Analysis of the work of art master and margarita. Analysis of the work "The Master and Margarita

In this article, we will consider the novel that Bulgakov created in 1940 - "The Master and Margarita". A summary of this work will be brought to your attention. You will find a description of the main events of the novel, as well as an analysis of the work "The Master and Margarita" by Bulgakov.

Two story lines

There are two storylines in this work that develop independently. In the first of them, the action takes place in Moscow in May (several full moon days) in the 30s of the 20th century. In the second storyline, the action also takes place in May, but already in Jerusalem (Yershalaim) about 2000 years ago - at the beginning new era. The heads of the first line echo those of the second.

The appearance of Woland

One day Woland appears in Moscow, who presents himself as an expert on black magic, but in fact he is Satan. A strange retinue accompanies Woland: these are Hella, the vampire witch, Koroviev, a cheeky type, also known by the nickname Fagot, the sinister and gloomy Azazello and Behemoth, a cheerful fat man, appearing mainly in the form of a huge black cat.

Death of Berlioz

At the Patriarch's Ponds, the editor of a magazine, Mikhail Alexandrovich Berlioz, and Ivan Bezdomny, the poet who created an anti-religious work about Jesus Christ, are the first to meet with Woland. This "foreigner" intervenes in their conversation, saying that Christ really existed. As proof that there is something beyond human understanding, he predicts that a Komsomol girl will cut off Berlioz's head. Mikhail Alexandrovich, in front of Ivan, immediately falls under a tram, driven by a Komsomol member, and really cuts off his head. The homeless man tries unsuccessfully to pursue a new acquaintance, and then, having come to Massolit, he talks about what happened so intricately that he is taken to a psychiatric clinic, where he meets the Master, the protagonist of the novel.

Likhodeev in Yalta

Arriving at the apartment on Sadovaya Street, occupied by the late Berliz together with Stepan Likhodeev, director of the Variety Theatre, Woland, finding Likhodeev in a severe hangover, presents them with a signed contract for performing in the theater. After that, he escorts Stepan out of the apartment, and he strangely ends up in Yalta.

Incident in the house of Nikanor Ivanovich

Bulgakov's work "The Master and Margarita" continues with the fact that the barefoot Nikanor Ivanovich, chairman of the partnership of the house, comes to the apartment occupied by Woland and finds Koroviev there, who asks to rent this room to him, since Berlioz has died, and Likhodeev is now in Yalta. After lengthy persuasion, Nikanor Ivanovich agrees and receives another 400 rubles in excess of the fee stipulated by the contract. He hides them in the ventilation. After that, they come to Nikanor Ivanovich to arrest him for possession of currency, since the rubles somehow turned into dollars, and he, in turn, ends up in the Stravinsky clinic.

At the same time, Rimsky, the financial director of the Variety, and Varenukha, the administrator, are trying to find Likhodeev by phone and are perplexed, reading his telegrams from Yalta with a request to confirm his identity and send money, since he was abandoned here by the hypnotist Woland. Rimsky, deciding that he is joking, sends Varenukh to take the telegrams "where necessary", but the administrator fails to do this: the cat Behemoth and Azazello, grabbing him by the arms, take him to the aforementioned apartment, and Varenukh loses his senses from the kiss of naked Gella.

Woland's representation

What happens next in the novel that Bulgakov created (The Master and Margarita)? A summary of what happened next is as follows. Woland's performance begins on the Variety stage in the evening. Bassoon causes a rain of money with a shot from a pistol, and the audience catches the falling money. Then there is a "ladies' shop" where you can get dressed for free. There is a line forming at the store. But at the end of the performance, the gold pieces turn into pieces of paper, and the clothes disappear without a trace, forcing women in their underwear to rush through the streets.

After the performance, Rimsky lingers in his office, and Varenukha, turned into a vampire by a kiss from Gella, comes to him. Noticing that he does not cast a shadow, the director tries to run away, frightened, but Gella comes to the rescue. She is trying to open the latch on the window, while Varenukha is on guard at the door. Morning comes, and with the first cock crow the guests disappear. Rimsky, instantly gray-haired, rushes to the station and leaves for Leningrad.

Master's Tale

Ivan Bezdomny, having met the Master in the clinic, tells how he met the foreigner who killed Berlioz. The master says that he met with Satan, and tells Ivan about himself. Beloved Margarita gave him that name. A historian by education, this man worked in a museum, but suddenly he won 100 thousand rubles - a huge amount. He rented two rooms located in the basement of a small house, left his job and began to write a novel about Pontius Pilate. The work was almost finished, but then he accidentally met Margarita on the street, and a feeling immediately flared up between them.

Margarita was married to a rich man, lived on the Arbat in a mansion, but did not love her husband. She came to the Master every day. They were happy. When the novel was finally completed, the author took it to the magazine, but they refused to publish the work. Only an excerpt was published, and soon devastating articles about it appeared, written by critics Lavrovich, Latunsky and Ariman. Then the Master fell ill. One night he threw his creation into the oven, but Margarita snatched the last stack of sheets from the fire. She took the manuscript with her and went to her husband to say goodbye to him and reunite with the Master forever in the morning, but a quarter of an hour after the girl left, there was a knock on the writer's window. Winter night, returning home a few months later, he found that the rooms were already occupied, and went to this clinic, where he has been living without a name for the fourth month.

Meeting Margarita with Azazello

Bulgakov's novel The Master and Margarita continues with Margarita waking up with the feeling that something is about to happen. She sorts through the sheets of the manuscript, after which she goes for a walk. Here Azazello sits down to her and informs that some foreigner invites the girl to visit. She agrees, as she hopes to learn something about the Master. Margarita rubs her body with a special cream in the evening and becomes invisible, after which she flies out the window. She arranges a rout in the dwelling of the critic Latunsky. Then Azazelo meets the girl and escorts her to the apartment, where she meets Woland's retinue and himself. Woland asks Margarita to be queen at his ball. As a reward, he promises to grant the girl's wish.

Margarita - queen at Woland's ball

How further developments describes Mikhail Bulgakov? The Master and Margarita is a very multi-layered novel, and the story continues with a full moon ball that begins at midnight. Criminals are invited to it, who come in tailcoats, and women are naked. Margarita greets them, offering her knee and hand for a kiss. The ball is over, and Woland asks what she wants to receive as a reward. Margarita asks her lover, and he immediately appears in a hospital gown. The girl asks Satan to return them to the house where they were so happy.

Some Moscow institution meanwhile, he is interested in strange events taking place in the city. It becomes clear that they are all the work of one gang headed by a magician, and the traces lead to Woland's apartment.

Pontius Pilate's decision

We continue to consider the work that Bulgakov created ("The Master and Margarita"). The summary of the novel is the following further events. Pontius Pilate interrogates Yeshua Ha-Nozri in the palace of King Herod, who was sentenced to death by the court for insulting the power of Caesar. Pilate had to approve it. Interrogating the accused, he realizes that he is not dealing with a robber, but with a wandering philosopher who preaches justice and truth. But Pontius cannot simply let go of a person who is accused of acts against Caesar, therefore he approves the verdict. Then he turns to Kaifa, the high priest, who, in honor of Easter, can release one of the four sentenced to death. Pilate asks to release Ha-Notsri. But he refuses him and releases Bar-Rabban. There are three crosses on Bald Mountain, and the condemned are crucified on them. After the execution, only the former tax collector, Levi Matthew, a disciple of Yeshua, remains there. The executioner slaughters the condemned, and then a downpour suddenly falls.

The procurator summons the head of the secret service, Aphranius, and instructs him to kill Judas, who received a reward for allowing Ha-Notsri to be arrested in his house. Niza, a young woman, meets him in the city and sets up a date, where unknown people stab Judas with a knife and take away the money. Aphranius tells Pilate that Judas was stabbed to death and the money was planted in the high priest's house.

Matthew Levi is brought before Pilate. He shows him the tapes of Yeshua's sermons. The procurator reads in them that the gravest sin is cowardice.

Woland and his retinue leaving Moscow

We continue to describe the events of the work "The Master and Margarita" (Bulgakov). We return to Moscow. Woland and his retinue say goodbye to the city. Then Levi Matvey appears with a proposal to take the Master to him. Woland asks why he is not taken into the light. Levi replies that the Master did not deserve light, only peace. After some time, Azazello comes to the house to his beloved and brings wine - a gift from Satan. After drinking it, the heroes fall unconscious. At the same moment, there is turmoil in the clinic - the patient died, and on the Arbat in the mansion a young woman suddenly falls to the floor.

The novel that Bulgakov created (The Master and Margarita) is coming to an end. Black horses carry away Woland with his retinue, and with them the main characters. Woland tells the writer that the character of his novel has been sitting on this site for 2000 years, seeing the lunar road in a dream and wanting to walk along it. Master shouts: "Free!" And the city with the garden lights up above the abyss, and the lunar road leads to it, along which the procurator runs.

A wonderful work created by Mikhail Bulgakov. The Master and Margarita ends as follows. In Moscow, the investigation into the case of one gang is still going on for a long time, but there are no results. The psychiatrists conclude that the gang members are powerful hypnotists. A few years later, the events are forgotten, and only the poet Bezdomny, now Professor Ponyrev Ivan Nikolaevich, every year on a full moon sits on the bench where he met Woland, and then, returning home, sees the same dream in which the Master, Margarita come to him , Yeshua and Pontius Pilate.

The meaning of the work

Bulgakov's work "The Master and Margarita" amazes readers even today, since even now it is impossible to find an analogue of a novel of this level of skill. Modern writers fail to note the reason for such popularity of the work, to single out its fundamental, main motive. This novel is often called unprecedented for all world literature.

The main intention of the author

So, we examined the novel, it summary. The Master and Margarita by Bulgakov also needs to be analyzed. What main idea author? The narrative takes place in two eras: the time of the life of Jesus Christ and the contemporary period of the author. Soviet Union. Bulgakov paradoxically combines these very different eras, draws deep parallels between them.

Master, main character, he creates a novel about Yeshua, Judas, Pontius Pilate. Mikhail Afanasyevich unfolds phantasmagoria throughout the work. The events of the present are connected miraculously with something that changed humanity forever. It is difficult to single out a specific theme to which the work of M. Bulgakov devoted. "The Master and Margarita" touches upon many sacramental questions that are eternal for art. This, of course, is the theme of love, tragic and unconditional, the meaning of life, truth and justice, unconsciousness and madness. It cannot be said that the author directly reveals these issues, he only creates a symbolic integral system, which is rather difficult to interpret.

The main characters are so non-standard that only their images can be the reason for a detailed analysis of the concept of the work created by M. Bulgakov. "The Master and Margarita" is saturated with ideological and philosophical themes. This gives rise to the versatility of the semantic content of the novel written by Bulgakov. "Master and Margarita" problems, as you can see, affect very large-scale and significant.

Out of time

You can interpret the main idea in different ways. The Master and Ga-Notsri are two peculiar messiahs whose activities take place in different eras. But the story of the Master's life is not so simple, his divine, bright art is also connected with dark forces, because Margarita turns to Woland to help the Master.

The novel that this hero creates is sacred and amazing story, but the writers of the Soviet era refuse to publish it, because they do not want to recognize it as worthy. Woland helps his beloved to restore justice and returns to the author the work he had previously burned.

Thanks to mythological devices and a fantastic plot, Bulgakov's "The Master and Margarita" shows eternal human values. Therefore, this novel is a story outside of culture and era.

Cinema showed great interest in the creation that Bulgakov created. "The Master and Margarita" is a film that exists in several versions: 1971, 1972, 2005. In 2005, a popular mini-series of 10 episodes directed by Vladimir Bortko was released.

This concludes the analysis of the work created by Bulgakov ("The Master and Margarita"). Our essay does not cover all the topics in detail, we only tried to briefly highlight them. This plan can serve as the basis for writing your own composition on this novel.

The poet's life is only the first part of his biography; another or more important part constitutes the posthumous history of his poetry.
V. O. Klyuchevsky

The finale refers to the last chapter of the novel "Forgiveness and Eternal Refuge" and the epilogue. In them, the writer finishes the story about all the characters that appeared on the pages of the book.

In life secondary characters quite understandable changes took place: each of them took the place that corresponds to his talents and business qualities. Cheerful entertainer Georges Bengalsky retired from the theater. The rude and ill-mannered administrator Varenukha became sympathetic and polite. The former director of the Variety Theater, a lover of alcohol and women, Styopa Likhodeev is now the director of a grocery store in Rostov, he has stopped drinking port wine, but drinks only vodka and avoids women. CFO Rimsky from Variety went to work in children's theater dolls, and Sempleyarov, chairman of the acoustic commission of Moscow theaters, abandoned acoustics and now leads the harvesting of mushrooms in the Bryansk forests, to the great joy of Muscovites who love mushroom delicacies. With the chairman of the house committee, Nikanor Ivanovich Bosy, a stroke took place, and the Master's neighbor and informer Aloisy Mogarych took the place of financial director in the Variety Theater and poisoned Varenukha's life. Variety barman Andrey Fokich Sokov, as Koroviev predicted, died nine months later from liver cancer... The fate of the main characters in the finale is unclear, which is quite understandable: Bulgakov cannot accurately describe the posthumous fate of the Master and Margarita in the transcendental world. It follows that the ending of the novel can be interpreted in different ways.

Leaving Moscow with his retinue on the eve of Easter, Woland takes the Master and Margarita with him. The whole company on fantastic horses flies to the mountains, where Pontius Pilate sits in a stone chair on a “bleak flat top” (2, 32). The master pronounces last phrase of his novel, and the forgiven Pilate hurries to the city along the lunar path: “Over the black abyss (...) an immense city caught fire with sparkling idols reigning above it over a garden that has grown magnificently for many thousands (...) moons” (ibid.). This magical city resembles the New Jerusalem, as it is depicted in the Apocalypse (21: 1, 2) or in philosophical writings European utopians - a symbol of the new earthly paradise, the "golden age". "Should I go there (...)?" the Master asked uneasily” (ibid.), but received a negative answer from Woland; “Woland waved his hand towards Yershalaim, and it went out” (ibid.).

The master was determined by the higher powers differently than Pontius Pilate: “He didn’t deserve the light, he deserved peace” (2, 29), Levi Matvey informs Woland. What is light and peace in the novel? Some literary scholars believe that Bulgakov's novel reflects the ideas of the Ukrainian religious philosopher of the 18th century Grigory Skovoroda, the latter's books, no doubt, were known to the writer at least through his father. Peace, according to the philosophical concept of Skovoroda, is “a reward for all the earthly suffering of a “true” person”, peace (...) personifies eternity, an eternal home. And the symbol of the resurrection and the last segment of the path to peace is the moon, “mediating between the earth and the sun”, or rather, a moon path resembling a bridge ”(I.L. Galinskaya. Riddles famous books. M., 1986, p. 84). It is easy to see that the “eternal shelter” in the last chapter of The Master and Margarita and the painful dream of Ivan Ponyrev in the epilogue, due to some details, can be perceived as an artistic illustration of the reasoning of the Ukrainian philosopher.

Other literary scholars believe that the finale of Bulgakov's novel echoes Dante's Divine Comedy (V.P. Kryuchkov. The Master and Margarita and The Divine Comedy: on the interpretation of the epilogue of M. Bulgakov's novel.//Russian Literature, 1995, No. 3 ). In the third part of Dante's Comedy (in Paradise), the hero meets Beatrice, who leads him to the Empyrean, the fiery center of paradise. Here streams of light stream from a dazzling point and God, angels, blissful souls abide. Maybe Matthew Levi is talking about this light? The hero-narrator in Dante places himself not in the Empyrean, but in Limbo - the first circle of hell, where ancient poets and philosophers and the Old Testament righteous live, who are spared from eternal torment, but also deprived of the eternal joy of uniting with God. The hero Dante finds himself in Limbo because, from a Christian point of view, he has a vice - pride, which is expressed in the desire for absolute knowledge. But this vice is also worthy of respect, because it is fundamentally different from mortal sins. In the last chapter of the novel, Bulgakov draws an afterlife reminiscent of Limbo. The master and Margarita, having parted with Woland and his retinue, cross “in the brilliance of the first morning rays over a stone mossy bridge” (2, 32), walk along a sandy road and rejoice in the peace and quiet that they dreamed about in earthly life, and now they will enjoy them in an eternal house twined with grapes.

Why didn't the Master deserve the light? In the aforementioned book, I. L. Galineka gave a very simple answer: light is prepared for the saints, and peace is intended for the “true” person (op. cit., p. 84). However, it is necessary to explain what does not allow Bulgakov's Master to be considered a saint? It can be assumed that both in life and beyond the threshold of death, the hero remains too earthly. He does not want to overcome the human, bodily beginning in himself and forget, for example, his great, but sinful love for Margarita. He dreams of staying with her in the afterlife. The second assumption is that the Master could not stand the test and despaired, he did not accept the feat that was prepared for him by fate, and burned his book. Woland invites him to continue the novel about Yeshua and Pontius Pilate, but the Master refuses: “I hate him, this novel ... I experienced too much because of him” (2, 24). The third assumption is that the Master himself did not strive for the divine light, that is, he did not have true faith. The proof of this is the image of Yeshua in the Master's novel: the author portrays Yeshua as morally beautiful person, which is not enough for a believer (the posthumous resurrection is never shown).

It must be admitted that the reward of the light of the life-weary Master would be unconvincing, it would contradict the artistic conception of the novel. And besides, there is much in common between Bulgakov and the Master, so Bulgakov, like Dante, could not reward a hero similar to himself with heavenly radiance-bliss. At the same time, the Master, from the point of view of the author, certainly positive hero. He accomplished a creative feat by writing a book about Yeshua Ha-Nozri during the time of militant atheism. The fact that the book was not finished does not detract from the act of its author. And yet, the life of the Master was decorated with a real one, true love, the one that stronger than death. Creativity and love for Bulgakov are the highest values ​​that atoned for the lack of proper faith in the hero: the Master and Margarita did not deserve heaven, but escaped hell, having received peace. This is how Bulgakov expressed his philosophical skepticism, so characteristic of the writers of the 20th century.

Describing the Master in the finale, Bulgakov does not give an unambiguous interpretation. Here one should pay attention to the state of the protagonist when he goes to his eternal (that is, the last) shelter: “... Margarita’s words flow in the same way as the stream left behind flowed and whispered, and the Master’s memory, restless memory pierced by needles, became go out. Someone released the Master, as he had just released the hero he had created” (2, 32). The memory of the novel, of earthly love is the only thing that remained with the Master. And suddenly “memory fades”, which means that sublime love experiences die for him, the creativity that the hero so dreamed of in earthly life becomes impossible. In other words, the Master receives body-spiritual, not divine peace. Why should a Master retain his creative powers if no one will read his works? For whom to write? Bulgakov does not bring the depiction of the Master's fate to a clear end.

Bulgakov retains his understatement in relation to Ivan Bezdomny. In the final, the proletarian poet lives in real world, stops his poetic exercises and becomes an employee of the Institute of History and Philosophy. He did not write a continuation of the novel about Yeshua, as bequeathed to him by the Master. He recovered from the damage cast on him by "criminal hypnotists." Only once a year - on a festive full moon - a part of the Master's truth is miraculously revealed to him, which the student again forgets upon awakening-recovery. Once a year, Professor Ponyrev sees the same a strange dream: a woman of exorbitant beauty leads a timidly looking around, overgrown with a beard man by the hand, and then they go together to the moon (this episode is very reminiscent of the procession of the hero Dante and Beatrice to the Empyrean and at the same time makes you remember the lunar path, about which G. Skovoroda wrote). On the one hand, this obsessive dream can be regarded as the delirium of a patient, on the other hand, as an insight, when the soul of the only disciple of the Master opens towards the eternal, without which life is empty and meaningless. Through this dream-vision, Ivan is forever connected with the Master. Or maybe this dream is an obsession from Woland: after all, the moonbeam is the witching light of the night, strangely transforming everything; excessively beautiful woman- a witch who became beautiful thanks to Azazello's magic cream.

So what is the ending of Bulgakov's novel - happy or tragic? It seems that the writer deliberately does not give a direct answer to this question, because in this case any definite answer would be inconclusive.

Summarizing the above, it should be emphasized that the interpretation of the finale of The Master and Margarita may be different. However, the convergence of Bulgakov's novel and Dante's poem reveals interesting features of Bulgakov's text.

In "The Master and Margarita" it is easy to see the influence of images and ideas " Divine Comedy”, but this influence does not come down to simple imitation, but to a dispute (aesthetic game) with famous poem the Renaissance. In Bulgakov's novel, the finale is, as it were, a mirror image of the finale of Dante's poem: a moonbeam is the radiant light of the Empyrean, Margarita (perhaps a witch) - Beatrice (an angel of unearthly purity), Master (overgrown with a beard, looking around fearfully) - Dante (purposeful, inspired by the idea of ​​the absolute knowledge). These similarities and differences are explained by the different ideas of the two works. Dante draws the path of a person's moral insight, and Bulgakov - the path of the artist's creative feat.

Bulgakov, perhaps, deliberately made the ending of his novel ambiguous and skeptical, as opposed to the solemn ending of The Divine Comedy. The writer of the 20th century refuses to assert anything for sure, talking about the transcendental world, illusory, unknown. The author's artistic taste manifested itself in the enigmatic ending of The Master and Margarita.

At first glance, the ending of the novel is tragic. Master, completely desperate to find understanding in modern society, dies. Margarita dies because she cannot live without the person she loves. kind heart, talent, intelligence, suffering. Yeshua is dying because people do not need his preaching about goodness and truth. But at the end of the novel, Woland suddenly says: “Everything will be right, the world is built on this” (2, 32), and each hero receives according to his faith. The master dreamed of peace and gets it. Margarita dreamed of always being with the Master, and remains with him even in the afterlife. Pontius Pilate signed the death warrant for an innocent man and has been tormented by immortality and insomnia for almost two thousand years. But in the end, his very cherished desire- meet and talk with a wandering philosopher. Berlioz, who did not believe in anything and lived in accordance with this conviction, goes into oblivion, turning into Woland's golden goblet. So what: the world is arranged fairly and therefore it is possible to live on with calm confidence? Bulgakov again does not give a definite answer, and the reader himself can choose the answer for himself.

My general ledger- the novel "The Master and Margarita", which was first called both "The Hoof of the Engineer" and "The Black Magician", Bulgakov began to write in 1928-29. He dictated the last inserts to his wife in 1940, in February, three weeks before his death. In this article, we will consider Bulgakov's latest novel and analyze it.

"The Master and Margarita" - the result of Bulgakov's work

This novel was a kind of synthesis, the result of all the previous experience of the writer and playwright. It reflected the Moscow life, which arose in the essays from the work "On the Eve"; satirical mysticism and fantasy, tested by Bulgakov in the stories of the 1920s; motives of restless conscience and knightly honor - in the novel " white guard"; as well as the dramatic theme of the evil fate of one persecuted artist, which was deployed in the "Theatrical Novel" and "Moliere". The description of Yershalaim prepared a picture of the life of the eastern city, which is mentioned in "Running". And the transfer of the narrative in time during the period of early Christianity reminiscent of the plays "Ivan Vasilyevich" and "Bliss", in which a journey through the epochs was also made.

Layered work

First of all, it should be noted that this work is multilayered, as our analysis shows. "The Master and Margarita" has several plans, including temporary ones. The author, on the one hand, describes the reality of the 1930s, contemporary to him, but on the other hand, Mikhail Afanasyevich enters a different era: ancient Judea, the first two centuries of Christianity, the reign of Pontius Pilate. By comparing these two times, establishing indirect and direct analogies between them, the space of the novel is built, its ideological content is enriched by this. In the work, in addition, an adventurous-fantastic layer is clearly written out. First of all, it includes scenes in which Koroviev, Behemoth and other representatives of the "gang" of the black magician participate.

Reflection of the characteristics of the era

Persecution, repression, fear, which literally permeated the atmosphere of the 1930s, were most clearly reflected in the fate of the Master. Let's prove it on the example of one episode by analyzing it. "The Master and Margarita" contains interesting scene- a description of the return of the protagonist home after he became a victim of a denunciation carried out by Aloisy Mogarych. Three months absent from his dwelling, he comes to the windows of the basement, in which the gramophone is playing. The master returned in the same coat, only with torn buttons (they were cut off during the arrest) with an unwillingness to live and write.

The atmosphere of the 1930s is also reminiscent of the circumstances of the murder of Aphranius Judas by mercenaries, the death of Meigel, who was killed by Azazello at a ball with Satan. These deaths once again demonstrate the law, which was confirmed more than once already in the times of Yezhov and Yagoda: his servants will be destroyed by evil itself.

The role of mysticism in Bulgakov's work

Bulgakov called himself a mystical writer, but in the novel the mystic is not at all an apology for everything mysterious, which can be proved by analysis. "The Master and Margarita" is a work in which Woland's retinue performs miracles with only one purpose: satire enters the novel through them. Woland and his henchmen make fun of human vices, punish voluptuousness, lies, greed of all these Likhodeevs, Sempleyarovs, Varenukhs. Bulgakov's representatives of evil act in accordance with Goethe's maxim that they are a force that does good, desiring evil.

An analysis of the work "The Master and Margarita" shows that one of the main targets is the complacency of the mind, especially the atheistic one, which sweeps away the whole area of ​​the mysterious and enigmatic along the way. Describing all the "hoaxes", "jokes" and "adventures" of Behemoth, Koroviev and Azazello, the writer laughs at people's confidence that all forms existing life it is possible to plan and calculate, and it is not at all difficult to arrange the happiness and prosperity of people - it is enough just to want.

Criticism of rationalism by Bulgakov

Bulgakov, while remaining an adherent of the Great Evolution, shows doubt that unidirectional and uniform progress can be ensured by a "cavalry assault." His mysticism is directed primarily against rationalism. An analysis of the work "The Master and Margarita" from this side can be carried out as follows. Bulgakov ridicules, developing the theme outlined in various stories of the 1920s, the complacency of reason, which is convinced that, freed from superstitions, it will create an accurate blueprint of the future, the organization of relations between people and harmony in the human soul. Here the image of Berlioz can serve as a most characteristic example. He, having ceased to believe in God, does not even believe that chance can interfere with him, tripping him up at the most unexpected moment. And that is exactly what happens in the end. Thus, the analysis of the novel "The Master and Margarita" proves that the author opposes rationalism.

The mysticism of the historical process

But the mysticism of everyday life for a writer is only a reflection of what can be considered mysticism. historical process(unpredictability of the course of history and the results obtained, their unexpectedness). In history major events, according to Bulgakov, imperceptibly ripen. They are carried out outside the will of people, although many are convinced that they can arbitrarily dispose of everything. As a result, the unfortunate Berlioz, who knew exactly what he would do at the MASSOLIT meeting in the evening, dies a few minutes later under the wheels of a tram.

Pontius Pilate - "a victim of history"

Like Berlioz, he becomes another "victim of history." An analysis of the novel "The Master and Margarita" reveals the following features of this personality. The hero makes an impression of a powerful person on people and on himself. However, Yeshua's perspicacity amazes the procurator no less than the unusual speeches of Berlioz and Woland. The self-satisfaction of Pontius Pilate, his right to dispose of the lives of others at his own discretion, is thereby called into question. The procurator decides the fate of Yeshua. But despite this, the latter is free, and Pilate is the unfortunate hostage of his own conscience. This two-thousand-year captivity is a punishment to imaginary and temporary power.

Love of the Master and Margarita

The novel "The Master and Margarita" is dedicated to the fate of one master - creative personality that opposes the whole world around. Its history is inextricably linked with the history of Margarita. The author in the second part of his novel promises to show readers "eternal", "true", "true" love. These were the feelings of the main characters in the work. Let's analyze them. works you, we hope, remember) is a novel in which love is one of the main themes.

"True Love" by Bulgakov

What does " real love"from the point of view of Mikhail Afanasyevich? An analysis of the chapters ("The Master and Margarita") shows that the meeting of the heroes was accidental, but this cannot be said about the feeling that bound them until the end of their days. The Master and Margarita recognize each other by the look that reflects "deep loneliness". This means that, even without knowing each other, the characters experienced a great need for love, which Bulgakov notes in his novel. "The Master and Margarita", the analysis of which we are conducting, is a work demonstrating that a miracle has happened (meeting of lovers) is also the will of chance, a mysterious fate, denied in every possible way by supporters of rationalism.

The master says that this feeling hit them both at once. True love invades life powerfully and transforms it. The meeting of the Master and Margarita, which we are analyzing, turned everything ordinary and everyday into significant and bright. When the Master appeared in the cellar main character, as if all the details of his meager life began to glow from within. And this can be easily seen through analysis. The love of Margarita and the Master was so bright that when the heroine left, everything faded for the writer in love.

First of all, real feelings must be selfless. Before meeting the Master, Margarita had everything a woman needed to be happy: a kind, handsome husband who adored his wife, money, a luxurious mansion. However, she was not satisfied with her life. Bulgakov writes that Margarita needed a Master, and not a separate garden, a Gothic mansion and money. When the heroine did not have love, she even wanted to commit suicide. At the same time, she could not harm her husband and acted honestly, deciding to leave farewell note which explained everything.

Hence, true love cannot harm anyone. She will not build her happiness at the expense of the misfortune of others. This feeling is also selfless. The heroine of Bulgakov is able to accept the aspirations and interests of her lover as her own. She helps the Master in everything, lives by his worries. The hero writes a novel, which becomes the content of the girl's whole life. She cleanly rewrites the finished chapters, trying to make the Master happy and calm. And in this he sees the meaning of his own life.

"True Love"

What does "true love" mean? Its definition can be found in the second part of the work, when the heroine is left alone, while not having any news about her lover. She waits, not finding a place for herself. At the same time, Margarita does not lose hope of meeting him again, she is true to her feelings. It is completely indifferent to her in what light this meeting will take place.

"Eternal love"

Love becomes "eternal" when Margarita endures the test of meeting with mysterious otherworldly forces, as analysis of the episode ("The Master and Margarita") shows. The girl in the scene, which describes her meeting with otherworldly forces, is fighting for her lover. Attending the full moon ball, the heroine returns the Master with the help of Woland. She is not afraid of death next to her lover and remains with him beyond the death line. Margarita says that she will take care of his sleep.

However, no matter how overwhelmed the girl is with anxiety for the Master and love for him, when the time comes to ask, she does this not for herself, but for Frida. She decides this way not only because of Woland, who advises those in power not to demand anything. The love for the Master in the heroine is organically combined with love for people. Own suffering causes a desire to save others from them.

Love and creativity

True love is also associated with creativity. The fate of Margarita is intertwined with the fate of the Master's novel. As love grows stronger, romance is created. The work is therefore the fruit of love. The novel is equally dear to both the Master and Margarita. And if its creator refuses to fight, the heroine arranges a rout in Latunsky's apartment. However, she rejects Woland's proposal to destroy him. According to Bulgakov, the first step of truth is justice, but the highest is mercy.

Creativity and love exist among people who know neither one nor the other. Because of this, they are simply doomed to tragedy. The Master and Margarita at the end of the novel leave this society, where there is no place for high spiritual impulses. They are given death as rest and peace, as freedom from torment, grief and earthly ordeals. It can also be seen as a reward. This reflects the pain of life, time, the writer himself.

Peace for Mikhail Afanasyevich is the absence of remorse. The fate of Pontius Pilate will never be known by the main characters who lived a worthy, albeit difficult, life.

Having survived decades of unfair oblivion, the novel "The Master and Margarita" by M. Bulgakov is addressed today to us, in our time. The main essence that is defended in the work is "true, faithful and eternal love."

Introduction

The analysis of the novel "The Master and Margarita" has been the subject of study of literary critics throughout Europe for many decades. The novel has a number of features, such as custom shape"a novel within a novel", an unusual composition, rich themes and content. It was not in vain that it was written at the end of life and creative way Mikhail Bulgakov. The writer put all his talent, knowledge and imagination into the work.

Genre of the novel

The work "The Master and Margarita", the genre of which critics define as a novel, has a number of features inherent in its genre. These are several storylines, many heroes, the development of action over a long period of time. The novel is fantastic (sometimes it is called phantasmagoric). But the most striking feature of the work is its "novel within a novel" structure. Two parallel world- the masters and the ancient times of Pilate and Yeshua, live here almost independently and intersect only in recent chapters when a visit to Woland is paid by Levi - a student and close friend Yeshua. Here, two lines merge into one, and surprise the reader with their organicity and closeness. It was the structure of the “novel within a novel” that enabled Bulgakov to show two such around the world, events today, and almost two thousand years ago.

Composition features

The composition of the novel "The Master and Margarita" and its features are due to the author's non-standard methods, such as the creation of one work within the framework of another. Instead of the usual classical chain - composition - plot - climax - denouement, we see the interweaving of these stages, as well as their doubling.

The plot of the novel: the meeting of Berlioz and Woland, their conversation. This happens in the 30s of the XX century. Woland's story also takes the reader back to the thirties, but two millennia ago. And here begins the second plot - a novel about Pilate and Yeshua.

Next comes the tie. These are tricks of Voladn and his company in Moscow. From here the satirical line of the work also originates. A second novel is also developing in parallel. The culmination of the master's novel is the execution of Yeshua, the climax of the story about the master, Margaret and Woland is the visit of Levi Matthew. An interesting denouement: in it both novels are combined into one. Woland and his retinue are taking Margarita and the Master to another world to reward them with peace and quiet. Along the way, they see the eternal wanderer Pontius Pilate.

"Free! He is waiting for you!" - with this phrase, the master releases the procurator and completes his novel.

Main themes of the novel

Mikhail Bulgakov concluded the meaning of the novel "The Master and Margarita" in the interweaving of the main themes and ideas. No wonder the novel is called both fantastic, and satirical, and philosophical, and love. All these themes are developed in the novel, framing and emphasizing main idea- the struggle between good and evil. Each theme is both tied to its characters and intertwined with other characters.

satirical theme- this is Woland's "tour". The public, maddened by material wealth, representatives of the elite, greedy for money, the tricks of Koroviev and Behemoth sharply and clearly describe diseases modern writer society.

Love Theme embodied in the master and Margarita and gives tenderness to the novel and softens many poignant moments. Probably not in vain, the writer burned the first version of the novel, where Margarita and the master were not there yet.

Empathy Theme runs through the whole novel and shows several options for sympathy and empathy. Pilate sympathizes with the wandering philosopher Yeshua, but being confused in his duties and fearing condemnation, he "washes his hands." Margarita has a different sympathy - she sympathizes with the master, Frida at the ball, and Pilate with all her heart. But her sympathy is not just a feeling, it pushes her to certain actions, she does not fold her hands and fights for the salvation of those she worries about. Ivan Bezdomny also sympathizes with the master, imbued with his story that "every year, when the spring full moon comes ... in the evening he appears on the Patriarch's Ponds ...", so that later at night he can see bittersweet dreams about wondrous times and events.

The theme of forgiveness goes almost alongside the theme of sympathy.

Philosophical themes about the meaning and purpose of life, about good and evil, about biblical motives have been the subject of controversy and study of writers for many years. This is because the features of the novel "The Master and Margarita" are in its structure and ambiguity; with each reading they open up more and more questions and thoughts for the reader. This is the genius of the novel - it does not lose either relevance or poignancy for decades, and is still as interesting as it was for its first readers.

Ideas and main idea

The idea of ​​the novel is good and evil. And not only in the context of struggle, but also in the search for a definition. What is really evil? This is probably the best way to describe main idea works. The reader, accustomed to the fact that the devil is pure evil, will be sincerely surprised by the image of Woland. He does not do evil, he contemplates, and punishes those who act low. His tours in Moscow only confirm this idea. He shows the moral illnesses of society, but does not even condemn them, but only sighs sadly: "People, like people ... The same as before." A person is weak, but it is in his power to resist his weaknesses, to fight them.

The theme of good and evil is ambiguously shown on the image of Pontius Pilate. In his heart he opposes the execution of Yeshua, but he lacks the courage to go against the crowd. The verdict on the wandering innocent philosopher is passed by the crowd, but Pilate is destined to serve the punishment forever.

The struggle between good and evil is also the opposition of the literary community to the master. It is not enough for self-confident writers to simply refuse the writer, they need to humiliate him, to prove their case. The master is very weak to fight, all his strength has gone into the romance. No wonder devastating articles for him acquire the image of a certain creature that begins to seem like a master in a dark room.

General analysis of the novel

The analysis of The Master and Margarita implies immersion in the worlds recreated by the writer. Here you can see biblical motifs and parallels with Goethe's immortal Faust. The themes of the novel develop each separately, and at the same time coexist, collectively creating a web of events and questions. Several worlds, each of which has found its place in the novel, are portrayed by the author surprisingly organically. It is not at all surprising to travel from modern Moscow to ancient Yershalaim, Woland's wise conversations, a huge talking cat and Margarita Nikolaevna's flight.

This novel is truly immortal thanks to the talent of the writer and the undying relevance of the topics and problems.

Artwork test

"Master and Margarita" was written in 1928-1940. and published with censored cuts in the magazine Moscow No. 11 for 1966 and No. 1 for 1967. The book without cuts was published in Paris in 1967 and in 1973 in the USSR.

The idea of ​​the novel arose in the mid-1920s, in 1929 the novel was completed, and in 1930 Bulgakov burned it in the stove. This version of the novel was restored and published 60 years later under the title The Great Chancellor. There was neither a Master nor Margarita in the novel, the gospel chapters were reduced to one - "The Gospel of the Devil" (in another version - "The Gospel of Judas").

The first complete edition of the novel was created from 1930 to 1934. Bulgakov painfully thinks over the title: "The Hoof of an Engineer", "The Black Magician", "Woland's Tour", "Consultant with a Hoof". Margarita and her companion appear in 1931, and only in 1934 does the word "master" appear.

From 1937 until his death in 1940, Bulgakov corrected the text of the novel, which he considered the main work of his life. His last words about the novel are twice repeated "to know."

Literary direction and genre

The novel "The Master and Margarita" is modernist, although the Master's novel about Yeshua is realistic historical, there is nothing fantastic in it: no miracles, no resurrection.

Compositionally, The Master and Margarita is a novel within a novel. The Gospel (Yershalaim) chapters are the product of the Master's imagination. Bulgakov's novel is called a philosophical, mystical, satirical and even lyrical confession. Bulgakov himself ironically called himself a mystical writer.

The Master's novel about Pontius Pilate is close in genre to a parable.

Issues

The most important problem of the novel is the problem of truth. Heroes lose direction (Homeless), head (Georges of Bengal), personality itself (Master). They find themselves in impossible places (Likhodeev), turn into witches, vampires and hogs. Which of these worlds and images is true for each? Or are there many truths? This is how the Moscow leaders echo Pilatov "what is truth."

Truth in the novel is represented by the Master's novel. Guessing the truth becomes (or remains) mentally ill. Parallel to the Master's novel about Pontius Pilate, there are false texts: a poem by Ivan Bezdomny and notes by Levi Matthew, who allegedly writes what did not exist and what will later become the historical Gospel. Perhaps Bulgakov questions the gospel truths.

Another major problem of the eternal life search. It is embodied in the motif of the road in the final scenes. Having abandoned the search, the Master cannot claim the highest award(light). Moonlight in the story - the reflected light of the eternal movement towards the truth, which cannot be comprehended in historical time, but only in eternity. This idea is embodied in the image of Pilate, walking with Yeshua, who turned out to be alive, along the lunar path.

There is another problem with Pilate in the novel - human vices. Bulgakov considers cowardice to be the main vice. This is in some way an excuse for their own compromises, deals with conscience, which a person is forced to make under any regime, especially under the new Soviet one. It is not for nothing that Pilate's conversation with Mark Ratslayer, who is supposed to kill Judas, resembles the conversation of agents of the secret service of the GPU, who do not speak directly about anything, understand not words, but thoughts.

Social problems are connected with satirical Moscow chapters. The problem of human history is raised. What is it: the game of the devil, the intervention of otherworldly good forces? To what extent does the course of history depend on a person?

Another problem is the behavior of the human person in a particular historical period. Is it possible in a vortex historical events to remain a man, to maintain common sense, personality and not to compromise with conscience? Muscovites ordinary people, But housing problem ruined them. Can a difficult historical period justify their behavior?

Some issues are believed to be ciphered in the text. Bezdomny, chasing Woland's retinue, visits exactly those places in Moscow where churches were destroyed. Thus, the problem of the godlessness of the new world is raised, in which a place has appeared for the devil and his retinue, and the problem of the rebirth of a restless (homeless) person in it. The new Ivan is born having been baptized in the Moscow River. So Bulgakov connects the problem of the moral fall of man, which allowed Satan to appear on the streets of Moscow, with the destruction of Christian shrines.

Plot and composition

The novel is based on plots known in world literature: the incarnation of the devil in the world of people, the sale of the soul. Bulgakov uses compositional technique"text in text" and connects two chronotopes in the novel - Moscow and Yershalaim. Structurally they are similar. Each chronotope is divided into three levels. The upper level - Moscow squares - the palace of Herod and the Temple. The middle level is the Arbat lanes where the Master and Margarita live - the Lower City. The lower level is the bank of the Moskva River - Kedron and Gethsemane.

The highest point in Moscow is Triumphalnaya Square, where the Variety Theater is located. The atmosphere of a farce, a medieval carnival, where the heroes dress in someone else's clothes and then turn out to be naked, like unfortunate women in a magic shop, is spreading throughout Moscow. It is the Variety that becomes the place of the demonic coven with the sacrifice of the entertainer, whose head was torn off. This very high point in the chapters of Yershalaim corresponds to the place of the crucifixion of Yeshua.

Thanks to the parallel chronotopes, the events taking place in Moscow take on a tinge of buffoonery and theatricality.

Two parallel times are also correlated according to the principle of assimilation. The events in Moscow and Yershalaim have similar functions: they open a new cultural era. The action of these plots corresponds to 29 and 1929 and takes place as if simultaneously: on the hot days of the full moon in spring, on the religious holiday of Easter, which was completely forgotten in Moscow and did not prevent the murder of the innocent Yeshua in Yershalaim.

The Moscow plot corresponds to three days, and the Yershalaim one to days. Three Yershalaim chapters are connected with three event days in Moscow. In the finale, both chronotopes merge, space and time cease to exist, and the action continues into eternity.

In the finale, three storylines also merge: philosophical (Pontius Pilate and Yeshua), love (Master and Margarita), satirical (Woland in Moscow).

Heroes of the novel

Woland - Bulgakov's Satan - does not look like the gospel Satan, who embodies absolute evil. The name of the hero, as well as his dual nature, are borrowed from Goethe's Faust. This is evidenced by the epigraph to the novel, which characterizes Woland as a force that always wants evil and does good. With this phrase, Goethe emphasized the cunning of Mephistopheles, and Bulgakov makes his hero, as it were, the opposite of God, necessary for world balance. Bulgakov, through the mouth of Woland, explains his idea with the help of a bright image of the earth, which cannot exist without shadows. The main feature of Woland is not malice, but justice. That is why Woland arranges the fate of the Master and Margarita and ensures the promised peace. But Woland has no mercy or indulgence. He judges everything from the point of view of eternity. He does not punish or forgive, but incarnates among people and tests them, forcing them to reveal their true essence. Woland is subject to time and space, he can change them at his discretion.

Woland's retinue refers the reader to mythological characters: the angel of death (Azazello), other demons (Koroviev and Behemoth). On the final (Easter) night, all scores are settled, and the demons are also reborn, losing their theatrical, superficial, revealing their true face.

The master is the protagonist of the novel. He, like the ancient Greek cultural hero, is the bearer of a certain truth. He stands "at the beginning of time", his work - a novel about Pontius Pilate - marks the beginning of a new cultural era.

In the novel, the activities of writers are opposed to the work of the Master. Writers only imitate life, creating a myth, the Master creates life itself. The source of knowledge about it is incomprehensible. The master is endowed with almost divine power. As the bearer and creator of truth, he reveals the true, human, and not divine, essence of Yeshua, releases Pontius Pilate.

The personality of the master is dual. The divine truth revealed to him is in conflict with human weakness, even madness. When the hero guesses the truth, he has nowhere else to move, he has comprehended everything and can only go to eternity.

It was Margarita who was awarded the eternal shelter, in which she ends up with the master. Peace is both a punishment and a reward. Faithful woman is perfect female image in the novel and Bulgakov's ideal in life. Margarita is born from the image of Margaret "Faust", who died as a result of the intervention of Satan. Margarita Bulgakova turns out to be stronger than Satan and takes advantage of the situation, like Gogol's Vakula, remaining clean herself.

Ivan Bezdomny is reborn and turns into Ivan Nikolaevich Ponyrev. He becomes a historian who knows the truth from the first instance - from its very creator, the Master, who bequeathed him to write a sequel about Pontius Pilate. Ivan Bezdomny is Bulgakov's hope for an objective presentation of history, which does not exist.