"The Master and Margarita" is a phantasmagoric novel by the Soviet writer Mikhail Bulgakov, which occupies an ambiguous position in Russian literature. "The Master and Margarita" - a book written in the original language, the fate of ordinary people, mystical powers, sharp satire and a genuine atmosphere of atheism intertwined here.
It is precisely because of this “piling up” of various literary devices and a kaleidoscope of events that it is difficult for the reader to grasp the deep political and moral meaning that lies in this great work. Each finds in this novel its own meaning, and this is its multifaceted nature. Someone will say that the meaning of “The Master and Margarita” is to exalt the love that conquers even death, someone will object: no, this is a novel about the eternal confrontation between good and evil, about the propaganda of Christian values. What is the truth?
There are two storylines in the novel, in each of which the events take place at different times and in different places. Initially, events unfold in Moscow in the 30s. On a quiet evening, as if out of nowhere, a strange company appeared, headed by Woland, who turned out to be Satan himself. They do things that radically change the lives of some people (as an example, the fate of Margarita in the novel "The Master and Margarita"). The second line develops by analogy with the biblical plot: the action takes place in the novel of the Master, the main characters are the prophet Yeshua (analogy with Jesus) and the procurator of Judea Pontius Pilate. These two lines are intricately entangled with each other, the characters and roles of the characters are intertwined, which makes it difficult to grasp the meaning that the author originally invested in his work.
Yes, the meaning of “The Master and Margarita” can be interpreted in different ways: this novel is about great and pure love, and about devotion and self-sacrifice, and about the pursuit of truth and the struggle for it, and about human vices that Woland looks at a glance from the scene. However, there is a subtle political subtext in the novel, it simply could not have been, especially when you take into account the time
Bulgakov created his
work - brutal repressions, constant denunciations, total surveillance of the life of citizens. "How can you live so calmly in such an atmosphere? How can you go to shows and find your life a success?" - as if the author asks. The embodiment of the ruthless state machine can be considered Pontius Pilate.
Suffering from migraine and suspiciousness, not loving Jews and people in principle, he, nevertheless, is imbued with interest, and then with sympathy for Yeshua. But, despite this, he did not dare to go against the system and save the prophet, for which he was subsequently doomed to suffer doubts and remorse for all eternity, until the Master released him. Thinking about the fate of the procurator, the reader begins to comprehend the moral meaning of the “Master and Margarita”: “What makes people give up their principles? Cowardice? Indifference? Fear of responsibility for their actions?”
In the novel "Master and Margarita", the author deliberately neglects the biblical canons and gives his own interpretation of the nature of good and evil, which often change places in the novel. Such a view helps to take a fresh look at familiar things and discover a lot of new things where, it would seem, there is nothing to look for - this is the meaning of “The Master and Margarita”.