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Woland- one of the main characters of Mikhail Bulgakov's novel The Master and Margarita.

Name

Woland Bulgakov got his name from Goethe's Mephistopheles. In the poem " Faust"It sounds only once, when Mephistopheles asks the evil spirits to part and give him the way: "Nobleman Woland is coming!" In ancient 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."

The description given to Woland in the novel is eloquent. However, do not forget that Woland subsequently develops lameness. And it is an integral attribute of his appearance. There are many reasons. But it is especially worth emphasizing the fact that both Woland and his entire retinue are the owners of some kind of defect in appearance (Fagot-Koroviev is incredibly narrow in the shoulders, Behemoth is excessively fat, Azazello has a fang sticking out of his mouth and an eyesore, Gella’s neck disfigured by a nightmarish scar; in addition, Koroviev wears a cracked pince-nez, and Behemoth in human form walks in torn and dirty clothes).

The presence of defects in appearance is nothing more than a mockery of the biblical rules taken from the Old Testament, as well as the rules established in the Christian church. As you know, the events of the novel that took place in Moscow, as well as the ball held by Satan on the eve of Easter, were nothing more than a large-scale black mass dedicated to black Easter - the exodus of the forces of evil into the world. Consequently, both Woland and each of the members of his retinue fulfilled their role in this "sacred rite", the satanic liturgy. According to the book of Leviticus (ch. 21), one who has any physical handicap, including an acquired one, does not have the right to be a priest. As we can see, Woland, as a dark high priest, has several shortcomings in appearance at once: false teeth, crooked mouth, multi-colored eyes, lameness. And we must pay tribute to the peculiar "delicacy" of Woland in explaining this lameness. However, according to rabbinical literature, the lameness of the Devil is by no means an ache in the bones (a spirit cannot have bodily illnesses), the reason is simpler: the same rules apply to angels, as to assisting the Divine priesthood, as to people - the absence of defects, including and appearance. And during the overthrow of Satan and his helpers from the Kingdom of Heaven, Satan injured his leg and thereby lost forever the right to participate in worship before God. In Orthodoxy, there is one more rule that concerns blood: no more blood should be shed in the temple, for the blood of Christ, shed on Golgotha, was the last bloody sacrifice for the redemption of mankind. It is no coincidence that if the priest bleeds, there is a cut or something else happens that causes bleeding, the priest is obliged to suspend the service, leave the temple, and only when the blood flow ends, continue the service from the place where it stopped. At Satan's ball, we see the opposite picture: Margarita is washed with blood twice during the ball; Baron Meigel is killed and his blood is used as communion wine, etc.

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 the "gods" are spoken of in the plural. Literary scholars have found similarities in the world of the novel with the Manichean 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 critic V. Ya. Lakshin, "it is difficult to imagine anything flatter, one-dimensional, far from the nature of art than such an interpretation of Bulgakov's novel."

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 with 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 are important 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 way. 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.

At the beginning of 1806, Nikolai Rostov returned on vacation. Denisov was also going home to Voronezh, and Rostov persuaded him to go with him to Moscow and stay at their house. At the penultimate station, having met a comrade, Denisov drank three bottles of wine with him and, approaching Moscow, despite the bumps in the road, did not wake up, lying at the bottom of the sledge, near Rostov, which, as it approached Moscow, came more and more into impatience.
“Soon? Is it soon? Oh, these unbearable streets, shops, rolls, lanterns, cabbies! thought Rostov, when they had already written down their holidays at the outpost and drove into Moscow.
- Denisov, come! Asleep! he said, leaning forward with his whole body, as if by this position he hoped to speed up the movement of the sleigh. Denisov did not respond.
- Here is the corner of the crossroads where Zakhar the cab driver is standing; here he is and Zakhar, and still the same horse. Here is the shop where the gingerbread was bought. Is it soon? Well!
- Which house is that? asked the coachman.
- Yes, at the end, to the big one, how can you not see! This is our house, - said Rostov, - after all, this is our house! Denisov! Denisov! We'll come now.
Denisov raised his head, cleared his throat, and said nothing.
“Dmitry,” Rostov turned to the lackey in the box. “Is this our fire?”
- So exactly with and with daddy in the office glows.
- Haven't gone to bed yet? A? How do you think? Look, don’t forget, get me a new Hungarian at once, ”added Rostov, feeling his new mustache. “Come on, let’s go,” he shouted to the driver. “Wake up, Vasya,” he turned to Denisov, who lowered his head again. - Come on, let's go, three rubles for vodka, let's go! Rostov shouted when the sleigh was already three houses from the entrance. It seemed to him that the horses were not moving. Finally the sleigh was taken to the right to the entrance; above his head, Rostov saw a familiar cornice with broken plaster, a porch, a sidewalk pillar. He jumped out of the sleigh on the move and ran into the passage. The house also stood motionless, unfriendly, as if it didn't care who came to it. There was no one in the vestibule. "My God! is everything all right?" thought Rostov, stopping for a minute with a sinking heart, and at once starting to run further along the passage and the familiar, crooked steps. The same doorknob of the castle, for the uncleanliness of which the countess was angry, also weakly opened. A single tallow candle burned in the hallway.
Old man Mikhail was sleeping on the chest. Prokofy, the visiting lackey, the one who was so strong that he lifted the carriage by the back, sat and knitted bast shoes from the hems. He glanced at the open door, and his indifferent, sleepy expression suddenly changed into ecstatic fright.
- Fathers, lights! Count young! he exclaimed, recognizing the young master. – What is it? My dove! - And Prokofy, shaking with excitement, rushed to the door to the living room, probably in order to announce, but apparently again changed his mind, returned back and leaned on the shoulder of the young master.
– Healthy? Rostov asked, pulling his hand away from him.
- God bless! All thanks to God! just ate now! Let me see you, Your Excellency!
- Is everything all right?
- Thank God, thank God!
Rostov, completely forgetting about Denisov, not wanting to let anyone warn him, threw off his fur coat and ran on tiptoe into a dark, large hall. Everything is the same, the same card tables, the same chandelier in a case; but someone had already seen the young gentleman, and before he had time to run to the living room, something swiftly, like a storm, flew out of the side door and hugged and began to kiss him. Another, third, similar creature jumped out of another, third door; More hugs, more kisses, more cries, more tears of joy. He could not make out where and who is dad, who is Natasha, who is Petya. Everyone was screaming and talking and kissing him at the same time. Only his mother was not among them - he remembered that.
- But I didn’t know ... Nikolushka ... my friend!
- Here he is ... ours ... My friend, Kolya ... He has changed! No candles! Tea!
- Kiss me then!
- Darling ... but me.
Sonya, Natasha, Petya, Anna Mikhailovna, Vera, the old count, embraced him; and people and maids, having filled the rooms, sentenced and gasped.
Petya hung on his feet. - And then me! he shouted. Natasha, after she, bending him to her, kissed his whole face, jumped away from him and holding on to the floor of his Hungarian, jumped like a goat all in one place and squealed piercingly.
From all sides there were tears of joy shining with tears, loving eyes, from all sides there were lips looking for a kiss.
Sonya, red as red, also held on to his hand and beamed all over in a blissful look fixed on his eyes, which she was waiting for. Sonya was already 16 years old, and she was very beautiful, especially at this moment of happy, enthusiastic animation. She looked at him, not taking her eyes off, smiling and holding her breath. He looked at her gratefully; but still waiting and looking for someone. The old countess hasn't come out yet. And then there were footsteps at the door. The steps are so fast that they couldn't have been his mother's.
But it was she in a new dress, unfamiliar to him, sewn without him. Everyone left him and he ran to her. When they came together, she fell on his chest sobbing. She could not raise her face and only pressed him against the cold laces of his Hungarian coat. Denisov, not noticed by anyone, entered the room, stood right there and, looking at them, rubbed his eyes.
“Vasily Denisov, your son’s friend,” he said, introducing himself to the count, who looked at him inquiringly.
- Welcome. I know, I know,” said the count, kissing and hugging Denisov. - Nikolushka wrote ... Natasha, Vera, here he is Denisov.
The same happy, enthusiastic faces turned to the shaggy figure of Denisov and surrounded him.
- My dear, Denisov! - Natasha squealed, beside herself with delight, jumped up to him, hugged and kissed him. Everyone was embarrassed by Natasha's act. Denisov also blushed, but smiled and took Natasha's hand and kissed it.
Denisov was taken to the room prepared for him, and the Rostovs all gathered in the sofa near Nikolushka.
The old countess, without letting go of his hand, which she kissed every minute, sat next to him; the rest, crowding around them, caught his every movement, word, glance, and did not take their eyes off him with enthusiastic love. The brother and sisters argued and intercepted places from each other closer to him, and fought over who would bring him tea, a handkerchief, a pipe.
Rostov was very happy with the love he was shown; but the first minute of his meeting was so blissful that it seemed to him that his present happiness was not enough, and he kept waiting for something more, and more, and more.
The next morning the visitors slept off the road until 10 o'clock.
In the previous room, sabers, bags, carts, open suitcases, dirty boots were lying around. The cleaned two pairs with spurs had just been placed against the wall. Servants brought washstands, hot water for shaving, and washed dresses. It smelled of tobacco and men.
- Hey, G "bitch, t" ubku! shouted the hoarse voice of Vaska Denisov. - Rostov, get up!
Rostov, rubbing his eyes that were stuck together, lifted his tangled head from the hot pillow.
- What's late? “It’s late, 10 o’clock,” Natasha’s voice answered, and in the next room there was a rustling of starched dresses, a whisper and laughter of girlish voices, and something blue, ribbons, black hair and cheerful faces flashed through the slightly open door. It was Natasha with Sonya and Petya, who came to see if he got up.
- Nicholas, get up! Natasha's voice was heard again at the door.
- Now!
At this time, Petya, in the first room, seeing and grabbing sabers, and experiencing the delight that boys experience at the sight of a warlike older brother, and forgetting that it is indecent for sisters to see undressed men, opened the door.
- Is that your sword? he shouted. The girls jumped back. Denisov, with frightened eyes, hid his shaggy legs in a blanket, looking around for help at his comrade. The door let Petya through and closed again. There was laughter outside the door.
- Nikolenka, come out in a dressing gown, - Natasha's voice said.
- Is that your sword? Petya asked, “or is it yours?” - with obsequious respect he turned to the mustachioed, black Denisov.
Rostov hurriedly put on his shoes, put on a dressing gown and went out. Natasha put on one boot with a spur and climbed into the other. Sonya was spinning and just wanted to inflate her dress and sit down when he came out. Both were in the same, brand new, blue dresses - fresh, ruddy, cheerful. Sonya ran away, and Natasha, taking her brother by the arm, led him into the sofa room, and they started talking. They did not have time to ask each other and answer questions about thousands of little things that could interest only them alone. Natasha laughed at every word that he said and that she said, not because what they said was funny, but because she had fun and was unable to restrain her joy, expressed in laughter.
- Oh, how good, excellent! she said to everything. Rostov felt how, under the influence of the hot rays of love, for the first time in a year and a half, that childish smile blossomed in his soul and face, which he had never smiled since he left home.
“No, listen,” she said, “are you quite a man now? I'm awfully glad you're my brother. She touched his mustache. - I want to know what kind of men you are? Are they like us? No?
Why did Sonya run away? Rostov asked.
- Yes. That's another whole story! How will you talk to Sonya? You or you?
“How will it happen,” said Rostov.
Tell her, please, I'll tell you later.
- Yes, what?
- Well, I'll tell you now. You know that Sonya is my friend, such a friend that I would burn my hand for her. Here look. - She rolled up her muslin sleeve and showed on her long, thin and delicate handle under her shoulder, much higher than the elbow (in the place that is sometimes covered by ball gowns) a red mark.
“I burned this to prove my love to her. I just kindled the ruler on fire, and pressed it.
Sitting in his former classroom, on the sofa with pillows on the handles, and looking into Natasha's desperately animated eyes, Rostov again entered that family, children's world, which had no meaning for anyone except for him, but which gave him one of the best pleasures in life; and burning his hand with a ruler, to show love, seemed to him not useless: he understood and was not surprised at this.
– So what? only? - he asked.
- Well, so friendly, so friendly! Is this nonsense - a ruler; but we are forever friends. She will love someone, so forever; but I don't understand it, I'll forget it now.
- Well, so what?
Yes, she loves me and you so much. - Natasha suddenly blushed, - well, you remember, before leaving ... So she says that you forget it all ... She said: I will always love him, but let him be free. After all, the truth is that this is excellent, noble! - Yes Yes? very noble? Yes? Natasha asked so seriously and excitedly that it was clear that what she was saying now, she had previously said with tears.
Rostov thought.
“I don’t take back my word in anything,” he said. - And besides, Sonya is so charming that what kind of fool would refuse his happiness?

WOLAND

The character of the novel "The Master and Margarita", who leads the world of otherworldly forces. V. 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). V. is largely focused on Mephistopheles Faust (1808–1832) by Johann Wolfgang Goethe (1749–1832), including the opera from Charles Gounod’s (1818–1893) opera Faust (1859). 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 (1902), with the text of which Bulgakov was familiar, this passage 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 try to remember the name of the magician: “- In ... It seems, Woland.

Or maybe not Woland? Maybe Faland.

In the edition of 1929-1930. V.'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. A rare name was needed so that an ordinary reader not experienced in demonology would not immediately guess who V. was. The third wife of the writer 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: Moscow Art Theater. - B. S.) and Vilenkin (Vitaly Yakovlevich Vilenkin (born in 1910/11), a colleague of Pavel Alexandrovich Markov (1897-1980) in the literary part of the Moscow Art Theater. - B. S.) Misha read The Master and Margarita - at first. 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 A. M. Faiko V. did not immediately guess. Consequently, the mystery of the foreign professor who appeared at the Patriarch's Ponds will keep the majority of readers of The Master and Margarita in suspense from the very beginning. It should be noted that in early editions Bulgakov tried the names Azazello and Veliar for the future V..

The literary genealogy of V., used by Bulgakov, is extremely multifaceted. The devil in The Master and Margarita has an obvious portrait resemblance to Eduard Eduardovich von Mandro, the infernal character in A. Bely's novel The Moscow Eccentric (1925), presented to Bulgakov by the author. According to the definition given by A. Bely in the preface to the novel "Masks" (1933) 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 The Iron Heel (the famous novel by Jack London (John Griffith) (1876-1916), which appeared in 1908 - B.S.) is becoming obsolete ( 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 hides the true face of V. only at the very beginning of the novel, in order to intrigue readers, and then directly declares through the lips of the Master and V. himself that Satan (the devil) has definitely arrived at the Patriarch's. The version with hypnotists and mass hypnosis, which V. and his companions allegedly subjected to Muscovites, is also present in The Master and Margarita. But its purpose is by no means a disguise. Thus, Bulgakov expresses the ability and desire of ordinary Soviet consciousness to explain any inexplicable phenomena of the surrounding life, up to mass repressions and the disappearance of people without a trace. The author of The Master and Margarita, as it were, says: even if the devil himself with his infernal retinue appears in Moscow, the competent authorities and Marxist theorists, like the chairman of MASSOLIT Mikhail Alexandrovich Berlioz, 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 everyone of this, including those who have experienced the effects of evil spirits. Bulgakov could not be familiar with the theory (or principle) of falsification by the outstanding Austrian philosopher Karl Raimund Popper (1902-1993), which appeared after the death of the creator of The Master and Margarita. Popper proved that Marxist theory, as well as the teachings of psychoanalysis of the Austrian Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), are capable of explaining in their terms any phenomenon and any result of any process, so that in principle it is impossible to offer any procedure for their experimental verification. In The Master and Margarita, Bulgakov, as it were, satirically anticipated Popper's theory.

Like Mandro, Woland, according to Koroviev-Fagot, owns a villa in Nice. This detail reflected not only the acquaintance with the "Moscow Eccentric" and the symbolic significance of Nice as a resort where rich people from all over the world rest, but also the circumstances of Bulgakov's biography. In the spring of 1934, before starting work on the screenplay for Dead Souls, the writer and his wife applied for a two-month trip abroad, to France. In a letter to his friend P.S. Popov on April 28, Bulgakov shared his old dreams in connection with this: “For a long time I have been dreaming of the Mediterranean wave, and Parisian museums, and a quiet hotel, and no friends, and Molière’s fountain, and cafes, and - in a word, the opportunity to see all this. For a long time already with Lyusya (E. S. Bulgakova. - B. S.) I was talking about what kind of trip I could write! The beginning of the future book was the sketch "It was May." On May 10, 1934, still full of hopes for a trip abroad, Bulgakov, as she recorded the next day in E. S. Bulgakov’s diary, to the stupid proposal of the director of the film “Dead Souls” I. A. Pyryev (1901-1968): “You would, M.A., go to the factory, would have a look ... ", jokingly answered:

“It's very noisy at the factory, and I'm tired, ill. You better send me to Nice.” After a humiliating refusal to travel abroad, the author of The Master and Margarita fell into a depression. I had to part with the dream of Nice forever. But V. now received a villa in this resort.

V.'s unconventionality is manifested in the fact that, being a devil, he is endowed with some obvious attributes of God. Bulgakov was well acquainted with the book of the English church historian and bishop F. W. Farrar, The Life of Jesus Christ (1873). Extracts from it have been preserved in the writer's archive (see: Christianity). This book, obviously, goes back to the episode when the barman of the Variety Theater Sokov learns from V. about his incurable illness and imminent death, but still refuses to spend his considerable savings. In F. W. Farrar we read: “How rich, for all its brevity, is what He told ... a little parable about a rich fool who, in his greedy, God-forgetting presumptuous self-interest, intended to do both and who, completely forgetting that there is death and that the soul cannot eat bread, he thought that these “fruits”, “good” and “granaries” would be enough for his soul for a long time and that it was enough for him only to “eat, drink and be merry”, but to which, like a terrible echo, a stunning and a sentence full of irony: “Mad! this very night your soul will be taken from you; Who will get what you have prepared? (Luke XII, 16-21)." In The Master and Margarita, V. 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 ... This comes out to a round bill of twenty-seven thousand a month (for comparison: Bulgakov’s salary as a consultant librettist of the Bolshoi Theater in the late 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. V. ironically invites him to become like a "rich fool." Likewise, Berlioz, thinking only about the blessings of life, like the upcoming trip to rest in Kislovodsk, did not heed the warning voice of V., convincing the writers that “Christ existed” and that a person is “suddenly mortal”, and immediately experienced the proof on himself: to the chairman of MASSOLIT , in full accordance with the words of Satan, cut off his head with a tram. In place of the rich hedonist were a swindler-miser and a writer-opportunist.

Through the book of F. V. Farrar, it is also possible to comprehend one of the meanings of the diamond triangle on cigarette case V. The author of The Life of Jesus Christ wrote: “To show them (the chief priests, scribes, rabbis, representatives of all classes of the Sanhedrin - the highest Jewish judicial body. - B. S.), that Scripture itself prophetically denounces them, Christ asked if they had never read in Scripture (Ps. CXVII) about a stone that was rejected by the builders, but which nevertheless, according to the miraculous purposes of God, became the head 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, would that not mean "to perish completely at the presence of the Lord?" To sit on the seat of judgment and condemn Him meant to bring destruction on oneself and on the people; but to be condemned by Him—wouldn't that mean being "ground to dust" (Dan. II, 34-44)?"

The V. 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 F.V. Farrar. Mikhail Alexandrovich Berlioz and Ivan Bezdomny, sitting on a bench (“seat of court”), again, nineteen centuries later, judge Christ and reject his divinity (Bezdomny) and his very existence (Berlioz). Triangle V. is another 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 destroy V. with a denunciation - and paid for it with a quick death. Also, the listeners of Christ and their descendants, as F.V. 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 V. and the story of Pilate and Yeshua Ha-Nozri, but then he agreed with the official version that Satan and his retinue were only hypnotists. The poet Ivan Bezdomny turned into Professor Ivan Nikolaevich Ponyrev, parodically finding his own house (the surname is associated with the Ponyri station in the Kursk region) and, as it were, becoming a “different” builder. V.’s words about the new building to be built should be taken in the same context. on the site of the burnt Griboyedov House - a symbol of modern Soviet literature. However, the temple of new literature will have to be built according to the providence not of God, but of V. The new builder Ponyrev generally renounced poetry and believed in his own omniscience.

Note that in Masonic symbolism, the triangle goes back to the legend that develops the parable of Solomon's temple. The V. triangle is therefore related to Freemasonry. Note that the hero of the "Moscow Eccentric" Mandro is also a Freemason. Like Eduard Eduardovich, V. through literary sources is associated with the image of a famous adventurer, occultist and alchemist of the 18th century. Count Alessandro Cagliostro, who pretended to be the Italian Giuseppe (Joseph) Balsamo (1743-1795). The episode with the burning of the Griboyedov House and V.'s words about the inevitable future construction of a new building in its place is very reminiscent of one of the scenes from the fictionalized story by Mikhail Kuzmin (1872-1936) "The Wonderful Life of Joseph Balsamo, Count of Cagliostro" (1916), which largely served Bulgakov exemplary in the writing 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 on "you" and, moreover, 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, V. appears either in a gray suit or in the black tights of the operatic Mephistopheles. On the Patriarchs, in a conversation with V. Bezdomny is endowed with the same features 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 bring to mind Freemasonry, since Freemasons are freemasons, the builders of the Solomon Temple, and V. is also associated with Masonic symbols and rituals. However, the goal of V. 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) (1807-1893) "Conversation in Trianon" (1849). As the second wife of Bulgakov L.E. told us. Belozerskaya, the name of the poetess was widely known in the circle of friends and acquaintances where the writer moved in the 1920s. "Conversation in Trianon" is built in the form of a conversation between Count Honore Mirabeau (1749-1791) 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

Inheritance of the proceeds of rights".

V. also criticizes the bureaucratic optimism of the “enlightened” in the Marxist way Berlioz from the standpoint of knowledge of millennia of human history: “Let me ask you, how can a person govern if he is not only deprived of the opportunity to draw up any plan, even for a ridiculously short period, well, let’s say a thousand years, but he can’t even vouch for his own tomorrow?” Like Cagliostro, V. points to the unpredictability of human actions, often leading to results that are directly opposite to those that were expected, 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 the full sense of the word with his head.

Between Cagliostro from the "Conversation in Trianon" and V. there is a portrait resemblance. Cagliostro "was the son of the south, / A strange man in appearance: / Tall, like a flexible sword, / Mouth with a cold smile, / A sharp eye from under quick eyelids." V. - "He was ... simply tall," repeatedly fixed his piercing green eye on Berlioz and laughed with a strange laugh. At some point, it seems to the homeless man that V.'s cane has turned into a sword, and V. leans on the sword during the Great Ball with Satan, when Margarita sees that "the skin on Woland's face seemed to be burned forever by a tan." This really makes Satan look like a native of the warm southern regions.

Like V. on the Patriarchs, the infernal Cagliostro 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 will I let you in according to the charter?” -

"Let the robber Barabbas go!"

An insane roar erupted from the crowd.

We note that in the story of V., 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 the denunciation of Joseph Kaifa Caesar Tiberius (43 or 42 BC - 37 AD). In the 1929 edition, the vocabulary of the dialogue between V. and Berlioz was even closer to Cagliostro's monologue:

“Tell me, please,” Berlioz suddenly asked, “that means, in your opinion, shouting “crucify him!” did not have?

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 (here the name is deliberately given, associated with the Christian tradition - in the 1920s, the headquarters of the Moscow Military District was indeed located on Prechistenka, the head of which was the second husband of E. S. Bulgakova E. A. Shilovsky, and at A tribunal was supposed to work at the headquarters. - B. S.), and suddenly, imagine, the audience begins to howl: “shoot, shoot him!” She is immediately removed 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 V. Bulgakov, he argues with the "Conversation in Trianon". The author of The Master and Margarita, having behind him the experience of revolution and civil war, came to the conclusion that the mob by itself does not solve anything, because it is directed by leaders pursuing their own goals, which K. Pavlova and other Russian intellectuals of the mid-19th century were not aware of. century, considering the people, the crowd, as a self-contained elemental factor in the course and outcome of historical events. Engineer V. also parodies the numerous calls at public meetings and in the 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 trial took place in Moscow in May-July 1928. Then five of the defendants were sentenced to death.

The image of V. is polemical in relation to the view of the devil, which was defended in the book “The Pillar and Ground of Truth” (1914) by the philosopher and theologian P.A. Florensky: “Sin is fruitless, because it is not life, but death. And death drags 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 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 edition of 1929-1930. V. 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 names, for example. The homeless man is a “pig liar”, and to the barman of the Variety Theater Sokov, pretendingly complaining: “Ah, the bastard people in Moscow!” - and whiningly begging on his knees: "Do not destroy the orphan." However, in the final text of The Master and Margarita, V. became different, “majestic and regal”, close to the tradition of Lord George Byron (1788-1824) and Johann Wolfgang Goethe, Mikhail Lermontov (1814-1841) and The Demon (1841) who illustrated it ) artist Mikhail Vrubel (1856-1910).

V. gives different explanations of the goals of his stay in Moscow to different characters in contact with him. He tells Berlioz and Bezdomny that he came to study the found manuscripts of Herbert of Avrilak (938-1003), a medieval scholar who, even after becoming Pope Sylvester II in 999, combined his duties with an interest in white, or natural, magic in unlike black magic, directed to people for the good, and not for harm. In the edition of 1929-1930. V. directly called himself a specialist in white magic, like Herbert Avrilak-sky (in the final text, V. already speaks of black magic). To the employees of the Variety Theater and the house manager Nikanor Ivanovich Bosom, V. explains his visit 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, before the start of the Great Ball with Satan, reports that the purpose of the visit of V. and his retinue to Moscow is to hold this ball, whose hostess must certainly bear the name Margarita and be of royal blood. According to assistant V., out of one hundred and twenty-one Margaritas, no one is suitable, except for the heroine of the novel. V. has many faces, as befits the devil, and in conversations with different people puts on different masks, gives completely dissimilar answers about the goals of his mission. Meanwhile, all the versions given serve only to disguise the true intention - to extract the brilliant Master and his beloved from Moscow, as well as the manuscript of the novel about Pontius Pilate. The seance of black magic itself was partly needed by V. 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, V.’s omniscience of Satan 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” - V. Therefore, V.’s surprise when after the Great Ball with Satan he “ learns” from the Master the theme of his novel is just another mask. The actions of V. 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, who is being recovered from the hospital, and with his beloved to determine their fate.

The appearance of V. and his retinue at the Patriarch's Ponds is given by the author of The Master and Margarita in the tradition of Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann (1776-1822), the creator of philosophical and mystical fiction, the first in this genre among the galaxy of German romantics, the author of sharp satires on the townsfolk. V., Koroviev-Fagot and Behemoth literally “were woven out of thin air”. Here we recall the feuilleton "The Capital in a Notebook" (1923), where there is a specific reference to the literary source:

“... A policeman was woven from the air. Positively, it was something Hoffmannian. The scene at the Patriarchs echoes Hoffmann's novel The Elixir of Satan (1815-1816). In the preface to it, the action takes place in the alley of the park when "scarlet, like heat, the sun sets on the crest." The author invites the reader to share a company with him on a stone bench under the canopy of plane trees, where "with inexplicable longing we would look at the blue bizarre masses of mountains." The narration in "The Elixir of Satan" is conducted on behalf of the publisher of notes compiled by the Capuchin monk Medard. Through the mouth of this narrator, Hoffman reflects: “Our dreams and fantasies, as we usually call them, are, perhaps, only a symbolic revelation of the essence of the mysterious threads that stretch through our whole life and bind together all its manifestations; and I thought that the one 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. The publisher admonishes the reader: “You are all filled with a mysterious trembling inspired by the miracles of 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 a mood, you would 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, was falling in a dry fog somewhere beyond the Garden Ring. Before the appearance of V. and his retinue, Berlioz embraces "an inexplicable languor" - an unconscious premonition of imminent death. In the 1929 edition, V. said that “the daughter of the night, Moira, has spun her thread” (Moira is the ancient Greek goddess of fate), hinting that the “mysterious thread” of the fate of the chairman of MASSOLIT will soon be interrupted. Berlioz is doomed to death, because he arrogantly believed that his knowledge allows him to unconditionally deny both God and the devil, and the living themselves, who do not fit into the framework of theories, the foundations of life. V. presented him with the "seventh proof" of the opposite: the writer was overtaken by fate in the form of Annushka-Chuma, who inadvertently spilled sunflower oil on the rails, and the girl-car driver, who therefore failed to slow down.

V. 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" (1841) - an integral part of the novel "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, which, leaving a man (“possessed”), entered a herd of pigs. The flock then threw themselves off a cliff and perished (Luke VIII, 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 who demands the soul of the fatalist Vulich when, to the question of the lieutenant: “Whom are you looking for, brother?”, the Cossack answers: “You!” and kill 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, V., like the earlier infernal Rock in "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.

V. has another prototype - from Bulgakov's contemporary version of Faust. Written by the writer and journalist Emil Lvovich Mindlin (1900-1981) “The Beginning of the Novel The Return of Doctor Faust” (there was no continuation; after the Second World War, Emil Lvovich wrote a new edition of this novel, still unpublished) was published in 1923 in the same 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 of the early edition of The Master and Margarita, lives in Moscow, from where he later leaves for Germany. There he meets Mephistopheles, on whose business card italicized in black and white: "Professor Mephistopheles." In the same way, V. has “Professor Woland” on his business card. In the 1929 edition, this inscription is quoted in Latin, but is not reproduced in the final text: the writers at the Patriarch's see it on a business card, but do not remember it. The portrait of V. in many respects repeats the portrait of Mephistopheles from Mindlin’s novel: “In total ... her face was most remarkable in the figure, in the face the nose was the most remarkable, for it had an unusually precise shape and was not very common among noses. This shape was a rectangular triangle, the hypotenuse upwards, and the angle of the straight line fell above the upper lip, which would never be combined with the lower one, 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, V. 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 a different eye color, which was also present at Lieutenant Myshlaevsky in the novel The White Guard: sparkles, like a Ural gem, and the left one is dark ... ”From the memoirs of Bulgakov’s first wife, T. N. Lapp, it is known that Nikolai Syngaevsky, a friend of the writer’s youth, served as the prototype for Myshlaevsky. However, most likely, the eyes of the prototype were of the same color, and Bulgakov simply gave both Myshlaevsky and V. different eyes, traditional for the devil, in order to emphasize the infernality of both heroes.

Mindlin's surname is Mephistopheles, and the name of a professor from Prague (the same foreigner in Germany as V. in Russia) is Conrad-Christopher. In the 1929 edition, V. was called Theodore, which was also reflected on his business card. Interestingly, both names turn out to be paradoxically connected with God. Christopher means "Christ-bearer" in Greek, which Mindlin has a parodic meaning. 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, and therefore the continuation of the novel did not see the light of day. Bulgakov V. in early editions was called Theodore, which in ancient Greek means "God's gift."

Here it is not only a parody, but also an indication of V.'s connection with Yeshua Ga-Notsri, who decides the fate of the Master and Margarita, but V asks to fulfill this decision. Such a “complementarity” of God and the devil goes back, in particular, to the “Travel Pictures” (1826-1831) - the main journalistic work of the German poet, satirist and romantic Heinrich Heine (1797-1856). 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 "the Lord God created too little money" - this explains the existence of world evil. V. in an imaginary way makes up for the imaginary lack of money, presenting the crowd with gold coins, which later turn into simple pieces of paper. In "Travel Pictures" Heine paints a vivid picture of how God borrowed money from the devil on the pledge of the Universe during the creation of the world. 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, Witzliputli becomes secretary of state, the old grandmother receives colonies, etc. These allies then begin to manage in their own way, and since, despite the evil will in the depths of their hearts, they, for their own benefit, are forced to strive for the good of the world, they reward themselves for this compulsion by using the most vile means for good ends. ".

In the early edition of The Master and Margarita, 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. Orlov "The History of Relations between a Man and the Devil" (1904), were left, including those mentioned by Heine Samiel , Beelzebub, as well as "Addramalech - 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.

Heine ironically played on that passage from Goethe's Faust, which became the epigraph to The Master and Margarita:

“... so who are you, finally? “I am part of that force that always wants evil and always does good.” In the author of Travel Pictures, on the contrary, 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 V., like the hero Goethe, wishing evil, must do good. In order to get the Master with his novel, he punishes the opportunistic writer Berlioz, the traitor Baron Meigel and many petty crooks, such as the thief barmaid Sokov or the grabber-manager Nikanor Ivanovich 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 Ha-Notsri, 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. V. 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 of 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 headless entertainer.

The dialectical unity, the complementarity of good and evil is most fully revealed in the words of V., 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 do not recognize shadows, and also 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, the philosophical treatise of the French writer, Nobel Prize winner Anatole France (Thibaut) (1867-1923) Epicurus Garden (1894) 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 unknown to Bulgakov - the novel by the infamous and highly revered by Anatole France Marquis Donatien Alphonse Francois de Sade (1740-1814) "New Justine" (1797) , where, together with Voltaire (Marie Francois Arouet) (1694-1778), the author rhetorically asked: “... Don’t people with a more philosophical mindset have the right to say, following the angel Jezrad from Zadig (Voltaire’s story Zadig, or Fate (1748. - B.S.), that there is no such evil that would not give rise to good, and that, based on this, they can do evil when they please, since it is essentially nothing other than 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,” asked Zadig, “then it is necessary that there be crimes and disasters and that they 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 eternally dwells, to whom 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 personify the two "eternal principles" of 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 V. in Bulgakov, and the author of The Master and Margarita, unlike Voltaire, was not a rigid determinist, therefore V. punishes Berlioz just for neglecting the random.

V. fulfills the orders of Yeshua Ha-Notsri - in such an original way Bulgakov realizes the complementarity of the good and the evil. 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 (1836). It was noted there that “the Yezidis think that God commands, but the execution of their commands entrusts the power of the devil” (this passage was first included in the collected works of A.S. Pushkin in 1931 and hardly passed the attention of the creator of the play “Alexander Pushkin” ). Yeshua, through Levi Matthew, asks V. 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 V., peace surpasses the “bare light”, because it leaves an opportunity for creativity, which Satan convinces the author of the novel about Pontius Pilate: “... Why chase in the footsteps of what is already over? (i.e., to continue an already completed novel. - B.S.) ... oh, thrice romantic master, don’t you really want to walk with your girlfriend under the cherries that are starting to bloom during the day, and listen to Schubert’s music in the evening? Wouldn't you like to write by candlelight with a quill pen? Don't you want, like Faust, to sit over a retort in the hope that you will be able to fashion a new homunculus? V., like Yeshua, understands that only the devoted, but dogmatic Levi Matthew, and not the brilliant Master, can enjoy the “naked light”. It is V. with his skepticism and doubt, who sees the world in all its contradictions (as a true artist sees it), can best provide the protagonist with a worthy reward.

Words by V. at the Variety Theatre: “The townspeople have changed a lot ... outwardly, I say, like the city itself, however. There is nothing to say about 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 (1889-1976), expressed in the work "The Source of Artistic Creation" (1935-1936): things, we remember otherwise. The last things are Death and Judgment." However, although the corresponding reports were read by the philosopher in 1935-1936, Heidegger's work was published only after the Second World War. True, purely theoretically, the author of The Master and Margarita could have learned about The Source of Artistic Creation indirectly from one of the listeners (he was friends with the philosopher PS Popov). Perhaps a brief abstract of the report appeared in one of the scientific journals (V.'s words about the equipment were written only at the last stage of work on the novel, in the late 30s). However, most likely, just the thoughts of the writer and the philosopher miraculously coincided. It is interesting that the following reasoning of Heidegger, immediately following the words about Death and Judgment, find a parallel in the acts of V.: “Taken as a whole, the word “thing” refers to everything that is not nothing at all. Then, in accordance with this meaning, artistic creativity is a thing, as long as it is something that exists in general. In Bulgakov, V. 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.

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

V., 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. V. 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 V. was Someone in Gray, called He from the play by Leonid Andreev (1871-1919) "The Life of a Man" (1907). Note that this character was mentioned in the well-known book by S.N. Bulgakov's "At the Feast of the Gods" (1918), and Andreev's play largely gave the idea of ​​Satan's Great Ball. In the prologue of “The Life of a Man”, the Someone in Gray, symbolizing Fate, Fate, and also the “prince of darkness”, says about the Man: “Irresistibly drawn by time, he will inevitably go through all the steps of 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. V. predicts the death of "limited knowledge" Berlioz, tormented by anxious premonitions, 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.

Exist., number of synonyms: 2 blacksmith gods (5) velund (1) ASIS synonym dictionary. V.N. Trishin. 2013 ... Synonym dictionary

WOLAND- All-Union Society of Anarchism Lovers in the informal movement since 1989 organization

holland- the character of the novel "The Master and Margarita", who leads the world of otherworldly forces. 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).

Woland is largely focused on Mephistopheles "Faust" (1808-1832) by Johann Wolfgang Goethe (1749-1832), including the opera, from Charles Gounod's (1818-1893) opera "Faust" (1859).

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 (1902), with the text of which Bulgakov was familiar, this passage 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 try to remember the name of the magician: "- In ... It seems, Woland. Or maybe not Woland? Maybe Faland."

In the edition of 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").

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 is difficult to pronounce. The German "Faland" would not fit here either. With the Russian pronunciation - Faland - things were better, but there was an inappropriate association 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 not too well known to the Russian public. A rare name was needed so that an ordinary reader not experienced in Demonology would not immediately guess who Woland was.

The third wife of the writer E. S. Bulgakov recorded in her diary the reading of the initial chapters of the last edition of The Master and Margarita on April 27, 1939: “Yesterday we had Faiko - both (playwright Alexander Mikhailovich Faiko (1893-1978) with his wife), Markov ( head of the Moscow Art Theater) and Vilenkin (Vitaly Yakovlevich Vilenkin (born 1910/11), a colleague of Pavel Alexandrovich Markov (1897-1980) in the literary part of the Moscow Art Theater). Misha read The Master and Margarita - from the beginning. The impression is enormous. asked to set a day for continuation. Misha asked after the reading - who is Woland? Vilenkin said that he guessed, but would never tell. I suggested that he write, I will write too, and we will exchange notes. We did. He wrote: Satan, I "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 A. M. Faiko Woland did not immediately guess. Consequently, the riddle of the foreign professor who appeared at the Patriarch's Ponds will keep the majority of readers of The Master and Margarita in suspense from the very beginning. In early editions, Bulgakov tried the names Azazello and Belial for the future Woland.

The literary genealogy of Woland, used by Bulgakov, is extremely multifaceted. The devil in The Master and Margarita has an obvious portrait resemblance to Eduard Eduardovich von Mandro, the infernal character in A. Bely's novel The Moscow Eccentric (1925), presented to Bulgakov by the author. According to the definition given by A. Bely in the preface to the novel "Masks" (1933) 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 The Iron Heel (the famous novel by Jack London (John Griffith) (1876-1916), which appeared in 1908) (enslavers of mankind) is becoming obsolete." White masks the infernality of his character in every possible way, leaving the reader in the dark whether Mandro is Satan.

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Bulgakov's novel will be a real revelation, a story of love and self-sacrifice. The image and characterization of Woland in the novel "The Master and Margarita" is a masterful realization of the author's philosophical ideas. A key figure, a participant in two stories, the arbiter of the fate of the main characters of the Master and Margarita.

Woland - the lord of dark forces, a magician, the spirit of evil.

Age

Woland Bulgakov is silent about the years. Age is conjectural and uncertain. Middle aged man.

"More than forty years..."

No one really knows how old he is. The devil is immortal and his years can be counted in millennia.

Appearance

Master of transformation. Appeared before people in different guises. Everyone, having encountered him, described him in his own way. For all the time, not one description coincided with another. He was known to limp after receiving a lameness as a punishment from a witch. For what act he was punished, Woland did not spread. The height of the man is above average. Brunette. Mouth crooked.

"He twisted his already crooked mouth ...".

Perfectly shaved. Eyebrows of dark color lay unevenly. One is higher than the other.

Eyes of different colors. One is green, the other is black.

"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 needle's eye ...".

The teeth were decorated with platinum crowns on one side and gold on the other. The face is tanned, as if after a holiday in a foreign resort. The skin is dry, with deep wrinkles on the forehead.

Wardrobe

Woland did not adhere to a certain style of dress. In solemn occasions, he preferred to look stylish. Classic, expensive suit, gloves, foreign shoes.

At home, he could seem sloppy and sloppy. A greasy dressing gown that has managed to forget what washing is. Pajamas are not the first freshness. Worn house shoes.

Taking on his true appearance, Woland preferred black clothes. Black gloves, black shoes, black cape.

“A mourning cloak, lined with fiery matter, was thrown over the back of the chair ...”.

Character. Woland's personality

Who he really is cannot be answered with accuracy. He could punish and reward. Woland preferred not to soil his hands with dirty deeds. To do this, he had a retinue of faithful assistants. Woland is just, but in his own way, in a devilish way. Wise and charming. He does not represent evil for those who are pure in conscience and deeds.

Mysterious and uncommon.

“He is an outstanding and mysterious person one hundred percent. But this is the most interesting thing! ..».

Polite and tactful. Disposing to itself from the first minute of conversation. Calm, thoughtful. He smiles often, but at the same time his eyes do not express emotions, remaining cold.

Smart well-read. Knows many languages. Able to support any topic of conversation. Travels a lot. He knows everything and everyone: past, present, future.

His personality is controversial. It can be loved, hated, feared and despised. One thing is for sure, he will not leave anyone indifferent.

In the work of Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov, the generalized image of the lord of the dark forces is represented by the character of Woland. Traditionally, such a character in literary works personifies the absolute embodiment of evil. But like the rest of the main characters of the work, the image of Woland in Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita is very ambiguous.

Features of creating an image

Bulgakov's novel is built in two chronological planes and localities: Soviet Moscow and Ancient Jerusalem. The compositional idea of ​​the novel is also interesting: a work within a work. However, Woland is present in all compositional planes.

So, in the spring of 1935, a mysterious stranger arrives in Soviet Moscow. “He was in an expensive gray suit, in foreign, the color of the suit, shoes ... under his arm he carried a cane with a black knob in the shape of a poodle's head. In appearance - more than forty years old ... 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. Such a description of Woland in the novel is given by Bulgakov.

He presented himself as a foreign professor, an artist in the field of tricks and sorcery, to some heroes and, in particular, to the reader, he reveals his true face - the lord of darkness. However, it is difficult to call Woland the personification of absolute evil, because in the novel he is characterized by mercy and fair deeds.

Muscovites through the eyes of guests

Why does Woland come to Moscow? He tells the writers that he came to work on the manuscripts of the ancient warlock, the administration of the variety show - to perform with sessions of black magic, Margarita - to hold a spring ball. Professor Woland's answers are different, as are his names and appearances. Why, in fact, did the prince of darkness come to Moscow? Perhaps, he gave a sincere answer only to the head of the variety show buffet Sokov. The purpose of his visit was that he wanted to look at the inhabitants of the city en masse, and for this he tripled the performance.

Woland wanted to see if humanity had changed over the centuries. “People are like people. They love money, but it has always been... Well, frivolous... well, well... ordinary people... in general, they resemble the former ones... the housing problem only spoiled them...” – such is the portrait of Muscovites through the eyes of the character.

The role of Woland's retinue

In assessing society, restoring order and retribution, the lord of shadows is helped by his faithful associates. In fact, he himself does nothing wrong, but only makes fair decisions. Like every king, he has a retinue. However, Koroviev, Azazello and Behemoth look more like tame jesters than faithful servants. The only exception is the image of Gella.

The author masterfully experiments in creating close associates of the demonic lord. Traditionally, dark characters are depicted as scary, evil, frightening, and Woland's retinue in Bulgakov's novel is all jokes, irony, and puns. The author uses a similar artistic technique to emphasize the absurdity of the situations in which Muscovites drive themselves, as well as to highlight the seriousness and wisdom of Woland against the backdrop of a buffoon's environment.

The personification of omnipotence

Mikhail Bulgakov introduced the character of Woland into the system of characters as an evaluating and decisive force. The limitlessness of his possibilities from the first moments of his stay in Moscow becomes clear. Margarita also recognizes this when he gave her the happiness of being next to her lover again. Thus, the essence of the characteristics of Woland in the novel "The Master and Margarita" is in his omnipotence and infinity of possibilities.

The tricks of Satan and his retinue, although terrible, however, all the troubles with people happen only through their own fault. This is the inconsistency of Bulgakov's Satan. Evil does not come from him, but from the people themselves. He only stated the numerous sins of the townspeople and punished them according to their merits. With the help of the image of Woland, through the prism of those mysterious and inexplicable events that happened to Muscovites during the period of the presence of dark forces in the city, the author showed a satirical portrait of contemporary society.

Justice of deeds

During his stay in Moscow, Woland managed to get acquainted with many future inhabitants of his dark other world. These are imaginary representatives of art, who think only about apartments, dachas and material gain, and catering workers who steal and sell expired products, and sales administration, and relatives who are ready to rejoice at the death of a loved one for the opportunity to receive an inheritance, and low people who, having learned about death colleagues, continue to eat, because the food will cool down, and the dead already don’t care.

Greed, deceit, hypocrisy, bribery, betrayal were severely but fairly punished. However, for the characters who kept a pure heart and soul, Woland forgave their mistakes, and even rewarded some. So, together with Woland's retinue, the Master and Margarita leave the earthly world with its problems, suffering and injustice.

The meaning of Woland's image

The meaning of Woland's character is to show people their own sins. One cannot be good who does not know the difference between good and evil. Light can set off only a shadow, as Woland claims in a conversation with Levi Matthew. Can Woland's justice be considered kindness? No, he was just trying to point out people's mistakes. Those who have managed to become sincere and honest with themselves and others have not been touched by Satan's vengeance. However, he did not change Bezdomny or Rimsky. They themselves changed, because in their souls darkness was overcome by light.

Margarita's deeds and the weakness of the Master did not allow them to be transported into the light, but for their willingness to sacrifice themselves for the sake of a loved one and true art, Woland grants them eternal peace in his kingdom of darkness. Thus, one cannot say that in the novel he is the embodiment of absolute evil, and even more so one should not associate him with good. The role of Woland and his actions is explained by justice. He came to Moscow in the role of a kind of mirror, and those who truly have a kind heart were able to examine their mistakes in it and draw conclusions.

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