Nume: Gheorghe Vanesa Cristiana

Grupa 2, seria I
Anul: I
Specializarea: LLR-LLS

The devil's visit in Moscow

Themes in The Master and Margarita
''But who are you, after all? Say it!
I'm a part of that power
Who eternally evil wills
And only good does.''

The Master and Margarita is a Russian novel written by Mihail Bulgakov between 1928 and
1940 but published in 1967. The story speaks about the first visit of Satan in the Moscow of
1930, disguised as ''Professor'' Woland, a mysterious gentleman, a magician with uncertain
origins. Professor Woland is accompanied by Koroviev, Behemoth cat, assassin Azazello,
Abaddona and witch Hella. This group of mysterious characters aims to destroy the literary
elite and the Massolit syndicate. The Massolit syndicate consists of corrupted men with their
wives and mistresses, beaurecrats and generally skeptical atheists.
The action of the story takes place once in Jerusalem in the days of Pontius Pilate, and in an
alternative plan, the events described by Professor Woland in his discussion with Berlioz take
place in the Moscow of 1930. The events described by the Professor Woland remember about
the judgement of Pontius Pilates upon Yeshua (Jesus of Nazareth).
The novel stages two different worlds with different histories. In the Stalin's era, where the
ration excluded any supernatural convention, Moscow was confronted with the turbulances
that Devil and his henchmen committed.
Devil arrived in Moscow and he firstly convinced an atheist editor that it is not a big deal to
know when someone dies, especially him. The editor was convinced that Jesus Christ never
existed and he tried to even convince the talented, but somehow illiterated poet, Ivan
Bezdomni. Hearing this, the Devil telled him about the meeting about Pontius Pilate, the
procurator of Judeea and a young man arrested for causing disturbances. The young man,
named Yeshua Ha-Nozri, embarrased the procurator who would have let him go, if the high
Themes in the Master and Margarita

Nume: Gheorghe Vanesa Cristiana

Grupa 2, seria I
Anul: I
Specializarea: LLR-LLS
priest Caiaphus had not intervened.
From this point, the novel runs on two levels: one presents all sort of events that Professor
Woland and his henchmen commits, and the other one presents the last days of the man of
Nazareth.
The Master and Margarita is a very complex novel which its themes concerns the interplay of
good and evil, guilty and innocence, but also love and sensuality. The novel apparently
concerns a religious theme: the supernatural in the times of Stalin.
In the first chapter, the action revolves around the meeting between the devil and two
cultivated citizens of Russia. An atheist editor talks with a poet about the fact that Jesus never
existed. The devil intervenes and tries to convince the both of them that Jesus actually existed.
This chapter reflects the Russian people of 1930, atheists and skeptical toward human nature
and supernatural.
The second chapter surprises the judgement of Yeshua Ha-Nozri. The Devil is most likely
disguised as a sparrow. The sparrow disappears behind a column. Pontius Pilate concludes
that Yeshua Ha-Nozri must not be sentenced and he wants to let him go. Pontius prepares to
dictate this conclusion to his secretary and in that moment the sparrow flies over his head, as
if it tries to convince him to not let Yeshua to die for the sins of the world.
In the third chapter, named The Seventh Proof, the sparrow reappears flying above a tree.
Ivan is trying to convince Wolland that evil does not exist. The sparrow is actually the
presence of the devil, since Wolland is sitting next to Ivan who denies his existence. The
sparrow represents the devils working, or the presence of the evil itself.
Another major theme of the novel is the nature and the moods of the characters. In the tenth
chapter take place many unusual, slightly violent events. When Ivan passes through a garden
and the wind blows into his face as if it tries to warn him from something, after that Azazello
punches him. The chapter ends with a rage storm. In the following chapter, his behaviour
continues to reflects his moods. Ivan cannot accurately find the cause of the Berliozs death
while another storm is building. He starts to feel anxious, but he becomes calm in the end. In
the epilogue, the weather mirrors Ivans emotion while he is dreaming of the execution of
Yeshua Ha-Nozri.
Themes in the Master and Margarita

Nume: Gheorghe Vanesa Cristiana

Grupa 2, seria I
Anul: I
Specializarea: LLR-LLS

Again, another raining is building.

The novel was heavily influenced by Goethes I Faust. In the chapter 13, Ivan talks to the
Master about professor Wolland and he presents Wollands features. The Master reproaches
him that he was not able to recognize the evil. He exclaims to Ivan Pardon me but perhaps
you have never even heard the opera Faust! In the chapter 17, Vasily Stepanovich is asked by
investigators about the performers name from the previous night. He replies that the name
might have been Valland the German form of Wolland, the version which appears in Faust.
Another majors theme that I am going to write about once the essays is finished: humans as
evil, the inconsistent narrator, the music accompanying the action and the Pilatism.
Bibliografia primara: Bulgakov, Mihail, Maestrul si Margareta, editura Humanitas Fiction,
Colectia Raftul Denisei
Bibliografia secundara: Joyce, Meghan. Chainani, Soman ed. "The Master and Margarita
Themes". GradeSaver, 31 August 2009 Web. 17 December 2014

Themes in the Master and Margarita