficult to interpret.
The main characters are so non-standard that only their images can be the reason detailed analysis the concept of the work created by M. Bulgakov. "The Master and Margarita" is imbued with ideological and philosophical themes. This gives rise to the multifaceted semantic content of the novel that Bulgakov wrote. “The Master and Margarita”, as you see, touches on very large-scale and significant problems.
Out of time
The main idea can be interpreted in different ways. The Master and Ga-Nozri are two unique messiahs whose activities take place in different eras. But the Master’s life story is not so simple; his divine, bright art is also connected with dark forces, because Margarita turns to Woland to help the Master.
The novel that this hero creates is sacred and amazing story, but Soviet-era writers refuse to publish it because they do not want to recognize it as worthy. Woland helps the lovers restore justice and returns to the author the work he had previously burned.
Thanks to mythological techniques and a fantastic plot, Bulgakov's "The Master and Margarita" shows eternal human values. Therefore, this novel is a story outside of culture and era.
Cinema showed great interest in the creation that Bulgakov created. “The Master and Margarita” is a film that exists in several versions: 1971, 1972, 2005. In 2005, a popular mini-series of 10 episodes directed by Vladimir Bortko was released.
This concludes the analysis of the work that Bulgakov created (“The Master and Margarita”). Our essay does not reveal all the topics in detail, we just tried to succinctly highlight them. This plan can serve as a basis for writing your own composition based on this novel.
Table of contents
I. Introduction. Bulgakov and death
II. Philosophical analysis of the novel “The Master and Margarita”
1. The concept of chronotope. Chronotopes in the novel
2. “Evil” force in the novel
3. “The Master and Margarita” by Bulgakov and “The Divine Comedy” by Dante
4. A novel within a novel. Yeshua and Jesus. Yeshua and the Master
5. The mirror motif in the novel
6. Philosophical dialogues in the novel
7. Why the Master did not deserve light
8. The ambivalence of the novel’s ending
III. Conclusion. The meaning of the epigraph to the novel “The Master and Margarita”
Introduction. Bulgakov and death
In March 1940, in his Moscow apartment in a now defunct house on Nashchokinsky Lane (formerly Furmanova Street, 3), Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov died heavily and painfully. Three weeks before his death, blind and tormented by unbearable pain, he stopped editing his famous novel “The Master and Margarita,” the plot of which was already fully formed, but work remained on the nuances (writers and journalists call this work on the word).In general, Bulgakov is a writer who was very closely in touch with the topic of death and was practically on friendly terms with it. There is a lot of mysticism in his works (“Fatal Eggs”, “Theatrical Novel”, “ dog's heart"and, of course, the pinnacle of his work - "The Master and Margarita").
The materials about his life contain a striking fact. A healthy and practically free writer predicts his end. He not only names the year, but also cites the circumstances of death, which was still about 8 years away and which was not foreshadowed at that time. “Keep in mind,” he then warned his future wife, Elena Sergeevna, “I will die very hard, give me an oath that you will not send me to the hospital, and I will die in your arms.” Thirty years later, Elena Sergeevna without hesitation brought them in one of her letters to the writer’s brother living in Paris, to whom she wrote: “I accidentally smiled - it was 1932, Misha was a little over 40 years old, he was healthy, very young... "
He had already made the same request to his first wife, Tatyana Lappa, at the time when he suffered from drug addiction in 1915. But then it was a real situation, which, fortunately, with the help of his wife, he managed to cope with, getting rid of his drug addiction forever. a seemingly incurable disease. Perhaps it was just a hoax or a practical joke, so characteristic of his works and characteristic of himself? From time to time he reminded his wife about this strange conversation, but Elena Sergeevna still did not take it seriously, although
just in case, she regularly forced him to see doctors and carry out tests. Doctors did not find any signs of illness in the writer, and studies did not reveal any abnormalities.
But still, the “appointed” (Elena Sergeevna’s word) deadline was approaching. And when it came, Bulgakov “began to speak in a light, joking tone about “the last year, last play“, etc. But since his health was in excellent and verified condition, all these words could not be taken seriously,” a quote from the same letter.
In September 1939, after a serious stressful situation for him (a review from a writer who went on a business trip to work on a play about Stalin), Bulgakov decides to go on vacation to Leningrad. He writes a corresponding statement to the directorate Bolshoi Theater, where he worked as a consultant for the repertoire department. And on the very first day of his stay in Leningrad, walking with his wife along Nevsky Prospekt, he suddenly feels that he cannot distinguish the inscriptions on the signs. Something similar had already happened in Moscow - before his trip to Leningrad, which the writer told his sister, Elena Afanasyevna, about. I decided that it was an accident, my nerves were acting up, nervous fatigue.”
Alarmed by a repeated episode of vision loss, the writer returns to the Astoria Hotel. The search for an ophthalmologist begins urgently, and on September 12, Bulgakov is examined by Leningrad professor N.I. Andogsky. His verdict: “Visual acuity: right eye – 0.5; left – 0.8. Phenomena of presbyopia
(an anomaly in which a person cannot see small print or small objects at close range - auto.). Phenomena of inflammation of the optic nerves in both eyes with the participation of the surrounding retina: in the left - slightly, in the right - more significantly. The vessels are significantly dilated and tortuous. Glasses for classes: right + 2.75 D; left +1.75 D.”
“Your case is bad,” the professor declares after examining the patient, strongly recommending that he immediately return to Moscow and do a urine test. Bulgakov immediately remembered, and perhaps he always remembered this, that thirty-three years ago, at the beginning of September 1906, his father suddenly began to go blind, and six months later he was gone. In a month my father would have turned forty-eight years old. This was exactly the age at which the writer himself was now... Being a doctor, Bulgakov, of course, understood that visual impairment was just a symptom of the disease that brought his father to the grave and which he received, apparently, by inheritance. Now, what once seemed like a distant and not very certain future has become a real and brutal present.
Like his father, Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov lived for about six months after the appearance of these symptoms.
Mystic? Maybe.
And now let’s move directly to the last, never completed by the author (its editing was completed by Elena Sergeevna) Bulgakov’s novel “The Master and Margarita”, in which mysticism is closely intertwined with reality, the theme of good is closely intertwined with the theme of evil, and the theme of death is closely intertwined with the theme life.
Philosophical analysis of the novel “The Master and Margarita”
The concept of chronotope. Chronotopes in the novelThe novel “The Master and Margarita” is characterized by the use of such a device as a chronotope. What it is?
The word is formed from two Greek words - χρόνος, “time” and τόπος, “place”.
IN in a broad sense A chronotope is a natural connection between space-time coordinates.
A chronotope in literature is a model of spatio-temporal relations in a work, determined by the picture of the world that the author seeks to create, and the laws of the genre within which he performs his task.
In Mikhail Bulgakov’s novel “The Master and Margarita” there are three worlds: the eternal (cosmic, otherworldly); real (Moscow, modern); biblical (past, ancient, Yershalaim), and the dual nature of man is shown.
There is no specific date of events in the novel, but a number of indirect signs make it possible to determine the time of action with accuracy. Woland and his retinue appear in Moscow on a May evening on Wednesday, the eve of Easter.
The three layers in the novel are not only united by plot (the story of the Master’s life) and ideologically, by design, etc. Despite the fact that these three layers are separated in time and space, they constantly overlap one another. United by common motifs, themes, and cross-cutting images. N: There is not a single chapter in the novel where the theme of denunciation and secret investigation (very actual topic that time). It is solved in two versions: playful (open – everything related to the investigation into the case of Woland and company. For example, the attempt of the security officers to catch a cat in a “bad apartment”) and realistic (semi-closed. For example, the scene of the “interrogation” of Bezdomny (about a foreign consultant), scene in the Alexander Garden (Margarita and Azazello)).
A time interval of almost two thousand years separates the action of the novel about Jesus and the novel about the Master. Bulgakov seems to be arguing with the help of this parallel that the problems of good and evil, freedom and unfreedom of the human spirit are relevant for any era.
To be more clear, we will show several parallels among the heroes of the novel, living and acting in three different worlds, but representing one hypostasis.
For clarity, let's put the data in a table.
And another table showing time parallels
As we see, all three worlds are interpenetrated and interconnected. This allows for philosophical reflection human personality, which at all times is characterized by the same weaknesses and vices, as well as sublime thoughts and feelings. And no matter what you are in earthly life, eternity equalizes everyone.
"Evil" force in the novel
The “evil” force is represented by several characters. Their choice from a huge host of demons is not accidental. They are the ones who “make” the plot and compositional structure of the novel.
So…
Woland
This is how Bulgakov calls Satan - the prince of deceivers. His epithet is “opposing.” This is the eldest son of God, the creator of the material world, prodigal son strayed from the righteous path.
Why Woland? Here Bulgakov has a clear overlap with Goethe’s Faust, where Satan (aka Mephistopheles) is mentioned once under this name.
The parallel with Goethe is also indicated by the following detail: during Woland’s meeting with Berlioz and Bezdomny, when asked “Are you German?”, he answers: “Yes, perhaps a German.” On his business card, writers see the letter “W”, which in German reads as [f], and the employees of the variety show, when asked about the name of the “black magician”, answer that maybe Woland, or maybe Faland.
Hippopotamus
Demon of carnal desires (especially gluttony, gluttony and drunkenness). Bulgakov has several scenes in the novel where Behemoth indulges in these vices.
The hippopotamus can take the forms of any large animal, as well as a cat, an elephant, a dog, a fox and a wolf. Bulgakov's cat is of enormous size.
At the court of Satan, he holds the position of Chief Guardian of the Cup and leads the feasts. For Bulgakov, he is the master of the ball. 
Azazello
Azazel was introduced under this name in the novel The Master and Margarita. Azazello (Italianized form of the Hebrew name).
Azazel is the lord of the desert, related to the Canaanite god of the scorching sun Asiz and the Egyptian Set. Let us remember Bulgakov: “Flying at the side of everyone, shining with the steel of his armor, was Azazello. The moon also changed his face. The absurd, ugly fang disappeared without a trace, and the crooked eye turned out to be false. Both of Azazello's eyes were the same, empty and black, and his face was white and cold. Now Azazello was flying in his true form, like a demon of the waterless desert, a killer demon.”
Azazel taught men the art of wielding weapons, and women how to wear jewelry and use cosmetics. It is Azazello who gives Margarita the magic cream that made her a witch.
Gella
Vampire woman. She is outwardly attractive with red hair and green eyes, but she has an ugly scar on her neck, which indicates that Gella is a vampire.
Bulgakov took the name for the character from the article “Sorcery” Encyclopedic Dictionary Brockhaus and Efron, where it was noted that on the Greek island of Lesbos this name was called untimely dead girls who became vampires after death. 
Abbadon
Angel of the Abyss, a powerful demon of death and destruction, military adviser to Hell, who received the key to the well of the Abyss. His name comes from the Hebrew "destruction".
Repeatedly mentioned in the Bible on a par with the underworld and death. He appears in the novel shortly before the start of the ball and makes a huge impression on Margarita with his glasses. But to Margarita’s request to take off his glasses, Woland responds with a categorical refusal. The second time he appears at the end of the ball to kill with his gaze the NKVD informant Baron Meigel.
Koroviev (aka Bassoon)
Perhaps the most mysterious character.
Let's remember:
“In place of the one who, in tattered circus clothes, left the Sparrow Hills under the name of Koroviev-Fagot, now galloped, quietly ringing the golden chain of the reins, a dark purple knight with the gloomiest and never smiling face. He rested his chin on his chest, he did not look at the moon, he was not interested in the earth beneath him, he was thinking about something of his own, flying next to Woland.
- Why has he changed so much? – Margarita asked quietly as the wind whistled from Woland.
“This knight once made a bad joke,” Woland answered, turning his face to Margarita with a quietly burning eye, “his pun, which he made when talking about light and darkness, was not entirely good.” And after that the knight had to joke a little more and longer than he expected. But today is the night when scores are settled. The knight paid his account and closed it!”
Until now, researchers of Bulgakov’s work have not come to unanimous opinion: Who did the writer bring to the pages of the novel?
I will give one version that interested me.
Some Bulgakov scholars believe that behind this image lies the image of the medieval poet... Dante Alighieri...
I will give a statement on this matter.
In No. 5 of the Literary Review magazine for 1991, Andrei Morgulev’s article “Comrade Dante and the Former Regent” was published. Quote: “From a certain moment, the creation of the novel began to occur under the sign of Dante.”
Alexey Morgulev notes the visual similarity between Bulgakov’s dark purple knight and the author’s traditional images “ Divine Comedy": "The gloomiest and never smiling face - this is exactly how Dante appears in numerous French engravings."
The literary critic reminds us that Alighieri belonged to the knightly class: the great-great-grandfather of the great poet Kacciagvid won for his family the right to wear a knightly sword with a golden hilt.
At the beginning of the thirty-fourth canto of the Inferno, Dante writes:
“Vexilla regis prodeunt Inferni” - “The banners of the Lord of Hell are approaching.”
These words, addressing Dante, are spoken by Virgil, the Florentine’s guide, sent to him by the Almighty himself.
But the fact is that the first three words of this address represent the beginning of the Catholic “Hymn to the Cross”, which was performed in Catholic churches in Good Friday(that is, on the day dedicated by the church to the death of Christ) and on the day of the “Exaltation of the Holy Cross.” That is, Dante openly mocks the famous Catholic hymn, replacing God... with the devil! Let us remember that the events of “The Master and Margarita” also end on Good Friday, and in the Yershalaim chapters it is the erection of the cross and the crucifixion that are described. Morgulev is convinced that this particular pun by Dante Alighieri is the purple knight’s bad joke
In addition, caustic irony, satire, sarcasm, and outright mockery have always been an integral style of Dante. And this is a roll call with Bulgakov himself, and this will be discussed in the next chapter. 
“The Master and Margarita” by Bulgakov and “The Divine Comedy” by Dante
In the “Divine Comedy” the whole world is described, the forces of Light and Darkness operate there. Therefore, the work can be called universal.
Bulgakov’s novel is also universal, universal, universal, but it was written in the twentieth century, bears the stamp of its time, and in it Dante’s religious motifs appear in a transformed form: with their obvious recognition, they become the object of aesthetic play, acquiring non-canonical expression and content.
In the epilogue of Bulgakov’s novel, Ivan Nikolayevich Ponyrev, who became a professor of history, has the same dream on a full moon: “a woman of exorbitant beauty appears,” leads “a fearfully looking around, bearded man” to Ivan by the hand and “leaves with her companion to the moon "
The ending of "The Master and Margarita" contains a clear parallel with the third part of Dante's poem "Paradise". The poet's guide is a woman of extraordinary beauty - his earthly beloved Beatrice, who loses her earthly essence in Paradise and becomes a symbol of the highest divine wisdom.
Bulgakov's “Beatrice” - Margarita is a woman of “exorbitant beauty.” “Exorbitant” means “excessive.” Excessive beauty is perceived as unnatural and is associated with a demonic, satanic principle. We remember that at one time Margarita miraculously changed, becoming a witch, thanks to Azazello cream.
Summarizing the above, we can state that
In “The Master and Margarita” it is easy to see the influence of the images and ideas of the “Divine Comedy”, but this influence comes down not to simple imitation, but to a dispute (aesthetic play) with the famous poem of the Renaissance.
In Bulgakov's novel the ending is, as it were, mirror image the finale of Dante's poem: the moonbeam is the radiant light of the Empyrean, Margarita (the witch) is Beatrice (an angel of unearthly purity), the Master (overgrown with a beard, fearfully looking around) is Dante (purposeful, inspired by the idea of absolute knowledge). These differences and similarities are explained by the different ideas of the two works. Dante depicts the path of a person’s moral insight, and Bulgakov depicts the path of the artist’s creative feat.
A novel within a novel. Yeshua and Jesus. Yeshua and the Master
Yeshua is tall, but his height is human
by its nature. He is tall by human standards.
He is a human. There is nothing of the Son of God in him.
Mikhail Dunaev,
Soviet and Russian scientist, theologian, literary critic
In his work, Bulgakov uses the “novel within a novel” technique. The master ends up in a psychiatric clinic because of his novel about Pontius Pilate. Some Bulgakov scholars call the Master’s novel “The Gospel of Woland”, and in the image of Yeshua Ha-Nozri they see the figure of Jesus Christ.
Is it so? Let's figure it out.
Yeshua and the Master are the central characters of Bulgakov's novel. They have a lot in common: Yeshua is a wandering philosopher who does not remember his parents and has no one in the world; The master is an anonymous employee of some Moscow museum, like Yeshua, completely alone. Both have tragic fates. Both have disciples: Yeshua has Matvey Levi, the Master has Ivan Ponyrev (Bezdomny).
Yeshua is the Hebrew form of the name Jesus, which means “God is my salvation,” or “Savior.” Ha-Nozri, in accordance with the common interpretation of this word, is translated as “resident of Nazareth,” that is, the city in which Jesus spent his childhood. And since the author chose a non-traditional form of the name, non-traditional from a religious point of view, the bearer of this name itself must be non-canonical.
Yeshua knows nothing other than a lonely earthly path, and at the end he will face a painful death, but not the Resurrection.
The Son of God is the highest example of humility, humbling His Divine power. He
accepted reproach and death of his own free will and in fulfillment of the will of His Heavenly Father. Yeshua does not know his father and does not carry humility within himself. He sacrificially bears his truth, but this sacrifice is nothing more than a romantic impulse of someone who has little idea of his future.
person.
Christ knew what awaited Him. Yeshua is deprived of such knowledge, he innocently asks Pilate: “Would you let me go, hegemon...” - and believes that this is possible. Pilate would indeed be ready to release the poor preacher, and only the primitive provocation of Judas from Kiriath decides the outcome of the matter to the disadvantage of Yeshua. Therefore, Yeshua lacks not only willful humility, but also the feat of sacrifice.
And finally, Bulgakov’s Yeshua is 27 years old, while biblical Jesus – 33.
Yeshua is an artistic, non-canonical “double” of Jesus Christ.
And since he is just a man, and not the son of God, he is closer in spirit to the Master, with whom, as we have already noted, he has much in common.
The mirror motif in the novel
The image of a mirror in literature is a means of expression that carries an associative load.
Of all the interior items, the mirror is the most mysterious and mystical object, which at all times has been surrounded by an aura of mysticism and mystery. The life of a modern person cannot be imagined without a mirror. An ordinary mirror was most likely the first magical object created by man.
The most ancient explanation of the mystical properties of mirrors belongs to Paracelsus, who considered mirrors to be a tunnel connecting the material and subtle worlds. This, according to the medieval scientist, includes hallucinations, visions, voices, strange sounds, sudden cold, and the feeling of someone’s presence - in general, everything that has a powerful influence on the human psyche.
In Rus', fortune telling became very widespread: two mirrors were pointed at each other, burning candles were placed and they carefully looked into the mirrored corridor, hoping to see their fate. Before fortune telling began, one should close the icons, remove the cross and put it under the heel, that is, completely abandon all sacred powers. Perhaps that is why there is a belief that the Devil gave a mirror to people so that they would not languish alone and would have the opportunity to talk to themselves.
In M.A. Bulgakov, the mirror motif accompanies the appearance of evil spirits, a connection with other world and miracles.
At the very beginning of the novel “The Master and Margarita” on the Patriarch’s Ponds, the role of a mirror is played by the glass of houses. Let us remember the appearance of Woland:
“He fixed his gaze on the upper floors, dazzlingly reflecting in the glass the sun that was broken and leaving Mikhail Alexandrovich forever, then he turned it down, where the glass began to darken in the early evening, grinned condescendingly at something, squinted, put his hands on the knob, and his chin on his hands "
With the help of a mirror, Woland and his retinue enter Styopa Likhodeev’s apartment:
“Then Styopa turned away from the apparatus and in the mirror located in the hallway, which had not been wiped for a long time by the lazy Grunya, he clearly saw some strange subject - long as a pole, and wearing pince-nez (oh, if only Ivan Nikolaevich were here! He would recognize this subject immediately). And it was reflected and immediately disappeared. Styopa, in alarm, looked deeper into the hallway, and was rocked a second time, because a huge black cat passed in the mirror and also disappeared.
And soon after that...
“...a small, but unusually broad-shouldered man, wearing a bowler hat on his head and with a fang sticking out of his mouth, came straight out of the mirror of the dressing table.”
The mirror appears in key episodes of the novel: while waiting for the evening, Margarita spends the whole day in front of the mirror; the death of the Master and Margarita is accompanied by a broken, broken reflection of the sun in the glass of houses; the fire in the “bad apartment” and the destruction of Torgsin are also associated with broken mirrors:
“The glass in the exit mirrored doors rang and fell,” “the mirror on the fireplace cracked with stars.”
Philosophical dialogues in the novel
One of the features of the genre structure of “The Master and Margarita” is philosophical dialogues that create an intense moral, philosophical, religious field, and a variety of images and ideas of the novel.
Dialogues extremely sharpen and dramatize the novel's action. When polar viewpoints on the world collide, narrative disappears and drama emerges. We no longer see the writer behind the pages of the novel; we ourselves become participants in the stage action.
Philosophical dialogues appear from the first pages of the novel. Thus, the conversation between Ivan and Berlioz with Woland is an exposition and at the same time the plot of the work. The climax is the interrogation of Yeshua by Pontius Pilate. The denouement is the meeting of Matthew Levi and Woland. These three dialogues are entirely philosophical.
At the very beginning of the novel, Berlioz talks to Ivanushka about Jesus. The conversation denies faith in God and the possibility of the birth of Christ. Woland, who joined the conversation, immediately turns the conversation into a philosophical direction: “But, let me ask you... what to do with the evidence of the existence of God, of which, as we know, there are exactly five?” Berlioz answers completely in accordance with Kant’s “pure reason”: “You must agree that in the realm of reason there can be no proof of the existence of God.”
Woland delves into the history of the issue, recalling the moral “sixth proof” of Immanuel Kant. The editor objects to his interlocutor with a smile: “Kant’s proof... is also unconvincing.” Demonstrating his scholarship, he refers to the authority of Schiller and Strauss, critics of such evidence. Between lines of dialogue, Berlioz's inner speech is introduced every now and then, fully expressing his psychological discomfort.
Ivan Nikolayevich Bezdomny, in a sharply offensive tone, gives out tirades that at first glance are not essential for a philosophical conversation, acting as a spontaneous opponent to both interlocutors: “If only we could take this Kant, and for such evidence he will be sent to Solovki for three years!” This pushes Woland to paradoxical confessions about breakfast with Kant, about schizophrenia. He again and again turns to the question of God: “... if there is no God, then, the question arises, who controls human life and the entire order on earth?”
The homeless man does not hesitate to answer: “It’s the man himself who controls.” A long monologue follows, ironically playing out predictions about Berlioz’s death.
We have already mentioned that in addition to the usual lines of direct speech, Bulgakov introduces a new element into the dialogue - internal speech, which becomes dialogical not only from the “point of view” of the reader, but also from the hero’s horizons. Woland “reads the thoughts” of his interlocutors. Their internal remarks, not intended for dialogue, find a response in philosophical conversation.
The dialogue continues in chapter three and is already underway strong impact spoken story. The interlocutors agree with each other in one conviction: “... what is written in the Gospels never actually happened...”.
Next, Woland reveals himself with an unexpected philosophical question: “Isn’t there a devil either?” “And the devil... There is no devil,” Bezdomny categorically declares. Woland ends the conversation about the devil as an edification to his friends: “But I beg you before leaving, at least believe that the devil exists!.. Keep in mind that there is a seventh proof of this, and the most reliable one! And it will now be presented to you.”
In this philosophical dialogue, Bulgakov “solved” theological and historiosophical issues reflected in the artistic and philosophical construction of the novel. His Master created a historical version of events in Yershalaim. The question of how much it corresponded to Bulgakov’s views directly depends on the development of the author’s thought in the “double novel.” 
The scene of Yeshua and Pilate is the center of a moral and philosophical conflict, the culmination of both the Master’s novel and the novel of Bulgakov himself.
Yeshua confesses to Pilate his loneliness: “I am alone in the world.”
The dialogue takes on a philosophical edge when Yeshua proclaims “that the temple of the old faith will collapse and a new temple of truth will be created.” Pilate sees that he is speaking with a “philosopher,” addresses his interlocutor with this name, and formulates his main question philosophically: “What is truth?” His interlocutor surprisingly quickly finds the answer: “The truth, first of all, is that you have a headache, and it hurts so much that you are cowardly thinking about death.”
The prosecutor responded to one of the prisoner’s remarks that “ evil people not in the world,” he answers with a thoughtful grin: “This is the first time I’ve heard about this..., but maybe I don’t know life very well!..”
Anger awakens in Pilate: “And it’s not for you, crazy criminal, to talk about her!” It's about the truth. “The Master and Margarita” more than once shows the moral inferiority of the one who rushes to call his opponent a madman (remember Berlioz).
As the interrogation progresses, Pilate's interlocutor becomes more adamant in defending his position. The procurator deliberately and sarcastically asks him again: “And will the kingdom of truth come?” Yeshua expresses his firm conviction: “It will come, hegemon.” wants to ask the prisoner: “Yeshua Ha-Nozri, do you believe in any gods?” “There is only one God,” answered Yeshua, “in Him I believe.”
The dispute about truth and goodness, human destiny in the world receives an unexpected continuation in the dispute about who has the ultimate power to determine them. The novel presents another irreconcilable philosophical duel. It is the semantic conclusion of the conversation between Berlioz, Bezdomny and Woland about God and the devil.
The denouement is a philosophical dialogue between Woland and Matthew Levi, in whose remarks the outcome of the earthly path of the Master and Margarita is predetermined.
Nowhere in the novel is there any mention of any “balance” of good and evil, light and shadow, light and darkness. This problem is clearly defined only in this dialogue and is not finally resolved by the author. Bulgakov scholars still cannot unambiguously interpret Levi’s phrase: “He did not deserve light, he deserved peace.” General interpretation The mythology of “peace” as the disembodied existence of the Master’s soul in those areas where the devil penetrates seems quite acceptable to us. Woland gives “peace” to the Master, Levi brings the consent of the force emitting light.
The dialogue between Woland and Levi Matvey is an organic component of development artistic conflict images of ideas, consciousnesses. This creates the high aesthetic quality of the style of “The Master and Margarita”, the genre definition of the type of novel that has absorbed the forms of the comic and tragic and has become philosophical.
Why the Master didn't deserve light
So, the question is: why didn’t the Master deserve the light? Let's try and figure it out.
Researchers of Bulgakov's creativity put forward a number of reasons for this. These are ethical, religious and ethical reasons. Here they are:
The master did not deserve light because it would contradict:
Christian canons;
philosophical concept of the world in the novel;
the genre nature of the novel;
aesthetic realities of the twentieth century.
From a Christian point of view, the Master of the bodily principle. He wants to share his unearthly life with his earthly sinful love - Margarita. 
The master can be accused of despondency. And despondency and despair are sinful. The master refuses the truth he guessed in his novel, he admits: “I no longer have any dreams and I don’t have any inspiration either... nothing around me interests me except her... I’ve been broken, I’m bored, and I want to go to the basement... I hate him, this novel... I experienced too much because of it.”
Burning a novel is a kind of suicide, even if it is not real, but only creative, but this is also a sin, and therefore the burned novel now passes through Woland’s department.
“Light” as a reward for the Master would not correspond to the artistic and philosophical concept of the novel and would be a one-sided solution to the problem of good and evil, light and darkness, and would be a simplification of the dialectic of their connection in the novel. This dialectic lies in the fact that good and evil cannot exist separately.
"Light" would be unmotivated from the point of view of the rather unique genre of the novel. This is a menippea (a type of serious-laughing genre - both philosophical and satirical). “The Master and Margarita” is a tragic and at the same time farcical, lyrical, autobiographical novel. There is a sense of irony in relation to the main character, this is a philosophical and at the same time satirical-everyday novel, it combines the sacred and the humorous, the grotesque-fantastic and the irrefutably realistic.
Bulgakov's novel was created in accordance with the trend in art inherent in many works of the first half of the twentieth century - giving a certain secularity to biblical motifs and images. Let us remember that Bulgakov’s Yeshua is not the son of God, but an earthly wandering philosopher. And this tendency is also one of the reasons that the Master did not deserve the light.
The ambivalence of the novel's ending
We have already talked about “light and peace.”
So, the last page has been turned. The highest justice has triumphed: all accounts have been settled and paid, everyone has been rewarded according to his faith. The master, although not awarded light, is rewarded with peace, and this reward is perceived as the only possible one for the long-suffering artist.
At first glance, everything that we learn about the peace promised to the Master looks tempting and, as Margarita says, “invented” by Woland is truly wonderful. Let us remember the scene of the poisoning of the Master and Margarita:
“Ah, I understand,” said the master, looking around, “you killed us, we are dead.” Oh, how clever that is! How timely! Now I understand you.
“Oh, for mercy’s sake,” answered Azazello, “can I hear you?” After all, your friend calls you a master, because you think, how can you be dead?
- Great Woland! - Margarita began to echo him, - Great Woland! He came up with a much better idea than I did.
At first it may seem that Bulgakov gives his hero the peace and freedom he (and Bulgakov himself) desired, realizing, at least outside of earthly life, the artist’s right to special, creative happiness.
However, on the other hand, the Master’s peace is not just a departure from the storms of life tired man, this is a misfortune, a punishment for refusing to make a choice between good and evil, light and darkness.
Yes, the Master received freedom, but parallel to the motif of freedom in the novel is the motif of the attenuation (extinction) of consciousness.
The memory fades when a stream remains behind the Master and Margarita, which here plays the role of the mythological river Lethe in the kingdom of the dead, after drinking the water of which the souls of the dead forget their earthly former life. In addition, the motif of extinction, as if preparing the final chord, has already appeared twice in the final chapter: “the broken sun has gone out” (here - a harbinger and sign of death, as well as the entry into his rights of Woland, the prince of darkness); “The candles are already burning, and soon they will go out.” This motive of death - “the extinguishing of the candles” - can be considered autobiographical.
Peace in The Master and Margarita is perceived different characters differently. For the Master, peace is a reward, for the author it is a desired but hardly achievable dream, for Yeshua and Levi it is something that should be talked about with sadness. It would seem that Woland should be satisfied, but there is not a word about this in the novel, since he knows that there is no charm or scope in this reward.
Bulgakov, perhaps, deliberately made the ending of his novel ambiguous and skeptical, as opposed to the solemn ending of the same “Divine Comedy”. A writer of the 20th century, unlike a writer of the Middle Ages, refuses to say anything for sure, talking about a transcendental world, illusory, unknown. The mysterious ending of The Master and Margarita revealed artistic taste author.
Conclusion. The meaning of the epigraph to the novel “The Master and Margarita”
...So who are you, finally?– I am part of that force that is eternal
He wants evil and always does good.
Johann Wolfgang Goethe. "Faust"
Now we have reached the epigraph. We turn to what the work begins with only at the end of our study. But it is by reading and examining the entire novel that we can explain the meaning of those words with which Bulgakov introduced his creation.
The epigraph to the novel “The Master and Margarita” is the words of Mephistopheles (the devil) - one of the characters in I. Goethe’s drama “Faust”. What is Mephistopheles talking about and what relation do his words have to the story of the Master and Margarita?
With this quote the writer precedes the appearance of Woland; he seems to warn the reader that devilry occupies one of the leading places in the novel.
Woland is the bearer of evil. But he is characterized by nobility and honesty; and sometimes, voluntarily or unwittingly, he does good deeds (or deeds that are beneficial). He does far less evil than his role suggests. And although by his will people die: Berlioz, Baron Meigel - their death seems natural, it is the result of what they did in this life.
At his will, houses burn, people go crazy, disappear for a while. But all those who suffered from it - negative characters(bureaucrats, people who find themselves in positions for which they are not capable, drunkards, slobs, and finally fools). True, Ivanushka Bezdomny is among them. But it’s difficult to definitely call him a positive character. During the meeting with Woland, he is clearly busy with his own business. The poems he writes, by his own admission, are bad.
Bulgakov shows that everyone is rewarded according to their deserts - and not only by God, but also by Satan.
And the evil deeds of the devil often turn out to be beneficial for the people who suffered from him.
Ivan Bezdomny decides never to write again. After leaving the Stravinsky clinic, Ivan becomes a professor, employee of the Institute of History and Philosophy, begins new life.
Administrator Varenukha, who had been a vampire, forever weaned himself from the habit of lying and swearing on the phone and became impeccably polite.
The chairman of the housing association, Nikanor Ivanovich Bosoy, has weaned himself from taking bribes.
Nikolai Ivanovich, whom Natasha turned into a hog, will never forget those minutes when a different life, different from the gray everyday life, touched him, he will long regret that he returned home, but all the same - he has something to remember. 
Woland, addressing Levi Matthew, says: “What would your good do if evil did not exist, and what would the earth look like if the shadows disappeared from it? After all, shadows come from objects and people...” Indeed, what is good in the absence of evil?
This means that Woland is needed on earth no less than the wandering philosopher Yeshua Ha-Nozri, who preaches goodness and love. Good does not always bring good, just as evil does not always bring misfortune. Quite often the opposite happens. That is why Woland is the one who, although desiring evil, still does good. It is this idea that is expressed in the epigraph to the novel.
The novel “The Master and Margarita” is the most famous and popular work of M. Bulgakov, on which he worked until his last hour. The novel was created in the 30s. The first edition dates back to 1931. We can say that by 1937 the main work on the novel was completed. But the writer failed to “polish” it completely. Several versions of the text are still kept in the archives, which raises debate about what should be considered the final version of the novel.
The fate of the novel is similar to the fate of many works of the Soviet era. There was no question of its publication. His furious accusatory force destroyed the foundations of what the Bolsheviks so strived for - the formation of Soviet totalitarian thinking. Bulgakov read individual chapters of the novel to his friends.
The novel was first published 25 years after it was written in the Moscow magazine. A controversy immediately breaks out about its originality, which, however, quickly subsides. Only during the period of glasnost, in the 80s, the novel received a third life.
Among researchers of Bulgakov’s creative heritage, debates regarding the genre of “The Master and Margarita” continue. It is not for nothing that the writer clarifies that his work is a mythical novel. The very concept of “myth” carries within itself a broad generalization, an appeal to folk traditions that combine both signs of real life and phantasmagoria, unusualness, and fantasticality. Thus, a person finds himself in an extreme atmosphere, finds himself in a world of extremes. And this atmosphere reveals the laws of existence and the laws established in the bureaucratic world. All the best and worst sides of society and an individual are exposed.
The genre of the novel allows you to take a wide layer of reality and examine it with magnification. The author gives the reader the opportunity to see the entire social hierarchy, a complex system, thoroughly permeated with the spirit of bureaucracy. Those who have remained faithful to the principles of humanity, sincerity, and remained faithful to the ideals of high morality are immediately dismissed as something alien, foreign. This is why Master and Ivan Bezdomny end up in a psychiatric clinic.
The compositional features of the novel also greatly contribute to the disclosure of the main ideas. In the text, two storylines, two novels coexist absolutely equally. The first is a story about extraordinary events taking place in Moscow. They are connected with the adventures of members of Woland's retinue. The second is the events of the novel created by the Master. The chapters of the Master's novel are organically woven into the general course of events taking place in Moscow.
The events in Moscow date back to 1929 and 1936. The author combines the realities of these two years. The events of the Master's novel take the reader two thousand years ago. These two storylines are very different from each other, not only in completely different historical details, but also in the style of writing. Mischievous, playful, roguish chapters about the adventures of Koroviev and Behemoth are intertwined with chapters in a strict style, almost dry, clear, rhythmic.
It is very important to note that these two lines intersect. The chapters about Pontius Pilate begin with the same words that end the chapters about the fate of the Master and Margarita. But this is not the main thing. There is a certain connection and overlap between them.
They manifest themselves most noticeably in the correspondence between the characters. The Master looks like Yeshua, Ivan Bezdomny looks like Matthew Levi, Aloysius looks like Judas. The author also gives a broader picture: the guests at Woland’s ball (executioners, informers, slanderers, traitors, murderers) are very similar to many mean and ambitious residents of modern Moscow (Styopa Likhodeev, Varenukha, Nikanor Bosoy, Andrei Fomich - bartender , and others). And even the cities - Moscow and Yershalaim - are similar to each other. They are brought together by descriptions of weather conditions and landscapes. All these coincidences serve to expand the narrative plan and provide a wider layer of life. Times and morals have changed, but people have remained the same. And a peculiar picture Last Judgment given in comparison of two times.
Like artistic technique It is not by chance that Bulgakov used it. Through the mouth of Woland, who saw modern people in the Variety Theater, the author says: “Well, they are frivolous... well, well... and mercy sometimes knocks on their hearts... ordinary people... in general, they resemble the old ones... the housing issue has only spoiled them.” People do not change, only one environment is changeable, fashion, homes. But the vicissitudes that have ruled over man since time immemorial are still the same, and absolutely nothing has changed.
The novel has incredibly great moral potential and extraordinary power of generalization.
One of the main themes is the theme of good and evil. The writer states positive life ideal. He says that people are not perfect. But, despite their sometimes outright cynicism, cruelty, ambition, unscrupulousness, the good beginning in them turns out to be stronger. This is what ensures the victory of good over evil, light over darkness. According to Bulgakov, this is the great, secret and only possible law of life.
Thus, the novel introduces philosophical issues of love and hatred, loyalty and friendship (the work of the executed Yeshua is continued by his faithful disciple Levi Matvey), justice and mercy (Margarita’s request for Frida), betrayal (Pontius Pilate understood that, by approving the sentence, he commits betrayal, and therefore after that he finds no peace), issues of power (connected with the images of Berlioz and, in a conditional sense, with Pontius Pilate and Yeshua. Yeshua argued that “the time will come, and there will be no power of Caesars and no power at all.” And he was accused of calling for the overthrow of the power of Emperor Tiberius).
One of the leading themes in the novel is the theme of love. This is love for people, mercy, and love as a manifestation of affection and tenderness. The author’s idea that every person has good feelings is very important here, but not everyone is able to develop them. So, it is precisely that person, according to Bulgakov, who is worthy of love, in whose soul a flame of goodness, a spark of morality, has been lit.
The theme of love and high morality imperceptibly penetrates the novel at the very beginning. Woland, who arrived in Moscow, intervenes in the conversation between Berlioz and Ivan Bezdomny. Externally, we are talking about the existence of God and the devil. But in fact, this is a conversation about light and darkness, about good and evil. The fact is that Bulgakov perceives God not as a really existing gray-bearded old man who created everything around him, but as a kind of higher law, a manifestation of the highest morality. This is where the author’s ideas about a certain common law of good. Bulgakov believes that people obey this law to varying degrees, but its ultimate victory is an invariable given. The idea of enduring values, of the goodness originally inherent in a person, is proven in the novel with the help of the image of Pontius Pilate. For twelve thousand moons he sat waiting for forgiveness and peace. This is his retribution for pettiness, fear, cowardice. Towards a bright ideal true life Ivan Bezdomny also strives. He firmly understands the difference between true art and that petty tradesmanship from which the life of MASSOLIT is woven.
The theme of the intelligentsia is connected with his image, as well as with the image of the Master. This theme is clearly revealed in the play “Days of the Turbins” (Peaches), “Heart of a Dog”. In “The Master and Margarita” Bulgakov brings together all the problems posed.
The intellectual hero Berlioz heads the reputable organization MASSOLIT in Moscow. It depends on him who will be published in the magazine. The meeting with Homeless was quite significant for Berlioz. Ivan had to write a poem about Christ. In some critical works, researchers asked the question: “Why did Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov execute Mikhail Alexandrovich?” Obviously, by instructing Ivan to write the poem, Berlioz saw that he had a great influence on Bezdomny. Ivan is naive, and therefore it cost Berlioz nothing to direct his thoughts in the direction that he needed. He understood that Ivan’s life would pass, but his work would remain. This is precisely why Bulgakov presents a strict account of Berlioz.
The young poet Ivan Bezdomny, ironically, ends up in a madhouse. He meets the Master and understands the true value of art. After this he stops writing poetry.
The master is a creative intellectual. He has no first name and no last name. What is important for Bulgakov is what he writes, his gift for artistic speech. It is not for nothing that the author places his hero in a meager environment: a small basement, without any special amenities. The Master has no personal benefits. But he still wouldn’t be able to do anything if he didn’t have Margarita.
Margarita is the only character who does not have a double in the novel. This is a heroine who is extremely sympathetic to the author. He emphasizes her uniqueness, spiritual richness and strength. She sacrifices everything for the sake of her beloved Master. And therefore she, vindictive and imperious, almost completely destroys the apartment of the critic Latunsky, who spoke so unflatteringly about the Master’s novel. Margarita is incredibly faithful to the principles of honor and dignity, and therefore, instead of asking Woland to return her beloved, she asks for Frida, to whom she accidentally gave hope.
At the end of the novel, both the Master and Margarita deserved peace, not light. Obviously, this is related to the concept of creativity in the novel. On the one hand, the Master found what a writer lacks most—peace. Peace gives a true creator the opportunity to escape into the world of his own fantasies, into a world where he can create freely. Material from the site
On the other hand, this peace was given to the Master as a punishment for his weakness. He showed cowardice, retreated from his brainchild, and left it unfinished.
In the image of the Master they often see a lot of autobiographical things, but they always notice the difference: Bulgakov never deviated from his novel, as the Master did. So, the heroes find peace. The Master still has his muse - Margarita. Perhaps this is what Bulgakov himself was striving for.
Plan
- Arrival in Moscow of Satan and his retinue: Azazello, the cheerful cat Behemoth, Koroev-Fagot, the charming witch Gella. Meeting of Berlioz and Ivan Bezdomny with Boland.
- The second storyline is the events from the Master's novel. Pontius Pilate talks with the arrested Yeshua Ha-Nozri, a wandering philosopher. He cannot save his life by going against the power of Caiaphas. Yeshua is executed.
- Berlioz's death under the wheels of a tram. A homeless man desperately pursues his retinue.
- The retinue settles in apartment No. 50, building 302 bis on Sadovaya Street. Disappearance of Styopa Likhodeev, director of the Variety Theater, and chairman of the Bosogo House. Barefoot is arrested, and Likhodeev ends up in Yalta.
- That same evening, on the stage of the Variety Show, Woland and his retinue give a wonderful performance, which ends in a grandiose scandal.
- Ivan Bezdomny meets the Master in a psychiatric hospital. The master tells him his story: about the novel about Pontius Pilate, about Margarita.
- Margarita meets with Azazello, who hands her the ointment. Having anointed herself, Margarita turns into a witch and flies away from the house. She must hold Satan's annual ball.
- The worst sinners come to the ball - traitors, murderers, executioners. After the ball, in gratitude, Woland fulfills Margarita’s wish and returns the Master to her.
- The work of Yeshua is continued by his disciple Levi Matvey.
- At the end of the novel, Margarita and the Master leave with Boland and find peace. And Moscow still cannot come to its senses for a long time from the strange and incredible events that took place this week.
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