Woland's servants from the master and margarita names. Bulgakov's triads: a mysterious novel

The characters of M. Bulgakov's novel still remain a mystery

Today, everyone knows what an ominous role played by US ambassadors in coups and "color" revolutions, but the first to notice this was the writer Mikhail Bulgakov, whose 125th birthday is celebrated in May.

... In April 1930, a tragedy happened. Vladimir Mayakovsky put a bullet in his forehead, hunted down by critics and the indifference of the authorities. Literally a few days later, in the apartment of another writer, Bulgakov, the phone rang. They called from Stalin's secretariat.

Bulgakov, who was also on the verge of despair and wrote a letter to the authorities asking them to let him go abroad, at first thought it was a hoax. But the leader himself really picked up the phone: “What, are you very tired of us?” he suddenly asked.

You need to go back in time to understand what such a call meant then. It was as if today the Lord God himself addressed you, having the power to elevate or destroy anyone. Moreover, Stalin called the writer, who at that time was not at all listed in Moscow in the lists of celebrities of the first magnitude. Vice versa! Bulgakov himself collected 298 "hostile and abusive" reviews of his work, and only three positive ones.

Mikhail Afanasyevich generally had the most unsuitable biography for Soviet times: non-proletarian origin: his father was a professor at the Theological Academy, participation in the White Army, and his work itself clearly showed that the author, using the words of his hero Professor Preobrazhensky, clearly "did not like the proletariat" . That is why the OGPU constantly monitored the writer, denunciations were received against him, the Soviet press vilified and spat on him. However, despite all this, Bulgakov survived those cruel times. Why?

One version of the answer is that Bulgakov was secretly patronized by Stalin. His play "Days of the Turbins", which was furiously smashed by official criticism, the leader watched ... about 20 times! But her heroes were not the Bolsheviks at all, but the tsarist officers, flaunting on the stage in epaulettes and uniforms, for the mere possession of which at that time they were put up against the wall without talking. Not only that: when Stalin received a letter from one of the prominent writers demanding that the Trubin Days be banned, the leader defended it.

“The play is not so bad, because it does more good than harm. The “Days of the Turbins” is a demonstration of the all-destroying power of Bolshevism, even if people like the Turbins are forced to lay down their arms and submit to the will of the people,” Stalin said.

He not only called the disgraced writer, but also offered him a job. Moreover, he said that he would like to personally meet and talk with him. Talk to someone who is then in Soviet newspapers openly called the "White Guard offspring"! It was so incredible that it struck Mikhail Afanasyevich to the core. With trepidation and impatience he waited for a new call, waiting for the promised meeting. However, there was no call, and Bulgakov never met Stalin...

Poison of envy

Of course, the rumors about Stalin's call to Bulgakov immediately became known throughout Moscow, and aroused furious envy among his former detractors. Although the writer got a job at the Moscow Art Theater, and his plays again appeared on the stage, and his writings began to be accepted for publication, the denunciations against him became even more fierce, and the intrigues became more insidious. Someone planted Bulgakov's play "Zoyka's Apartment" for publication abroad, in which they inserted a negative reference to Stalin. Rumors began to spread that Bulgakov was a morphine addict and mentally ill, and was only thinking how to break out of the USSR as soon as possible. And this at a time when the writer lived in anticipation of a new call and the promised conversation with the leader. It became the obsession of his life. Of course, all the negative information about Bulgakov was passed on to Stalin and could not but shock him. But, nevertheless, the leader nevertheless allowed Bulgakov to write the play “Batum” about himself, praised it, although later he forbade it to be staged.

There is, of course, another explanation for the mysterious call. That it was just an insidious game of the dictator, who in this way amused himself with people, like a cat with a mouse, either squeezing the victim with his claws, or, for a while, loosening his death grip. How it really happened, we will never know. Nevertheless, the fact remains: Stalin did not destroy Bulgakov. Although, of course, he knew that he was secretly writing the "anti-Soviet novel" "The Master and Margarita." Perhaps the leader even experienced some secret satisfaction, realizing that under the name of the mysterious character of his novel - the almighty Woland - the author had in mind exactly him. And Stalin gave the Master to complete the work, leaving him free, and only because of this, this book still reached us.

But who did Mikhail Bulgakov have in mind when describing the almighty Woland in his legendary novel The Master and Margarita? Who really was his prototype? Most believe that we are talking about the devil, who unexpectedly visited Stalin's Russia. The fact that Bulgakov's Woland is the devil, it would seem, is directly indicated by the epigraph to the novel, taken from Goethe's Faust: "I am part of that force that always wants evil and always does good." These words belong to Mephistopheles, and therefore it is logical to assume that under the name of Woland, Bulgakov brought it out in his novel. In addition, one of the first titles of the book speaks of this: "Consultant with a hoof." It is known who paraded through the pages of literary works with hooves and a tail.

However, the author of the book “Eros of the Impossible. The history of psychoanalysis in Russia ”Alexander Etkind put forward a version that in fact the real prototype of Woland in Bulgakov’s novel was ... the first US ambassador to the USSR William Bullitt ( on the picture).

Could be on an equal footing with anyone

He came to the USSR in 1933, immediately after the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and Soviet Russia. Overseas, Bullitt was quite an influential politician and played important role in US foreign policy before World War II. Coming from a wealthy family in Philadelphia, Bullitt studied at the prestigious universities of Yale and Harvard. After graduation, he went as a war correspondent to Europe, when the First World War. In 1917 he went to work in the State Department. He first visited Russia in 1919, where he was sent by President Woodrow Wilson to negotiate with the Soviet government. According to his memoirs, Lenin then promised the Americans that the Bolsheviks were ready to give up many territories. tsarist Russia, including Ukraine, Western Belarus, Crimea, the Caucasus, the entire Urals and Siberia with Murmansk to boot. “Lenin,” wrote Bullitt, “proposed to limit communist rule to Moscow and the small area surrounding it, plus the city now known as Leningrad.” Bullitt was delighted with Lenin. He also warmly reacted to the handsome American, called him his friend.

However, the US government, concerned only with obtaining reparations, reacted without interest to the proposals of the Bolsheviks, which Bullitt brought. In protest, he resigned. However, in 1933, when Roosevelt was already president, Bullitt was appointed ambassador to the USSR. The famous American diplomat J. Kennan recalled: "We were proud of him ... Bullitt was a charming, brilliant, well-educated, imaginative man of the world, who intellectually could be on an equal footing with anyone."

Reception at Spaso House

In April 1935, in the mansion of the American embassy on the Arbat, Bullitt gave a reception that had never been seen before in Moscow. A thousand tulips were brought from Helsinki on a special plane, birch trees were planted in tubs at one end of the embassy canteen and forced to bloom ahead of time, goats, goats, roosters and even cubs were delivered from the zoo, arranging something like a “collective farm in miniature”. Outlandish songbirds flew behind a special net. The guests were entertained by a Czech jazz band and a gypsy orchestra with dancers.

At the reception, called the "Spring Festival", there were about 500 guests - the entire Moscow elite: members of the Politburo, marshals of the Red Army, famous artists, writers and directors. There was only Stalin. Everyone gathered at midnight. The guests, except for the military, appeared in tailcoats, which was an unprecedented thing in Moscow at that time. The tables were bursting with the most exquisite snacks, caviar, sturgeon, the first, of course, freshness, and rare drinks brought from Europe. A grandiose ball began, which ended only in the morning, when Marshal Tukhachevsky, to the applause of the guests, performed lezginka together with the famous ballerina Lepeshinsky.

Among the guests was Mikhail Bulgakov. By this time, he had already become close to the American ambassador, who had established close ties with Moscow's cultural elite. No one else in the USSR had seen such a ball. An ominous feature of the unbridled and, it seemed, careless fun was given by the fact that in the American embassy they all drank and danced together - both the executioners and their future victims: very many participants in the celebration soon ended up in the basements of the Lubyanka or in the camps. Almost the entire Moscow elite was destroyed. The mortal horror that seemed to hover in the air over the participants of the Spring Festival could not but be felt by the sensitive Bulgakov.

The writer's wife later said that the famous scene of a fantastic ball with Satan, described in his novel, "reflected a reception from W. K. Bullitt, the American ambassador to the USSR."

Bulgakov and Bullitt met at the Moscow Art Theater, where they came to the play "Days of the Turbins". After that, the writer often visited the US Embassy, ​​dined with the ambassador, and even invited him to his home. It is curious that in conversations Bullitt called Bulgakov "Master", although, of course, he had not yet seen his novel. And in the first editions of The Master and Margarita, written before the appearance of Bullitt in Moscow, there was still neither the Master nor Woland. It was during these years that Bulgakov tried to travel abroad, he already applied for travel, he was issued a foreign passport, which was never issued later. Perhaps he hoped that the all-powerful American ambassador would help him in this? A man from another country, capable of quirks, mischief and the most unexpected deeds, Bullitt was quite suitable for the role of the mysterious "foreign specialist". In addition, like Woland, the ambassador was bald and had a completely magnetic look. There are also incredible coincidences in the biographies of Bulgakov himself and Bullitt. So, they were born in the same year, and one of Bulgakov's early pseudonyms was the name M. Bull.

crazy dream

Analyzing all these coincidences, Alexander Etkind comes to the conclusion that “Woland turns out to be Bullitt, the Master’s crazy dream - emigration, and the novel reads like a call for help. It doesn't matter if it's otherworldly or foreign, hypnotic, magical or real."

As we have already noted, Bulgakov was tormented, waiting for a miracle - a call from Stalin. But the miracle didn't happen. And Bullitt couldn't help it. In 1935, the ambassador wrote to Roosevelt, referring to the people who disappeared without a trace in the cellars of the Lubyanka: "Of course, I cannot do anything to save at least one of them."

Cheerful and mischievous, who became friends with Lenin, Bullitt at first was very curious and even sympathetic to the “Soviet experiment”, but left Moscow, where repressions were rampant, as a convinced anti-Soviet.

Curiously, he also wrote a book. But not about Woland and Moscow, but about US President Woodrow Wilson. However, her epigraph was the same as in the novel "The Master and Margarita": "I am part of that force that always wants evil and always does good."

But to do good for Russia - to save Bulgakov - the genius of Russian literature from a slow death in Soviet Moscow, even he could not. However, speaking of literary analogies, even quite convincing ones, one should not forget what Bulgakov himself once said to one of his friends: “Woland has no prototypes. Please, keep that in mind."

Meanwhile, Stalin, although he himself no longer called Bulgakov, closely followed how the writer lives and what he does, whose work he highly appreciated. When Bulgakov died, on the same day, a call from the Stalinist secretariat rang again in his apartment. "What, Comrade Bulgakov died?" asked the stranger. “Yes, he died,” was the answer. On the other end of the wire, they hung up. None of the writers in the USSR were ever called like that after death. Or maybe, however, they didn’t call from the secretariat at all? ..

Special for the Centenary

Woland is the devil, Satan, "the prince of darkness", "the spirit of evil and the lord of shadows" (all these definitions are found in the text of the novel). Bulgakov's devil is largely oriented to Goethe's Mephistopheles, including his opera incarnation, created by Charles Gounod. The name Woland itself is taken from a poem by Goethe, where it is mentioned only once and is usually omitted in Russian translations. This is how Mephistopheles calls himself in the scene of Walpurgis Night, demanding from evil spirits to give way: “Nobleman Woland is coming!” In the prose translation of A. Sokolovsky, with the text of which Bulgakov was familiar, this place is given as follows: “Mephistopheles. Where did it take you! I see that I need to put my master's rights into action. Hey you! Place! Woland is coming!” In the commentary, the translator explained the German phrase “Junker Voland kommt!” as follows: “Junker means a noble person (nobleman), and Woland was one of the names of the devil. The main word "Faland" (which meant a deceiver, crafty) was already used by ancient writers in the sense of a devil. Bulgakov also used this last name: after a session of black magic, the employees of the Variety Theater are trying to remember the name of the magician: “In ... It seems, Woland. Or maybe not Woland? Maybe Faland.

In the first edition, Woland's name was reproduced entirely in Latin on his business card: "Dr. Theodor Voland". In the final text, Bulgakov refused the Latin alphabet: Ivan Bezdomny on the Patriarchs remembers only the initial letter of the surname - W (“double-ve”). This replacement of the original V ("fau") is not accidental. The German "Voland" is pronounced like Foland, and in Russian the initial "ef" in this combination creates a comic effect, and it is difficult to pronounce. The German "Faland" would not fit here either. With the Russian pronunciation - Faland - the situation was better, but an inappropriate association arose with the word "fal" (it denotes a rope that raises sails and yards on ships) and some of its slang derivatives. In addition, Faland did not meet in Goethe's poem, and Bulgakov wanted to connect his Satan with Faust, even if he was given a name that was not very well known to the Russian public. Rare name it was necessary so that an ordinary reader not experienced in demonology would not immediately guess who Woland was.

The initial letter of the name Woland unexpectedly turns out to be connected with one curious literary source. In the story of the Austrian writer Gustav Meyrink (Meyer) "Zh.M.", translated into Russian in the 1920s, the main character Georges Macintosh, a man with obvious infernal features, returns to his native provincial Austrian town and, under the pretext of discovering a large deposit gold, provokes fellow countrymen to demolish houses along certain streets, and in the finale it turns out that the destroyed sections form his initials in the city plan - Zh and M. It is interesting that the streets of Moscow, on which Woland's assistants set fires to four buildings, continue to form a figure, reminiscent of his initial - "double-ve" (W).

E.S. Bulgakova recorded in her diary the reading of the initial chapters of the last edition of The Master and Margarita on April 27, 1939: “Misha read The Master and Margarita from the beginning. The impression is huge. Immediately they insistently asked to set a day for the continuation. Misha asked after reading - and who is Woland? Vilenkin said that he had guessed, but would never say. I suggested that he write, I will write too, and we will exchange notes. Done. He wrote: Satan, I am the devil. After that, Fiko also wanted to play. And he wrote on his note: I don't know. But I fell for the bait and wrote to him - Satan. Bulgakov, no doubt, was quite satisfied with the experiment. Even such a qualified listener as Faiko, Woland did not immediately guess. Consequently, the riddle of the foreign professor who appeared on the Patriarch's Ponds from the very beginning will keep the overwhelming majority of readers of the novel in suspense. It should be noted that in early editions Bulgakov tried the names Azazello and Veliar for the future Woland.

Woland's literary genealogy is extremely multifaceted. For example, he has an obvious portrait resemblance to Eduard Eduardovich von Mandro, the infernal character in Andrei Bely's novel The Moscow Eccentric, presented to Bulgakov by the author.

A number of features of Mandro can also be found in Woland. At his first appearance, Eduard Eduardovich looks like a foreigner (“it seemed that he jumped out of an express train that rushed straight from Nice”), dressed in everything foreign and foppish - “an English gray hat with a twisted brim”, “a suit tailored to the needle, dark blue”, “pique vest”, and in his hands, dressed in gloves, he clutches a cane with a knob. Mandro is a clean-shaven brunette, his face twists into a grimace of anger, and when meeting with the professor's son Mitya Korobkin, "he raised his eyebrows, showing bared teeth," and took off his hat.

Woland appears before the writers at the Patriarchs in approximately the same form:

“As for the teeth, he had platinum crowns on the left side, and gold crowns on the right. He was in an expensive gray suit, wearing foreign-colored shoes. He famously twisted his gray beret over his ear, and under his arm he carried a cane with a black knob in the shape of a poodle's head. Appears to be over forty years old. The mouth is kind of crooked. Shaved smoothly. Brunette. The right eye is black, the left one is green for some reason. The eyebrows are black, but one is higher than the other. In a word, a foreigner. The hero of the "Moscow Eccentric" "has gathered his eyebrows - the corners are not down, but up, moving over the nose in a mimic gesture resembling hands joined palms up, three wrinkles merged between them with a trident raised and cutting the forehead." In Woland, in a similar way, the face "was slanted to the side, the right corner of the mouth was pulled down, deep wrinkles parallel to sharp eyebrows were cut on the high bald forehead." Both also have Masonic attributes: an enamel ring with a ruby ​​and the sign of "free masons" - at Mandro; and a cigarette case with a Masonic sign - a diamond triangle - at Woland.

Both Mandro and Woland are endowed with a number of features that are traditional for the appearance of the "prince of darkness", in particular, the predominance of gray in the suit and conspicuous irregularities of the face.

At the same time, Mandro only symbolizes the devil, acting in the course of action in the form of a normal financial businessman, although he is distinguished by an unprecedented scope of ideas. His infernality is only implied, while Woland is a real devil, posing as a foreign professor and artist.

According to the definition given by Bely in the preface to the novel "Masks" from the same epic "Moscow" as "The Moscow Eccentric", Mandro is a combination of "a kind of Marquis de Sade and Cagliostro of the 20th century." In the preface to The Moscow Eccentric, the author argued that "in the person of Mandro, the theme of " iron heel“(the famous novel by Jack London. - B.S.) (enslavers of mankind)”. White masks the infernality of his character in every possible way, leaving the reader in the dark whether Mandro is Satan. Bulgakov true face Woland hides only at the very beginning of the novel in order to intrigue the readers, and then directly declares through the lips of the Master and Woland himself that Satan (the devil) has definitely arrived at the Patriarch's.

The version with hypnotists and mass hypnosis, which Woland and his companions allegedly subjected to Muscovites, is also present in The Master and Margarita. But its purpose is by no means a disguise. In this way, Bulgakov expresses the ability and desire of ordinary Soviet consciousness to explain any unexplained phenomena surrounding life, up to mass repressions and the disappearance of people without a trace. The writer, as it were, says: even if the devil himself appears in Moscow with his infernal retinue, the competent authorities and Marxist theoreticians, like the chairman of MASSOLIT, will still find a completely rational basis for this, which does not contradict the teachings of Marx - Engels - Lenin - Stalin, and most importantly, they will be able to convince this is for everyone, including those who have experienced the influence of evil spirits.

Like Mandro, Woland, according to Koroviev-Fagot, owns a villa in Nice. This detail reflected not only the acquaintance with the "Moscow Eccentric" and symbolic meaning Nice as a resort where rich people from all over the world rest, but also the circumstances of Bulgakov's biography - a trip to France that did not take place in the spring of 1934 with a possible visit to Nice. After a humiliating refusal to travel abroad, Bulgakov fell into a depression. I had to part with the dream of Nice forever. But Woland now received a villa in this resort.

Woland's unconventionality is manifested, in particular, in the fact that, being a devil, he is endowed with some obvious attributes of God. The episode, when the barman of the Variety Theater Sokov learns from Woland about his incurable illness and imminent death, but still refuses to spend his considerable savings, obviously goes back to the already mentioned book by F.V. Farrar “The Life of Jesus Christ”. In Farrar we read: “How rich, for all its brevity, is what He told ... a little parable about a rich fool who, in his greedy, presumptuous self-interest to the point of God, intended to do both and who, completely forgetting that death exists and that the soul cannot eat bread , thought that these “fruits”, “good” and “granaries” would be enough for his soul for a long time and that it was enough for her only to “eat, drink and be merry”, but to which, like a terrible echo, a stunning and full of irony verdict thundered from the sky: Insane! this very night your soul will be taken from you; Who will get what you have prepared? (Luke 12:16-21).” In The Master and Margarita, Woland talks about the future of the barman as follows, when it turns out that “he will die in nine months, in February next year, from liver cancer in the clinic of the First Moscow State University, in the fourth ward”:

“Nine months,” Woland thought thoughtfully, “two hundred and forty-nine thousand… Does that come out to twenty-seven thousand a month in round numbers? (For comparison: Bulgakov's salary as a consultant-librettist of the Bolshoi Theater at the end of the 30s was 1000 rubles a month. - B.S.) Not enough, but enough for a modest life ...

Yes, I would not advise you to go to the clinic, - the artist continued, - what's the point of dying in the ward to the groans and wheezing of hopeless patients. Wouldn't it be better to arrange a feast for these twenty-seven thousand and, having taken poison, move to another world to the sound of strings, surrounded by drunken beauties and dashing friends?

Unlike the hero of the gospel parable, Sokov does not enjoy earthly joys, but not for the sake of saving the soul, but only because of natural stinginess. Satan ironically invites him to become like a "rich fool."

Through Farrar's book, it is also possible to comprehend one of the meanings of the diamond triangle on Woland's cigarette case. The author of The Life of Jesus Christ wrote:

“In order to show them (the priests and scribes who made up the Sanhedrin. - B.S.) that Scripture itself prophetically denounces them, Christ asked if they had never read in Scripture (Ps. 117) about the stone that the builders rejected, but who, nevertheless, by the miraculous purposes of God, has become the head of the corner? How could they continue to be builders when the whole plan of their building was rejected and changed? Doesn't ancient messianic prophecy make it clear that God will call other builders to build his temple? Woe to those who stumbled, as they did, against this rejected stone; but even now there was still time to escape the final ruin for those on whom this stone might fall. To reject Him in His humanity and humility was already to suffer a grievous loss; but to be found to reject Him when He comes in glory, wouldn't that mean "to perish completely in the presence of the Lord?" but to be condemned by Him—wouldn't that mean to be "ground to dust" (Dan. 2:34-44)?"

Woland's triangle just symbolizes this cornerstone - the rejected stone, which has become the head of the corner. And the course of events in The Master and Margarita fully corresponds to the parable interpreted by Farrar. Berlioz and Bezdomny, sitting on a bench ("seat of court"), again, nineteen centuries later, judge Christ and reject his divinity (Bezdomny) and his very existence (Berlioz). Woland's triangle is still the bottom of the warning to the chairman of MASSOLIT, a reminder of the parable about the builders of Solomon's temple, especially in combination with the words: "A brick for no reason at all will never fall on anyone's head ... You will die a different death." Berlioz did not heed the warning, did not believe in the existence of God and the devil, and even decided to kill Woland with a denunciation, and paid for it with a quick death. Likewise, the listeners of Christ and their descendants, as Farrar emphasized, did not escape a more painful death during the capture of Jerusalem by the troops of Titus in 70 AD. e., which procurator Pontius Pilate predicts to the chairman of the Sanhedrin Joseph Kaifa.

After the death of Berlioz, the homeless man believed in Woland and the story of Pilate and Yeshua Ga-Nozri, but then he agreed with the official version that Satan and his retinue were only hypnotists. And the poet Ivan Bezdomny turned into Professor Ivan Nikolaevich Ponyrev, parodically finding his home - his “small homeland” (the surname is associated with the Ponyri station in the Kursk region) and, as it were, becoming a “different” builder. Woland's words about a new building to be built on the site of the burned-out Griboedov House, a symbol of modern Soviet literature, should be taken in the same context. However, the temple of new literature will have to be built according to the providence not of God, but of Woland. The new builder Ponyrev generally renounced poetry and believed in his own omniscience.

In Masonic symbolism, the triangle goes back to the legend that develops the parable of Solomon's temple. Woland's triangle can therefore be interpreted as a Masonic sign. Note that Mandro is also a Mason. Like Eduard Eduardovich, Woland is associated through literary sources with the image of the famous adventurer, occultist and alchemist of the 18th century, Count Alessandro Cagliostro, who pretended to be the Italian Giuseppe (Joseph) Balsamo. The episode with the burning of the House of Griboedov and Woland's words about the inevitable future construction of a new building in its place is very reminiscent of one of the scenes of Mikhail Kuzmin's fictionalized story "The Wonderful Life of Joseph Balsamo, Count of Cagliostro", which in many ways served Bulgakov as a model when writing a biography of Molière. At Kuzmin, an unknown young man in a gray cloak meets young Joseph Balsamo and asks him, pointing to a beautiful pink building:

“Would you like to have such a house?

The boy did not like it when strangers spoke to him in "you", and, moreover, he was not at all prepared for such a question; so he said nothing and only turned his eyes to the pink building. The stranger continued:

But how much more beautiful it is to build such a house than to own it.

The boy remained silent.

How nice it would be to build a beautiful bright house that would accommodate all people and where everyone would be happy.

Bricklayers build houses!

Yes, my child, masons build houses. Remember what I tell you, but forget my face.

At the same time, the stranger leaned towards Joseph, as if precisely in order for him to better examine him. His face was beautiful, and the boy seemed to realize for the first time that there are ordinary, ugly, and beautiful faces. The young man muttered:

No matter how you goggle your eyes, you will still forget that you do not need to remember!

Kara overtakes the House of Griboyedov, where MASSOLIT is located, because the writers who occupied it do not unite, but separate and corrupt people with their false opportunistic writings, making the brilliant Master unhappy. The Kuzminsky Man in Gray is clearly infernal, and in full accordance with the tradition of depicting the devil, Woland appears now in a gray suit, now in the black tights of the operatic Mephistopheles. On the Patriarchs, in a conversation with Woland, Homeless is endowed with the same traits of a naive child as the boy Balsamo in a conversation with an unknown person. In the end, he forgets the meeting at the Patriarchs, and the Master in the last shelter forgets earthly life. The words about masons building houses here also make us think of Freemasonry, since Freemasons are freemasons, the builders of Solomon's temple. However, Woland's goal is not only the construction of a new temple of literature, where everyone will unite and be happy, but the awakening of writers to creativity, the fruits of which may be pleasing to both God and the devil.

The same Count Cagliostro became the hero of the famous poem by Karolina Pavlova (Janisz) "Conversation in Trianon". As L.E. Belozerskaya told us, the name of the poetess was widely known in the circle where the writer moved in the 1920s. "The Conversation at Trianon" is built in the form of a conversation between Count Honore Mirabeau and Count Cagliostro on the eve of the French Revolution. Cagliostro is skeptical of Mirabeau's Enlightenment optimism:

Breaking ancient laws

Millions of people will rise

Bloody time is coming;

But I know these storms

And four thousand years

I remember a bitter lesson.

And the current generation

Terrible fermentation will subside;

To the crowd, believe me, count,

Ties will be needed again

And the same French will throw

Legacy of proceeds.

Like Cagliostro, Woland points to the unpredictability of human actions, often leading to results that are exactly the opposite of those intended, especially in the long run. The devil convinces the writer that it is not given to a person to foresee his future. But Berlioz, an orthodox Marxist, leaves no room in life for unpredictable, random phenomena, and pays for his vulgar determinism in full sense head words.

There is a portrait resemblance between Cagliostro from The Conversation at Trianon and Woland. Cagliostro "was the son of the south, / A strange man in appearance / A tall figure, like a flexible sword, / Mouth with a cold smile, / A sharp look from under fast eyelids". Woland - "he was ... simply tall," repeatedly fixed his piercing green eye on Berlioz and laughed with a strange laugh. For a moment, it seems to the homeless that Woland's cane has turned into a sword, and Woland leans on the sword during the ball, when Margarita sees that "the skin on Woland's face seemed to be burned forever by sunburn." This really makes Satan look like a native of the warm southern regions.

Like Woland at the Patriarchs, the infernal Cagliostro by K. Pavlova recalls how he was present at the trial of Christ:

I was in distant Galilee;

I saw the Jews get together

Judge your messiah;

As a reward for the words of salvation

I heard the cries of frenzy:

"Crucify him! Crucify him!"

He stood majestic and mute,

When the pale hegemon

He asked the mob, shy:

“Whom am I pushing you according to the charter?”

"Let the robber Barabbas go!" -

An insane roar erupted from the crowd.

In the story of Woland, who was secretly present both during the interrogation of Yeshua by Pilate, and on the platform during the announcement of the verdict, the procurator is called the hegemon and contains the motive of Pilate’s “timidity” (cowardice), although he is afraid here not of the cries of the crowd, but of Caifa’s denunciation to Caesar Tiberius.

In the 1929 edition, the vocabulary of the dialogue between Woland and Berlioz was even closer to Cagliostro's monologue:

“Tell me, please,” Berlioz suddenly asked, “so, in your opinion, there were no cries of ‘crucify him!’?”

The engineer smiled indulgently.

Such a question from the lips of a typist from the Supreme Council of National Economy would be appropriate, of course, but from yours? .. Pardon me! I wish I could see how some mob could interfere in a trial instituted by a procurator, and even one like Pilate! Let me explain with a comparison. There is a trial in the revolutionary tribunal on Prechistensky Boulevard, and suddenly, imagine, the public begins to howl: “Shoot, shoot him!” Instantly they remove her from the courtroom, that's all. And why would she howl? It makes no difference to her whether someone is hanged or shot. The crowd - at all times the crowd, the mob, Vladimir Mironovich!

Here, through the mouth of Woland, Bulgakov argues with the "Conversation in Trianon". The author of The Master and Margarita, having behind him the experience of the revolution and civil war, came to the conclusion that the mob in itself does not solve anything, because it is directed by leaders pursuing their own goals, which K. Pavlova and other Russian intellectuals were not aware of mid-nineteenth century, considering the people, the crowd as a self-contained elemental factor in the course and outcome of historical events. "Engineer" Woland also parodies numerous calls at public meetings and in newspapers to apply capital punishment to all defendants in the falsified trial of a group of engineers accused of sabotage (the so-called "Shakhty case"). This process took place in Moscow in May - July 1928. Then five of the defendants were sentenced to death.

In the preparatory materials for The Master and Margarita, an extract dedicated to Count Cagliostro was preserved: “Cagliostro, 1743-1795, was born in Palermo. Count Alexander Joseph Balsamo Cagliostro-Phoenix. Initially, in the 1938 version, Cagliostro was among the guests at Satan's ball, but Count Phoenix was removed from the final text of the corresponding chapter of Bulgakov so that the prototype would not duplicate Woland. Note that none of the literary and real prototypes Satan in The Master and Margarita is not mentioned and does not appear as a character.

The image of Woland is polemical in relation to the view of the devil, which P.A. Florensky defended in The Pillar and Ground of Truth:

“Sin is fruitless, because it is not life, but death. And death drags out its ghostly existence only with life and about life, it feeds on life and exists only insofar as life gives it nourishment from itself. What death has is only the life that it has defiled. Even at the "black mass", in the very nest of the devil, the Devil and his worshipers could not think of anything other than blasphemously parodying the mysteries of the liturgy, doing everything in reverse. What a void! What begging! What flat "depths"!

This is another proof that there is neither in reality, nor even in thought, either Byron's, or Lermontov's, or Vrubel's Devil - majestic and regal, but there is only a miserable "monkey of God" ... ".

In the first edition of the novel, Woland was still such a “monkey” in many respects, possessing a number of degrading features: he giggled, spoke “with a roguish smile”, used colloquial expressions, calling Homeless, for example, “a pig liar”, and pretendingly complaining to the barman of the Variety Theater Sokov: "Ah, the bastard-people in Moscow!" and tearfully begging on his knees: "Do not destroy the orphan." However, in the final text of the novel, Woland became different, "majestic and regal", close to the tradition of Byron and Goethe, Lermontov and Mikhail Vrubel's "Demon" who illustrated it.

Woland gives different characters who are in contact with him different explanations of the goals of his stay in Moscow. He tells Berlioz and Bezdomny that he has come to study the found manuscripts of Herbert of Avrilak, a medieval scholar who, even when he became Pope Sylvester II in 999, combined his duties with an interest in white, or natural, magic, as opposed to black magic, aimed at benefiting people, not harming them. In the 1929-1930 edition, Woland directly called himself a specialist in white magic, like Herbert Avrilaksky (in the final text, black magic is already discussed). Satan explains his visit to the employees of the Variety Theater and the house manager Nikanor Ivanovich Bosoy with the intention to perform a session of black (in the early editions - white) magic. After the scandalous session, Satan told the barman of the Variety Theater Sokov that he simply wanted to “see Muscovites in bulk, and it was most convenient to do this in the theater.” Margarita Koroviev-Fagot reports that the purpose of the visit of Woland and his retinue to Moscow is to hold a ball, whose hostess must certainly bear the name Margarita and be of royal blood. According to the assistant of the "foreign professor", out of one hundred and twenty-one Margarita, no one is suitable, except for the heroine of the novel.

Woland has many faces, as befits the devil, and in conversations with different people he puts on different masks, gives completely different answers about the goals of his mission. Meanwhile, all the versions given serve only to disguise the true intention - to extract from Moscow the brilliant Master and his beloved, as well as the manuscript of the novel about Pontius Pilate. The devil himself partly needed a session of black magic so that Margarita, having heard about what had happened at the Variety Theater, would already be prepared for a meeting with his messenger Azazello. At the same time, Woland’s diabolical omniscience is completely preserved: he and his people are well aware of both the past and future lives of those with whom they come into contact, they also know the text of the Master’s novel, which literally coincides with the “Woland gospel”, thus what was told to unlucky writers at the Patriarchs. It is no coincidence that Azazello, when meeting with Margarita in the Alexander Garden, quotes to her a fragment of the novel about Pontius Pilate, which in the end prompts the Master's beloved to agree to go to the powerful "foreigner". Woland's surprise when, after the ball, he "learns" from the Master the theme of his novel, is just another mask. The actions of the devil and his retinue in Moscow are subordinated to one goal - a meeting with the creator of the novel about Yeshua Ha-Nozri and Pontius Pilate and with his beloved to determine their fate.

The appearance of Satan and his people at the Patriarchs is given by Bulgakov in the tradition of Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann. Woland, Koroviev-Fagot and Behemoth literally “were woven out of thin air”. Here we recall the feuilleton “The Capital in a Notebook”, where there is a specific indication of a literary source: “... A policeman was woven from the air. Positively, it was Hoffmann’s something,” (the scene at the Patriarchs echoes Hoffmann’s novel Elixirs of Satan. Here the narrator, the publisher of notes compiled by the Capuchin monk Medard, invites the reader to share his company on a stone bench under the canopy of plane trees: “They watched with inexplicable longing I wish you and I were on the blue bizarre masses of the mountains." He claims that "our, as we usually call them, dreams and fantasies are, perhaps, only a symbolic revelation of the essence of the mysterious threads that stretch through our whole life and bind together all of it manifestations; I thought that he who imagines that this knowledge gives him the right to forcibly break the secret threads and grapple with the gloomy power that rules over us is doomed to death.

Woland warns Berlioz about these "mysterious threads" over which a person has no power: there is no more, burn it in the furnace. And it happens even worse: just that a person is about to go to Kislovodsk ... a seemingly trifling matter, but he cannot do this either, because it is not known why he suddenly takes it - he slips and falls under a tram! Can you really say that it was he who ruled himself like that? Isn’t it more correct to think that someone completely different handled him?” The chairman of MASSOLIT denies the existence of both God and the devil, and the living themselves, who do not fit into the framework of theories, the foundations of life. Moreover, Berlioz, not accustomed to unusual phenomena, and did not understand who was in front of him at the Patriarchs.

Hoffman's narrator admonishes the reader: “You are all filled with a mysterious trembling inspired by the wonders of the lives and legends embodied here; you already imagine that all this is really happening before your eyes - and you are ready to believe everything. In such and such a mood you would begin to read the story of Medard, and you would hardly consider the strange visions of this monk then as one incoherent game of overheated imagination ... "

In The Master and Margarita, events begin "at the hour of an unprecedentedly hot sunset", "when the sun, having heated Moscow, fell somewhere behind the Garden Ring in a dry fog." Before the appearance of Woland, Berlioz embraces "an inexplicable languor" - an unconscious foreboding of imminent death. In the 1929 edition, Woland said that “the daughter of the night, Moira, has spun her thread”, hinting that the “mysterious thread” of the fate of the chairman of MASSOLIT will soon be interrupted.

In a letter to Elena Sergeevna on August 6–7, 1938, Bulgakov wrote: “I accidentally attacked an article about Hoffmann's science fiction. I'm saving it for you, knowing that it will amaze you as it hit me. I'm right about The Master and Margarita! You understand what this consciousness is worth - I'm right! It was about the article by the literary critic and critic Israel Vladimirovich Mirimsky "Hoffmann's Social Fiction", published in No. 5 of the magazine " Literary studies» for 1938 (this number has been preserved in the Bulgakov archive). The writer was amazed at how the characteristics of the work of Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann turned out to be applicable to The Master and Margarita.

S.A. Yermolinsky recalled how the writer played him with an article by Mirimsky: “One day he came to me and solemnly announced:

Wrote! You know, they wrote!

And from a distance he showed me an issue of a magazine, one of whose articles in a number of places he had thickly underlined in red and blue pencil.

“The general public willingly read him, but the highest critics kept an arrogant silence about him,” Bulgakov quoted and, jumping from one excerpt to another, continued: , just crazy ... But he had an unusually sober and practical mind, foresaw the rumors of his future critics. At first glance, his creative system seems unusually contradictory, the nature of the images ranges from the monstrous grotesque to the norm of realistic generalization. He has the devil walking around the streets of the city ... "- Here Bulgakov even stretched out his hands in delight: - This is a critic! It was like he was reading my novel! Don't you find? - And he continued: - “He turns art into a fighting tower, from which the artist creates a satirical reprisal against everything that is ugly in reality ...“ Bulgakov read, slightly changing the text ... "

According to Yermolinsky, this article "contained remarks that poignantly hurt" Bulgakov. In the work of Mirimsky, Bulgakov was also attracted by the definition of the style of the German romantic. The writer noted the following words: “Hoffmann's style can be defined as real-fiction. A combination of the real with the fantastic, the fictional with the real…” Bulgakov clearly correlated Mirimsky’s statement with his Master: “…If a genius makes peace with reality, then this leads him into the swamp of philistinism, an ‘honest’ bureaucratic way of thinking; if he does not surrender to reality to the end, then he ends up in premature death or insanity ”(the latter option is realized in the fate of Bulgakov’s hero). Bulgakov also emphasized the idea that "Hoffmann's laughter is distinguished by its unusual mobility of its forms, it ranges from good-natured humor of compassion to embittered destructive satire, from a harmless caricature to a cynically ugly grotesque." Indeed, in The Master and Margarita, the devil takes to the streets of Moscow, and good-natured laughter at the compassionate audience at a black magic session at the Variety Theater, where the severed head of the thoughtless entertainer Georges Bengalsky finally falls back into place, is combined with a satirical denunciation of the Soviet literary shop, the head of the head of which disappears without a trace.

Woland is the bearer of fate, and here Bulgakov is in line with the long tradition of Russian literature, which connected fate, fate, fate not with God, but with the devil. This was most clearly manifested by Lermontov in the story "The Fatalist" from "A Hero of Our Time". There, Lieutenant Vulich argues with Pechorin, “can a person arbitrarily dispose of his life, or is each of us pre-assigned a fateful minute,” and shoots himself with a pistol as proof, but a misfire occurs. Pechorin predicts Vulich's imminent death, and on the same night he learns that the lieutenant was hacked to death by a drunken Cossack, who had previously chased a pig and cut it in two. The distraught killer locked himself in the hut, and Pechorin, deciding to try his luck, breaks into him. The Cossack's bullet rips off the epaulette, but the brave officer grabs the killer by the hands, and those who break in after them disarm him.

However, Pechorin still does not become a fatalist: “I like to doubt everything: this disposition does not interfere with the decisiveness of character; on the contrary, as far as I am concerned, I always go forward more boldly when I do not know what awaits me. Here, as it were, the gospel parable of demons is continued, that, having left a man (“possessed”), they entered a herd of pigs. The flock then threw themselves off a cliff and perished (Luke 8:26-39). Having cut the pig, the Cossack released a demon from it, which entered him, made him insane (possessed) and pushed him to a senseless murder. It is the demon that demands the soul of the fatalist Vulich, when, to the question of the lieutenant: “Whom are you looking for, brother?” the Cossack replies: "You!" - and kills the unfortunate. Thus, Lermontov tells us that the hand of fate, which brings death to man, is controlled not by God, but by the devil. God, on the other hand, gives free will, so that by his actions, bold, resolute and prudent, he can avert the devil's fate, as Pechorin succeeds in the finale of The Fatalist.

For Bulgakov, Woland, like the previously infernal Rokk in The Fatal Eggs, personifies the fate that punishes Berlioz, Sokov and others who violate the norms of Christian morality. This is the first devil in world literature who punishes for non-compliance with the commandments of Christ.

Woland has another prototype - from Bulgakov's contemporary version of Faust. Written by E. L. Mindlin “The Beginning of the Novel“ The Return of Doctor Faust “” (there was no continuation; already after the Second World War, Emily Lvovich wrote a new edition of this novel, still unpublished) was published in 1923 in the same the second volume of the almanac "Renaissance", as the story "Notes on the Cuffs" (a copy of the almanac was preserved in Bulgakov's archive). In The Return of Doctor Faust, the action takes place at the beginning of the 20th century, and Faust, who in many ways served as the prototype of the Master early edition"Masters and Margaritas", lives in Moscow, from where he then leaves for Germany. There he meets Mephistopheles, on whose business card italicized in black and white: "Professor Mephistopheles." In the same way, Woland's business card says: "Professor Woland."

The portrait of Woland largely repeats the portrait of Mephistopheles from Mindlin’s novel: “In total ... her face was most remarkable in the figure, but her nose was most remarkable in her face, because it had an unusually precise shape and was not very common among noses. This form was a right-angled triangle, the hypotenuse upwards, and the angle of the straight line was above upper lip, which for no reason combined with the bottom, but hung on its own ... The gentleman had extremely thin legs in black (whole, without darning) stockings, shod in black velvet shoes, and the same cloak on his shoulders. It seemed to Faust that the color of the master's eyes was constantly changing. In the same operatic guise, Woland appears before the visitors of the "bad apartment", and in his face the same irregularities are preserved as in Mindlin's Mephistopheles, as well as different colour the eye that was still present in Myshlaevsky in The White Guard: “The right one is in green sparks, like a Ural gem, and the left one is dark ...”

Mindlin’s surname is Mephistopheles, and the name of a professor from Prague (the same foreigner in Germany as Woland in Russia) is Konrad-Christopher (“Christopher” in Greek means “Christ-bearer”). In the 1929 edition, Woland's name was Theodor ("God's gift" in Greek), and this name was on his business card. But in The Return of Doctor Faust, Mephistopheles is not connected with God and invites Faust to participate in organizing the collective suicide of mankind, for which they must return to Russia. Perhaps the first world war was meant by suicide. A hint of the October Revolution cannot be ruled out. In Bulgakov, Woland is closely connected with Yeshua Ga-Notsri, who decides the fate of the Master and Margarita, but Woland asks to fulfill this decision.

This "complementarity" of God and the devil goes back, in particular, to Heinrich Heine's Travel Pictures. It depicts allegorically the struggle between the Conservative and Liberal parties in Great Britain as a struggle between God and the devil. Heine ironically notes that "God created too little money" - this explains the existence of world evil. Woland in an imaginary way makes up for the imaginary lack of money by presenting the crowd with gold coins, which later turn into simple pieces of paper. In "Travel Pictures" is drawn bright picture how God borrowed money from the devil during the creation of the world on the pledge of the Universe. As a result, the Lord does not prevent his creditor “from spreading confusion and evil. But the devil, for his part, is again very interested in the fact that the world does not completely perish, since in this case he will lose his pledge, therefore he is careful not to intercept over the edge, and the Lord God, who is also not stupid and understands well that in the selfishness of the devil lies a secret guarantee for him, often comes to the point that he transfers dominion over the whole world to him, that is, instructs the devil to form a ministry. Then “Samiel rises above the infernal army, Beelzebub becomes chancellor, Witzliputzli becomes secretary of state, the old grandmother receives colonies, etc. These allies then begin to manage in their own way, and since, despite evil will, in the depths of their hearts they, for their own benefit, are compelled to strive for the good of the world, they reward themselves for this coercion by using the most vile means for good ends.

In the early edition of Bulgakov's novel, the chancellor of evil spirits was mentioned, and in the preparatory materials for the novel, the names of various demons and Satan, written out from the book by M.A. Addramalech is the great chancellor of hell." One of the demons named in the "Travel Pictures" - Vitsliputsli - was also preserved in the final text of the novel, where he is closely connected with Koroviev-Fagot.

In Heine, otherworldly forces are forced to strive for good goals, but to use the most unsuitable means for this. The German romantic laughed at modern politicians who proclaim the desire for the world's good, but in their daily activities look very unsympathetic. Bulgakov's Woland, like Goethe's hero, wishing evil, must do good. In order to get the Master to himself with his novel, he punishes the opportunistic writer Berlioz, the traitor Baron Meigel and many petty crooks like the thief-barman Sokov or the grabber-manager Bosoy. However, the desire to give the author of the novel about Pontius Pilate to the power of otherworldly forces is only a formal evil, since it is done with the blessing and even on the direct instructions of Yeshua, personifying the forces of good. However, like in Heine, good and evil in Bulgakov are created, in the final analysis, by the hands of the person himself. Woland and his retinue only give an opportunity to manifest those vices and virtues that are inherent in people. For example, the cruelty of the crowd towards Georges Bengal in the Variety Theater is replaced by mercy, and the initial evil, when they wanted to tear off the head of the unfortunate entertainer, becomes a necessary condition for the manifestation of goodness - pity for the artist who lost his head.

Bulgakov could also come across the idea of ​​a “good devil” in A.V. Amfiteatrov’s book “The Devil in Life, Legend and Literature of the Middle Ages”. It says:

“It is impossible not to notice that the concept and image of an evil spirit, different from good ones, is determined in biblical myth-making not earlier than the captivity (we are talking about the Babylonian captivity of the Jews. - B.S.). In the Book of Job, Satan is still among the angels of heaven and is by no means recommended as the sworn enemy of God and the destroyer of his creation. It is only a skeptic spirit, a spirit of little faith, the future Mephistopheles, whose closeness to human doubt and protest against fate will subsequently seduce so many poets and philosophers. His power is still by proxy from the deity and, therefore, of the same character with him: it is only a service, flowing from a higher will. In Job's troubles, he is nothing more than a tool. The deity, through its own lips, assumes responsibility for the necessity of the incomprehensible and sudden suffering of the righteous in the famous chapter, which even made our reasoner Lomonosov a poet. The Devil of the Book of Job is a skeptic who thinks ill of man and envies him in the face of the Highest Holiness, but, after all, he is only a servant on such commissions, which the Highest Holiness cannot, so to speak, directly touch, for this would humiliate the idea. her perfection. This is the factotum of heaven for evil deeds. Even more expressive is the role of such a factotum in the famous episode of the Book of Kings about a spirit who received a commission from God to destroy King Ahab by his deceit. This spirit does not even bear the nicknames of evil, dark, the devil, etc. He is an angel, like everyone else, like that terrible angel who in one night performs the necessary countless slaughters: the beating of the Egyptian firstborn, the extermination of Sennacherim's hordes, etc.

Bulgakov's Woland also fulfills an order, even, rather, a request, Yeshua to take the Master and Margarita to him. Satan in Bulgakov's novel is Ga-Notsri's servant "on such commissions, which the Highest Holiness cannot ... directly touch." No wonder Woland remarks to Levi Matthew: "It's not difficult for me to do anything." The high ethical ideal of Yeshua can be preserved only in transcendence; in the earthly life of a brilliant Master, only Satan and his retinue, who are not bound by this ideal in their actions, can save from death. A creative person, such as the Master (like Goethe's Faust), always belongs not only to God, but also to the devil. Amphitheatrov paid special attention to the apocryphal Book of Enoch, where “especially ... in its most ancient part, the idea of ​​the closeness of the devil to man sounds for the first time, and his guilt is depicted as apostasy from the deity towards humanity, betrayal of heaven for the earth. The devils of Enoch are angels who fell through love for the daughters of men and allowed themselves to be bound by the fetters of matter and sensuality. This myth ... carries a deep idea - the absence in nature of beings by their very origin, evil-demonic; such beings, that is, thoughts and actions in images, are the fruits of human evolution.”

In The Master and Margarita, Woland and the demons subordinate to him exist as a reflection of human vices that manifest themselves in contact with Behemoth, Koroviev-Fagot, Azazello. A.V. Amfiteatrov in his book about the devil quotes a German popular story about Faust, where he “has a long theological conversation with Mephistopheles. The demon very thoroughly and truthfully talks about the beauty in which his master Lucifer was dressed in heaven and which he lost for his pride, in the fall of the rebellious angels; about the temptations of people by devils; about hell and its terrible torments.

Faust. If you were not a devil, but a man, what would you do to please God and be loved by people?

M e f i s t o f e l (grinning). If I were a person like you, I would bow before God and pray to him until my last breath, and do everything that depends on me so as not to offend Him and not arouse His indignation. Keep His teachings and law. I would call, praise, honor only Him and, through that, I would deserve, after death, eternal bliss.

Woland is just as respectful towards Yeshua, allowing himself to mock only at his narrow-minded and narrow-minded disciple Levi Matthew. Amfiteatrov also mentions “a wonderful Little Russian story about a devil who, having fallen in love with a young girl who fell into a witch not by her own hunting, but by heredity from her mother, not only helps this poor thing get a divorce, but also sells himself as a sacrifice for her to his vengeful comrades ... Thus, even the highest stage of Christian love and readiness to lay down one's life for one's friends is available to the people's devil. Moreover, there are devils who, with their good qualities, are much superior to people, and the spectacle of human meanness and cruelty leads them to sincere indignation and horror. Woland and his retinue, like Amfiteatrov's "good devils", punish evil, punishing Berlioz, Poplavsky, Stepan Bogdanovich Likhodeev, Aloisy Mogarych and other far from the best representatives of the Moscow population.

According to Amfiteatrov, "the most respectable, sweet and kind of devils who ever crawled out of hell into the world, of course, is Astarot" from Luigi Pulci's chivalrous parody poem "Big Morgaite" (1482). Here, the good magician Malagigi, in order to help Roland (almost made a mistake - Woland) and other paladin knights, summons the devil Astaroth, who "breaks out of his tongue saying that God the Son does not know everything that is known to God the Father." Malajigi is puzzled and asks why.

Then the devil delivers a new, long, long speech, in which he talks very learnedly and quite orthodoxly about the Trinity, about the creation of the world, about the fall of the angels.

Malagigi notes that the punishment of fallen angels does not really fit with the unending goodness of God. This objection drives the demon into a frenzy of indignation: “Not true! God has always been equally good and just to all his creatures. The fallen have no one to complain about but themselves." To the knight, Rinaldo Astarot explains "the darkest tenets of faith", and insists that

Only the faith of Christians is right.

Their law is holy and just and firmly established.

Upon arrival at Ronceval, Astaroth says goodbye to the knights with words that are completely justified by him:

Believe me: there is no corner in the world without nobility,

It is also in hell, in the midst of our ugliness.

Rinaldo regrets his separation from Astaroth, as if he were losing his own brother in him.

“Yes,” he says, “there is nobility, friendship, and delicacy in hell!”

Probably, in connection with the poem by Pulchi, as narrated by Amfiteatrov, Bulgakov, in the preparatory materials for the early edition of The Master and Margarita, left the name Astarot as one of the possible names for the future Woland. Satan in Bulgakov's novel treats Christianity with respect, does not fight it, but performs those functions that Yeshua and his disciple cannot perform, which is why they are entrusted to otherworldly forces. In relation to the Master and Margarita, Woland and his retinue behave nobly and quite gallantly.

Bulgakov also took into account Amfiteatrov’s interpretation of the following passage from Goethe’s Faust: “What the hell is the role of a preacher of morality in worldly wisdom, Mephistopheles showed in Goethe’s Faust, devilishly fooling a student who came to Faust for teaching and advice on choosing a career ... Following devilish advice , the student - in the second part of "Faust" - turned into such a vulgar "privat docent" that the devil himself felt ashamed: what kind of "professor by appointment" did he bring out. In The Master and Margarita, the theomachist Ivan Bezdomny turns from Berlioz's pupil ("student") into a pupil of Woland and the Master (whose prototype was Faust). Following the advice of Satan, in the finale he really turns into a self-confident "vulgar professor" Ivan Nikolaevich Ponyrev, unable to repeat the feat of the brilliant Master.

The amphitheater's "Devil" lists the definitions of Satan given in the Middle Ages: "the son of sorrow, mystery, the shadow of sin, suffering and horror."

A.V. Amfiteatrov created his "Devil" in 1911, even before the First World War and the October Revolution in Russia. Before the First World War, M.A. Orlov's book was also written. Bulgakov worked on The Master and Margarita already when the dawn of socialism over Russia had risen and all the delights of the new system became apparent, right down to political trials reminiscent of medieval witch trials (participants in one of such trials are present at Satan's Great Ball). Yeshua Ha-Nozri speaks about the kingdom of truth and justice, but Pontius Pilate interrupts him with a cry: “It will never come!” When Bulgakov's last novel was being written, the Soviet Union, like no other country before, was a kingdom of fear renewed by socialism, and therefore the appearance of the devil in Moscow is quite appropriate. The Moscow scenes of The Master and Margarita take place exactly nineteen centuries after the execution of Christ, and Bulgakov is not at all as optimistic as A.V. Amfiteatrov, A. Graf, M.A. Orlov or the American Charles Lee, on whose History of the Inquisition the author of The History of Man's Relations with the Devil relied, looked at the disappearance of the social roots of mysticism.

The complementarity of good and evil is most fully revealed in the words of Woland, addressed to Levi Matthew, who refused to wish health to the “spirit of evil and the lord of shadows”: “You spoke your words as if you did not recognize the shadows, as well as evil. Would you be so kind as to think about the question: what would your good do if evil did not exist, and what would the earth look like if shadows disappeared from it? After all, shadows are obtained from objects and people. Here is the shadow of my sword. But there are shadows from trees and from living beings. Don't you want to rip the whole globe, blowing away all the trees and all living things from it because of your fantasy of enjoying the naked light? You are stupid". Here, in addition to Heine's Travel Pictures, Anatole France's philosophical treatise The Garden of Epicurus comes to mind, where it is stated: “Evil is necessary. If it did not exist, then there would be no good. Evil is the only reason for the existence of good. Without death there would be no courage, without suffering there would be no compassion.

What would self-sacrifice and self-sacrifice be good for with universal happiness? Is it possible to understand virtue without knowing vice, love and beauty without knowing hatred and ugliness. It is only to evil and suffering that we owe the fact that our earth can be inhabited, and life is worth living. So don't complain about the devil. He created at least half of the universe. And this half merges so tightly with the other that if the first is touched, the blow will cause equal harm to the other. With every vice eradicated, the corresponding virtue disappears.

This place in the "Garden of Epicurus", obviously, was not written without the influence of "Travel Pictures". However, it has another much more exotic source, known, apparently, to Heine, but certainly not known to Bulgakov - the novel of the infamous and highly revered by Anatole France Marquis de Sade, where, together with Voltaire, the author rhetorically asked:

“... Don’t people with a more philosophical mindset have the right to say, following the angel Yezrad from Zadig (Voltaire’s story Zadig, or Fate. - B.S.), that there is no such evil that would not give rise to good, and that, on the basis of this, they can do evil when they please, since it is in essence nothing but one of the ways to do good? And will they not have occasion to add to this that, in a general sense, it makes no difference whether this or that person is good or evil, that if misfortunes pursue virtue, and prosperity everywhere accompanies vice, since all things are equal in the eyes of nature, it is infinitely smarter to take a place among villains who prosper than among the virtuous who are destined for defeat?

Voltaire, to whom de Sade referred, nevertheless put good above evil, although he admitted that there are much more villains in the world than the righteous: “Well,” Zadig asked, “then it is necessary that there be crimes and disasters and that were the lot of good people? “The criminals,” answered Yezrad, “are always unfortunate, and they exist to test the few righteous scattered throughout the earth. And there is no such evil that would not give rise to good. “But what,” said Zadig, “if there were no evil at all and there would be only good?” - “Then,” answered Yezrad, “this world would be a different world, the connection of events would determine another wise order. But this other, perfect order is possible only where the supreme being forever dwells, to which the evil does not dare to approach. This being has created millions of worlds, none of which is like another. This infinite variety is one of the attributes of his immeasurable power. There are no two sheets of wood on earth, two luminaries in the infinite space of the sky that would be the same, and everything that you see on the small atom on which you were born must be in its place and in its time, according to the immutable laws of the all-encompassing. People think that this child fell into the water by accident, that that house burned down just as accidentally, but there is no chance - everything in this world is either a test, or a punishment, or a reward, or a foresight.

Voltaire, who stylized his work as an "oriental story" from "Persian life", took the dualism of good and evil from the ancient Persian religion - Zoroastrianism, where the god of light Ormuzd, or Ahuramazda, mentioned in the story, is in constant complex interaction with the god of darkness Ahriman, or Angramaine. Both of them represent two eternal beginnings» nature. Ormuzd cannot be responsible for the evil that is generated by Ahriman and is fundamentally irremovable in this world, and the struggle between them is the source of life. Voltaire places the righteous under the patronage of the supreme being - the creator of another perfect world. De Sade made good and evil equal in nature. A person, as he proves in The New Justine and his other novels, can be persuaded to a good beginning not due to his initial predisposition to good, but only by instilling an aversion to the horrors of evil. Almost all the characters who are ready to do evil for the sake of achieving their own pleasure die in de Sade's novels. France, like de Sade, excluded the supreme being from the Voltaireian concept, and equalized good and evil in their meaning. The same equality of good and evil is defended by Woland in Bulgakov, who, unlike Voltaire, was not a rigid determinist, therefore Woland punishes Berlioz just for neglecting the random.

Woland fulfills the requests of Yeshua Ha-Notsri - in this way original way Bulgakov realizes the complementarity of good and evil principles. This idea, in all likelihood, was suggested by a passage about the Yezidis from the work of the Italian missionary Maurizio Garzoni, preserved among the materials for Pushkin's Journey to Arzrum. It noted that "the Yezidis think that God commands, but the execution of their commands entrusts the power of the devil." Yeshua, through Levi Matthew, asks Woland to take the Master and Margarita with him. From the point of view of Ga-Notsri and his only student, the reward given to the Master is somewhat flawed - "he did not deserve the light, he deserved peace." And from the point of view of Woland, peace surpasses the “bare light”, because it leaves room for creativity, which is what Satan convinces the author of the novel about Pontius Pilate: “... Why chase in the footsteps of what is already over?” (i.e. continue an already completed novel).

Woland largely expresses the ideas of Immanuel Kant in the novel. Of Kant's works, the closest parallels in the text of The Master and Margarita can be found with the treatise The End of All That Is. Here the philosopher stated: “There is such an expression - it is used mainly by devout people who say about a dying person that he departs from time to eternity. This expression loses its meaning if by eternity we mean infinite time; in this case, a person would never leave the limits of time, but would only pass from one time to another. Therefore, we must keep in mind the end of all time, despite the fact that the duration of human existence will be continuous, but this duration (if we consider the existence of a person as a quantity) is conceived as a quantity completely incomparable with time (duratio noumenon), and we can have about it just a negative concept. Such a thought contains something frightening, bringing us closer to the edge of the abyss, from where there is no return for those who plunge into it ... and at the same time it attracts us, because we are unable to take our frightened gaze away from it ... It is monstrously sublime; partly due to the darkness that surrounds it, in which the power of imagination is stronger than in the light of day. Finally, in an amazing way, it is also intertwined with the ordinary human mind, therefore, in one form or another, at all times it can be found among all peoples embarking on the path of reflection.

Kant believed that people are waiting for the end of the world, because the existence of the world, from the point of view of the human mind, “is of value only in so far as rational beings correspond in it to the ultimate goal of their being; if the latter turns out to be unattainable, then the created being loses its meaning in their eyes, like a performance without a denouement and design. The philosopher believed that the end of the world inspires fear due to the prevailing opinion "about the hopeless depravity of the human race, the terrible end of which seems to the vast majority of people the only appropriate higher wisdom and justice." Kant explained the anxious expectation of the Day of Judgment by the fact that “in the course of the progress of the human race, the culture of giftedness, skill and taste (and, as a result, luxury) naturally overtakes the development of morality, and this circumstance is the most burdensome and dangerous both for morality and for physical good. because the needs are growing much faster than the means of satisfying them. But the moral inclinations of mankind, which always lag behind ... someday, nevertheless (in the presence of a wise ruler of the world) will overtake her, especially since in her hasty run she constantly creates obstacles for herself and often stumbles. Based on the clear evidence of the superiority of morality in our era compared with previous times, we should cherish the hope that the Day of Judgment, which means the end of everything that exists on earth, will come rather as an ascension to heaven than as a chaos-like descent into hell.

For Bulgakov, the problem of time and eternity, the question of the Day of Judgment, are connected primarily with the image of Woland. At a session of black magic at the Variety Theater, Satan comes to the conclusion that the Moscow public has changed little over the centuries: “Well… they are people like people. They love money, but it has always been... Mankind loves money, no matter what it is made of, whether it is leather, paper, bronze or gold.

Well, they are frivolous ... well, well ... and mercy sometimes knocks on their hearts ... ordinary people ... In general, they resemble the former ones ... the housing problem only spoiled them ... "" The depravity of mankind "is reduced here to very relevant for Bulgakov's Moscow" housing issue”, and the desire for luxury, which, according to Kant, is one of the signs of the near end of the world, turned into a trick with newfangled Parisian toilets, after the session, like Woland’s gold pieces, turned into nothing. Thus, the denouement of the performance at the Variety Theater is taken out of its scope. Bulgakov, not as optimistic as the great philosopher, looked at the moral progress of mankind in the present and future, stating that since the advent of Christianity, little has changed for the better. And the miracles demonstrated to trusting viewers by Koroviev leave no trace and are subsequently attributed to the power of hypnotic suggestion, in accordance with Kant's thought: “... Is there a lack of signs and miracles where the imagination is excited by continuous expectation?”

The author of The End of All Things criticized the "monstrous system" of the ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu, the founder of Taoism. In this system, the highest good “should be nothing, that is, the consciousness of dissolving oneself in the bosom of the deity due to merging with it and thereby destroying one's personality; Chinese philosophers, closing their eyes, create a premonition of such a state in a dark room, thinking and feeling their nothingness. Hence the pantheism (of the Tibetans and other Eastern peoples), and the Spinozism that arose as a result of its metaphysical sublimation; both of them are close relatives of the ancient doctrine of the emanation of human souls from the deity (and their final absorption by the latter). And all this only so that people can finally enjoy eternal peace, which will come along with the blissful end of everything that exists - a concept that marks the cessation of rational activity and, in general, all thinking.

For Bulgakov, the Master is an "intellectual inhabitant of the earth", awarded with eternal peace during the transition from earthly time to eternity. It is no coincidence that he was endowed, especially in the 1936 version, with an outward resemblance to Kant. Then Woland told the Master in the finale: “The candles will burn, you will hear quartets, the rooms of the house will smell of apples. In a powdered braid, in an old habitual caftan, knocking with a cane, you will walk, walk and think. Here the portrait of the hero in the last asylum clearly goes back to the portrait of Kant in Heinrich Heine’s book “On the History of Religion and Philosophy in Germany”: “He lived a mechanically measured, almost abstract life of a bachelor in a quiet, remote street of Konigsberg ... I don’t think big clock at the local council they performed their daily external duties more dispassionately and more evenly than their countryman Immanuel Kant. Rising, morning coffee, writing, lecturing, dinner, walking - everything happened at a certain hour, and the neighbors knew for sure that it was half past three when Immanuel Kant, in his gray frock coat, with a reed cane in his hands, left the house and headed to a small linden alley, which in memory of him is still called the Alley of Philosophy. Eight times he passed it back and forth every day at every season, and when it was cloudy or gray clouds foreshadowed rain, his servant, old Lampe, would appear, following him with anxious solicitude, with a long umbrella under his arm, as a symbol of providence. What a strange contrast between this man's outward life and his world-destroying, world-shattering thought."

In full accordance with Kant’s statement that “the principles of our way of life that guide us until death ... will remain the same after death,” Woland says to Berlioz’s head that came to life for a while: “You have always been an ardent preacher of the theory that, after cutting off head, life in a person stops, he turns into ashes and disappears into oblivion. I am pleased to inform you, in the presence of my guests, although they serve as proof of a completely different theory (about posthumous otherness. - B.S.), that your theory is both solid and witty. However, all theories stand one another. There is also one among them, according to which each will be given according to his faith. May it come true! You are going into non-existence, and it will be joyful for me to drink from the cup into which you turn into being!

Bulgakov did not believe in Kant's "wise ruler of the world", in which the moral qualities of mankind would ultimately overpower the desire to satisfy ever-increasing needs.

Woland, like Yeshua, understands that only the devoted, but dogmatic Levi Matvey, and not the brilliant Master, can enjoy the “naked light”. It is Satan, with his skepticism and doubt, who sees the world in all its contradictions (as a true artist sees it), that can best provide the protagonist with a worthy reward.

Woland's words at the Variety Theatre: “The townspeople have changed a lot ... outwardly, I say, like the city itself, however. There is nothing to say about the costumes, but these ... like them ... trams, cars ... But, of course, I am not so much interested in buses, telephones and other ... equipment ... but a much more important question: have these townspeople changed internally? - surprisingly consonant with the thoughts of one of the founders of German existentialism, Martin Heidegger, expressed in the work "Source artistic creation”, which Bulgakov certainly did not read: “Airplanes and radios, it is true, now belong to the number of the closest things, but when we think about the last things, we remember something else. The last things are Death and Judgment." In Bulgakov, Woland literally revives the burnt novel of the Master; the product of artistic creativity, preserved only in the head of the creator, materializes again, turns into a tangible thing.

These ideas were literally in the air in the 1930s. One can, for example, recall the following entry by Ilya Ilf in notebooks: "IN fantasy novels the main thing was the radio. Under him, the happiness of mankind was expected. There is a radio, but there is no happiness.

Woland, unlike Yeshua Ha-Notsri, considers all people not good, but evil. The purpose of his mission in Moscow is precisely to reveal the evil inclination in a person. The devil and his retinue provoke Muscovites to unseemly acts, convincing them of complete impunity, and then they themselves punish them in a parody.

An important literary prototype of Woland was "Someone in gray, called He" from Leonid Andreev's play "The Life of a Man". In the prologue of the play, Someone in Gray, symbolizing Fate, Fate, and also the "prince of darkness," says about the Man: "Irresistibly drawn by time, he will inevitably pass all the steps human life, from bottom to top, from top to bottom. Limited by sight, he will never see the next step, on which his unsteady foot is already ascending; limited by knowledge, he will never know what the coming day brings him, the coming hour - minute. And in his blind ignorance, tormented by forebodings, agitated by hopes and fear, he will dutifully complete the circle of iron destiny. Woland predicts the death of "limited knowledge" Berlioz, tormented by anxious forebodings, and provides "last shelter" to the "limited vision" of the Master, who is not allowed to see the light of Divine Revelation and meet Yeshua Ha-Nozri. In the 1936 version, Woland warned him: "You will not rise to the heights ..."

Woland's words "Manuscripts do not burn" and the resurrection from the ashes of "a novel in a novel" - the Master's narrations about Pontius Pilate - is an illustration of the well-known latin proverb: "Verba volant, scripta manent". Interestingly, it was often used by M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, one of Bulgakov's favorite authors. In translation, it sounds like this: "Words fly away, what is written remains." The fact that the name of Satan in Bulgakov's novel practically coincides with the word "volant" is most likely not accidental. It is no coincidence that a noise similar to the flapping of bird wings occurs during a chess game between Woland and Behemoth after the latter's scholastic speech about syllogisms. In fact, empty words left no trace behind them and Behemoth needed them only to divert the attention of those present from the fraudulent combination with his king. The Master's novel, with the help of Woland, is destined for a long life.

The space of the Moscow and Yershalaim worlds is becoming one, and this happens in the eternal other world, where the "prince of darkness" Woland rules. The course of modern life merges with the Master's novel about Pontius Pilate. Both of these heroes gain life in eternity, as it was predicted to Pilate - by an inner voice that spoke of immortality, and to the Master - by Woland, after reading the novel about the procurator of Judea. The novel about Pilate in the scene of the last flight joins with the "Gospel of Woland", and the Master himself, forgiving the procurator, at the same moment completes both his own narrative and the story of Satan.

Hounded in earthly life, the author of the novel about Pontius Pilate acquires immortality in eternity. At the same time, the time distance of 19 centuries, as it were, collapses, the days of the week and month in ancient Yershalaim and modern Moscow coincide with each other. Such a coincidence really occurs in a time interval of 1900 years, which includes an integer number of 76-year lunisolar cycles of the ancient Greek astronomer and mathematician Calippus - the smallest time periods containing an equal number of years according to the Julian and Jewish calendars. The day of Christian Easter becomes the day of the resurrection of Yeshua in the highest transcendental world and the Master in the other world of Woland.

The three main worlds of M. and M. - the ancient Yershalaim, the eternal other world and the modern Moscow are not only interconnected (the role of the link is played by the world of Satan), but also have their own time scales. In the other world it is eternal and unchanging, like the endlessly lasting midnight at Satan's Great Ball. In the world of Yershalaim - the past, in the Moscow world - the present. These three worlds have three related series of main characters, with representatives different worlds they form triads united by functional similarity and similar interaction with the characters of their world, and in some cases by portrait resemblance.

The first and most significant triad is the procurator of Judea, Pontius Pilate - the "prince of darkness" Woland - director psychiatric clinic Professor Stravinsky. In the Yershalaim scenes, events develop thanks to the actions of Pontius Pilate. In the Moscow scenes, everything happens according to the will of Woland, who reigns supreme in the other world, penetrating into the Moscow world wherever moral and ethical principles are violated. Stravinsky, in his clinic, is forced to unquestioningly obey the characters of the Moscow world, who became victims of Woland and his retinue. Pilate and Stravinsky also have their retinues. Pilate tries to save Yeshua but fails. Woland saves the Master, but only in his other world, while Stravinsky unsuccessfully tried to save the author of the novel about Pontius Pilate in the Moscow world. The power of each of the three is limited in its own way. Pilate is unable to help Yeshua because of his cowardice. Woland only predicts the future of those with whom he comes into contact, and awakens diabolical inclinations in his victims. Stravinsky, on the other hand, is unable to prevent the Master's earthly death or restore complete peace of mind to Ivan Bezdomny.

There is a portrait resemblance between the characters of the first triad. Woland - "in appearance - more than forty years old" and "smoothly shaved." Stravinsky is "a carefully shaven man of about forty-five, like an actor." Satan has a traditional hallmark- different eyes: "the right eye is black, the left one is green for some reason", "the right one with a golden spark at the bottom, drilling anyone to the bottom of the soul, and the left one is empty and black, sort of like a narrow coal ear, like an exit to the bottomless well of all darkness and shadows." The professor is a man with "very piercing eyes". The outward resemblance of Stravinsky to Pilate is noted at the first meeting with the professor by Ivan Bezdomny, who vividly imagines the procurator of Judea according to Woland's story. The homeless man also draws attention to the fact that the director of the clinic, like the Roman procurator, speaks Latin.

The second triad: Aphranius, the first assistant to Pontius Pilate, - Koroviev-Fagot, the first assistant to Woland, - the doctor Fedor Vasilyevich, the first assistant to Stravinsky. The connection between Aphranius and Fagot is established on the basis of the remarkable correspondence of their names. In the article "Bassoon" encyclopedic dictionary Brockhaus and Efron indicate that the inventor of this musical instrument was the Italian monk Afranio. There are also superficial similarities between the characters. Aphranius has "small eyes ... under closed, slightly strange, as if swollen eyelids", they "shone with mild slyness", and in general the head of the secret guard "was inclined towards humor." Koroviev's "eyes are small, ironic and half-drunk", and he is really an inexhaustible joker, with his jokes punishing those who angered Woland.

Aphranius, on the unspoken order of Pilate, punishes Judas from Kiriath for betrayal by death. Individual episodes involving Aphranius and Koroviev are also similar. So, Pilate, after hinting that Judas should be killed, recalls that once Aphranius lent him money to give gifts to a crowd of beggars in Yershalaim. This episode was invented by the procurator in order to present the reward for the future murder transferred to the head of the secret guard by returning the old debt. Koroviev-Fagot pours a rain of money at the Variety Theatre. But the chervonets, with which, at the behest of Woland, he presents to the public, are just as imaginary as the coins allegedly lent by Aphranius Pilate for the Yershalaim mob, and turn into simple pieces of paper.

The doctor Fyodor Vasilievich, the third member of the triad, has similarities with both Afraniy and Koroviev. Aphranius during the execution of Yeshua and Fyodor Vasilyevich during the first interrogation of Ivan Bezdomny sit on the same high stools with long legs. Koroviev wears pince-nez and a mustache, the doctor Fedor Vasilyevich wears glasses and a mustache with a wedge-shaped beard.

Third triad: centurion Mark Krysoboy, commander of a special centuria, - Azazello, killer demon, - Archibald Archibaldovich, director of the Griboedov House restaurant. All three perform executioner functions, the latter, however, only in the imagination of the narrator M. and M., when he turns from the director of the restaurant into the captain of a pirate brig in the Caribbean, pulling the unlucky porter on the yardarm. The "cold and determined executioner" Mark Ratslayer has a humorous figure as his counterpart in the modern world.

Members of this triad also have a portrait resemblance. Mark Krysoboy and Archibald Archibaldovich are both tall and broad-shouldered. The centurion at his first appearance covers the sun, and the director of the Griboyedov House restaurant appears before the readers as a vision in hell. Mark Krysoboy and Archibald Archibaldovich have wide leather belts with weapons (the director of the restaurant, however, only in the imaginary guise of a pirate). Both Azazello and Ratslayer have a disfigured face and a nasal voice. And all three executioners M. and M. have "extenuating circumstances." Mark Ratslayer, according to Yeshua, was made evil by those who disfigured him, and Ha-Nozri does not blame the centurion for his death. Azazello kills the traitor Baron Meigel in the other world, knowing in advance that in a month he still has to finish his earth path. Archibald Archibaldovich, on the other hand, performs only an imaginary execution.

The fourth triad is animals endowed to a greater or lesser extent with human features: Banga, Pilate's favorite dog, Behemoth the cat, Woland's favorite jester, Tuztuben, a police dog, a modern copy of the procurator's dog. Banga, the only being who understands and sympathizes with Pilate, in the Moscow world degenerates into a famous, but police dog. It is interesting that the name Banga is the home nickname of Bulgakov's second wife Lyubov Evgenievna Belozerskaya, formed by the evolution of various diminutive names: Lyuba - Lyubanya - Lyuban - Banga (all these names are found in Bulgakov's letters to L. E. Belozerskaya and in the memoirs of the latter).

The fifth triad is the only one in M. and M., which is formed by female characters: Nisa, agent Aphranius, - Gella, agent and servant of Fagot-Koroviev - Natasha, servant (housekeeper) of Margarita. Niza lures Judas from Kiriath into a trap, Gella lures Baron Meigel to the disastrous Great Ball for him, and, together with the administrator Varenukha, who has turned into a vampire, almost destroys the financial director of the Rimsky Variety Theater. In the Bad Apartment under Koroviev-Fagot, she plays the role of a maid-servant, striking with her extravagant appearance (a large scar on her neck, and only a coquettish lace apron and a white tattoo on her head) "unfortunate visitors". Gella, according to Woland’s definition, is “quick, understanding, and there is no such service that she would not be able to provide. The same qualities are inherent in Natasha, who wished to accompany her mistress even at the Great Ball with Satan.

You will learn:
Enemies and Disciples of Yeshua and the Master
Three traitors
Real prototypes of mediocre poets Bezdomny and Ryukhin

Encyclopedic YouTube

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Master and Margarita: a conversation on the Patriarchs

Subtitles

Name

Woland Bulgakov got his name from Goethe's Mephistopheles. In the poem " Faust"It sounds only once, when Mephistopheles asks the evil spirit to part and give him the way: "Nobleman Woland is coming!" In the old German literature the devil was called by another name - Faland. It also appears in The Master and Margarita, when Variety employees cannot remember the magician's name: "... Maybe Faland?" In the edition of the novel "The Master and Margarita" 1929-1930. Woland's name was reproduced entirely in Latin on his business card: "Dr Theodor Voland". In the final text, Bulgakov refused the Latin alphabet: Ivan Bezdomny on the Patriarchs remembers only the initial letter of the surname - W ("double-ve").

Appearance

“... the described person did not limp on any leg, and his height was neither small nor huge, but simply tall. As for his teeth, he had platinum crowns on the left side, and gold crowns on the right. He was in an expensive gray suit, in foreign shoes, matching the color of the suit. He famously twisted his gray beret over his ear, and under his arm carried a cane with a black knob in the shape of a poodle's head. He looks to be over forty years old. The mouth is kind of crooked. Shaved smoothly. Brunette. The right eye is black, the left one is green for some reason. The eyebrows are black, but one is higher than the other.

Place in the world of romance

The novel says that Woland is the ruler of the forces of Darkness, opposed to Yeshua, the ruler of the forces of Light. The characters in the novel refer to Woland as the Devil or Satan. However, the cosmography of Bulgakov's world differs from the traditional Christian one - both Jesus and the Devil are different in this world, heaven and hell are not mentioned at all, and "gods" are mentioned in plural. Literary scholars have found similarities in the world of the novel with the Manichaean or Gnostic ideology, according to which the spheres of influence in the world are clearly divided between Light and Darkness, they are equal, and one side cannot - simply does not have the right - to interfere in the affairs of the other: “Each department should deal with its own deeds." Woland cannot forgive Frida, and Yeshua cannot take the Master to him. Woland also does not perform Pilate's forgiveness himself, but entrusts it to the Master.

Woland, in contrast to the Christian "Father of Lies", is honest, fair and even somewhat noble. Critic V. Ya. Lakshin calls it "the cruel (but motivated!) wrath of heaven." S. D. Dovlatov said that Woland personifies not evil, but justice. "Bulgakov's Woland is deprived of the traditional appearance of the Prince of Darkness, thirsting for evil, and carries out both acts of retribution for a" specific "evil, and acts of retribution, thus creating a moral law that is absent in earthly existence" .

Woland fulfills his promises, and even fulfills two wishes of Margarita instead of the promised one. He and his courtiers do not harm people, punishing only for immoral acts: greed, denunciation, groveling, bribery, etc. (for example, no one was hurt in a shootout between a cat and Chekists). They are not in the business of seducing souls. Woland, unlike Mephistopheles, is ironic, but not mocking, prone to mischief, laughs at Berlioz and Homeless, at the barman Sokov (in the eighteenth chapter). At the same time, he does not show excessive cruelty: he orders the head of the poor entertainer Bengalsky to be returned; releases Frida from punishment at the request of Margarita. Many phrases of Woland and his retinue are unusual for the Christian Devil: “You don’t need to be rude ... you don’t need to lie ...”, “I don’t like him, he’s a burnout and a rogue ...”, “And mercy is knocking on their hearts.”

Thus, the role of Woland in the world of the novel can be defined as "an overseer of evil." The one who has evil in his soul is his ward. Woland himself, unlike the Christian Satan, does not multiply evil, but only monitors it, and, as necessary, stops and judges fairly (for example, Baron Meigel, Rimsky, Likhodeev, Bengalsky).

Symbolism

Theatricality

Many researchers of Bulgakov's novel "The Master and Margarita" note theatrical, operatic motifs in the image of Woland. His image is endowed with some bright, slightly unnatural details of clothing and behavior. Spectacular appearances and unexpected disappearances, unusual costumes, a constant reference to his low voice - bass - bring theatrical brightness, an element of play and acting to his image.

In this regard, some characters in Bulgakov's Theatrical Novel echo Woland's image [ ] . In particular, the director of the Educational Stage of the Independent Theater Ksavery Borisovich Ilchin appears before Maksudov, illuminated by a "phosphoric light". Even more closely connected with Woland is another character, the editor-publisher Ilya Ivanovich Rudolfi, whose unexpected arrival at Maksudov's apartment to the sound of Faust refers to Woland's appearance in The Master and Margarita:

The door swung open and I froze on the floor in horror. It was him, without a doubt. In the dusk, high above me, was a face with an authoritative nose and furrowed eyebrows. The shadows played, and it seemed to me that under the square chin the point of a black beard was sticking out. The beret was twisted famously over the ear. However, there was no pen.

In short, Mephistopheles stood before me. Then I saw that he was wearing a coat and shiny deep galoshes, and holding a briefcase under his arm. "It's natural," I thought, "it can't pass through Moscow in a different form in the twentieth century."

Rudolphi, - said the evil spirit in tenor, not bass.

"Devilry"

In the description of the events taking place in the novel, words are constantly repeated that point us to dark forces. Starting from the very first chapter, the characters in their speech repeat the name of the devil: “throw everything to hell ...”, “Fuck you, damn it!”, “What the hell does he want?”, “Damn it, eh! ..” "Damn, I heard it all." This "devilry" is repeated throughout the novel. Residents of Moscow seem to be calling on Satan and he cannot refuse the invitation. However, all these motives of the dark forces are rather associated not with Woland himself, but with Moscow and the Muscovites.

Moon

Throughout the novel, Woland is haunted by the moon. Its light has always accompanied representatives of the dark forces, because all their dark deeds were committed under the cover of night. But in Bulgakov's novel, the moon takes on a different meaning: it has a revealing function. In its light, the true qualities of people are manifested, and justice is administered. The light of the moon makes Margarita a witch. Without it, even the magic cream of Azazello would not have had an effect.

Poodle

The poodle - a direct allusion to Mephistopheles - is found several times in the work. In the very first chapter, when the majestic Woland wished to decorate the handle of his cane-sword with a dog's head, while Mephistopheles himself climbed into the skin of a poodle. The poodle then appears on the cushion on which Margarita puts her foot during the ball and in the Queen's gold medallion.

Alleged prototypes

Bulgakov himself emphatically denied that the image of Woland was based on any prototype. According to the memoirs of S.A. Ermolinsky, Bulgakov said: “I don’t want to give fans a reason to look for prototypes. Woland has no prototypes. Nevertheless, the hypotheses that the figure of Woland had a certain real prototype have been expressed more than once. Most often, Stalin is chosen as a candidate; according to the critic V. Ya.

Mephistopheles from the tragedy "Faust"

The suggestive possible prototype of Woland is Goethe's Mephistopheles. From this character, Woland receives a name, some character traits and many symbols that can be traced in Bulgakov's novel (for example, a sword and a beret, a hoof and a horseshoe, some phrases, and so on). The symbols of Mephistopheles are present throughout the novel, but they usually refer only to Woland's external attributes. In Bulgakov, they acquire a different interpretation or are simply not accepted by the heroes. Thus, Bulgakov shows the difference between Woland and Mephistopheles.

In addition, it is also noteworthy that a direct indication of this interpretation of the image is already contained in the epigraph to the novel. These are lines from Goethe's Faust - the words of Mephistopheles to the question of Faust, who is his guest.

Stalin

No, it's not for nothing that Bulgakov writes this novel - The Master and Margarita. The main character of this novel, as you know, is the devil, acting under the name of Woland. But this is a special devil. The novel opens with an epigraph from Goethe: “... so who are you, finally? “I am part of that force that always wants evil and always does good.” Appearing in Moscow, Woland unleashes all his diabolical power on those in power who create lawlessness. Woland deals with the persecutors of the great writer - the Master. Under the scorching summer sun of 1937, during the days of the Moscow trials, when another devil was destroying the devil's party, when Bulgakov's literary enemies perished one after another, the Master wrote his novel... So it's easy to understand who was behind Woland's image.

Stalin's attitude towards M. A. Bulgakov himself and his work is known from Stalin's letter in defense of Bulgakov "Answer to Bill-Belotserkovsky" dated February 2, 1929, as well as from his oral speeches at a meeting between Stalin and a group of Ukrainian writers, which took place on February 12, 1929 of the year .

Second Coming of Christ

There is a version that the image of Woland has many Christian features. In particular, this version is based on a comparison of some details in the descriptions of Woland and Yeshua. Yeshua appeared before the procurator with a large bruise under his left eye - Woland right eye "empty, dead." There is an abrasion in the corner of Yeshua's mouth - in Woland "the corner of the mouth is pulled down." Yeshua was burned by the sun on a pillar - "the skin on Woland's face seemed to be burned forever by a tan." The torn blue tunic of Yeshua turns into dirty rags, which even the executioners refused - before the ball, Woland "is dressed in one night long shirt, dirty and patched on his left shoulder." Jesus is called the Messiah, Woland is the messier.

Also, this version is sometimes based on a comparison of some scenes of the novel with certain biblical quotations.

Jesus said, "Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of them." Woland appeared during a conversation about Jesus:

May I have a seat? - the foreigner asked politely, and the friends somehow involuntarily parted; the foreigner deftly sat down between them and immediately entered into conversation.

Finally, in the conversation, Woland testifies about Christ: "Keep in mind that Jesus existed."

The allusions between Woland and Christ were embodied in the novel "Weaved down" by evil, "or "Forty years later" () by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, created largely under the impression of Bulgakov's novel.

However, this interpretation of the image contains a number of inaccuracies.

1. Explicit. Levi Matvey gives Woland an order from Yeshua about the further fate of the Master and Margarita.
2. Woland is shown as a witness, not a participant in the Yershalaim scenes. By his own admission, during the conversation between Yeshua and Pilate, Woland is present incognito, which can be understood in two ways. However, in the evening, Pilate for a moment sees a mysterious figure among the shadows.

This interpretation can also be considered quite controversial, since it is necessary to take into account a number of points that have importance when reading and understanding the images displayed in the novel. According to the Christian point of view, the Antichrist is a person who is not so much opposed to Christ as replacing him. The prefix "anti-" has a double translation:

• denial, adversary.
• instead, substitute.

It should not be forgotten that this version differs greatly from the full context of the Bible. The New Testament says about the coming of Christ: “And being asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come, he answered them: The Kingdom of God will not come in a conspicuous manner. For, behold, the kingdom of God is within us” (Luke 17:20, 21). “If they say to you, ‘Behold, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out; “Behold, He is in the secret chambers,” do not believe; For as lightning comes from the east and is visible even to the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man” (Mt 24:26-27).

It is also worth remembering that Ivan Bezdomny defends himself from Woland with an icon of an unknown saint.

The image of Woland in art

To the cinema

• Alain Cuny - The Master and Margarita, 1972
• Gustav Cholubek - TV series 1989 year  (Poland)
• Valentin Gaft - film 1994 year (Russia)
• Mikhail Kozakov - "Fatal eggs, Feature Film, 1995 (Russia-Czech Republic)
• Oleg Basilashvili - television series "Master and Margarita" 2005 year (Russia)
• Sergei Grekov - short film 2005 (Hungary)
• Musical:
• Ivan Ozhogin, Kirill Gordeev, Rostislav Kolpakov - musical "The Master and Margarita"

In music

• Band song

Which excites the minds of readers since 1967. Adult admirers of the mystical writer re-read this novel, each time discovering new horizons for the work, and the younger generation plunges into the pages of the manuscript in order to follow the antics of Messire and his retinue: Gella, Azazello, Behemoth and Koroviev. Mikhail Afanasyevich managed to work amazing images that make you think:

“So what is a part of that power that always wants evil and always does good?”

History and prototypes

Bulgakov was both a skilled doctor and prose writer, and a mysterious person. The veil of mystery that shrouded the biography of the writer haunts scientists who are trying to put all the facts together. Therefore, the question of when Mikhail Afanasyevich came up with The Master and Margarita remains open, but literary critics agree that rough sketches were made in 1928–1929.

Moreover, in the debut notes of Mikhail Afanasyevich there was no love line an unnamed writer in a black cap and a woman who carried "disgusting yellow flowers". Initially, the genius began to scrupulously collect information about the devil: torn sheets from dictionaries, essays by Mikhail Orlov and excerpts from works describing evil spirits were kept in a special notebook.

In 1930, Bulgakov received a refusal from the Main Repertoire Committee: the letter said that the play “The Cabal of the Hypocrites” (1929) was not allowed to be presented in the theater, so Mikhail Afanasyevich threw his notes about Lucifer into the oven in his hearts. But, as you know, "manuscripts do not burn," so most of the passages, namely two thick notebooks with torn sheets, survived.

In 1932, Mikhail Afanasyevich again returned to his idea and sat down to write a novel without using the author's lyricism. True, Bulgakov relied on the classic biblical story and made the devil a tempter and provocateur, while in the final version Woland acts as a witness and observer. In 1940, Bulgakov's health began to deteriorate sharply: the genius of literature was diagnosed with kidney disease.

Mikhail Afanasyevich turned out to be bedridden and, overcoming severe pain, dictated to his wife Elena Sergeevna excerpts from the work: about the adventures of Koroviev, the journey of Styopa Likhodeev and cloudless days at Griboyedovo and the Variety Theater.

The novel was published only in 1966 (67), the writer's widow edited the manuscript for about twenty years. Woland became one of the most striking and memorable characters. This hero does not have a true prototype, because the image of the black magician is collective. The writer himself said:

“I don’t want to give fans a reason to look for prototypes. Woland has no prototypes."

Mikhail Bulgakov called messire the main enemy of the heavenly forces - Satan. At least, the analogy with the religious personification of evil seems obvious to researchers. In addition, the writer relied on his predecessor, German poet who gave this world "Faust": during his childhood in Kyiv, Bulgakov listened with pleasure opera of the same name Charles Gounod.

In fact, Woland bears a resemblance to Goethe's evil spirit, besides, a reference to this character is present in the epigraph of the novel and chapter 29, when the professor of black magic sits on a stone terrace, putting his sharp chin on his fist and preparing to part with Moscow. This reveals a similarity with the sculpture "Mephistopheles", made of marble by Mark Antokolsky. Yes, and the master in the first editions was called Faust.

Quotes

“Never ask for anything! Never and nothing, and especially for those who are stronger than you. They themselves will offer and give everything themselves!

“Yes, man is mortal, but that would be half the trouble. The bad thing is that he is sometimes suddenly mortal, that's the trick! And he can’t say at all what he will do tonight.”

“Something, your will, unkind lurks in men who avoid wine, games, the company of lovely women, and table conversation. Such people are either seriously ill or secretly hate those around them. True, there may be exceptions. Among the people who sat down with me at the banquet table, sometimes surprising scoundrels came across!

"We are talking to you different languages, as always, - Woland replied, - but the things we are talking about do not change from this.

“The second freshness - that's nonsense! There is only one freshness - the first, it is also the last. And if the sturgeon is of the second freshness, then this means that it is rotten!”

• The cosmology of The Master and Margarita differs from the classic biblical story, although the book contains two opposite sides good and evil. With Bulgakov, they are equal, and "each department goes about its own business." Woland is unable to forgive Pilate and Frida, and Yeshua has no right to take the master with him.
• According to rumors, the novel will be screened in the United States. It is difficult to judge what the American filmmakers will do, but the series “Notes of a Young Doctor” (2012–2013, Great Britain), where he performed Bulgakov’s hero, did not work out for foreigners.