"Manuscripts do not burn ..." Who said this famous phrase that has become a catch? Each person familiar with the cult novel of Mikhail Bulgakov knows that this is nothing more than a replica of one of the characters. But the book “The Master and Margarita” is no coincidence that critics and literary critics have been studying it for more than half a century. It contains hints of the past, symbols of the present and predictions of the future.
Manuscripts are not burning?
Who says paper cannot destroy fire? Perhaps the truth of this phrase could only be confirmed by a literary character, a representative of the other world. History knows many cases when writers and poets burned their creations. Some of them remained a mystery to posterity. The second volume of Nikolai Gogol’s poem, the full version of The Russian Trianon by Anna Akhmatova, Pasternak’s novel Three Names - all these are works that have not reached the modern reader.
The symbolism of the phrase
And yet the manuscripts do not burn. Who said that the flame does not destroy the work of a true artist, he hinted at the machinations of envious people, mediocre criticism and authoritarianism of power. Because exactly how they become enemies of the true author.
This has been the case at all times. Books that do not meet the imposed ideology were banned, seized, burned. In a word, they did everything so that they did not fall into the hands of the reader. But there were works that no forces could destroy. These include those that hold in themselves the wisdom and truth that is relevant at all times. That is, books that are interesting to posterity. Immortal books.
Novel about the devil
Bulgakov’s book has millions of fans. But even today, she is harshly criticized. Too charming and fair hero depicts Satan in the novel "Master and Margarita." There is an opinion that a true believing Christian is not worth reading Bulgakov’s work. The unconventional image of Satan can have a negative effect on fragile minds. Perhaps the whole point is that there is always something supernatural in talent. And therefore it frightens ordinary inhabitants.
Enemies of the Master
"Manuscripts do not burn ..." Who said this phrase and what role does it play in the plot of the novel? As you know, Bulgakov’s work is autobiographical. He, like his hero, was the victim of attacks from members of the Union of Writers. Aggressive criticism of Latunsky and Lavrovich was fatal for the Master. The inability to publish a novel about the devil became apparent to Bulgakov after his wife took several chapters to the editorial office. The manuscripts were brutally rejected. The author, like his hero, experienced nervous exhaustion, which occurs after a long journey that leads nowhere.
Tough criticism and unwillingness to publish a novel, the artistic value of which cannot go unnoticed by a professional editor, was based on envy, fear of losing their place in the sun. And on a lot of human vices, which are stronger than only otherworldly forces.
Omnipotent defender
Being on the verge of despair, the author of the novel about Pilate did not conclude an agreement with Satan, like the hero of Goethe. The beloved woman did it for him. And after Woland said: "Manuscripts do not burn." Bulgakov did not have such a powerful intercessor. And like his hero, he burned an unfinished novel. But the book has been preserved. After many years of work on the restoration of the text, improvements and with the deep conviction that the novel would be read only many years after his death, Bulgakov completed his work. And so, there is truth in the words "manuscripts do not burn."
Who said: “The meaning of life is in life itself”? This phrase belongs to one ancient sage. But it applies only to ordinary people. Those who are obsessed with telling the truth, and also have the ability to clothe it in an artistic form, do not know how to enjoy the simple joys of being. That was Bulgakov and many other authors before him. However, the strength of the novel “The Master and Margarita” lies not only in the abundance of characters indicating the past. This book has astoundingly many prophecies.
In Russian and foreign literature and after Bulgakov, authors were born who were unfamiliar with the phrase "manuscripts do not burn." Who said whose words it was, they all the more did not know. But the truth of the wisdom that the Bulgakov character outlined, they would certainly appreciate.
A book about life and fate
The novel, which was declared anti-Soviet, was written by the writer Vasily Grossman for almost ten years. It was published thirty years later. The work "Life and Fate" is worth recalling when answering questions related to the decoding of the phrase of the Bulgakov character "manuscripts do not burn." Who said? Whose words are these? And can they be taken literally?
These words belong to the hero of the novel "Master and Margarita." The phrase Woland should not be taken literally. The author put all hopes and hopes into her that his brainchild would someday reach descendants. Grossman may have felt similar feelings. The Soviet writer devoted the book "Life and Fate" to his mother, relatives, friends and, most importantly, millions of victims of Nazi and Stalinist aggression.
That is worse than fire
Grossman never burned the manuscript. KGB officers seized her. He did not even dream of publishing it. One of the prominent figures, a contemporary of the writer, argued that this could happen no earlier than two hundred years later. This man did not read Bulgakov’s novel, but as if he knew the prophetic phrase of Woland “manuscripts do not burn”.
Who said “The Master and Margarita” is a novel about Soviet society in the thirties? Bulgakov's work is a book about human vices that were, are and will be at all times. They do not have a national or state affiliation. And they are able to destroy the fate of man. But they cannot afford to destroy a true work of art.
Burning manuscripts is not uncommon for a writer. Solzhenitsyn used to put on fire every chapter of his novel, In the First Circle. But he had memorized what was written before. Akhmatova, fearing a search or arrest, regularly destroyed her unfinished works. Pasternak sent an entire novel into the oven, which subsequently was never restored.
All these authors burned their creations primarily to save their lives. Woland’s famous phrase from the novel “The Master and Margarita” could serve as a slogan for the masters of the artistic word. She would give strength to a writer who, even in exile and risking his life, is not able to abandon literary work.