What is the secret meaning of the brilliant novel “The Master and Margarita. The novel by M. Bulgakov "The Master and Margarita": the deep meaning of the novel All about the work of the master and margarita

At the end of the novel, both lines intersect: the Master frees the hero of his novel, and Pontius Pilate, after his death, languished for so long on a stone slab with his devoted dog Bangoy, who wanted to finish the interrupted conversation with Yeshua all this time, finally finds peace and sets off on an endless journey along the moonlight stream 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 was established in Moscow in early May 1935 (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, propagated atheism in Soviet Russia and denied the existence of Jesus Christ as historical personality. 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 arises 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 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 Masons. 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 the science fiction writer and literary critic A. Zerkalov-Mirrer in the book "The Ethics of Mikhail Bulgakov" (published in the city). 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 a caustic " dog heart”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 "master 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) Margarita's "Gothic mansion" (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, unfolds a large-scale literary activity), “hires from the builder” rooms, and after that Margarita takes the remaining ten thousand for storage).

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

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. Master, main character 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. Real surname- 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" he 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 be buried. 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 Yeshua Ha-Notsri to death.

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 the mountain began heavy thunderstorm, stabbed Yeshua and other criminals 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", "The Black Magician", "The 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. June 25, 1938 full text was first reprinted (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).

M. A. Bulgakov in his work raises many topics that have been troubling all mankind for centuries. But he presents them in an unusual format, expressing the new meaning of The Master and Margarita. This is a novel of good and evil in their various manifestations. It would seem that in a work with such a complex structure lies a lot of meanings. But if you draw a general line, you can see that all the topics raised by Bulgakov are about the confrontation between good and evil.

Good and evil in Woland's retinue

In one context or another, good and evil come to the fore in the work. Only the essence of the work is to prove to the reader that good and evil cannot exist without each other. These are complementary forces. "What would your good be if there were no evil?" Woland says to Levy Matthew. Throughout the novel, Bulgakov shows the reader that completely ordinary people can do evil without knowing it. It is they who are subsequently punished by Woland and his retinue in accordance with the degree of the deed.

The retinue of the Devil in modern Moscow is joking, mocking people. They were eaten by the housing problem, but it was their choice. It is noteworthy that, contrary to popular belief, the Devil and his retinue do not at all incline anyone to do bad deeds. Rather, they wait and watch, giving a person the right to choose. A certain provocation, of course, is present in the actions of Koroviev and Behemoth, but still each person is responsible for his own choice. We decide what we should be. Good and evil are not only fighting - they coexist in each of us, as well as throughout the world. This is what the work of M. A. Bulgakov was written about.

Confrontation between good and evil in art

Good and evil oppose in art as well. As a negative example, Bulgakov cites modern hacks who are not engaged in true creativity, but only fulfill the order of the state. It seems to each of the members of MOSSOLIT that he is doing everything right, he lives honestly and works to the limit of his abilities. But their values are not true, not those that should be pursued by real creativity. In contrast to this, we see the Master, who cannot live without his work, he has become the meaning of life for the writer. But none of the notorious hacks accepts his art. As a result, true creativity, eternal and valuable, remains not understood. But “manuscripts do not burn” and higher powers will still reward the Master for his work as he deserves. As well as the writers of MOSSOLIT. Each of them finds himself in a situation that reflects his character and behavior, although none of them considers himself wrong.

Good and Evil in Love

This topic is one of the most eternal, complex and confusing. The novel tells us a talented unrecognized writer and his beloved. For the sake of her beloved, Margarita is ready for anything. Pursuing good goals, she makes a deal with the Devil. This once again reminds us that the boundaries of good and evil are very blurred in this world. And Woland gives Margarita what she deserved with her blood in the literal sense. After a heavy ball at Satan's, whose queen Margarita had to become, Woland grants her eternal peace next to her beloved.

The meaning of the work "The Master and Margarita" is to convey to readers a simple idea - good and evil are inseparable from each other. Good man can do bad things, and vice versa. Sometimes we ourselves do not know whether our actions will lead to good or bad consequences. But one way or another, any person must decide for himself and make a choice. And be responsible for that choice.

This article will help to write an essay on the topic "The essence of the novel" The Master and Margarita ", to describe the struggle between good and evil in the description by Bulgakov.

Artwork test

The novel "The Master and Margarita" is the central work of M.A. Bulgakov. It has an interesting artistic structure: the action of the novel unfolds in three different planes. Firstly, this is the realistic world of Moscow life in the thirties, secondly, the Yershal-Imsky world, which takes the reader to distant times and events described in the Bible, and, finally, thirdly, this is the fantastic world of Woland and his retinue.

B.V. Sokolov in the book "M. Bulgakov's novel" The Master and Margarita "(M., 1991) traces the connections between characters belonging to different planes: Pilate - Woland - Stravinsky - financial director of the Rimsky Variety; Aphranius - Fagot-Koroviev - doctor Fyodor Vasiliev, assistant to Stravinsky - administrator of the Varenukha Variety; Mark Krysoboy - Azazello - Archibald Archibaldovich - director of the Variety Likhodeev; Banga - a hippopotamus - Tuztuben - a cat detained by an unknown person in Armavir; Niza - Gella - Natasha - a neighbor of Berlioz and Likhodeev Annushka - Plague; Kaifa - Berlioz - an unknown in Gorgsin, posing as a foreigner - the entertainer of the Variety Georges of Bengal; Judas - Baron May-gel - Alois Mogarych - Timofey Kvastsov, tenant of house 302-bis; Levi Matvey - Ivan Bezdomny - Alexander Ryukhin - Nikanor Ivanovich Barefoot. A characteristic feature of the development of the plot in the novel is the violation of causal relationships (suddenness, absurdity, inconsistency). The ostentatious gaiety actually turns into a tragedy.

The original names "Black Magician", "Engineer's Hoof", "Consultant with a Hoof" focused on the image of Woland. The purpose of M.A. Bulgakov to the images evil spirits lies in the fact that this technique helps the writer to expose the various problems of contemporary society, as well as open the reader's eyes to the duality of human nature. Woland appears in Moscow to test morality, people, to make sure whether the world has changed over the centuries-old path that humanity has passed or the Nativity of Christ and those events that are described in the ruff-laim chapters of the work. The system of images of the novel is subordinated to the triple artistic space.

The action of the novel begins in Moscow, at the Patriarch's Ponds, where the chairman of the board of one of the largest Moscow literary associations MASSOLIT, Mikhail Aleksandrovich Berlioz, and the young poet Ivan Bezdomny meet. Subtle Bulgakov's irony permeates every chapter of the novel. Already in its first paragraphs, there is a parody of both the fashionable and sometimes awkward abbreviations in those years, and literary pseudonyms emphasizing belonging to the class of the disadvantaged (Demyan Bedny, Maxim Gorky).

A particularly sharp satirical moment in this scene is the analysis of Bezdomny's anti-religious poem, the main drawback of which was that Jesus turned out in it "well, just like a living, although not an attractive character." M.A. Bulgakov masterfully exposes here the low-grade essence of works written to order, when the author was forced to take on this or that topic, while having poor knowledge of the necessary material, and most importantly, to fulfill the task imposed on him. At the same time, the most basic copyright right, the right to freedom of creativity, was actually violated. In confirmation of the absurdity of such a situation, Bulgakov immediately arranges for Berlioz a meeting with a certain foreigner who enters into an argument with him about the existence of God. Moreover, as proof of his innocence, the stranger predicts the death of the chairman of MASSOLIT. It is noteworthy that in the course of the conversation, the cruel realities of the thirties inevitably emerge: Ivan Bezdomny exclaims that Kant should be exiled to Solovki.

The "Foreigner" amazes his interlocutors both by the fact that he takes Berlioz's favorite cigarettes out of his pocket, and by the fact that he hears the conversation between the characters at a distance. Focusing the reader's attention on the unusual abilities of this character, M.A. Bulgakov hints at the connection of this image with evil spirit. The portrait of this person seems very unusual: "The right eye is black, the left one is green for some reason." So entered into artistic structure Woland's works are one of the key characters of the novel. It soon turns out that this hero is not acting alone. He is helped by no less mysterious characters: Fagot-Koroviev and the cat Behemoth. Then the retinue of Satan is still expanding. It includes Azazello, Gella, as well as numerous sinners invited to the ball. A characteristic feature of the depiction of evil spirits in the novel is the ability to reincarnate. So, for example, no one can remember how Woland really looks, and the surname itself does not come to mind at all (“Washner? Wagner? Weiner? Wegner? Winter?”).

M.A. Bulgakov makes extensive use of colorful Moscow place names in the novel. Bronnaya, Patriarch's Ponds, Nikitsky Gates, Arbat, Alexander Garden - all these memorable names recreate the image of the historical center of the capital. But the author is no less interested in the life of the Muscovites themselves. The most striking fragment of the novel in this regard is the scene in which human greed is revealed and subsequently exposed: in the Variety Theater, Woland shows tricks during which the audience happily agrees to exchange old outfits for new ones. At the same time, they quarrel, rush to the stage for gifts and do not even hide their insatiable greed. Towards the end of the day, women snap up shoes without trying them on. During the so-called “money rain”, the audience happily grabs the gold coins that fall into their hands and even fights for them. After a while, the inevitable punishment for greed followed: fashionable clothes disappear, and money turns into bottle labels and cut paper. The scene of waiting for Berlioz at the meeting of the board of MASSOLIT is also incriminating. It can be regarded as a direct parody of the Writers' Union, and the name of the holiday village Perelygino clearly alludes to the famous village of Peredelkino. All conversations among writers come down to who has received or deserves to receive a dacha. So, in a bizarre mixture of real and fantastic, the truth is revealed: people have not changed for many centuries, they have not learned to love their neighbor.

Along with debunking false values(money and all kinds of material goods), M.A. Bulgakov affirms true values on the pages of the novel: love and creativity. The images symbolizing these two beginnings are included in the title of the work. The figure of the Master - a man-creator for whom writing becomes the most important thing in life - is close to the image of the author himself. No less important in the novel is Margarita - a woman who is ready for any exploits and suffering in the name of love.

In connection with the development of the theme of creativity in the work, an important place is given to the fate of the novel written by the Master. Having created a wonderful work, the author could not fight for it. further fate. He burned the manuscript. Perhaps that is why in the finale the hero deserves not light, but peace.

In the reasoning of M.A. Bulgakov about good and evil, about lies and truth, the Yershalaim chapters of the novel play a significant role. The central figure in them is the image of Christ, who wishes good even to his tormentors. However, along with the spiritual softness of Ga-Notsri, he demonstrates both the strength of character and the firmness of his convictions. Believing in the natural kindness of a person, he believes that every mistaken and confused can be set on the path of truth. Ha-Notsri leads the life of a wandering philosopher. In his mouth M.A. Bulgakov puts in aphoristic phrases that testify to the depth of wisdom and insight of the hero (“Telling the truth is easy and pleasant”, “All power is violence against people and ... the time will come when there will be no power of either Caesars or any other power. Man will pass into the realm of truth and justice, where no power at all will be needed.

The central storyline of the novel is the line of the master and Margarita. It is no coincidence that these images are emphasized by the very title of the novel. M.A. Bulgakov emphasizes that Margarita was smart and beautiful woman, did not need money, but did not consider herself happy. “What did this woman need, in whose eyes some incomprehensible light always burned, what did this witch, slightly squinting in one eye, who adorned herself then in the spring with mimosas, need?” - the author writes. And he himself answers this question: “Obviously, not a Gothic mansion, and not a separate garden, and not money. She loved him, she spoke the truth."

The love line in the novel is emphasized by the motive of sleep. The heroine sees an unknown area, which M.A. Bulgakov characterizes it as hellish: no breath of the breeze, no stirring of the cloud, no living soul. In the midst of this desert area, Margarita sees the master. He is ragged, unshaven, his hair is tousled.

The author deliberately emphasizes the material wealth in which a woman lives: a mansion, a luxurious apartment, a housekeeper. However, the most expensive for her is the photographic card of the master and the notebook spoiled by fire.

Having received magic cream and lipstick from Azazello, Margarita agrees to turn into a witch and, leaving her husband a farewell note, flies away.

Arriving on a brush in the apartment of the critic Latunsky, trying to avenge the master, Margarita arranges a real pogrom in it (throws the inkwell on the bed, pours water into the drawers of the desk, breaks the mirror cabinet).

Bulgakov describes in detail the flight of Margarita in the moonlight, the participation of the heroine in the scene of the ball at Woland's. At the end of the novel, the Master and Margarita unite and leave through the rocky bridge to the eternal home.

An important role in the novel M.A. Bulgakov plays the landscape. In the key scenes of the work, the author focuses the reader's attention on the appearance of the moon or the sun. These luminaries emphasize the eternal, timeless nature of what is happening, give special significance to these chapters of the work. The unnatural nature of Pilate's condemnation of Ha-Notsri emphasizes artistic detail: at the thought that immortality has come, the procurator grows cold in the sun. The whole horror of the events is conveyed through the landscape: “The bush burdened with roses has disappeared, the cypresses that border the upper terrace, and the pomegranate tree, and the white statue in the greenery, and the greenery itself, have disappeared. Instead, only some kind of crimson thick swam, algae swayed in it and moved somewhere, and Pilate himself moved along with them. During the execution of Yeshua, a strong thunderstorm is approaching the city, which ends with an unprecedented downpour. It seems to symbolize the universal flood - the wrath of heaven itself.

Woland's Moscow tricks are invariably accompanied by moonlight. It is no coincidence that Berlioz, in the last moment of his life, sees the moon falling to pieces.

Mysticism, riddles, supernatural powers - everything is so frightening, but terribly alluring. It's outside human consciousness, so people tend to grab onto any piece of information about this hidden world. storehouse mystical stories- novel by M.A. Bulgakov "The Master and Margarita"

The mystical novel has a complicated history. The loud and familiar name "Master and Margarita" was by no means the only and, moreover, not the first option. The birth of the first pages of the novel dates back to 1928-1929, and the end in the final chapter was put only 12 years later.

The legendary work has gone through several editions. It is worth noting that the main characters of the final version - the Master, Margarita - did not appear in the first of them. By the will of fate, it was destroyed by the hands of the author. The second version of the novel gave life to the already mentioned heroes and gave Woland devoted assistants. And in the third edition, the names of these characters came to the fore, namely in the title of the novel.

The plot lines of the work were constantly changing, Bulgakov did not stop making adjustments and changing the fate of his heroes until his death. The novel was published only in 1966, the last wife of Bulgakov, Elena, is responsible for the gift to the world of this sensational work. The author tried to perpetuate her features in the image of Margarita, and, apparently, the endless gratitude to his wife became the reason for the final name change, where it was precisely love line plot.

Genre, direction

Mikhail Bulgakov is considered a mystical writer, almost each of his works carries a riddle. The highlight of this work is the presence of a novel within a novel. The story described by Bulgakov is a mystical, modernist novel. But the novel about Pontius Pilate and Yeshua included in it, the author of which is the Master, does not contain a drop of mysticism.

Composition

As already mentioned by the Wise Litrecon, The Master and Margarita is a novel within a novel. This means that the plot is divided into two layers: the story that the reader discovers, and the work of the hero from this story, who introduces new characters, paints different landscapes, times and major events.

So, the main outline of the story is the author's story about Soviet Moscow and the arrival of the devil, who wants to hold a ball in the city. Along the way, he surveys the changes that have taken place in people, and allows his retinue to frolic enough, punishing Muscovites for their vices. But the path of the dark forces leads them to meet Margarita, who is the mistress of the Master - the writer who created the novel about Pontius Pilate. This is the second layer of the story: Yeshua is put on trial by the procurator and sentenced to death for bold sermons about the frailty of power. This line develops in parallel with what Woland's servants do in Moscow. Both plots merge when Satan shows the Master his hero - the Procurator, who is still waiting for forgiveness from Yeshua. The writer ends his torment and thus ends his story.

essence

The novel "The Master and Margarita" is so comprehensive that it does not let the reader get bored on any page. A huge number of storylines, interactions and events in which you can easily get confused keep the reader attentive throughout the work.

Already on the first pages of the novel, we are faced with the punishment of the unbelieving Berlioz, who entered into an argument with the personification of Satan. Further, as if on knurled, there were revelations and disappearances of sinful people, for example, the director of the Variety Theater - Styopa Likhodeev.

The reader's acquaintance with the Master took place in a psychiatric hospital, in which he was kept with Ivan Bezdomny, who ended up there after the death of his friend Berlioz. There the Master tells about his novel about Pontius Pilate and Yeshua. Outside the mental hospital, the Master is looking for his beloved Margarita. In order to save her lover, she makes a deal with the devil, namely, she becomes the queen of Satan's Great Ball. Woland fulfills his promise, and the lovers are reunited. At the end of the work, two novels are mixed - Bulgakov and the Master - Woland meets Levi Matvey, who gave the Master peace. On the last pages of the book, all the characters leave, dissolving into the expanse of heaven. Here's what the book is about.

Main characters and their characteristics

Perhaps the main characters are Woland, the Master and Margarita.

Woland's mission in this novel - to reveal the vices of people and punish for their sins. His exposure of mere mortals knows no bounds. The main motive of Satan is to give everyone according to his faith. By the way, he does not act alone. The retinue is laid for the king - the demon Azazello, the devil Koroviev-Fagot, the jester cat Behemoth (a petty demon) beloved by everyone and their muse - Hella (vampire). The retinue is responsible for the humorous component of the novel: they laugh and mock their victims.
Master- his name remains a mystery to the reader. All that Bulgakov told us about him was that in the past he was a historian, worked in a museum and, having won a large sum in the lottery, took up literature. The author intentionally does not introduce additional information about the Master in order to focus on him as a writer, author of the novel about Pontius Pilate and, of course, the lover of the beautiful Margarita. By nature, this is an absent-minded and impressionable person not of this world, completely unaware of the life and customs of the people around him. He is very helpless and vulnerable, easily falls for deception. But at the same time, he has an extraordinary mind. He is well educated, knows ancient and modern languages, he has an impressive erudition in many matters. To write a book, he studied an entire library.
margarita- a real muse for his Master. This is a married lady, the wife of a wealthy official, but their marriage has long been a formality. Having met a truly loved one, the woman devoted all her feelings and thoughts to him. She supported him and instilled inspiration in him and even intended to leave the hateful house with her husband and housekeeper, exchange security and contentment for a half-starved life in a basement on the Arbat. But the Master suddenly disappeared, and the heroine began to look for him. The novel repeatedly emphasizes her selflessness, her willingness to do anything for the sake of love. For most of the novel, she fights to save the Master. According to Bulgakov, Margarita is "the ideal wife of a genius."

If you did not have enough description or characteristics of any hero, write about it in the comments - we will add it.

Themes

The novel "The Master and Margarita" is amazing in every sense. It has a place for philosophy, love and even satire.

The main theme is the confrontation between good and evil. The philosophy of the struggle between these extremes and justice can be seen on almost every page of the novel.
One cannot belittle the importance of the love theme personified by the Master and Margarita. Strength, struggle for feelings, selflessness - using their example, one can say that these are synonyms for the word “love”.
On the pages of the novel there is also a place for human vices, vividly shown by Woland. This is greed, hypocrisy, cowardice, ignorance, selfishness, etc. He never ceases to mock sinful people and arrange for them a kind of repentance.

If you are particularly interested in any topic that we have not voiced, let us know in the comments - we will add it.

Problems

The novel raises many problems: philosophical, social and even political. We will analyze only the main ones, but if it seems to you that something is missing, write in the comments, and this “something” will appear in the article.

The main problem is cowardice. Its author called the main vice. Pilate did not have the courage to stand up for the innocent, the Master did not have the courage to fight for his convictions, and only Margarita plucked up the courage and rescued her beloved man from trouble. The presence of cowardice, according to Bulgakov, changed the course of world history. It also doomed the inhabitants of the USSR to vegetate under the yoke of tyranny. Many did not like to live in anticipation of a black funnel, but fear won common sense and the people reconciled. In a word, this quality prevents us from living, loving and creating.
The issue of love is also important: its influence on a person and the essence of this feeling. Bulgakov showed that love is not a fairy tale in which everything is fine, it is a constant struggle, a willingness to do anything for the sake of a loved one. The Master and Margarita turned their lives upside down after they met. Margarita had to give up wealth, stability and comfort for the sake of the Master, to make a deal with the devil in order to save him, and not once did she doubt her actions. For overcoming difficult trials on the way to each other, the heroes are rewarded with eternal peace.
The problem of faith also intertwines the entire novel, it lies in the message of Woland: "To each will be rewarded according to his faith." The author prompts the reader to think about what he believes in and why? From this follows the overarching problem of good and evil. It was most vividly reflected in the described appearance of Muscovites, so greedy, greedy and mercantile, who receive retribution for their vices from Satan himself.

the main idea

The main idea of the novel is the reader's definition of the concepts of good and evil, faith and love, courage and cowardice, vice and virtue. Bulgakov tried to show that everything is completely different from what we used to imagine. For many people, the meanings of these key concepts are confused and distorted due to the influence of a corrupting and stupefying ideology, due to difficult life circumstances, due to a lack of intelligence and experience. For example, in Soviet society, even denunciation of family members and friends was considered a good deed, and yet it led to death, long-term imprisonment and the destruction of a person's life. But citizens like Magarych willingly used this opportunity to solve their "housing problem". Or, for example, conformism and the desire to please the authorities are shameful qualities, but in the USSR and even now many people saw and still see benefits in this and do not hesitate to demonstrate them. Thus, the author encourages readers to think about the true state of things, about the meaning, motives and consequences of their own actions. With a strict analysis, it will become clear that we ourselves are responsible for those world troubles and upheavals that we do not like, that without Woland's stick and carrot, we ourselves do not want to change for the better.

The meaning of the book and the "moral of this fable" lies in the need to prioritize in life: to learn courage and true love, rebel against obsession with the "housing issue". If in the novel Woland came to Moscow, then in life you need to let him into your head in order to conduct a diabolical audit of opportunities, guidelines and aspirations.

Criticism

Bulgakov could hardly count on the understanding of this novel by his contemporaries. But he knew one thing for sure - the novel would live. "The Master and Margarita" is still turning heads for more than the first generation of readers, which means it is the object of constant criticism.

V.Ya. Lakshin, for example, accuses Bulgakov of a lack of religious consciousness, but praises his morality. P.V. Palievsky notes the courage of Bulgakov, who was one of the first to break the stereotype of respect for the devil by ridiculing him. There are many such opinions, but they only confirm the idea laid down by the writer: "Manuscripts do not burn!".

The novel "The Master and Margarita" is a work that reflects philosophical, and therefore eternal themes. Love and betrayal, good and evil, truth and lies, amaze with their duality, reflecting the inconsistency and, at the same time, the fullness of human nature. Mystification and romanticism, framed in the writer's elegant language, captivate with a depth of thought that requires repeated reading.

Tragically and ruthlessly, a difficult period of Russian history appears in the novel, unfolding in such a homespun side that the devil himself visits the halls of the capital in order to once again become a prisoner of the Faustian thesis about a force that always wants evil, but does good.

History of creation

In the first edition of 1928 (according to some sources, 1929), the novel was flatter, and it was not difficult to single out specific topics, but after almost a decade and as a result of difficult work, Bulgakov came to a complexly structured, fantastic, but because of this no less life story.

Along with this, being a man overcoming difficulties hand in hand with his beloved woman, the writer managed to find a place for the nature of feelings more subtle than vanity. Fireflies of hope leading the main characters through diabolical trials. So the novel in 1937 was given the final title: The Master and Margarita. And that was the third edition.

But the work continued almost until the death of Mikhail Afanasyevich, he made the last revision on February 13, 1940, and died on March 10 of the same year. The novel is considered unfinished, as evidenced by numerous notes in the drafts kept by the writer's third wife. It was thanks to her that the world saw the work, albeit in an abridged magazine version, in 1966.

The author's attempts to bring the novel to its logical conclusion testify to how important it was for him. Bulgakov burned out the last of his strength into the idea of creating a wonderful and tragic phantasmagoria. It clearly and harmoniously reflected his own life in a narrow room, like a stocking, where he fought the disease and came to realize the true values of human existence.

Analysis of the work

Description of the work

(Berlioz, Ivan the homeless and Woland between them)

The action begins with a description of the meeting of two Moscow writers with the devil. Of course, neither Mikhail Alexandrovich Berlioz nor Ivan the homeless even suspect who they are talking to on a May day at the Patriarch's Ponds. In the future, Berlioz dies according to Woland's prophecy, and Messire himself occupies his apartment in order to continue his practical jokes and hoaxes.

Ivan homeless, in turn, becomes a patient psychiatric hospital, unable to cope with the impressions of the meeting with Woland and his retinue. In the house of sorrow, the poet meets the Master, who wrote a novel about the procurator of Judea, Pilate. Ivan learns that the metropolitan world of critics is cruel to objectionable writers and begins to understand a lot about literature.

Margarita, a childless woman of thirty, the wife of a prominent specialist, yearns for the disappeared Master. Ignorance brings her to despair, in which she admits to herself that she is ready to give her soul to the devil, just to find out about the fate of her beloved. One of the members of Woland's retinue, the waterless desert demon Azazello, delivers a miraculous cream to Margarita, thanks to which the heroine turns into a witch in order to play the role of a queen at Satan's ball. Having overcome some torment with dignity, the woman receives the fulfillment of her desire - a meeting with the Master. Woland returns to the writer the manuscript burned during the persecution, proclaiming a deeply philosophical thesis that "manuscripts do not burn."

In parallel, a storyline develops about Pilate, a novel written by the Master. The story tells of the arrested wandering philosopher Yeshua Ha-Nozri, who was betrayed by Judas of Kiriath, handing over to the authorities. The procurator of Judea administers court within the walls of the palace of Herod the Great and is forced to execute a man whose ideas that are disdainful of the power of Caesar, and power in general, seem to him interesting and worthy of discussion, if not fair. Having coped with his duty, Pilate orders Aphranius, the head of the secret service, to kill Judas.

The plot lines are combined in the last chapters of the novel. One of Yeshua's disciples, Levi Matthew, visits Woland with a petition to grant peace to those in love. That same night, Satan and his retinue leave the capital, and the devil gives the Master and Margarita eternal shelter.

Main characters

Let's start with the dark forces appearing in the first chapters.

Woland's character is somewhat different from the canonical embodiment of evil in its purest form, although in the first edition he was assigned the role of a tempter. In the process of processing material on satanic topics, Bulgakov molded the image of a player with unlimited power to decide fate, endowed, at the same time, with omniscience, skepticism and a bit of playful curiosity. The author deprived the hero of any props, such as hooves or horns, and also removed most of the description of the appearance that took place in the second edition.

Moscow serves Woland as a stage on which, by the way, he does not leave any fatal destruction. Woland is summoned by Bulgakov as high power the measure of human action. He is a mirror that reflects the essence of other characters and society, mired in denunciations, deceit, greed and hypocrisy. And, like any mirror, messire gives people who think and tend to justice the opportunity to change for the better.

An image with an elusive portrait. Outwardly, the features of Faust, Gogol and Bulgakov himself intertwined in him, since the mental pain caused by harsh criticism and non-recognition caused the writer a lot of problems. The master is conceived by the author as a character whom the reader rather feels as if he is dealing with a close, dear person, and does not see him as an outsider through the prism of a deceptive appearance.

The master remembers little about life before meeting his love - Margarita, as if he did not really live. The biography of the hero bears a clear imprint of the events of the life of Mikhail Afanasyevich. Only the ending the writer came up with for the hero is lighter than he himself experienced.

A collective image that embodies the female courage to love in spite of circumstances. Margarita is attractive, brash and desperate in her quest to reunite with the Master. Without her, nothing would have happened, because through her prayers, so to speak, a meeting with Satan took place, her determination led to a great ball, and only thanks to her uncompromising dignity did the two main tragic heroes meet.
If you look back at Bulgakov’s life again, it’s easy to note that without Elena Sergeevna, the writer’s third wife, who worked on his manuscripts for twenty years and followed him during his lifetime, like a faithful, but expressive shadow, ready to put enemies and ill-wishers out of the light, it wouldn’t have happened either. publication of the novel.

Woland's retinue

(Woland and his retinue)

The retinue includes Azazello, Koroviev-Fagot, Behemoth Cat and Hella. The latter is a female vampire and occupies the lowest rung in the demonic hierarchy, a minor character.
The former is typified by the demon of the desert, he plays the role right hand Woland. So Azazello ruthlessly kills Baron Meigel. In addition to the ability to kill, Azazello skillfully seduces Margarita. In some way, this character was introduced by Bulgakov in order to remove characteristic behavioral habits from the image of Satan. In the first edition, the author wanted to name Woland Azazel, but changed his mind.

(Bad apartment)

Koroviev-Fagot is also a demon, and an older one, but a buffoon and a clown. His task is to confuse and mislead the venerable public. The character helps the author provide the novel with a satirical component, ridiculing the vices of society, crawling into such cracks where the seducer Azazello will not get. At the same time, in the finale, he turns out to be not at all a joker in essence, but a knight punished for an unsuccessful pun.

The cat Behemoth is the best of jesters, a werewolf, a demon prone to gluttony, every now and then making a stir in the life of Muscovites with his comical adventures. The prototypes were definitely cats, both mythological and quite real. For example, Flyushka, who lived in the Bulgakovs' house. The writer's love for the animal, on behalf of which he sometimes wrote notes to his second wife, migrated to the pages of the novel. The werewolf reflects the tendency of the intelligentsia to transform, as the writer himself did, receiving a fee and spending it on buying delicacies in the Torgsin store.

"The Master and Margarita" is a unique literary creation that has become a weapon in the hands of the writer. With his help, Bulgakov dealt with the hated social vices, including those to which he himself was subject. He was able to express his experience through the phrases of the characters, which became a household name. In particular, the statement about manuscripts goes back to the Latin proverb "Verba volant, scripta manent" - "words fly away, what is written remains." After all, burning the manuscript of the novel, Mikhail Afanasyevich could not forget what he had previously created and returned to work on the work.

The idea of a novel in a novel allows the author to lead two storylines, gradually bringing them together in the timeline until they intersect "beyond", where fiction and reality are no longer distinguishable. Which, in turn, raises the philosophical question of the significance of human thoughts, against the background of the emptiness of words that fly away with the noise of bird wings during the game of Behemoth and Woland.

Roman Bulgakov is destined to go through time, like the heroes themselves, in order to again and again touch on important aspects of human social life, religion, issues of moral and ethical choice and the eternal struggle between good and evil.