Bulgakov worked on the novel “The Master and Margarita” for about 12 years and did not have time to finally edit it. This novel became a real revelation of the writer; Bulgakov himself said that this was his main message to humanity, a testament to his descendants.
Many books have been written about this novel. Among researchers of Bulgakov's creative heritage, there is an opinion that this work is a kind of political treatise. In Woland they saw Stalin and his retinue was identified with political figures of that time. However, it would be wrong to consider the novel “The Master and Margarita” only from this point of view and to see in it only political satire.
Some literary scholars believe that the main meaning of this mystical work is the eternal struggle between good and evil. According to Bulgakov, it turns out that evil on Earth must always be in balance. Yeshua and Woland personify precisely these two spiritual principles. One of the key phrases of the novel were the words of Woland, which he uttered when addressing Levi Matvey: “Wouldn’t it be so kind to think about the question: what would your good do if evil did not exist, and what would it look like if they disappeared from it? shadows?
In the novel, evil, in the person of Woland, ceases to be humane and fair. Good and evil are intertwined and are in close interaction, especially in human souls. Woland punished people with evil for evil for the sake of justice.
It is not for nothing that some critics have drawn an analogy between Bulgakov’s novel and the story of Faust, although in “The Master and Margarita” the situation is presented inverted. Faust sold his soul to the devil and betrayed Margarita's love for the sake of his thirst for knowledge, and in Bulgakov's novel Margarita makes a deal with the devil for the sake of love for the Master.
Fight for man
The inhabitants of Bulgakov's Moscow appear before the reader as a collection of puppets, tormented by passions. It is of great importance in the Variety Show, where Woland sits down in front of the audience and begins to talk about the fact that people do not change for centuries.
Against the background of this faceless mass, only the Master and Margarita are deeply aware of how the world works and who rules it.
The image of the Master is collective and autobiographical. The reader does not know his real name. The master is represented by any artist, as well as a person who has his own vision of the world. Margarita is an image of an ideal woman who is able to love to the end, despite difficulties and obstacles. They are ideal collective images of a man devoted to his work and a woman true to her feelings.
Thus, the meaning of this immortal novel can be divided into three layers.
Above everything stands the confrontation between Woland and Yeshua, who, together with their students and retinue, wage a continuous struggle for the immortal human soul, playing with the destinies of people.
Just below are people like the Master and Margarita; later they are joined by the Master’s student, Professor Ponyrev. These people are spiritually more mature, who realize that life is much more complicated than it seems at first glance.
And finally, at the very bottom are the ordinary inhabitants of Bulgakov’s Moscow. They have no will and strive only for material values.
Bulgakov’s novel “The Master and Margarita” serves as a constant warning against inattention to oneself, against blindly following the established order of things, to the detriment of awareness of one’s own personality.
Sources:
- The theme of good and evil in Bulgakov's novel "The Master and Margarita"
- The meaning of the title of the novel "The Master and Margarita"
- The main idea of the novel "The Master and Margarita"
Mikhail Bulgakov's novel “The Master and Margarita” is one of the best books written in Russian in the 20th century. Unfortunately, the novel was published many years after the writer’s death, and many of the mysteries encrypted by the author in the book remained unsolved.
Devil on the Patriarch's
Bulgakov began work on the novel, dedicated to the appearance of the Devil in Moscow in the 1930s, in 1929 and continued until his death in 1940, without finishing the author's editing. The book was published only in 1966, thanks to the fact that Mikhail Afanasyevich’s widow, Elena Sergeevna Bulgakova, kept the manuscript. The plot, or rather, all its hidden meanings, are still the subject of scientific research and debate among literary scholars.
“The Master and Margarita” is included in the list of the hundred best books of the 20th century according to the French periodical Le Monde.
The text begins with the fact that two Soviet writers talking on the Patriarch's Ponds are approached by a foreigner who turns out to be Satan. It turns out that the Devil (he introduces himself by the name Woland) travels all over the world, periodically stopping in various cities along with his retinue. Once in Moscow, Woland and his henchmen punish people for their petty sins and passions. The images of bribe takers and swindlers are drawn by Bulgakov masterfully, and the victims of Satan do not evoke sympathy at all. So, for example, the fate of Woland’s first two interlocutors is extremely unpleasant: one of them dies under a tram, and the second ends up in an insane asylum, where he meets a man who calls himself the Master.
The master tells Woland’s victim his story, in particular, saying that at one time he was talking about Pontius Pilate, because of whom he ended up in a psychiatric hospital. In addition, he recalls the romantic story of his love for a woman named Margarita. At the same time, one of the representatives of Woland’s retinue turns to Margarita with a request to become the queen of Satan’s Ball, which is held annually by Woland in various capitals. Margarita agrees in exchange for the Master being returned to her. The novel ends with a scene of all the main characters from Moscow, with the Master and Margarita finding the peace they dreamed of.
From Moscow to Jerusalem
In parallel with the “Moscow” plot line, the “Yershalaim” line is developing, that is, in fact, the novel about Pontius Pilate. From Moscow in the 30s, the reader is transported to Jerusalem at the beginning of our era, where tragic events take place, described in the New Testament and reinterpreted by Bulgakov. The author tries to understand the motives of the procurator of Judea, Pontius Pilate, who sent the philosopher Yeshua Ha-Nozri, whose prototype is Jesus Christ, to execution. In the final part of the book, the storylines intersect, and each hero gets what he deserves.
There are many film adaptations of Bulgakov’s novel, both in Russia and abroad. In addition, the text has inspired many musicians, artists and playwrights.
“The Master and Margarita” is a novel at the intersection of genres. Of course, in the foreground is a satirical depiction of the morals and life of the inhabitants of Bulgakov’s contemporary Moscow, but in addition to this, the text contains various mystical symbols, moral confusion, and the theme of retribution for sins and misdeeds is revealed.
One of the properties of literature is the desire to synthesize all its currently available achievements, generalize it, and bring it into a system. As an example, we can recall “The Glass Bead Game” by Hesse, “Doctor Faustus” by Mann, “The Brothers Karamazov” by Dostoevsky.
General information
The history of the creation of the novel “The Master and Margarita” is still shrouded in secrets, however, like the novel itself, which never ceases to be the center of mysteries for the reader. It is not even known exactly when Bulgakov had the idea of writing the work that is now known as “The Master and Margarita” (this title appeared in Bulgakov’s drafts relatively shortly before the creation of the final version of the novel).
The time it took Bulgakov from the ripening of the idea to the final version of the novel was ultimately about ten years, which indicates the care with which Bulgakov took on the novel and what significance it apparently had for him. And Bulgakov seemed to have foreseen everything in advance, because “The Master and Margarita” became the last work he wrote. Bulgakov did not even have time to complete the literary editing of the novel; it stopped somewhere in the area of the second part.
Conceptual question
Initially, Bulgakov chose the image of the devil (the future Woland) to replace the main character of his new novel. The first several editions of the novel were created under the banner of this idea. It should be noted that each of the four well-known editions can be considered as an independent novel, since they all contain many fundamental differences at both the formal and semantic levels. The main image familiar to the reader - the image of the Master - was introduced into the novel by Bulgakov only in the fourth and final edition, and this itself ultimately determined the main concept of the novel, which initially contained a bias more towards , but the Master as the main character with his “appearance” forced Bulgakov to reconsider the prospects of the novel and give the dominant place to the theme of art, culture, and the place of the artist in the modern world.
Work on the novel took so long, probably not only because of the incomplete formulation of the concept, its changes, but also due to the fact that the novel was intended by Bulgakov himself as a final work, summarizing his entire path in the field of art, and in connection with this the novel has a rather complex structure, it is filled with a huge number of explicit and implicit cultural allusions and references at each and every level of the novel’s poetics.
Who pretends to be a specialist in dark magic, is actually Satan. The first to meet him at the Patriarch's Ponds is Berlioz, the editor of a major magazine and poet Ivan Bezdomny. They argue about Christ.
Woland says that Christ really existed and proves this by predicting Berlioz's death by beheading. And before the eyes of Ivan Bezdomny, Berlioz falls under a tram. The poet Ivan Bezdomny unsuccessfully tries to pursue Woland, then, finding himself in Massolit (Moscow Literary Association), he talks so incoherently about the events that happened that they try to send him to a country psychiatric hospital.
Woland, having appeared at the address of the late Berlioz, who lived with Stepan Likhodeev, the director of the Variety Show, finds Stepan in a state of severe hangover and presents him with a contract for Woland’s performance in the theater, signed by him, Likhodeev, then escorts Likhodeev out of the apartment and he strangely turns out to be in Yalta.
Satan is accompanied by a strange retinue: the pretty witch Gella, the terrible Azazello, Koroviev (Fagot), and Behemoth, who is presented in the form of a frighteningly sized black cat. Nikonor Ivanovich Bosoy, chairman of the housing association at house No. 302-bis on Sadovaya Street, finds himself in apartment 50 and finds Koroviev there. He offers to rent out Woland’s apartment, since Berlioz died, and Likhodeev is in Yalta, and after much persuasion, Nikonor Ivanovich agrees. Having received four hundred rubles in addition to the payment, he hides them in the ventilation hole. On the same day, they come to him and arrest him for possession of currency, because these rubles turned out to be dollars.
The financial director of Variety - Rimsky and the administrator Varenukha are unsuccessfully trying to find Likhodeev, who, in turn, sends them telegram after telegram trying to confirm his identity and get at least some money to return from Yalta. Deciding that this is a stupid joke, Rimsky sends Varenukha with telegrams so that he takes them where they need to go, but Varenukha does not get to his destination because Behemoth picks him up.
In the evening, the performance of the great magician and his retinue begins on the Variety stage. Having placed a pistol in front of Bassoon, Vland organizes a rain of money, people grab chervonets falling from the sky, a store for ladies opens on stage, where every woman sitting in the hall can change her wardrobe. Some time after the end of the performance, all the chervonets turn into simple pieces of paper, and the women are forced to rush along the street in their underwear, because everything they were wearing disappeared without a trace.
After the performance, Rimsky lingers in the office; Varenukha, transformed by Gella into a vampire, comes to see him. Seeing that Varenukha does not cast a shadow, Rimsky tries to run, hears the rooster crowing and the vampires disappear. Rimsky, instantly turning gray, rushes to the station to leave by courier train to St. Petersburg.
The poet Ivan Bezdomny meets with the Master in the clinic, the Master talks about himself. He was a historian, worked in a museum and, having received a large win, decided to rent an apartment in one of the Arbat lanes and began writing a novel there about Pontius Pilate. One day on the street he saw Margarita. They immediately fell in love with each other, and despite the fact that Margarita was the wife of one of the respected people, she came to the Master every day. The master wrote his novel, then he finished it and took it to the editor, but they refused to publish the novel. Although the excerpt was published, it was criticized and the Master fell ill.
In the morning, Margarita wakes up with the feeling that something is about to happen and goes for a walk in the park, where she meets Azezzelo. He, in turn, invites her to meet with a foreigner and Margarita agrees. Azazzelo gives her a jar of cream, with the help of which margarita can fly. Woland asks Margarita to be the queen at his ball and promises to do whatever she wishes. Satan's ball begins at midnight. The men are in tails and the women are naked. When the ball ends, Margarita asks for the Master to be returned to her, and Woland fulfills his promise.
In the second storyline in the palace, procurator Pontius Pilate, interrogating the arrested man, understands that he is not a robber, but simply a wandering philosopher, but still confirms the guilty verdict. He hopes that Kaifa will be able to release one of the convicts, but Kaifa refuses. Levi Motvey brings Ha-Notsri's sermons, and Pontius Pilate reads “The most terrible vice is cowardice.”
At this time in Moscow. At sunset, Woland's retinue bids farewell to the city. At sunset, Levi Motvey appears and invites them to take the Master to him. Azazzelo comes to the master's house and brings wine as a gift from Voland, when they drink it, the Black Horse carries away the Master, Woland's retinue and Margarita.
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There are two storylines in the main action of the novel. The first line takes place in Moscow in the 1930s. The second line is a story about what happened more than two thousand years ago in the city of Yershalaim. The story about these events is given either in the form of separate chapters from the novel of the main character of the novel - the Master, or in the form of memoirs of a witness to those events - Woland.
The action of the novel begins on a hot May day on the Patriarch's Ponds - it is there that the reader, and with him the magazine editor Mikhail Alexandrovich Berlioz and the poet Ivan Bezdomny, meet Woland, who says that he is a specialist in black magic. In fact, Woland is none other than Satan himself. He is accompanied by his retinue - a beautiful girl, whose appearance is spoiled only by an ugly scar on her neck - Gella, a huge cat nicknamed Behemoth, who from time to time becomes human, as well as a strange type of Koroviev, whom Woland himself calls Fagot, and the gloomy Azazello. Berlioz and Bezdomny meet Woland at the moment when they have an argument about who Jesus Christ is. Woland, who unexpectedly appears next to them, claims that this is a person who once really existed. And in order to prove that not everything in the world is subject to man’s control, and that he himself is not the creator of his own destiny, Woland says that Berlioz’s head will soon be cut off by a girl, and Ivan himself will have to learn what schizophrenia is. Immediately after this meeting, Berlioz falls under a tram driven by a girl, and his head is actually cut off. And Bezdomny, trying to find Woland, ends up in a psychiatric clinic with Dr. Stravinsky, who diagnoses him with schizophrenia.
At this time, Woland, along with his retinue, appears in the apartment that Berlioz shared with the director of the Variety Theater Stepan Likhodeev, at Sadovaya Street, building 302 bis apartment 50. Stepan is in a state of severe hangover, and Woland brings him vodka and snacks, and also an agreement which states that he, Woland, will give performances at the Variety Theater. After this, Woland orders Stepan to be kicked out of the apartment, and he ends up in Yalta.
The chairman of the housing association, Nikanor Ivanovich Bosoy, comes to apartment 50, whom Koroviev persuades to rent the apartment to Woland. He thinks for a long time, but the 400 rubles that Koroviev gave him in addition to the rent for the apartment do their job. Barefoot agrees, takes the money and hides it in the ventilation at home. In the evening of the same day, people come to him and arrest him, since the rubles he hid in the ventilation turned out to be foreign currency. As a result, Bosoy ends up in the same clinic as Homeless.
The financial director of the Variety Theater Rimsky and the administrator Varenukha are trying to find Likhodeev, who sends them telegrams from Yalta. Rimsky cannot understand how Stepan ended up so far from Moscow, and decides to take these telegrams “to the right place.” Varenukha comes with telegrams, but he doesn’t go anywhere, as Behemoth and Gella intercept him and take him to that same apartment No. 50 to Woland.
In the evening, Woland's performance is on at the Variety Theater. Koroviev and Behemoth send a rain of paper chervonets into the hall, which all the spectators catch. After this, a “ladies’ store” opens on stage, where Gella is in charge, and where all the ladies receive the most fashionable outfits in exchange for their clothes. But at the end of the performance, the paper chervonets become cut up newspaper, and the fashionable outfits disappear, and the ladies are forced to run through the city streets in their underwear.
After the performance, Rimsky in his office encounters Varenukha, who has become a vampire, and Gella. Rimsky is scared; only the crowing of a rooster saves him from certain death. Varenukha and Gella disappear, and the graying Rimsky leaves Moscow.
And Ivan Bezdomny in a psychiatric clinic meets the main character - the Master, who explains to him who Woland is. The Master also told him his story. He was a historian by training and worked in a museum. One day he was incredibly lucky - he won 100 thousand rubles in the lottery. He quit his job, rented two rooms in the basement and began writing a novel about Pontius Pilate and Yeshua Ha-Nozri. His novel was almost finished when one day he met Margarita on the street. She carried a bouquet of yellow flowers and looked like the Master immediately fell in love with her. Margarita also fell in love with him. She was married, but came to him every day. He finally experienced true happiness. His novel was finished, and he took it to the editor, but they did not publish it - moreover, devastating articles by critics appeared in the newspapers, accusing the Master of promoting Christianity. The master tried to burn his novel, but Margarita came running and was able to pull out a stack of sheets from the stove. She took the manuscript with her when she went home to explain to her husband. But the Master did not wait for her - people came to him and took him away. He returned home only a few months later and discovered that another person was already living there. After that, he ended up in the Stravinsky clinic, where he has been living for several months, having neither a name nor a surname - just like patient No. 118..
On the same day, Margarita, while walking in the Alexander Garden, meets Azazello, who conveys to her an invitation to visit on behalf of a certain gentleman. He promises her that she will learn something about her beloved, and she agrees. In the evening, having undressed in front of the mirror and rubbed herself with the cream that Azazello gave her, Margarita realizes that she can fly on a mop, which she does. She flies to Woland's ball, but first destroys the apartments of critics who offended the Master.
At midnight, Satan's Great Ball begins in apartment No. 50. Margarita acts as the hostess of the ball. She is naked, like all the women at the ball. After the ball, Woland asks Margarita what she wants to receive as a reward for her service, and she replies that her only desire is to see her beloved. And then the Master appears in apartment No. 50.
The second plot line is connected with the story of Pontius Pilate. One day the arrested philosopher Yeshua Ha-Nozri was brought to the great procurator of Judea. He has already been sentenced to death, but Pilate must confirm it. During the interrogation of the arrested man, Pilate understands that Yeshua is not a criminal, he is simply preaching to people his thoughts about the future kingdom of God. He tries to save Yeshua, but he fails. And Yeshua, along with the other condemned, finds himself crucified on the cross on the top of Bald Mountain. And in Moscow, Satan's ball ends in a fire in apartment No. 50. At this time, Woland and his retinue on the roof of one of the buildings in Moscow say goodbye to the city. Levi Matthew appears on the roof, one of the most devoted followers of Yeshua, a former tax collector. He asks Woland if he will take the Master and Margarita with him, since, in the opinion of the light that sent him, they “did not deserve light, but deserved peace.” The Master and Margarita at this time are in the very basement in which their love developed. Azazello comes to visit them and brings a bottle of wine, after drinking which they both lose consciousness. At the same moment, the news spreads in Stravinsky’s clinic that patient No. 118 has died, and in a house on Arbat a woman, not yet old, dies. So the Master and Margarita retire together with Woland and his retinue.
"The Master and Margarita" analysis - genre, plot, issues, theme and idea
“The Master and Margarita” analysis of the work
Year of writing: 1929-1940
Genre "The Master and Margarita": mystical, philosophical, satirical, fantastic, “magical realism.” The form is a novel within a novel (Bulgakov writes a novel about a master, a master writes a novel about Pilate; Matthew Levi writes about Yeshua)
Theme "The Master and Margarita"— A person’s ethical responsibility for his actions
The idea of "The Master and Margarita"— 1) The search for truth is impossible without patience, courage, and love. In the name of love and faith, Margarita overcomes fear and overcomes circumstances.
2) The course of history does not change human nature: Judas and Aloysius exist at all times.
3) A writer’s duty is to restore a person’s faith in high ideals, to restore the truth despite the circumstances of life.
"The Master and Margarita" plot
The action of the novel begins on one May day, when two Moscow writers - the chairman of the board of MASSOLIT, Mikhail Aleksandrovich Berlioz and the poet Ivan Bezdomny - while walking on the Patriarch's Ponds, meet a stranger who looks like a foreigner. He gets involved in a conversation about Jesus Christ, talks about his stay on the balcony of the procurator of Judea, Pontius Pilate, and predicts that Berlioz’s head will be cut off by a “Russian woman, a Komsomol member.” The writers do not know that before them is Woland - the devil, who arrived in the Soviet capital with his retinue - Fagot-Korovyov, Azazello, the cat Behemoth and the maid Gella.
After the death of Berlioz, Woland settles in the “bad apartment” of Mikhail Alexandrovich, located at Bolshaya Sadovaya Street, 302 bis. Satan and his assistants organize a series of pranks and hoaxes in Moscow: they send the director of the Variety Show Styopa Likhodeev to Yalta, hold a session of black magic, organize forced choral singing for employees of the branch of the entertainment commission, expose the chairman of the acoustic commission Arkady Apollonovich Sempleyarov and the theater bartender Andrei Fokich Sokov. For Ivan Bezdomny, a meeting with Woland and his associates turns into a mental illness: the poet becomes a patient in a psychiatric hospital. There he meets the Master and learns the story of his novel about Pontius Pilate. Having written this work, the author encountered the world of metropolitan literature, in which refusals to publish were accompanied by persecution in the press and proposals to hit the “Pilatchina”. Unable to withstand the pressure, the Master burned the manuscript in the fireplace; after a series of trials he ended up in a house of sorrow.
For Margarita - the childless thirty-year-old wife of a very prominent specialist and the Master's secret wife - the disappearance of her beloved becomes a drama. One day she admits to herself that she is ready to pledge her soul to the devil in order to find out whether he is alive or not. The thoughts of a woman tormented by ignorance are heard: Azazello hands her a jar of miraculous cream. Margarita turns into a witch and plays the role of queen at Satan's great ball. Her cherished dream comes true: Woland arranges a meeting between the Master and his beloved and returns to them the manuscript of the burnt novel.
The work written by the Master is a story that began in the palace of Herod the Great. The defendant Yeshua Ha-Nozri, sentenced to death by the Sanhedrin for his disdain for the authority of Caesar, is brought to the procurator of Judea Pontius Pilate. Talking with Yeshua, the procurator understands that in front of him is a wandering philosopher; his views on truth and thoughts that all power is violence against people are interesting to Pilate, but he cannot save the wanderer from execution. Knowing that Judas of Kiriath received money for allowing Ha-Nozri to be arrested in his home, the procurator instructs the head of the secret service, Afranius, to kill the traitor.
The combination of two storylines occurs in the final chapters. Woland is visited by Yeshua's disciple Levi Matvey, who asks to reward the Master and Margarita with peace; this request is being fulfilled. At night, a group of flying horsemen leaves Moscow; Among them are not only the sir and his retinue, but also the author of the novel about Pontius Pilate with his beloved.
Chapter 1. Never talk to strangers
In Moscow, the poet Ivan Bezdomny and the chairman of the literary organization MASSOLIT, Mikhail Berlioz, are walking on the Patriarch's Ponds. They discuss Homeless's poem about Jesus Christ. Berlioz is trying to prove that Christ did not exist.
A passerby intervenes in the conversation. He introduces himself as a foreign professor of black magic who came to Moscow on tour. The stranger wonders if there is no God, then who controls the destiny of man? Writers claim that the man himself. The foreigner objects: man is mortal and does not even know the date of his death. Regarding the fate of Berlioz, the professor reports that his head will soon be cut off, because Annushka has already spilled the oil.
The stranger claims that Jesus existed. He begins a story about Pontius Pilate.
Chapter 2. Pontius Pilate
The procurator of Judea, Pontius Pilate, is suffering from a severe headache, but not all his work is completed for today. The legionnaires bring a new accused - a poorly dressed man named Yeshua Ha-Nozri. He, according to many townspeople, wanted to destroy the Yershalaim Temple.
The arrested man denies his guilt. Levi Matthew is to blame for everything, who follows Yeshua and incorrectly records his words. Ga-Nozri makes strange but surprisingly reasonable speeches, notices that the procurator is suffering from a headache and easily relieves it.
Pontius Pilate decides to abolish the death penalty for the wandering philosopher, but it turns out that Yeshua was denounced by Judas from Kiriath. He claims that Ha-Nozri opposed the power of Caesar.
Now the procurator cannot cancel the execution, but hopes to persuade the Sanhedrin to grant a pardon. This council of Jewish high priests has the right, in honor of the Passover holiday, to release one of the condemned. But the Sanhedrin grants its mercy to the murderer Varravan.
Chapter 3. Seventh proof
The foreigner's story is interrupted by Berlioz, who notes that no one can confirm the reality of those events. The professor, in turn, admits that he was there personally.
The writers step aside to consult. They decide that the stranger has gone crazy and should report this to the foreigners' bureau. The homeless man stays with the visitor, and Berlioz heads to the nearest telephone. In a hurry, he runs across the tram tracks, slips on oil, and the tram cuts off his head.
Chapter 4. The Chase
Ivan Bezdomny is shocked by what he sees. Onlookers gather around the deceased Berlioz and discuss the tragedy. It turns out that Annushka and Sadova spilled the oil. Ivan, who has just heard a prediction from a foreigner, rushes to him for an explanation.
But the professor of black magic pretends that he does not understand Russian and leaves, accompanied by a strange man in a checkered jacket and a huge black cat. The homeless man tries to catch up with them, but in vain.
Chapter 5. There was an affair in Griboedov
MASSOLIT writers chose the “Griboedov House” for their meetings. On the ground floor of this mansion there is the best restaurant in Moscow. Twelve writers are waiting for their chairman, Berlioz, who is late for the meeting.
Suddenly the Homeless Man appears. He behaves very strangely: he looks under tables in search of a huge black cat that walks on its hind legs. The poet claims that Berlioz was killed by a foreign professor along with an unpleasant citizen in a checkered jacket and broken pince-nez. Considering Ivan crazy, he is taken to a mental hospital.
Chapter 6. Schizophrenia, as was said
The homeless man tries to explain to the doctors what danger the professor and his company pose, but no one wants to take the poet’s words seriously.
Ivan gets rowdy and demands to call the police. To calm him down, the doctor allows him to make a call. The homeless man demands that motorcyclists with machine guns be allocated to capture the spy and criminal - a professor of black magic. The police hang up. Then Ivan tries to escape through the window, but after the injection he becomes quiet. He is diagnosed with schizophrenia.
Chapter 7. Bad apartment
The director of the Variety Theater Stepan Likhodeev shares an apartment with the late Berlioz. In the morning, he discovers a stranger in the house, who introduces himself as a professor of black magic named Woland. In addition to the foreigner, in the apartment there is a strange gentleman in a broken pince-nez and a huge talking cat. A red-haired and fanged Azazello appears from the mirror. He declares that Stepan is superfluous in the apartment, he needs to be thrown out of Moscow.
The next minute Likhodeev finds himself on the seashore in Yalta.
Chapter 8. The duel between the professor and the poet
A homeless man wakes up in a hospital. He understands that it is useless to rage and talk about his suspicions. Therefore, Ivan decides to remain silent, then he will be considered normal and released. But the doctor deftly asks Homeless about everything, starting with birth. The psychiatrist professor explains: Ivan will be released, but he will again end up in a “psychiatric hospital” if he starts looking for talking cats and black magicians. The Doctor invites Homeless to calm down and describe everything that happened to him. And then they will think together what can be done.
Chapter 9. Koroviev's things
The chairman of the housing association, Nikanor Ivanovich Bosogo, after the tragic death of Berlioz, was tortured by applicants for the vacant living space. He decides to escape from the petitioners and take a look at apartment number 50 in person.
In the sealed room, Bosoy is surprised to discover a citizen in a checkered jacket. He introduces himself as Koroviev, working as a translator for a foreign professor. His patron came on tour to the Variety Theater and, at the invitation of Likhodeev, temporarily lives in apartment No. 50.
Koroviev invites Nikanor Ivanovich to draw up a contract for renting the entire apartment. Barefoot agrees. In addition to the contract amount, he receives from the translator an impressive wad of new bills. As soon as the door closes behind Nikanor Ivanovich, Koroviev telephones the police that the chairman of the housing association is speculating in currency. Five minutes later, Bosoy is arrested.
Chapter 10. News from Yalta
The financial director of the Variety Theater Rimsky and the administrator Varenukha cannot understand where Likhodeev has gone. Telegrams arrive from Yalta asking to confirm Stepan's identity. Rimsky and Varenukha decide that this is a prank played by the drunken Likhodeev.
The angry director tells Varenukha to take the telegram to the police. On the way, the administrator is attacked by a red-haired, fanged citizen and a fat man who looks like a cat. They deliver Varenukha to Likhodeev’s apartment.
Chapter 11. Ivan's split
The homeless man tries to describe the incident at the Patriarch's Ponds, but he fails. Ivan begins to regret that he did not listen to the story about Pontius Pilate. Suddenly, a stranger appears on the balcony of the ward, putting his finger to his lips, urging Ivan to remain silent.
Chapter 12. Black magic and its exposure
The performance “A Session of Magic with Subsequent Exposure” begins at the Variety Theater. Woland sits down in a chair on the stage and looks at the Moscow audience with curiosity. He comes to the conclusion that people have remained the same, but they were spoiled by the housing issue.
Koroviev fires his pistol upward, and money rains down from the ceiling into the auditorium. The public rushes for banknotes, and turmoil begins in the hall. Entertainer Bengalsky tries to defuse the situation, assuring that this is mass hypnosis. But the translator claims that the money is real. Someone from the audience advises to tear off Bengal's head, which is immediately done by a huge black cat. One woman asks Woland to take pity on the entertainer, and Bengalsky's head is returned.
Koroviev announces the opening of a ladies' Parisian fashion store on stage. Here you can exchange the latest new items of the season for free for old clothes. Women rush onto the stage to dress up in Parisian chic.
Chapter 13. The appearance of a hero
A stranger enters the Homeless Man's room through the balcony door. This is a patient from the next ward who introduces himself as a master. It turns out that both ended up in a mental hospital because of Pontius Pilate. Homeless's guest wrote a novel about him.
The stranger was named master by his beloved, who was delighted with his work. But the novel was not accepted for publication, only a small excerpt was published in the magazine. Critics immediately attacked the master, and a certain Latunsky was especially furious. Desperate, the author burned his manuscripts. The beloved managed to snatch only a few pages from the fire. The master was evicted from the apartment, and then he ended up in a hospital.
Chapter 14. Glory to the Rooster!
After the professor's speech, complete confusion begins. The Parisian outfits of the ladies suddenly disappear, and half-naked women rush to hide from shame.
Rimsky decides to somehow deal with this devilry. But at this time the phone rings, and he is advised not to go anywhere or do anything. The financial director hurries to leave the theater in fear, but Varenukha enters the office and locks the door. A naked girl appears in the window and stretches out her hands to Rimsky. She breaks the glass and almost touches the financier, but then the rooster crows three times. The woman and Varenukha disappear, and Rimsky, who has turned gray with horror, urgently leaves for Leningrad.
Chapter 15. Nikanor Ivanovich's dream
Bosoy, who was arrested for currency speculation, also ends up in a psychiatric clinic because he talks nonsense during interrogation. In the hospital he has a dream: Nikanor Ivanovich is sitting in the theater hall, and on the stage the artist offers to hand over the currency. None of the spectators are burning with such a desire.
A man named Dungil is invited to the stage. He and his wife claim that they handed over all the currency. Then a girl comes out with a tray on which lies a diamond necklace and a wad of money. This is Dungil’s mistress, she kept the currency. The entertainer announces that the liar's punishment will be the wrath of his wife.
One by one, men come up to the stage and hand over money. When it’s Bosogo’s turn, he wakes up with a terrible scream.
Chapter 16. Execution
Those sentenced to death are brought to the mountain. The procurator sets up a cordon, fearing popular unrest. But the few spectators soon disperse to hide from the unbearable heat. Only Levi Matvey remains. On the way to the place of execution, he tried to save Yeshua from a painful death and for this he stole a knife from a bread shop. But Levi failed to carry out his plan. Now he begs God to give the teacher a quick death, but the torment in the sun continues. Then Levi curses God. As if a thunderstorm is gathering in response. By order of the procurator, the crucified are killed with a spear. A terrible downpour begins, the hill becomes empty. The former tax collector removes the corpses from the pillars and takes away the body of Ga-Notsri.
Chapter 17. Restless day
From the very morning, a crowd of people crowds around the Variety Theater, waiting for the box office to open. But the entire management of the theater disappeared. We have to call the police. Law enforcement officers with a search dog can explain little. Posters for the performance disappeared, as well as an agreement with a foreign magician. Therefore, the next session is cancelled.
Accountant Lastochkin goes to hand over the proceeds, but an incredible thing happens in the office: his suit is sitting in the chairman’s place and talking. A specialist in choral singing in a checkered jacket showed up at the branch, after which all the employees were taken to a mental hospital.
Lastochkin tries to hand over the proceeds, but it turns out that the rubles have turned into currency, and the accountant is immediately arrested.
Chapter 18. Unlucky Visitors
The uncle of the late Berlioz, Poplavsky, receives a telegram from his nephew calling him to his own funeral. He has views of Berlioz's living space, and therefore urgently leaves.
In his nephew’s apartment, an astonished relative meets Koroviev, who sobs about Mikhail’s absurd death. When asked who sent the telegram, they point to the cat. Having examined Poplavsky’s passport, the cat announces that there is no place for his uncle at the funeral or in the apartment. Poplavsky is pushed out the door.
On the landing, the uncle meets the bartender Variety, who comes to Woland with a complaint that all the money in the cash register has turned into labels.
Part two
Chapter 19. Margarita
The master's beloved Margarita yearns in her husband's rich apartment. She dreamed of her beloved, whom the woman had been looking for for a long time and unsuccessfully.
Walking around Moscow, Margarita sees Berlioz's funeral. Azazello approaches her and talks about the stolen head of a dead man. He invites the woman to visit a foreigner, from whom she can learn about her lover. Margarita agrees. The red-haired man gives her a magic cream with instructions for its use.
Chapter 20. Azazello cream
Naked Margarita is smeared with cream at the specified time and turns into a beautiful witch. She writes a farewell note to her husband, gives her clothes to the housekeeper Natasha, sits on the floor brush and flies out the window, as Azazello advised.
Chapter 21. Flight
Flying past the house where the critic Latunsky lives, Margarita causes a pogrom in his apartment. Soon Natasha catches up with the woman on a fat hog. She admits that she smeared herself with the remaining cream. Borov is their neighbor Nikolai Ivanovich, who saw the girl and began to seduce her with money. The naughty Natasha smeared the cream on him too.
Soon Margarita arrives at the Sabbath, where she is greeted with great respect. A car is sent for the woman, which transports the newly-minted witch to Moscow by air.
Chapter 22. By candlelight
Koroviev takes the guest to the “bad apartment” and says that every year Satan throws a ball in one of the capitals. This year the celebration will take place in Moscow, and Margarita will be the hostess here. Inside the apartment there are huge ballrooms.
Woland plays chess with the cat Behemoth in the bedroom. The woman meets Koroviev and the witch Gella and helps rub ointment on Woland’s sore knee.
Chapter 23. Satan's Great Ball
Margarita is bathed in blood and then in rose oil. Naked, wearing heavy jewelry, she greets guests. Skeletons tumble into the hall through the fireplace and transform into brilliant ladies and gentlemen. The guests take turns kissing Margarita’s knee, and soon it swells, bringing unbearable pain. But the prom queen continues to smile sweetly.
Margarita's attention is attracted by a guest with sad eyes. The hippopotamus explains that the woman's name is Frida. She was seduced by her master and gave birth to a child. But then she strangled the baby with a handkerchief. Now every morning Frida is given this scarf.
The ball continues, Margarita pays attention to the guests. Then Woland appears in the hall with Berlioz's head, which turns into a bowl.
An employee of the Entertainment Commission, Baron Meigel, a spy and an earpiece, appears. He himself asked to visit Woland in order to find out everything about the mysterious foreigner. Maigel is killed by Azazello with a shot in the heart, and Woland fills the cup with blood and drinks. Midnight comes, the guests leave.
Chapter 24. Extracting the Master
Dinner is served in the bedroom of apartment No. 50. Margarita, Woland and his retinue are resting after a tiring ball. Woland promises to fulfill one of Margarita's wishes as a reward for her role as queen of the ball. The woman asks that Frida no longer be given a handkerchief. Her wish is granted, but Woland suggests asking for something for herself. And Margarita asks to return her beloved.
The master immediately appears in the room. Aloysius Mogarych, who reported about the madness of the former tenant, is expelled from the basement where he previously lived in order to occupy his living space. Woland returns the master's burnt manuscript, releases Varenukha, who did not like being a vampire, and leaves Natasha as a witch at her request.
Soon the master is sleeping in his basement, and Margarita is re-reading the restored manuscript.
Chapter 25. How the procurator tried to save Judas
The head of the secret service, Afranius, comes to Pontius Pilate and reports that the execution has been completed. The procurator orders to urgently and secretly bury those executed, and also to take care of the safety of Judas from Kiriath, who may be stabbed to death at night. So Pontius Pilate hints that he would like to see the informer dead.
Chapter 26. Burial
Afranius carries out the order of the procurator and reports on the death of Judas. They find Matthew Levi with the body of Yeshua, and they bury all those executed.
Pontius Pilate bitterly regrets that he could not save Ha-Nozri. He has a dream in which Yeshua did not die. The procurator wants to see Levi Matvey. He offers the former tax collector a position as his librarian, but he refuses.
Chapter 27. The end of apartment No. 50
The investigation into Woland’s case is very active. Many witnesses were questioned, including Varenukha and Likhodeev. Entertainers Bengalsky, Bosoy and Bezdomny were discovered in Stravinsky's clinic.
It was decided to take the gang holed up in apartment No. 50. The police officers were fooled by Behemoth for some time, then he set the apartment on fire. In the smoke, people see three male and one female silhouettes flying out of the window.
