Who wrote The Master and Margarita? History of the novel "The Master and Margarita"

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Despite the fact that the novel was written a long time ago and is a classic, it still enjoys great popularity among the younger generation. Thanks to the school curriculum, almost everyone knows this novel and the one who wrote it. The Master and Margarita is a novel created by the greatest author, Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov.

Not indifferent to the novel

There are practically no indifferent people in relation to this work. In fact, readers are divided into two camps: those who love the novel and admire it, and those who simply hate it and also do not recognize Bulgakov's genius. But there is a third, the smallest, category. It can be attributed, perhaps, only to small children. These are those who have not heard about the novel and do not know who the author is.

The Master and Margarita is one of the most extraordinary and mysterious prose works. Many writers and literary critics have tried to unravel the mystery of his popularity and success with the reader. To the end, no one has yet succeeded.

Not much can be remembered and named such works that would give rise to so manydisputes. They do not stop talking about Bulgakov's novel to this day. They talk about the biblical component of the plot, about the prototypes of the main characters, about the philosophical and aesthetic roots of the novel, about who the main character is, and even about the genre in which the work is written.

Three stages of writing a novel, according to B. V. Sokolov

Literary scholars' opinions about the history of the writing of The Master and Margarita, as well as about the essence of this work, differ. For example, Sokolov, the author of the Bulgakov Encyclopedia, divides the editions of the novel into three stages. He says that work on the work began in 1928. Presumably, it was then that the author of the novel "The Master and Margarita" conceived it, and began to write individual chapters only in the winter of 1929. Already in the spring of the same year, the first complete edition was handed over. But then it was not yet directly said who the author of the book was, who wrote it. "The Master and Margarita" even then did not appear as the title of the work. The manuscript en titled "Furibunda" was given to the publishing house "Nedra" under the pseudonym K. Tugay. And on March 18, 1930, it was destroyed by the author himself. Thus ends the first stage of the editions of the work, distinguished by Boris Vadimovich Sokolov.

The second stage began in the fall of 1936. And at that time no one knew that the novel would be called the way we are now accustomed to. Bulgakov himself, the one who wrote it, thought differently. “The Master and Margarita” is a work that received different names from its author: “He appeared” and “He appeared”, “Coming”, “Greatchancellor”, “Here I am”, “Black magician”, “Hat with a feather”, “Hoof of the consultant” and “Foreigner's horseshoe”, “Black theologian”, and even “Satan”. Only one sub title remained unchanged - "Fantastic Romance".

And finally, the third stage - from the second half of 1936 to the end of 1938. At first, the novel was called "The Prince of Darkness", but then it nevertheless acquired such a familiar name for us. And at the beginning of the summer, in 1938, it was completely reprinted for the first time.

Everything that happened with the novel further, Sokolov no longer considers editions, but calls the author's editing.

Nine editions, according to Losev

B. I. Losev studied the biography and work of Mikhail Afanasyevich for more than twenty years. He divides the history of writing the novel into nine parts, just like the author himself.

• First edition - "Black Mage". These are drafts of the novel, the first notebook, written in 1928-1929. There is no Master and Margarita in it yet and there are only four chapters.
• Second - "Engineer's Hoof". This is the second draft notebook of the same years. It is like a continuation, the second part of the first edition of the work. There are only three chapters in it, but here the idea of one of the most important parts of the novel already appeared - this section called "The Gospel According to Woland".
• Third - "Evening of terrible Saturday". Drafts, sketches for the novel, written in 1929-1931. There are also three chapters. And only the case in Griboyedov reached the final version.
• Fourth - "The Great Chancellor". First complete manuscript edition. Margaritas are already hereand her lover. But his name is not the Master yet, but the Poet.
• Fifth - "Fantastic novel". These are chapters rewritten and completed in 1934-1936. New details appear, but there are no significant modifications.
• Sixth - "Golden Spear". This is an unfinished manuscript, torn off at the Magic Money chapter.
• Seventh - "The Prince of Darkness". The first thirteen chapters of the novel. The love story of the Master and Margarita is not here, and in general everything ends at the appearance of the main character. And Berlioz is called Mirtsev here.
• The eighth part - "The Master and Margarita". Complete and mature handwritten revision 1928–1937. And it was this version that was printed by Elena Bulgakova's sister Olga Bokshanskaya.
• Ninth - also "The Master and Margarita". The last and final edition, including all the latest additions and comments by Mikhail Afanasyevich. It was published after the death of the writer Elena Sergeevna, his wife, in 1966.

Variant story of Belobrovtseva and Kuljus

In many ways, their version is similar to Losev's, as they fully agree with the critic about the first edition. However, they call the chapters of the novel "The Hoof of an Engineer" given to the publishing house "Nedra" as the second edition. It is here that the Master appears for the first time, who is also called Fesey. He plays the role of Faust even without Marguerite. The third version, according to Belobrovtseva and Kuljus, is the Fantastic Novel written by Bulgakov in 1932, where the Master turns from Fesi into the Poet and Margarita already appears. They consider the fourth edition of 1936, the one that was completed for the first timethe word "end". Next comes the work of 1937 - the unfinished novel "The Prince of Darkness". And then the manuscript printed by O. S. Bokshanskaya. Already its editing by the authors is considered the seventh edition. And the eighth and last one was the one that was ruled by Bulgakov's wife before his death and was published after his death.

The novel was published from afar in the form in which we know it, for the first time in the Moscow magazine in 1966. The work immediately gained popularity, and Bulgakov's name did not leave the lips of his contemporaries. Then, for sure, no one had a question about who the author of the work was, who wrote it. The Master and Margarita is a novel that made a great impression. And he still holds the brand.