After reading the newsletter's subject line, I am sure many of you understand what we will dive into today.
For those who could not, this is Master and Margarita, baby!
I had never given much thought to Russian classics before. Names like Tolstoy and Dostoevsky always made me think of philosophy, which my tiny little brain was not adept enough to understand. Then came Master and Margarita.
“Master and Margarita - my entry into reading, understanding and loving Russian Literature.“
The Master and Margarita, a notorious Russian classic, is a literary masterpiece known for its social commentary and mysticism. A satire on the political system of the Soviet Union, the author captures the essence of 1930s Russia with its brave writing and vibrant characters.
Written by Mikhail Bulgakov in the 1930s and published much later. After being censored, the unexpurgated version was finally released in 1973. A book way ahead of its time and, I guess, still holds some relevance in today’s day and age. So, let’s get into it.
The story is set in two planes of action - one in Moscow in the 1930s, where the city is in chaos, and the other in Jerusalem at the time of Christ. The city of Moscow has been taken over by the Devil, disguised as Professor Woland, along with a giant cat who loves vodka, a naked witch, and an assassin with a yellow fang. Wherever they go, we see disappearances, naked people roaming around the streets, an equally strange magic show, and a lot more - setting the stage for a hilarious yet brilliant satire on the political system of the Soviet Union. The story draws parallels with what was happening in Russia at the time, especially with the disappearances of the citizens under Stalin and erasing their memories and existence in every possible way.
The book is split into two parts - we meet Margarita and her lover, Master, much later in the story. Master - an unsuccessful author who had written a novel about Pontius Pilate sentencing Jesus to death - decides to burn his manuscript after being rejected by multiple publishers. Master has been locked away in the asylum for writing this book. The devil arrives to help these lovers, but of course, causing mayhem in the city before.
Master and Margarita is a book that deals with several themes. Still, at its crux, it is a lover story masked behind layers of comedy, discussions between good and evil, bravery and cowardice, and the much-layered topic of human greed and the extent to which they are willing to go for their interests.
The discussion between good and evil is one of the novel’s driving factors and the turns it takes. Where many assume that the Devil is nothing but the child of chaos and can only mean harm to the people of Moscow, what underlies here is a much deeper and more critical point. When the story is set, elitism plays a significant role in enabling authoritarian rule. That is why the Devil takes it upon himself to punish the literary elite and greedy and expose the masses' self-interest, cowardice, and dishonesty, which in turn strengthens the status quo and all its flaws. Masses’ self-interest, cowardice, and dishonesty
Bulgakov, the real Master.
Born in Kyiv, Mikhail Bulgakov faced many troubles for his unpopular beliefs and views with Stalin. He was unable to get a job, nor was he allowed to leave Moscow. This led him to burn his initial draft of the novel, which was essentially about God and the Devil. It was only after this he was able to find some work. But the catch was that Bulgakov burned his novel, but not to its entirety. This is where he picks it up and finishes writing it by 1938, but the editing is still pending. The entire manuscript is deeply auto-censored, and Bulgakov could only edit the first half of the manuscript before his death. Hence, even today, the second part is challenging to read and get into.
One way to read Master and Margarita is to see Bulgakov writing an autobiographical character, the Master himself. The censorship around both the manuscripts and their burning shows us just that. The story of the Master is the story of Bulgakov, the story of a tragic writer.
Then we have Margarita, which brings us to why this book, in all its madness, was a love story. Thanks to the devil, Margarita is separated from her lover and turned into a witch and is to be present at Satan’s ball. In return, the devil grants her wish, bringing lost lovers together and rekindling the romance—the devil is not that bad after all.
Master and Margarita can easily be described as a fever dream or an acid trip. It is a hilarious yet profound piece of work. A satire filled with irony and humor, yet making you question your ideologies and beliefs. A timeless yet universal comedy, Master and Margarita is a multi-layered book (so much we haven’t covered here) with symbolic references where you would want to dig into the history of Russia and Eastern Europe in the 1930s.
Also, read this brilliant article on why you should read Master and Margarita, especially when you are down.
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See ya!
Namrata.