As you understand the phrase, manuscripts do not burn. “manuscripts don’t burn

Traces will disappear generations,
But talent is alive, genius is immortal.
F. Glinka

Michael Bulgakov - outstanding master words, a man who devoted his whole life writing work, did not leave her for a minute. This is a man difficult fate, who lived in harsh conditions 30s, at a time when brother was killing brother, best friend betrayed a friend. Bulgakov went against the authorities and was expecting arrest any day. But he did not stop working, writing, creating his great creations.

His works long years lay on the shelves, they were forbidden to print or publish, they could not find their readers. Only a quarter of a century later they were able to be published, they entered our lives, caused a lot of controversy, discussions, disagreements, but were firmly established in literature. And today Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov can be called one of outstanding writers XX century, true master of your business. His prophecy came true: “Manuscripts do not burn”!

Of course, the novel “The Master and Margarita” is a masterpiece of Russian literature, a work that amazes with the depth of thoughts, feelings, and experiences of the main characters. Today no one will doubt the true talent of the author, because only a person with an extraordinary mind, willpower, and unshakable spirit can combine in one work the story of Pontius Pilate and the feuilleton, myth and life of Moscow, lyrics and fantasy.

One of the main characters of the novel is the Master. We first met him at the end of the first part of the book in a very strange form: wearing a hospital gown, he looks into the room of Ivan Bezdomny, located in the Stravinsky clinic. Bulgakov describes him as follows: “shaven, dark-haired, with sharp nose, with anxious eyes and a tuft of hair hanging over his forehead, a man about thirty-eight years old.” It seems that the author himself is looking at us from a picture he himself created. The same can be said about the Master’s entire life, about his mental anxieties, about the difficulties that he had to face.

A novel with many syllables artistic construction, multi-layered, named after the Master. This is not just a title, it is an expression of the spiritual side of the writer’s life.

The master is an exalted, spiritual person, completely at the mercy of the imagination, lives separately from the world, from people, in a small apartment, creating a novel about Pontius Pilate and Yeshua.

The main thing in his life is work and creativity. He doesn't consider himself a professional, doesn't worry about how much he will earn for his novel. For him, this is a kind of ascetic work, a vow given to himself, revealing the secrets of history in all its details.

Bulgakov believes that the Master is not just a writer. This is a person who is fluent in his craft, who loves his work, who has devoted his entire life to it, who has given all his strength to creating best work. The master is confident that a good and wise thought cannot perish in the pitiful world of everyday life and vanity; it will pass through all the trials of time, through all difficulties, break through the “dust of centuries,” and connect the present and the past with an endless chain.

A master is a purposeful person, faithful to his ideas and beliefs, internally free from the prejudices of the society in which he lives. This man always speaks the truth, despite the timidity and fear hidden in him. The master is able to sympathize, sympathize; he responds to human pain. But he is not able to forgive his enemies, to forget the insult caused to him. “I have one regret: in the place of this Berlioz there was not the critic Latunsky or the writer Mstislav Lavrovich!” - declares the Master when he learns about terrible death Berlioz from a conversation with Ivan Bezdomny.

Here we can draw a parallel with the author himself. The master created his heroes, connecting the past with the present. He dreamed that his work would find its readers, so that he could fully enjoy the joy of life and know that it was not lived in vain. It was not without reason that during the Master’s meeting with Boland, the latter asked to give him a novel about Pontius Pilate, to which the author replied that he had burned it. “...This cannot be,” Woland objects, “manuscripts don’t burn.”

Thus, true talent, the talent of an artist, cannot disappear without a trace. Spiritual power will inevitably prove itself right. And, despite any obstacles, people will read the Master’s book, and Latunsky will be punished for his ignorance, neglect of the Master’s ideas and thoughts, and his descendants will never forgive him for his malicious slander.

M. Bulgakov in the novel “The Master and Margarita” revealed the problem of creativity, the meaning and role of the writer in the life of society. He showed that great works of great masters cannot perish and disappear without a trace. This is the author's enduring talent.

Manuscripts don't burn

Manuscripts don't burn
From the novel (chapter 24 “Extraction of the Master”) “The Master and Margarita” (1928-1940) by Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov (1891 -1940). Woland became interested in the novel about Pontius Pilate:
“Let me see,” Woland extended his hand, palm up.
“Unfortunately, I cannot do this,” the master answered, “because I burned it in the stove.”
Sorry, I don’t believe it,” Woland replied, “this can’t be.” Manuscripts don't burn. - He turned to Behemoth and said: - Come on, Behemoth, give me the novel.
The cat immediately jumped up from his chair, and everyone saw that he was sitting on a thick stack of manuscripts. The cat gave the top copy to Woland with a bow.”
The meaning of the expression: a word, a living human thought, cannot be destroyed or prohibited.

encyclopedic Dictionary winged words and expressions. - M.: “Locked-Press”. Vadim Serov. 2003.


See what “Manuscripts don’t burn” is in other dictionaries:

    - (Meyrink) ( real name- Meyer), Gustav (1868 1932), Austrian writer, one of the founders of mystical realism (other definitions " magical realism", "black fiction", "black romance"). Influenced... ... Bulgakov Encyclopedia

    A character in the novel “The Master and Margarita”, a historian who became a writer. M. is in many ways an autobiographical hero. His age at the time of the novel (“a man about thirty-eight years old” appears in the hospital before Ivan Bezdomny) is… … Bulgakov Encyclopedia

    1. Lifetime editions of M. A. Bulgakov’s works in Russian 1) Selected editions Bulgakov M.A. Diaboliad. M.: Nedra, 1925. Contents: Diaboliad Fatal Eggs No. 13. House Elpit... ... Bulgakov Encyclopedia

    Zensur in der Sowjetunion- war die Kontrolle sowjetischer Behörden sowie der Kommunistischen Partei über den Inhalt und die Verbreitung von Druckwerken, Musikstücken, dramaturgischen Werken, Werken darstellender Kunst, Fotografien, Radio und Fernsehübertragungen. Sie... ...Deutsch Wikipedia

    Daniel Kharms Name at birth: Daniil Ivanovich Yuvachev Nicknames ... Wikipedia

    Censorship By country Censorship by country By industry Censorship of the Internet Banned books Book burning By method... Wikipedia

    Novel. During Bulgakov's lifetime it was not completed and was not published. For the first time: Moscow, 1966, No. 11; 1967, No. 1. The time of the beginning of work on M. and M. Bulgakov dated in different manuscripts either 1928 or 1929. Most likely, it dates back to 1928... ... Bulgakov Encyclopedia

    MANUSCRIPT, and, female. 1. The original or a copy of the text, written by hand or transcribed on a typewriter. Chekhov's manuscripts. Typewritten r. Pass R. to the publishing house. Manuscripts do not burn (aphorism; it is said in the meaning: work creative work Not … Dictionary Ozhegova

    White Guard ... Wikipedia

    Fictional novel about Pontius Pilate literary work, with which many events of M. A. Bulgakov’s novel “The Master and Margarita” are connected. Contents 1 Authorship of the novel and the history of its writing 2 ... Wikipedia

Books

  • Manuscripts don’t burn, Barsky L.. The hero of the story, a “hypothetical physicist,” decided to use the method of logical research to “read” Einstein’s burned manuscripts using the method of logical research into the development of the thoughts of a genius according to the information he received...
  • Manuscripts don't burn. Science fiction story, Barsky L.A.. The hero of the story, 171;hypothetical physicist 187;, decided to use the 171;reading 187;burned manuscripts of Einstein by the method of logical research into the development of the thoughts of a genius according to...

Nikolai Vasilyevich was a man with an ardent disposition. Shortly before his own death, he decided on a strange act - he destroyed the second volume of " Dead souls", where he outlined his religious quest, thoughts and reasoning. On the night of February 24, 1852, Nikolai Gogol ordered his servant to bring a briefcase with drafts of the second volume. He wrote a will and burned the manuscript. By the way, he himself spoke of the second volume of “Dead Souls” as his great creation.

The next day, Gogol realized his action with grief and surprise, saying that he was sincerely amazed at what he had done, that he wanted to burn only some things that had been prepared in advance, but he burned everything under the influence of evil spirit. It's good that we got at least the first volume. In general, three were planned: the second was destroyed, only a few chapters survived in drafts, and the third volume was conceived, but never started.

Kafka

During his lifetime, Kafka published only a few short stories, which did not attract the attention of readers. Throughout his life he wrote, but did not publish, and before his death he bequeathed to burn, without exception, everything he had written. His beloved did just that, but his best friend disobeyed. He published most works This is how the world learned about Kafka, and the author was recognized as one of the most outstanding German-speaking writers of the 20th century.


His main novels, “America” (1911–1916), “The Trial” (1914–1915) and “The Castle” (1921–1922), were published after the author’s death.

Pushkin

Pushkin was his own harsh editor. He often tore out entire pages from his drafts and destroyed them. Also, the impulsive Alexander Sergeevich destroyed all the drafts “ The captain's daughter" and the poem "Robbers". The pieces that miraculously survived later formed the basis of the plot of The Bakhchisarai Fountain.


The poet wrote on June 13, 1823 to A. Bestuzhev, who together with Ryleev published the almanac “Polar Star”: “I burned the robbers - and rightly so. One fragment survived in the hands of Nikolai Raevsky; if domestic sounds: tavern, whip, prison - do not frighten the tender ears of the readers of the Polar Star, then publish it.”

Vladimir Vladimirovich bequeathed his novel “Laura and Her Original” to be burned because it was not finished - Nabokov could not afford to publish an unfinished work. Nabokov’s wife did not dare to burn the folder with 138 cards from the novel, thereby not fulfilling part of his will. And what’s more, my son published it in 2009 as a separate thin book.


Vladimir Nabokov also wanted to burn the novel “Lolita” (the manuscript of the book was miraculously saved by his wife, literally taking it out of the fireplace, engulfed in flames), which later became the most famous of all his works.

In March 1930, Bulgakov received a letter from the General Repertoire Committee banning the play “Molière”; 10 days after that, Mikhail Afanasyevich, without the slightest doubt, threw his first version of the manuscript of “The Master and Margarita” and the play “Bliss” into the fire of the stove.


“I, with my own hands, threw a draft of a novel about the devil into the stove...” he wrote after that. In general, the writer considered the stove his best editor. He set fire not only to parts of the manuscripts, but also to his poems, as well as pages from his diaries.

Parsnip

Boris Leonidovich burned the story “In This World” after it was severely criticized. However, later he nevertheless included some scenes in the novel “Doctor Zhivago”. Laureate Nobel Prize He did not stand on ceremony with his manuscripts - if it was not successful, then it was immediately burned.

Dostoevsky

If Fyodor Ivanovich was not satisfied with the text, he could easily destroy it and start writing from scratch for the second round. In 1871, before returning to Russia from abroad, fearing customs inspection, Dostoevsky burned the manuscripts of The Idiot, The Eternal Husband and the first edition of The Demons. At the insistence of his wife, he agreed to leave the surviving drafts and excerpts of these works.

Stephen King

And let's take a modern author. One day, his wife found a draft of the novel “Carrie” in the trash, which King considered unsuccessful, and insisted that her husband finish it. Some time later, Doubleday published Carrie, for which King received an advance of $2,500. The publisher then sold the copyright to Carrie to NAL for $400,000, of which King received half. This is how his writing career began in the mid-1970s.


Today his books have sold more than 350 million copies. Many of them formed the basis feature films, television productions and comics.

The prior of the Augustinian congregation, Dominic de Guzman, was an ardent fan of his cause. It was he who headed to Languedoc from Spain in 1205. The purpose of his visit was to fight the Albigensian theologians. The Albigensian Wars began here a little later - four years after his arrival in 1209.

The future founder of the Dominican monastic order, and then a Catholic saint, read sermons and entered into fierce disputes with the Albigensian heresy. After which, as legends say, he laid out all his arguments on paper. Dominic de Guzman handed this manuscript to his opponents. But after some deliberation, the Albigensians decided to burn the manuscript. N. Peyra in his book “History of the Albigensians” tells of a legend according to which the fire to which the manuscript was committed “thrice pushed it away from itself,” sparing the prior’s writings, which shocked the Albigensians a lot.

Apparently, it was this legend that became the one for Mikhail Bulgakov Starting point. This is where work probably began on fantastic story, associated with the Master's manuscripts. In his manuscript, which “the flame treated with reverence,” Dominic interpreted Holy Bible. The same interpretation can be given to the Master’s novel about Yeshua and Pilate. And that is why, based on logic, the fire spared the manuscript written by the Master.

But as it turned out, not only books have their own destiny. A lot fell on the lot of the text of the novel itself. Woland’s statement that “manuscripts don’t burn” has been accepted by most readers for twenty years and literary critics are not interpreted entirely correctly. But Woland put a different meaning into his words. Researchers of Bulgakov’s work explain that “manuscripts don’t burn” only because they were written with genius and talent. And, despite the fact that the Master’s creation has not seen the light of day, it will not die under any circumstances.

M. Bulgakov himself undoubtedly believed that justice would prevail, no matter what, and that art would definitely be recognized. Bulgakov scholars argued differently, but all were convinced that stubborn force creative spirit persistently paves the way for itself and will certainly triumph. And history will definitely put everything in its place.

It seems that the novel is based on an old legend about the incorruptibility of the manuscript. However, the admiring and romantic interpretation of the words that manuscripts do not burn, put by the writer into the mouth of Satan, will firmly linger in the minds of readers.

“MANUSCRIPTS DO NOT BURN”

Unfortunately, his famously common words speak of how seriously Woland took what he created in collaboration with the Master: “Manuscripts don’t burn.”

The attitude towards this phrase is a sign by which one can distinguish a Russian intellectual from a Soviet educated person. You can never quote Satan, even a literary one, with your full agreement and delight!

And why even quote a obviously false thesis? The manuscripts are burning and still burning! The history of literature (including Soviet literature) proves this too well. How many books are known to us only through mentions of their existence or through brief citations by ancient readers! That is why modern historians read with such joy and bitterness at the same time literary encyclopedias antiquity - “Stromata” by Clement of Alexandria and the “Library” of St. Photius of Constantinople.

But the most indecent thing about this fashionable quotation is different. “Manuscripts don’t burn” is the subject of Bulgakov’s dying nightmare, and not the thesis of his hope.

Three great works of Bulgakov are united by this common theme: “Fatal Eggs” (1925), “Heart of a Dog” (1926), “The Master and Margarita” (beginning of work - 1928). IN " Fatal eggs“Snakes, brought to the size of dinosaurs by scientists, are taking revenge on humanity. IN " Heart of a Dog“The creation of Professor Preobrazhensky begins to bite its creator.

And in a letter to V. Veresaev dated July 27, 1931, Bulgakov directly writes about the reverse invasion of the characters he created into his life: “... one person with a very famous literary name and great connections... told me in a half-hearted tone -confidence:

- You have an enemy...

I’m not a boy and I understand the word “enemy”... I began to strain my memory. There are dozens of people in Moscow who gnashing their teeth pronounce my name. But all this is in the literary or near-theatrical world, all this is weak, all this is dying. Somewhere in the source of true power, how and with what could I make an enemy?

And suddenly it dawned on me! I remembered the names! This is A. Turbin, Long John, Rokk and Khludov (from “Run”). Here they are, my enemies! It’s not for nothing that during times of insomnia they come to me and say to me: “You gave birth to us, and we will block all your paths.” Lie down, science fiction writer, with your lips blocked." Then it turns out that my main enemy- myself."

So, through Bulgakov’s last novel there is a mourning about the power of actions over the authors of these actions. In the second complete handwritten version of the novel (1937-1938), Goethe and Charles Gounod appeared at Satan's ball. The first - as the author of the poem "Faust", the second - as the author of the opera "Faust". According to Bulgakov, it turns out that they became prisoners of the demonic character to whom they were assigned central place in his works.

Burning a manuscript is by no means a sin according to Bulgakov. Even Yeshua calls for burning manuscripts (Yeshua tells Pilate how he begged Levi to burn his manuscript).

Pilate painfully tries to convince himself that he did not do the meanness that brought him too terrible popularity... He “more than anything in the world hates his immortality and unheard-of glory” (chapter 32). “Gods, gods,” the man in the cloak says, turning his arrogant face to his companion, “what a vulgar execution!” But please tell me,” here the face turns from arrogant to pleading, “after all, she wasn’t there!” I beg you, tell me, wasn’t it? “Well, of course it wasn’t,” the companion answers in a hoarse voice, “you imagined it.” - And you can swear to this? - the man in the raincoat asks ingratiatingly. “I swear,” the companion answers, and for some reason his eyes smile. - I don’t need anything else! - the man in the raincoat screams in a broken voice.”

This is a theme of painful irreversibility.

The peace that almost all the characters in the novel crave is getting rid of the past, from memory.

Frida dreams of getting rid of the handkerchief with which she strangled her son.

The master - from the novel: ““I hate this novel,” answered the master” (chapter 24). “The master’s memory, the restless memory pricked by needles, began to fade. Someone was releasing a master, just as he himself had just released the hero he had created.” And who, by the way, let the Master go? - Woland, and not Yeshua. But only those who previously held it in their power can let go. This means that, in fact, Woland led fate and the Master’s pen until this final scene...

Margarita dreamed of forgetting about the Master (“So go to hell with your burnt notebook and dried rose! Sit here on the bench alone and beg him to let you go free, let you breathe air, leave your memory!” - I don’t understand anything , - Margarita Nikolaevna spoke quietly, “you can still find out about the sheets... But how could you find out my thoughts?”).

Ryukhin is generally sick of his life as such - “A quarter of an hour later, Ryukhin, all alone, sat huddled over the fish, drinking glass after glass, understanding and admitting that nothing in his life could be corrected, but only forgotten” (chapter .6.)

“Your salvation now lies in only one thing - complete peace,” says the psychiatrist to Ivan Bezdomny (chapter 8). The doctor “gave an injection into Ivan’s arm and assured him that now everything would pass, everything would change and everything would be forgotten. The doctor turned out to be right. Melancholy began to leave Ivan immediately after the injection” (chapter 11).

Ivan’s memory is “chopped up” just like the Master’s memory, and therefore oblivion is highest award and for him. “His punctured memory subsides, and until the next full moon no one will disturb the professor. Neither the noseless murderer of Gestas, nor the cruel fifth procurator of Judea, the horseman of Pontius Pilate.” By the way, this is the last phrase of “The Master and Margarita”...

Bulgakov also had something to forget. “Now every night I look not forward, but back, because I see nothing for myself in the future. In the past, I made five fatal mistakes." This means that there were some of his manuscripts that he would like to see burned and forgotten. Bulgakov does not name them, but I would like to believe that among them he included his feuilleton “Glavpolitgosluzhenie” (Gudok. July 24, 1924) ...