Woland's henchmen in the novel Master and Margarita. Reception at Spaso House

"Sunset" novel by M.A. Bulgakov is considered one of the works fantastic realism, leading the tradition from Goethe, Hoffmann, Gogol. Even decades after the creation of The Master and Margarita (1929-1940), the novel is considered one of the most mysterious phenomena Russian literature. The magic and secrets of the novel are manifested at all levels: from the plot action in Moscow of Woland's retinue to Everyday life heroes, in which symbols, signs, secret codes and ciphers interfere. The author does not deviate from the mystical tradition in the interconnection of the heroes he created.

It is difficult to single out the main character in the novel - the Master and his beloved Margarita, of course, come to the fore, but there is also Ivan Bezdomny, to whom, according to researchers, the entire action of the work is addressed. All heroes are united by M.A. Bulgakov’s groups include 8 triads and 1 dyad, and along with bright, colorful heroes, the group may also include an inconspicuous hero, barely perceptible on the pages of the novel, a secret double.

Triad 1 is represented by the rulers of people's destinies and lives. These are Pontius Pilate, Woland and Doctor Stravinsky. Each of them rules in the world “entrusted” to him: Pilate in Yershalaim, Woland in Moscow, Stravinsky in a clinic for the mentally ill. Each of them is obsessed with the idea of ​​salvation. Pilate tries to save the preacher Yeshua, but retreats (cowardice is the most terrible sin); Woland - in other world- saves the Master, and Stravinsky unsuccessfully tries to save the Master in the Moscow world.

Triad 2 consists of the closest assistants of the “power holders”: Afranius in Pilate, Koroviev-Fagot in Woland, and, finally, the doctor Fyodor Vasilyevich in Stravinsky. Each of them - right hand her “master”, carrying out any order.

Mark Ratboy, Azazello, Archibald Archibaldovich - triad 3, triad of executioners. Mark the Ratboy willingly “teaches” Yeshua how to behave with the Procurator. Azazelo, a demon killer, does the dirty work on behalf of Woland. And Archibald Archibaldovich becomes their projection in the real world.

Triad 4 is unusual in that its heroes are animals. This is Banga, Pilate’s dog, his only salvation during headache attacks, the only creature who understands and loves the Cruel fifth procurator of Judea, the Horseman of the Golden Spear. Tuzbuben is a projection of Banga in the Moscow world, a “police” dog. Behemoth is Woland’s favorite cat, capable of riding as a “hare” on a tram and appearing from a mirror.

The 5th triad is purely female: Nisa is the agent Afrania, Gella is the agent and servant of Koroviev-Fagot, Natasha is the servant of Margarita. Each commits an act shrouded in mystery: Nisa takes revenge for the betrayal of Yeshua, Gella disturbs visitors to the bad apartment with her appearance, and Natasha... becomes a witch.

Berlioz, Joseph Kaifa and the editor of a “thick” literary magazine are united in the 6th triad. They are also “power holders”, but undoubtedly of a lower rank. Each of them has a wormhole that transfers them to the category of negative heroes: Caiaphas understands the absurdity of the execution of Yeshua, but insists on it; Berlioz imposes his “militant” atheism on everyone; the editor pretends to be a foreigner.

Triad of traitors - triad 7: Judas, who betrayed Yeshua, Baron Meigel, who offended Woland, and Aloysius Mogarych, who offended the Master.

And finally, the 8th triad is a triad of students who became the last hope of their mentors: Levi Matvey - a former tax collector and the only student of Yeshua; Ivan Bezdomny is a student of the Master who was supposed to continue his novel; Ryukhin is a failed student of Pushkin.

The only dyad of the novel is the dyad of heroes who have accomplished a feat: Yeshua is a sacrificial feat, the Master is a creative feat.

The grouping of the novel's heroes is another example of the three-worldness of The Master and Margarita, which is far from its only mystery.

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Woland

Woland is a character in 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, even the name Woland itself is taken from Goethe’s poem, where it is mentioned only once and is usually omitted in Russian translations.

The prince's appearance.

Woland's portrait is shown before the start of the Great Ball "Two eyes stared into Margarita's face. The right one with a golden spark at the bottom, drilling anyone to the bottom of the soul, and the left one - empty and black, kind of like a narrow eye of a needle, like an exit to a bottomless well of all darkness and shadows "Woland's face was slanted to the side, the right corner of his mouth was pulled down, deep wrinkles parallel to sharp eyebrows were cut on his high, bald forehead. The skin on Woland's face seemed to be forever burned by a tan." True face Bulgakov hides Woland only at the very beginning of the novel in order to intrigue the reader, and then directly declares through the mouth of the Master and Woland himself that the devil has definitely arrived at the Patriarch's. The image of Woland - majestic and regal, is placed in contrast to the traditional view of the devil as the "monkey of God"

The purpose of Messire's coming to earth

Woland different characters, who is in contact with him, gives different explanations for the purposes of his stay in Moscow. He tells Berlioz and Bezdomny that he has arrived to study the found manuscripts of Hebert of Avrilak. To the employees of the Variety Theater, Woland explains his visit with the intention of performing a black magic session. After the scandalous session, Satan tells the bartender Sokov that he simply wanted to “see the Muscovites en masse, and the most convenient way to do this was in the theater.” Before the start of the Great Ball at Satan's, Margarita Koroviev-Fagot informs that the purpose of Woland and his retinue's visit to Moscow is to hold this ball, whose hostess must bear the name Margarita and be of royal blood. Woland has many faces, as befits the devil, and in conversations with different people puts on different masks. At the same time, Woland’s omniscience of Satan is completely preserved (he and his people are well aware of both the past and the future life those with whom they come into contact also know the text of the Master’s novel, which literally coincides with the “Gospel of Woland”, thereby, what was told to the unlucky writers at the Patriarch's.

A world without shadows is empty

Woland's unconventionality lies in the fact that, being a devil, he is endowed with some obvious attributes of God. Dialectical unity, the complementarity of good and evil are most clearly revealed in Woland’s words addressed to Matthew Levi, who refused to wish health to the “spirit of evil and the lord of shadows” (“Do you want to rip off all Earth, having demolished all the trees and all living things from it because of your fantasy of enjoying the naked light (You are stupid." In Bulgakov, Woland literally revives the Master's burnt novel - a product of artistic creativity, preserved only in the head of the creator, materializes again, turns into a tangible thing. Woland is the bearer of fate, this is connected with long tradition in Russian literature, which linked fate, fate, fate not with God, but with the devil. In Bulgakov, Woland personifies the fate that punishes Berlioz, Sokov and others who violate the norms of Christian morality. This is the first devil in world literature, punishing for non-observance of the commandments of Christ.

Koroviev - Bassoon

This character is the eldest of the demons subordinate to Woland, a devil and a knight, who introduces himself to Muscovites as a translator for a foreign professor and former regent of a church choir.

Background

The hero's surname was found in the story by F.M. Dostoevsky's "The Village of Stepanchikovo and Its Inhabitants", where there is a character named Korovkin, very similar to our Koroviev. His second name comes from the name musical instrument bassoon, invented by an Italian monk. The Koroviev-Fagot has some similarities with the bassoon - a long thin tube folded in three. Bulgakov’s character is thin, tall and in imaginary servility, it seems, ready to fold himself three times over in front of his interlocutor (in order to then calmly harm him)

Regent's Appearance

Here is his portrait: “...a transparent citizen of a strange appearance, On his small head there is a jockey cap, a checkered short jacket..., a citizen a fathom tall, but narrow in the shoulders, incredibly thin, and his face, please note, is mocking”; “...his mustache is like chicken feathers, his eyes are small, ironic and half-drunk.”

The appointment of the lascivious gayar

Koroviev-Fagot is a devil who emerged from the sultry Moscow air (unprecedented heat for May at the time of his appearance - one of traditional signs approach of evil spirits). Woland's henchman, only when necessary, puts on various disguises: a drunken regent, a guy, a clever swindler, a sneaky translator for a famous foreigner, etc. Only in the last flight does Koroviev-Fagot become what he really is - a gloomy demon, a knight Bassoon, who knows the value of human weaknesses and virtues no worse than his master

Azazello

Origin

The name Azazello was formed by Bulgakov from the Old Testament name Azazel. That's the name negative hero the Old Testament book of Enoch, a fallen angel who taught people to make weapons and jewelry

Knight image

Bulgakov was probably attracted by the combination of seduction and murder in one character. It is precisely for the insidious seducer that Margarita mistakes Azazello during their first meeting in the Alexander Garden: “This neighbor turned out to be vertically challenged, fiery red, with a fang, in starched underwear, in a good-quality striped suit, in patent leather shoes and with a bowler hat on his head. "Absolutely a robber's face!" - thought Margarita"

Purpose in the novel

But Azazello's main function in the novel is related to violence. He throws Styopa Likhodeev out of Moscow to Yalta, expels Uncle Berlioz from the Bad Apartment, and kills the traitor Baron Meigel with a revolver. Azazello also invented the cream that he gives to Margarita. The magic cream not only makes the heroine invisible and able to fly, but also gives her a new, witch-like beauty.

Cat Behemoth

This werecat and Satan's favorite jester is perhaps the funniest and most memorable of Woland's retinue.

Origin

The author of “The Master and Margarita” gleaned information about Behemoth from the book by M.A. Orlov’s “The History of Relations between Man and the Devil” (1904), extracts from which are preserved in the Bulgakov archive. There, in particular, the case of a French abbess who lived in the 17th century was described. and possessed by seven devils, the fifth demon being Behemoth. This demon was depicted as a monster with an elephant head, a trunk and fangs. His hands were human-shaped, and he had a huge belly, a short ponytail and thick hind legs, like a hippopotamus, reminded him of his name.

Hippopotamus image

In Bulgakov, Behemoth became a huge black werewolf cat, since black cats are traditionally considered associated with evil spirits. This is how we see him for the first time: “... on the jeweler’s pouffe, in a cheeky pose, a third person was lounging, namely, a terribly sized black cat with a glass of vodka in one paw and a fork, on which he had managed to pry a pickled mushroom, in the other.” The hippopotamus in the demonological tradition is the demon of the desires of the stomach. Hence his extraordinary gluttony, especially in Torgsin, when he indiscriminately swallows everything edible.

Appointment of the Jester

Probably everything is clear here without additional digressions. Behemoth's shootout with the detectives in apartment No. 50, his chess match with Woland, the shooting competition with Azazello - all these are purely humorous scenes, very funny and even to some extent remove the severity of the everyday, moral and philosophical problems that the novel poses to reader.

Gella

Gella is a member of Woland’s retinue, a female vampire: “I recommend my maid Gella. She is efficient, understanding, and there is no service that she cannot provide.”

Origin of the witch-vampire

Bulgakov took the name “Gella” from the article “Sorcery” in the Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary, where it was noted that in Lesbos this name was used to call untimely dead girls who became vampires after death.

Gella's image

The beautiful Gella, a green-eyed, red-haired girl who prefers not to burden herself with excess clothing and dresses only in a lace apron, moves freely through the air, thereby gaining a resemblance to a witch. Bulgakov may have borrowed the characteristic features of vampire behavior - clicking teeth and smacking his lips - from the story by A.K. Tolstoy's "Ghoul". There, a vampire girl turns her lover into a vampire with a kiss - hence, obviously, Gella’s fatal kiss for Varenukha

Woland did not appear alone in Bulgakov’s novel. He was accompanied by characters playing mainly the role of jesters. Woland's retinue staged various shows that were disgusting. They were hated by the indignant Moscow population. After all, the whole environment of the “messer” turned inside out human weaknesses and vices. In addition, their task was to perform all the “dirty” work at the behest of the master, to serve him. Everyone who was part of Woland's retinue had to prepare Margarita for Satan's ball and send her with the Master to the world of peace.

The servants of the prince of darkness were three jesters - Azazello, Fagot (aka Koroviev), a cat named Behemoth and Gella, a female vampire. Woland's retinue was there. A description of each character is given separately below. every reader famous novel arises regarding the origin of the images presented and their names.

Cat Behemoth

When describing the image of Woland and his retinue, the first thing I want to do is describe the cat. Essentially, Behemoth is a werewolf animal. Most likely, Bulgakov took the character from an apocryphal book - the “Old Testament” of Enoch. The author could also glean information about Behemoth from the book “The History of Man’s Intercourse with the Devil,” written by I. Ya. Porfiryev. In the mentioned literature, this character is a sea monster, a demon in the form of a creature with the head of an elephant, having fangs and a trunk. The demon's hands were human. The monster also had a huge belly and an almost invisible tail. small size and very thick hind limbs, similar to those found in hippopotamuses. This similarity explains his name.

In the novel “The Master and Margarita,” Bulgakov introduced Behemoth to readers in the form of a huge cat, the prototype of which was the author’s pet Flushka. Despite the fact that Bulgakov’s furry pet was gray in color, in the novel the animal is black, since its image is the personification of evil spirits.

Behemoth Transformation

While Woland and his retinue were making their final flight in the novel, Behemoth turned into a frail young page. There was a knight next to him purple. It was a transformed Bassoon (Koroviev). In this episode, Bulgakov apparently reflected a comic legend from S. S. Zayaitsky’s story “The Biography of Stepan Aleksandrovich Lososinov.” It talks about a cruel knight, along with whom his page constantly appears. Main character legends had a passion for tearing off the heads of animals. This cruelty is conveyed by Bulgakov to Behemoth, who, unlike the knight, tears off the head of a man - Georges of Bengal.

Behemoth's tomfoolery and gluttony

The hippopotamus is the demon of carnal desires, especially gluttony. This is where the cat in the novel developed an unprecedented gluttony in Torgsin (currency store). Thus, the author shows irony towards the visitors of this all-Union institution, including himself. At a time when people live from hand to mouth outside the capitals, people in big cities enslaved by the demon Behemoth.

The cat in the novel most often plays pranks, clowns around, lets go different jokes, mocks. This trait Behemoth's character reflects Bulgakov's own sparkling sense of humor. This behavior of the cat and his unusual look became a way of causing fear and confusion among the people in the novel.

Demon Bassoon - Koroviev

What else is Woland and his retinue remembered by readers of the novel? Of course, a striking character is the representative of demons subordinate to the devil, Fagot, aka Koroviev. This is Woland's first assistant, a knight and a devil rolled into one. Koroviev introduces himself to the residents as an employee of a foreign professor and a former director of the church choir.

There are several versions of the origin of this character’s surname and nickname. It is also associated with some images of the works of F. M. Dostoevsky. Thus, in the epilogue of the novel “The Master and Margarita,” four Korovkins are mentioned among the people detained by the police because of the similarity of their surnames with Krovyev. Here, apparently, the author wanted to point out a character from Dostoevsky’s story called “The Village of Stepanchikovo and Its Inhabitants.”

Also, a number of knights, who are the heroes of some works from different times, are considered to be the prototypes of Bassoon. It is also possible that the image of Koroviev arose thanks to one of Bulgakov’s acquaintances. The prototype of the demon could be a real man, plumber Ageich, who was a rare drunkard and dirty tricker. He repeatedly mentioned in conversations with the author of the novel that in teenage years was one of the choir directors in the church. This, apparently, was reflected by Bulgakov in the guise of Koroviev.

Similarities between the bassoon and a musical instrument

The musical instrument bassoon was invented by a resident of Italy, monk Afranio
degli Albonesi. The novel clearly outlines Koroviev’s (functional) connection with this canon from Ferrara. The novel clearly defines three worlds, representatives of each of which form certain triads according to similar qualities. Demon Bassoon belongs to one of them, which also includes: Stravinsky’s assistant Fyodor Vasilyevich and Afranius, the “right hand” of Pontius Pilate. Woland made Koroviev his main associate, and his retinue did not object to this.

The bassoon is even externally similar to the instrument of the same name, a long and thin instrument folded in three. Koroviev is tall and thin. And in his imaginary servility, he is ready to fold himself threefold in front of his interlocutor, but only in order to later harm him without hindrance.

Transformation of Koroviev

At the moment when Woland and his retinue made their last flight in the novel, the author introduces Fagot to the reader in the image of a dark purple knight who has a gloomy face, unable to smile. He was thinking about something of his own, resting his chin on his chest and not looking at the moon. When Margarita asked Woland why Koroviev had changed so much, Messire replied that this knight once made a bad joke, and his mocking pun about light and darkness was inappropriate. His punishment for this was his clownish manners, his gay appearance, and his tattered circus clothes for a long time.

Azazello

What other representatives of the forces of evil did Woland’s retinue consist of? "The Master and Margarita" has one more bright character- Azazello. Bulgakov created his name by transforming one of the Old Testament ones. The book of Enoch mentions the fallen angel Azazel. It was he, according to the apocrypha, who taught people to create weapons, swords, shields, mirrors and various decorations from precious stones and not only. In general, Azazel managed to corrupt. He also taught males to fight and women to lie, turning them into atheism.

Azazzello in Bulgakov's novel gives Margarita a magic cream that magically changes her appearance. Probably, the author was attracted by the idea of ​​​​combining the ability to kill and seduce in one character. Margarita sees the demon in the Alexander Garden exactly like this. She perceives him as a seducer and a murderer.

Azazello's main responsibilities

Azazello's main responsibilities are necessarily related to violence. Explaining his functions to Margarita, he admits that his direct specialty is to hit the administrator in the face, shoot someone or throw them out of the house, and other “trifles” of this kind. Azazello transfers Likhodeev to Yalta from Moscow, drives Poplavsky (Berlioz’s uncle) out of his apartment, and takes the life of Baron Meigel with a revolver. The killer demon invents a magic cream, which he gives to Margarita, giving her the opportunity to acquire witch-like beauty and some demonic powers. From this cosmetic product the heroine of the novel gains the ability to fly and become invisible at her request.

Gella

Only one woman was allowed into their entourage by Woland and his retinue. Characteristics of Gella: the youngest member of the devilish union in the novel, a vampire. Bulgakov took the name of this heroine from an article entitled “Sorcery”, published in the encyclopedic dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron. It noted that this name was given to dead girls who later became vampires on the island of Lesvos.

The only character from Woland's retinue who is missing from the description of the final flight is Gella. One of Bulgakov's wives thought this fact the result of the fact that work on the novel was not completely completed. But it may also be that the author deliberately excluded Gella from important scene, as an insignificant member of the devil's retinue, performing only auxiliary functions in the apartment, variety show and at the ball. In addition, Woland and his retinue could not accept as equals in such a situation a representative of the lower rank next to them. Besides everything else, Gella had no one to turn into, because she had her original appearance from the moment of transformation into a vampire.

Woland and his retinue: characteristics of devilish forces

In the novel “The Master and Margarita,” the author assigns unusual roles to the forces of evil. After all, the victims of Woland and his retinue are not righteous, not decent and good people, whom the devil must lead astray, and those who have already
sinners. It is their sir and his assistants who expose and punish, choosing unique measures for this.

So, the director of the variety show has to go in an unusual way to Yalta. They just mysteriously throw him there from Moscow. But, having escaped with a terrible fright, he returns home safely. But Likhodeev has quite a lot of sins - he drinks alcohol, has numerous relationships with women, using his position, and does nothing at work. As Koroviev says in the novel about the director of the variety show, he Lately he's terribly piggy.

In fact, neither Woland himself nor the devil’s assistants influence in any way the events taking place in Moscow during their visit to it. Bulgakov's unconventional representation of Satan is manifested in the fact that the leader of otherworldly evil forces is endowed with some clearly expressed attributes of God.

Encyclopedic YouTube

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The Master and Margarita: conversation at the Patriarchal

Subtitles

Name

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

Appearance

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

Place in the world of the novel

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 call Woland the Devil or Satan. However, the cosmography of Bulgakov’s world differs from the traditional Christian one - both Jesus and the Devil are different in this world, heaven and hell are not mentioned at all, and “gods” are spoken of in plural. Literary scholars have found in the world of the novel similarities with Manichaean or Gnostic ideology, according to which 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 must deal with its own affairs." 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, unlike the Christian “Father of Lies,” is honest, fair and even somewhat noble. Critic V. Ya. Lakshin calls it “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 “specific” evil and acts of retribution, thus creating something that is absent from earthly existence moral law» .

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

Thus, Woland’s role in the world of the novel can be defined as “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, suppresses and fairly judges (for example, Baron Meigel, Rimsky, Likhodeev, Bengalsky).

Symbolism

Theatricality

Many researchers of Bulgakov’s novel “The Master and Margarita” note theatrical and 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, and the constant reference to his low voice - bass - add theatrical brightness to his image, an element of play and acting.

In this regard, some characters in Bulgakov’s “Theatrical Novel” echo the image of Woland [ ] . In particular, the director of the Training Stage of the Independent Theater, Ksavery Borisovich Ilchin, appears before Maksudov, illuminated by “phosphoric light.” Another character is even more closely connected with Woland, editor-publisher Ilya Ivanovich Rudolfi, whose unexpected arrival at Maksudov’s apartment to the sounds 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 darkness, high above me was a face with an imperious nose and scattered eyebrows. The shadows played, and I imagined that the tip of a black beard was sticking out under the square chin. The beret was twisted dashingly over his ear. There was no pen, however.

In short, Mephistopheles stood before me. Then I saw that he was wearing a coat and shiny deep galoshes, and was holding a briefcase under his arm. “This is natural,” I thought, “he cannot pass through Moscow in any other form in the twentieth century.”

Rudolphi said evil spirit 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 repeat the name of the devil in their speech: “throw everything to hell...”, “Oh, damn!”, “What the hell does he want?”, “Damn him, ah!..” , “Damn, I heard everything.” This “devilry” is repeated throughout the novel. It’s as if the residents of Moscow are calling on Satan and he cannot refuse the invitation. However, all these motives dark forces connected rather not with Woland himself, but with Moscow and Muscovites.

Moon

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

Poodle

The poodle - a direct allusion to Mephistopheles - appears several times in the work. In the very first chapter, when the majestic Woland wanted to decorate the hilt of his sword cane with a dog’s head, while Mephistopheles himself climbed into the skin of a poodle. The poodle then appears on the pad on which Margarita places her foot during the ball and wearing the queen's gold medallion.

Alleged prototypes

Bulgakov himself resolutely 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 reasons to amateurs to look for prototypes. Woland has no prototypes." Nevertheless, the hypothesis that the figure of Woland had a certain real prototype, have been expressed repeatedly. Most often, Stalin is chosen as a candidate; according to the critic V.Ya. Lakshin, “it is difficult to imagine anything more flat, one-dimensional, far from the nature of art, than such an interpretation of Bulgakov’s novel.”

Mephistopheles from the tragedy "Faust"

Self-explanatory possible prototype Wolanda - Goethe's Mephistopheles. From this character Woland receives his name, some character traits and many symbols that can be traced in Bulgakov’s novel (for example, a sword and beret, a hoof and a horseshoe, some phrases, and so on). Symbols of Mephistopheles are present throughout the novel, but they usually refer only to the external attributes of Woland. 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 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 in response to Faust's question who his guest is.

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 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 devilish power on those in power who commit lawlessness. Woland also 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 devilish party, when Bulgakov’s literary enemies were dying one after another, the Master wrote his novel... So it’s not difficult to understand who was behind the image of Woland.

Stalin’s attitude towards M.A. Bulgakov himself and his work is known from Stalin’s letter in defense of Bulgakov “Response to Bill-Belotserkovsky” dated February 2, 1929, as well as from his oral speeches at Stalin’s meeting with the group Ukrainian writers, which took place on February 12, 1929.

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 the eye is “empty, dead.” There is an abrasion in the corner of Yeshua’s mouth - Woland’s “corner of his mouth is pulled down.” Yeshua was burned by the sun on a pillar - “the skin on Woland’s face seemed to be forever burned by a tan.” Yeshua's torn blue tunic turns into dirty rags, which even the executioners refused - Woland before the ball is “dressed in one long nightgown, dirty and patched on the left shoulder.” Jesus is called the Messiah, Woland - Messire.

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

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 politely asked, and the friends somehow involuntarily moved apart; 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.”

Allusions between Woland and Christ were embodied in the novel “Burdened 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 future fate 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 momentarily 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 depicted in the novel. According to the Christian point of view, the Antichrist is a person who is not so much opposing Christ as replacing him. The prefix “anti-” has a double translation:

• denial, opponent.
• instead, substitute.

Let us not forget that this version is very different from the full context of the Bible. The New Testament says about the coming of Christ: “When the Pharisees asked when the Kingdom of God would come, he answered them: The Kingdom of God will not come in a noticeable 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 it; For just as lightning comes from the east and is visible even to the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man” (Matthew 24: 26-27).

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

The image of Woland in art

To the cinema

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

• Band song

Hippopotamus

The author of “The Master and Margarita” gleaned information about Behemoth from the book by M.A. Orlov’s “The History of Relations between Man and the Devil” (1904), extracts from which are preserved in the Bulgakov archive. There, in particular, the case of a French abbess who lived in the 17th century was described. and possessed by seven devils, the fifth demon being Behemoth. This demon was depicted as a monster with an elephant head, a trunk and fangs. His hands were human-shaped, and his huge belly, short tail and thick hind legs, like those of a hippopotamus, reminded him of his name. The hippopotamus in the demonological tradition is the demon of the desires of the stomach. Hence his extraordinary gluttony, especially in Torgsin, when he indiscriminately swallows everything edible.

In the third picture is a fragment of William Blake’s painting “Hippopotamus and Leviathan” and Alexander Bashirov, who plays the role of Hippopotamus in Bortko’s film:

In Bulgakov, Behemoth became a huge black werewolf cat, since black cats are traditionally considered associated with evil spirits. Except that his hands remained human-shaped, hence the glass of vodka in the cat’s hand and the coin that he handed to the conductor.

The hippopotamus in the novel mostly jokes and fools around, which truly shows sparkling humor Bulgakov, and also causes confusion and fear in many people with its unusual appearance.
I would also like to note that there are more images of the cat Behemoth on the Internet. Only Woland can compete with him.
About Behemoth in the Bulgakov Encyclopedia

Azazello

The name Azazello was formed by Bulgakov from the Old Testament name Azazel (or Azazel). The legend about Azazel as one of the fallen angels arose quite late (no earlier than the 3rd century BC) in Jewish folklore and was recorded, in particular, in the famous apocryphal Book of Enoch. In the Book of Enoch, Azazel is the leader of the antediluvian giants who rebelled against God. He taught men to fight, and women - the art of deception, seduced people into godlessness and taught them debauchery. In the end he was tied, by God's command, to a desert rock.

In the middle is an ancient engraving with the demon Azazel and the performer of the role of Azazello Alexander Filippenko:

Thanks to Azazel, women have mastered the “lascivious art” of painting their faces. Therefore, it is Azazello who gives Margarita a cream that magically changes her appearance.

I would also like to mention the tradition associated with Azazel. It was believed that on the day of atonement it was necessary to make two sacrifices: one to Yahweh, the other to Azazel. For this purpose, two goats were chosen, onto which the people seemed to transfer their sins. The animal that was intended to be sacrificed to the demon was released into the desert, where, according to legend, Azazel lived (hence the expression “scapegoat”)

Bulgakov was probably attracted by the combination of seduction and murder in one character. It is precisely for the insidious seducer that Margarita mistakes Azazello during their first meeting in the Alexander Garden.
Azazello in the Bulgakov Encyclopedia

Gella

M.A. Bulgakov took the name “Gella” from the article “Sorcery” Encyclopedic Dictionary Brockhaus and Efron, where it was noted that in Lesvos this name was used to call untimely dead girls who became vampires after death.

The only one from Woland's retinue, absent in the scene of the last flight. The third wife of the writer E. S. Bulgakov believed that this was the result of the unfinished work on “The Master and Margarita”. According to the memoirs of V. Ya. Lakshin, when he pointed out to her G.’s absence in last scene, “Elena Sergeevna looked at me in confusion and suddenly exclaimed with an unforgettable expression: “Misha forgot Gella!!!”

But it is possible that Bulgakov deliberately removed Gella. from the scene of the last flight as the youngest member of the retinue, performing only auxiliary functions, besides, she would have no one to turn into in the last flight, after all, she retained her original appearance. When the night “exposed all deceptions,” Hella could only become a dead girl again.
Gella in the Bulgakov Encyclopedia

Abadonna

By the way, Abaddon is mentioned in another novel by Bulgakov - " White Guard“, where a patient of Alexei Turbin, a patient with syphilis and the poet Rusakov, who had read the Revelation of John the Theologian, connects this angel with the military leader of the Bolsheviks L. D. Trotsky, whose name is supposedly “in Hebrew Abaddon, and in Greek Apollyon, which means destroyer.”

It is believed that Bulgakov saw the image of the demon of war in the poet Vasily Zhukovsky’s poem “Abbadon” (1815), which is a free translation of the epilogue of the poem “Messiad” (1751-1773) by the German romanticist Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock.

In "The Master and Margarita" Abaddon is a demon of war who keeps alive crystal globe Woland, where people die and houses hit by bombs and shells smoke, and Abbadona impartially observes that the suffering for both warring sides is the same.

The war unleashed by Abadona and presented to the gaze of Margarita is a very specific war. On Woland’s globe, “a piece of land, the side of which is washed by the ocean,” which became a theater of military operations, represents the Iberian Peninsula. Here is Spain, where in 1936-1939. There was a bloody civil war.
About Abadonna in the Bulgakov Encyclopedia
About Abadon on Wikipedia

Woland

Of course, the main prototype of Woland is Goethe's Mephistopheles. It is not for nothing that even the epigraph of the novel is a quote from Faust. And the name itself Woland taken from Goethe's poem, where it is mentioned only once and is usually omitted in Russian translations. This is what Mephistopheles calls himself in the Walpurgis Night scene, demanding that the evil spirits give way: " Nobleman Woland is coming!". In the prose translation by A. Sokolovsky (1902), this place is given as follows:
"Mephistopheles: That's where it took you! I see that I need to put my master's rights into action. Hey, you! The place! Mr. Woland is coming!"

In the commentary, the translator explained the German phrase as follows: " Junker Voland kommt": "Junker means a noble person (nobleman), and Woland was one of the names of the devil. The main word "Faland" (which meant deceiver, crafty) was already used by ancient writers in the sense of devil".
By the way and last name in the novel it occurs: after a session of black magic, employees of the Variety Theater try to remember the name of the magician: " - In... It seems, Woland. Or maybe not Woland? Maybe Faland".
By the way, according to another version, this designation comes from the name of the Anglo-Saxon god Wayland...

As amended in 1929-1930. The name Woland was reproduced in full Latin on his business card: “Dr Theodor Voland”. In the final text, Bulgakov abandoned the Latin alphabet: Ivan Bezdomny on the Patriarchs remembers only the initial letter of the surname - W ("double-ve"). The version why the author replaced the original V (“fau”) is that the German “Voland” is pronounced like Foland, and this, you see, is not so impressive.

Woland's portrait is shown before the start of the Great Ball" Two eyes fixed on Margarita’s face. 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, kind of like a narrow eye of a needle, like an exit into a bottomless well of all darkness and shadows. Woland's face was slanted to the side, the right corner of his mouth was pulled down, and deep wrinkles were cut into his high, bald forehead, parallel to his sharp eyebrows. The skin on Woland’s face seemed to be forever burned by tan"

M.V. Nesterov draws attention to the similarities appearance Woland and the artist F.I. Chaliapin, who played Mephistopheles on stage.

Fyodor Chaliapin as Mythistophiles, Viktor Avilov and Oleg Basiashvili as Woland:

Also, many critics, directors and researchers draw a parallel between Woland and Stalin, mentioning the “legend of Stalin’s hoof” (According to legend, Stalin’s two toes on his left foot were completely fused, like a hoof), original title the novel "The Engineer's Hoof", as well as a quote from the leader of the people put into Woland's mouth: "Facts are a stubborn thing"

Others consider Woland to be the prototype Lenin. B. Sokolov cites as an example episodes from the life of V. Lenin, transferred by Bulgakov to the pages of the novel. For example, the situation when in the fall of 1917 Lenin was hiding from the Provisional Government and the police were looking for him with the help of a dog named Tref, resembles an episode from a novel where we're talking about about the search for Woland and his retinue by detectives from the criminal investigation department and their bloodhound Tuzbuben.

However, in my opinion, these parallels are just a hint of who controls the thoughts and actions of the leaders of the USSR....

Also, some researchers argue that Woland, being the devil, is endowed with some obvious attributes of God. The devil is the creation of God, but can God create something evil? Satan turns the power he receives from him against God and, as a result, against his will, contributes to the fulfillment of God's plan. This is the main difference between Bulgakov’s character and his “brothers”... If the same Mephistopheles is a demon, an insidious seducer, whose main goal is to destroy the soul of a person, then Woland is a servant of God and he is noble in his own way, for example, he professes the values ​​denied by Mephistophiles : loyalty to love and devotion to creativity...

Who cares about the other characters in the novel...