The Master and Margarita: Analysis of Major Characters
"The Master and Margarita" is a complex novel by Mikhail Bulgakov that intertwines multiple narratives set in both Soviet Moscow and ancient Jerusalem. The story features significant characters, each contributing to its exploration of themes such as love, power, and the nature of good and evil. The Master is a struggling writer who, after facing rejection, finds solace in a mental hospital and becomes the object of Margarita's profound love. Margarita defies societal norms to rescue the Master, showcasing her fierce loyalty and determination.
Woland, the devil incarnate, disrupts Moscow's mundane existence with supernatural events, serving as a catalyst for the characters' transformations. Other notable figures include Ivan Ponyrev, a young writer who becomes entwined in the Master’s narrative, and Pontius Pilate, who grapples with moral dilemmas surrounding his role in the execution of Yeshua Ha-Nozri, a character representing Jesus. Each character, from Woland's enigmatic assistants to the self-serving bureaucrats of Soviet society, plays a vital role in the unfolding drama that examines the intersections of faith, creativity, and societal hypocrisy. The dynamic interactions among these characters highlight the novel's rich tapestry and its enduring relevance in literary discussions.
The Master and Margarita: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Mikhail Bulgakov
First published: Master i Margarita, 1966–1967, expurgated (English translation, 1967); 1967 (Samizdat, in France) and 1973 (in Soviet Union), unexpurgated (English translations, 1967 and 1995)
Genre: Novel
Locale: First century Jerusalem and postrevolutionary Moscow
Plot: Satire
Time: 30 a.d. and 1920
The Master, an unnamed Muscovite who, after winning a lottery, retires to a basement apartment to write a novel about Pontius Pilate. Devastated when it is rejected by scornful editors, he attempts to burn the manuscript. The Master finds refuge in a mental hospital, where he meets Ivan and continues to imagine ancient Yershalayim. He is retrieved from the hospital by Woland, at the request of Margarita.
Margarita, the wife of a wealthy factory owner who falls in love with the Master and visits him clandestinely in his basement rooms. She fervently believes in his novel and attempts, unsuccessfully, to get editors to publish it. After the Master's disappearance, she is summoned by Azazello and flies off, naked, on a broom to apartment number 50 at 302-b Sadovaya Street in Moscow, where she serves as hostess of Satan's spring ball of the full moon.
Woland, also known as Satan, Messire, and the Devil, who shows up, in the guise of a German professor, in Moscow's Patriarchs' Pond Park. The magic show that he and his cohorts perform at the Variety Theater, in which the emcee is beheaded and money and clothing materialize, ends in pandemonium. Woland takes over Berlioz's apartment as his headquarters. There, he stages a satanic ball attended by a wide range of guests, living and deceased.
Ivan Nikolayevich Ponyrev (nih-koh-LA-yeh-vihch POHnih-rehv), a young writer who uses the pen name Ivan Homeless. He is commissioned to write an antireligious poem about Jesus. His hysterical account of the supernatural mischief of Woland and his cohorts to fellow writers at the Griboyedov House causes him to be hospitalized and diagnosed as schizophrenic. After meeting the Master in an adjoining room, he listens to his story and becomes his literary disciple.
Yeshua Ha-Nozri, an accused rabble-rouser from Galilee. He is a solitary and timorous figure unsure of his calling. Resentful of Matthu Levi, he asks him to burn his manuscript. He is put to an agonizing death on Bald Mountain on the outskirts of Yershalayim.
Matthu Levi, a former tax collector who becomes Yeshua's self-appointed and sole disciple and maintains a chronicle of his master's life. Bitter over Yeshua's torturous execution, he attempts, unsuccessfully, to shorten his prolonged agony. He is offered a position by the guilt-wracked Pilate.
Pontius Pilate, also known as Hegemon, the Fifth Roman Procurator of Judea. He suffers from severe headaches and from weariness with the onerous duties of his office. He reluctantly accedes to the necessity of executing Yeshua.
Yehudah of Kerioth, a young man who informs the authorities about Yeshua's seditious statements. Lured to a romantic rendezvous, he is robbed and murdered.
Koroviev (koh-ROV-yehv), also known as Fagot, who introduces himself as Woland's interpreter. He is Satan's chief assistant and is an important participant in the bizarre events at apartment 50 and at the Variety Theater.
Azazello, one of Woland's assistants. He summons Margarita to apartment 50 and instructs her in how to fly.
Behemoth, also known as Tom, one of Woland's assistants. He has the form of a huge tomcat. Ivan Homeless chases him onto a streetcar and throughout Moscow. Behemoth is an active instigator of much of the supernatural mischief in the Variety Theater and apartment 50.
Hella, a naked witch who embarrasses the bar manager at the Variety Theater and who shows up at the satanic ball in apartment 50.
Mikhail Alexandrovich Berlioz (ah-lehk-SAN-drohvihch), an unimaginative cultural commissar, chairman of the board of the writers'association, MASSOLIT. He is skeptical of the supernatural. He meets with Ivan in Patriarchs' Pond Park to discuss revisions in Ivan's antireligious poem about Jesus. While there, he also encounters Woland, who accurately predicts his imminent beheading by a streetcar.
Styopa Likhodeyev (STYOH-pah lih-khoh-DEH-yehv), the director of the Variety Theater. He shares apartment number 50 with Berlioz. The day after Berlioz's death, he is visited by Woland and his cohorts, who mysteriously transport him to Yalta and commandeer his apartment for their own diabolical activities.
Professor Stravinsky, the director of a mental hospital on the outskirts of Moscow, to which an increasing number of characters are consigned. He diagnoses Ivan Homeless as schizophrenic.
Grigory Danilovich Rimsky (grih-GOH-ree dah-NIH-lohvihch RIHM-skee), the financial manager of the Variety Theater. Forced to assume responsibility after Likhodeyev's mysterious disappearance, he becomes terrified by Woland's supernatural mischief and flees to Leningrad.
Ivan Savelievich Varenukha (sah-VEH-lyeh-vihch vahREH-new-khah), the house manager of the Variety Theater. Assigned by Rimsky to investigate the telegrams that they have been receiving from Likhodeyev in Yalta, he becomes the terrified victim of supernatural acts.
Arkady Apollonovich Sempleyarov (ahr-KAH-dee ahpoh-LOH-noh-vihch sehm-pleh-YA-rov), a pompous Soviet commissar. In the audience at the Variety Theater during Woland's magic show, he vocally demands a complete exposé. Woland responds by exposing him as an adulterous liar.
Nikanor Ivanovich Bosoy (nih-kah-NOHR ee-VAH-nohvihch boh-SOY), the house chairman of 302-b Sadovaya Street. After Berlioz's death, he receives thirty-two applications for his rooms. A generous bribe makes him partial to Woland, until Koroviev alerts the police to the foreign currency that has mysteriously materialized in his possession.
Latunsky (lah-TEWN-skee), a powerful Moscow literary critic. Margarita wreaks revenge on him for his devastating attack on the Master's novel by destroying his apartment.
Aphranius, the head of the Roman secret service in Judea. He provides Pontius Pilate with information and disinformation about seditious plots involving Yeshua and arranges for the assassination of Yehuda.