The novel by Mikhail Bulgakov is a truly amazing and brilliant work of its time. For many years it did not go out because of its acute sociality. Many characters of "The Master and Margarita" are copied from real people, prominent figures of the Soviet Union and the close circle of the writer himself, because of which he was constantly on the verge of arrest. Bulgakov endowed most of the heroes with human features that he hated.
The story of the creation of the novel
The exact date of work on the novel is unknown. In some drafts of Bulgakov, 1928 is indicated, in others - 1929. It is absolutely known that in March 1930 the writer burned the first edition of the work. This was due to the prohibition of the play "The Cabal of the Holy."
The current title of the novel appeared only in 1937, before which Bulgakov called his work "Fantastic Novel" (second edition) and "Prince of Darkness" (third edition).
The novel was completely written in the early summer of 1938, but Mikhail Bulgakov made corrections to it until his death. In total, work on the main work in life has been conducted for more than ten years.
Unfortunately, the writer was never able to see his work published. The first publication of the novel took place in 1966 in one of the literary magazines. The work was heavily trimmed, but thanks to the wife of Bulgakov, the creation "Master and Margarita" still became world famous. The testament novel of the great writer gained immortality.
The main characters of "Masters and Margarita"
The writer himself, after the destruction of the first edition of the book, indicated that he had burned a novel about the devil. Woland, in fact, is the main driving force of the work. He is no doubt an important character.
Along with Satan, the main characters of the novel are the Master and Margarita, despite the fact that they appear far from the very beginning of the book. The master appears only in chapter 12, Margarita and even further - in the nineteenth.
There are many hypotheses in the philological world regarding who the leading character is. Based on the name of the work and positioning in the book of the image of Woland, we distinguish only three dominant figures.
Woland
For the first time, the reader meets Woland at the very beginning of the book. And immediately his image creates an ambiguous impression. The traits of his character that can be deduced from his actions completely coincide with external features. In itself, he is a dual figure, hence the eyes of different colors, and eyebrows of different heights. Cynical and cunning, he is both generous and noble.
It is not surprising that Berlioz and Ivan, the first to see Professor Woland, were confused and confused in their conflicting feelings. The stories that this strange citizen tells do not find rational explanations from the audience.
But Woland did not arrive in Moscow in order to narrate. He has a very definite goal, which the devil retinue helps him achieve. They are creating real chaos in the capital. The Variety Theater has become a venue for black magic shows. The ladies were promised new dresses, in the end they ran away from there in one underwear. The myriad riches falling from the ceiling then turned into priceless pieces of paper.
The purpose of arriving on the sinful land of Woland and his retinue was considered a punishment for not fulfilling the biblical commandments. In general, this is probably the first image of the devil in literature, striving to balance good and evil, light and darkness.
To the other characters, the sir said that he came to Moscow to study the recently found manuscripts, to conduct a session of black magic and a ball.
It was at the ball that Woland reveals his true face. Before the reader appears Satan himself. Taking his henchmen, he hides in the afterlife the next day.
The origin of Woland is not immediately clear. The poet Homeless wonders if his new acquaintance is not a foreigner, since everything in the professor betrays a foreigner: the image, manner of speaking, his actions.
Mikhail Bulgakov borrowed the name of the main character from Goethe's poem "Faust". Woland, or Faland, is one of the names of the devil. Many researchers agree that the leader of the peoples, I.V. Stalin, became the prototype of Satan, in which, just like in Woland, a tyrant and a good man coexisted.
The retinue of the prince of darkness calls him nothing more than âsirâ and âlord,â so the reader does not immediately recognize the name Woland.
Master
The master is a certified historian who has always dreamed of writing. After winning the lottery he got this opportunity. He became the creator of the novel about Pontius Pilate and Yeshua, in his own way comprehending the gospel events, but he reached almost madness after his work was criticized to the smithereens.
The name of the hero is not mentioned in the book of Bulgakov. The nickname "Master" was given to him by Margarita, his beloved. However, he was embarrassed by such treatment. He always avoided situations where he had to call himself. To the poet Ivan Homeless, he declares that he does not have a first name or a family name at all.
There are no external features of the character. Obviously, he is attractive, but the longing in the eyes erases the entire external gloss. He is about forty years old, he is dark-haired and always clean-shaven, even in a hospital.
The reader will also understand the fact that the Master is deducted from Bulgakov himself, and the relationship with Margarita is very similar to his life with his third wife Elena Sergeevna. The master, like Mikhail Bulgakov, burns his novel, and Margarita, like Elena Shilovskaya, saves his remains.
The age of the two creators and their relationship with literary critics also coincide, because Bulgakov himself was repeatedly ridiculed and persecuted for his works.
The novel does not exactly describe how the Master gets into a psychiatric hospital. Some literary scholars believe that these are flaws in the latest edition of the novel, while others insist that the writer thus refers to the repressions of the 30s, when a person could disappear forever.
Margarita
Margarita Nikolaevna is the friend of the Master, separated from her beloved. She gladly agrees to Wolandâs offer to become the queen at the ball, as he promised to fulfill one of her wishes. Margarita passionately dreamed of reuniting with the Master, which ultimately happened thanks to Satan.
The reader does not know the name of Margarita until the middle of the novel, the Master hides his beloved.
Margarita is a collective image that has absorbed a lot from Gretchen (Goethe's Faust) and the wife of writer Elena Shilovskaya. In particular, the described meeting between the Master and Margarita is an exact copy of Bulgakovâs acquaintance with his wife.
Some researchers see in Margarita the features of French queens (Margarita de Valois and Margot of Navarre), and in the text there is a reference to their similarity (Korovievâs phrase about the heroineâs relationship with the French royal court).
Margarita is portrayed in the novel as the beautiful but bored wife of a wealthy man who takes on the meaning of life after meeting with the Master.
N. A. Bulgakov made his main character a symbol of love and sacrifice, a muse and the support of a writer who was ready to give her life for her lover.
Demonic characters
Woland and his retinue are often not themselves the driving force behind all the unrest in Moscow. Sometimes they are just observers. Satan's assistants in the city are only five. Each has his own mission, his task.
Koroviev-Fagot performs the role of conductor and interpreter, he is the equivalent of the right hand of his master. His name consists of two parts. Koroviev - a derivative of the surname of the hero of the story "The village of Stepanchikovo and its inhabitants." Bulgakovsky Koroviev possesses a dozen features of Korovkin invented by Dostoevsky. The second part of the name is by the name of a musical instrument. Here the writer was guided by the external data of the hero, because, like the bassoon, the Bulgakov demon is thin, tall and can fold three times to fulfill the order of the master.
Koroviev-Fagot appears to the characters of the book as a translator, then regent, or a skilled fraudster. His true identity, demon and trait, is far from being revealed immediately. But the attentive reader will pay attention to how the hero appears in the story. It literally arises from the hot Moscow air (according to legend, terrible heat is a harbinger of the arrival of evil forces).
Hippo cat - a hero who can try on any look. This character, symbolizing profligacy and gluttony, is at the same time Woland's favorite pastime, his jester.
This character was introduced by Bulgakov exclusively for a satirical and humorous note woven into the complex philosophical and moral meaning of the novel. This is evidenced by all the actions that the Cat Hippopotamus (shootout with detectives, a chess game with a messier, a shooting competition with Azazello).
Gella is a character who can carry out any assignment. The female vampire is Woland's irreplaceable servant. In the novel, she is portrayed as a green-eyed girl with long red hair, who moves freely through the air. This gives her a special resemblance to a witch. Introducing his servant Margarita, Woland points out her quickness, helpfulness and understanding.
It is assumed that many of the vampire traits of Gella, Bulgakov spied in the story "Upyr" by A. Tolstoy. From there, a smacking and clicking of teeth, a devilish kiss, because of which Varenukha stopped casting a shadow and became a vampire. Gella is a character who was the only one of Woland's entire retinue who did not participate in the scene of the last flight.
Azazello acts as a liaison, recruiter for the messy affairs of the sir. A completely unattractive character, not tall, with reddish, sticking out in different directions, hair, bulging fang. Finished image is patent leather shoes, a bowler hat on the head and a striped Azazello costume. And Margarita, who first saw him, calls the hero a robbery face.
Abaddon exists somewhere in the background and differs from the rest in his sympathetic attitude to both the world of evil and the world of good.
Bible characters
The biblical part of the novel "The Master and Margarita" was written by Bulgakov on the basis of the Gospel of Matthew, but he uses Aramaic names that he considers historically accurate (Yeshua instead of Jesus).
The biblical story is divided into three parts in the novel of the writer. The first one is told by Woland at the Patriarch's Ponds, the second one is dreamed to the poet Homeless, the third one is read by Margarita. The biblical chapters contain many references to the Soviet system of government and administration.
The characters of The Master and Margarita are Afraniy (the chief of the secret police of Pilate), Judas (a resident of Yershalaim who betrayed Yeshua), Joseph Kaifa (the priest who sent Yeshua to execution), Levi Matvey (a disciple of Yeshua who took him off the cross), Pontius Pilate and Yeshua, as well as several other heroes.
Pontius Pilate
The procurator of Judea is called upon to determine the fate of Yeshua Ga-Nozri, who is doomed to execution. A tough and imperious person, he decides to question the accused. During this dialogue, Pontius Pilate was completely fascinated by Yeshua, however, despite the miracles shown to him (Ga-Nozri healed the procurator's migraine), the death penalty was confirmed.
Because of his sympathy for Yeshua, Pilate decides to take revenge. He orders to kill the man who set Ga-Nozri under the blow of the Sanhedrin.
Pontius Pilate and Yeshua were imbued with inexplicable feelings for each other, because of which the first suffered the rest of his life. He understood that he had personally signed the verdict for a real miracle. Therefore, his entire physical and unconscious life was imprisoned, which he himself created for himself. During the last flight of Satan, Woland asked his opponent to give Pilate freedom, which he did.
Yeshua Ga-Nozri
The biblical story in the novel differs from the Gospel in many aspects that Bulgakov did not take into account. Yeshua is portrayed as an ordinary person with the gift of empathy, which is haunted by crowds of fanatics and followers. Actually because of their incorrect interpretation of Yeshuaâs sermons, the latter was on the verge of death. Yeshua tells Pontius Pilate about one particularly obsessive persecutor who misrepresented his words. His name is Levi Matvey. The master and Margarita as a result received the long-awaited peace thanks to him.
Most literary scholars characterize Yeshua as the antipode of Woland. However, there is another, more entertaining version. Jesus is not at all a prototype of Yeshua. The hero of Bulgakov is the embodiment of acting, a mask that the spirit put on with different guises. Perhaps this version was born due to the religious preferences of the writer. He was not an ardent atheist, but he did not adhere to church orders.
Yeshua differs from the gospel Jesus in the details of birth and life, as well as in its worldview. He positions himself as a philosopher, although the novel does not specifically indicate this. Yeshua claims that all people are good, but Jesus in the Gospel says that good and evil exist together in the human heart.
The authorâs attitude to the character is quite clear. Bulgakov sympathizes with him and approves the generosity and humanity of Yeshua, but does not recognize divinity in him and does not see the point in self-sacrifice.
Moscow characters
The characters of "Masters and Margarita" are mostly copied from real people, and in some cases are sharp parodies of them. For example, the prototype of Archibald Archibaldovich was Jacob Rosenthal, the manager of the restaurant at Herzenâs house (the restaurant at the house of Griboedov appears in the novel).
In the novel, the reader sees a parody of the director of the Moscow Art Theater, Nemirovich-Danchenko in the person of Bengalsky, whose fate is an embodiment of the writerâs hatred of cynical political "slurs" (he was beheaded).
For some heroes, the writer did not even bother to change names. For example, in Annushka you can find Bulgakovâs neighbor, and Dr. Kuzmin was actually his doctor.
Bulgakov also uses speaking surnames (Likhodeev, Bogokhulsky, Barefoot), which acts as a direct characteristic of the characters. "The Master and Margarita" is not the writerâs first novel in which he uses prototypes. For example, in the White Guard, he copied the image of Nikolka Turbin from his sibling.
Mikhail Bulgakov is an amazing writer who is capable of singing a beautiful love story, the theme of freedom in one work, answering exciting philosophical questions and subtly, literally with just hints, drawing satirical scenes, the characters of which were intolerant to him people.