Why didn't the Master deserve the light? The image of the Master in the novel by Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov "The Master and Margarita"

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

The relationship between Yeshua Ga-Notsri and Woland in M. A. Bulgakov's novel "The Master and Margarita" is a very interesting topic, which at first causes bewilderment. There is no familiar Christian antagonism in these connections. Here one can rather trace partnership relations based not on parity, but on a certain subordination of Woland's "department" to Yeshua's "ministry". This is especially evident in the last chapters of the novel.

Antagonism or interaction?

If we imagine Jesus Christ in the image of Ga-Notsri, and in Woland we see Satan (these comparisons suggest themselves), then we need to answer the question of why such interaction arose, almost cooperation of two “departments”. The higher leadership sends Matthew Levi to the lower (performer). The messenger sends the order to ensure peace for the Master, the protagonist of the novel. And Satan, the one who, according to Christian theology, is entrusted with the control of hell, agrees. Let's look into these intricacies and relationships between the Kingdom of Heaven and the underworld.

Key Quotes

Let's remember the plot of the novel "The Master and Margarita". The content of this multifaceted literary work can be summarized as follows. Woland arrives in Moscow in the 1930s with his retinue and occupies the apartment of the late writer Berlioz. His goal is to find Margarita, the queen of his May ball. During the development of the plot, he encounters the Master - the writer who created the novel about Yeshua Ha-Nozri. Further, the story goes as if in two parallel realities: in modern Moscow and Yershalaim (Jerusalem) almost two thousand years ago. Hounded by colleagues from MASSOLIT, the writer eventually broke down and burned his work. “Manuscripts do not burn,” Woland said, and now the notebook with the apocryphal “Gospel from the Master” reappeared. "Happy end?" - you ask. Not really. Here is a key quote from the novel:

“- He [Ga-Notsri] read the work of the Master… He asks you to take the Master with you and reward you with peace. Is it hard for you to do that, evil spirit?

- Nothing is difficult for me, and you know that well. - Woland paused and asked: - Why don't you take him to your place, into your world?

- He did not deserve the light, he deserved peace, - the messenger Levi said sadly.

Author's world model

This dialogue above raises a number of conceptual questions. Let's formulate them. Why didn't the Master deserve the light? Why does Yeshua (Christ) turn to Woland with a request to give the suffering writer peace? After allSatan, according to Christian beliefs, controls hell. And God is omnipotent and can do everything Himself, including giving someone peace. If Christ gives the Master into the hands of Woland, how can this be called a worthy reward? After all, it is not for nothing that Levi Matthew has a sad voice. What does “peace” mean for Bulgakov himself, how does it relate to the “darkness” and “light” of the New Testament? As we can see, the dialogue between Levi Matthew and Woland is devoid of any antagonism. The characters dive slightly, but it looks like an exercise in sophistry. We can say that for Bulgakov Woland is not an absolute evil. He is rather a proud and independent doer of the will of God.

Neo-Thomist model of the world

Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov cannot be reproached for adhering to Orthodox dogma. Levi Matthew and Yeshua do not look like representatives of the Higher Good. The master “guessed” the Passion of Christ, but he describes them as the suffering of a corruptible person. Yes, the writer's Yeshua "will not quench the smoking flax." He reads in the hearts of people (in particular, Pontius Pilate). But His divine essence is revealed later. The former tax collector Evangelist Levi Matthew looks like an irreconcilable religious fanatic who “incorrectly records what Yeshua said.” Thus, these characters in Bulgakov's novel are not pure Light, but its messengers. And in Christianity, the messengers of God are angels. But Satanail is also an angel, only a fallen one. And he is not Absolute Evil. Therefore, the meeting between Woland and Levi Matthew is devoid of gospel antagonism(think of 2 Corinthians chapter 6).

Plato's model of the world

Let's consider the novel "The Master and Margarita", the content of which we briefly retold, in the light of the teachings of classical Greek philosophy. Plato represented the earthly world as the material embodiment of ideas. Pouring down as emanations, they move away from the source of light. That is why they are distorted. In the heavenly world, the divine world of ideas remains unshakable, and below - the perishable, material vale of sorrow. This Platonic model does not answer the question of why the Master did not deserve the light, but at least explains what peace means. This is a state between the earthly world of sorrows and the Kingdom of Absolute Good, a kind of intermediate layer of reality, where the calm existence of the human soul is established. This is exactly what the Master, broken by persecution, wanted - to be alone with Margarita and forget all the horrors of Moscow experienced in the thirties of the twentieth century.

The image of the Master and the sorrow of Levi Matthew

Many researchers of Bulgakov's work agree that the main character of the novel is autobiographical. The writer also burned the first edition of The Master and Margarita, and wrote the second one “on the table”, realizing that publishing such an “unorthodox” story in the USSR would doom oneself to exile in the Gulag. But, unlike his literary hero, Bulgakov did not renounce his brainchild, he released it into this world.

Quotes about the Master represent him as a man broken by the system: “I no longer have anyaspirations, dreams, and no inspiration either … I'm not interested in anything around … I'm broken, I'm bored … This novel has become hateful to me, I have suffered too much because of it. Being in a psychiatric hospital, he hopes that Margarita will forget him. Thus, he betrays her. Cowardice is not a virtue at all. But an even greater sin is despondency. Margarita says about her lover: "Oh, you unfortunate, unbelieving … They devastated your soul." This explains the sad voice of Levi Matthew. Nothing unclean can enter the Kingdom of the Heavenly Father. And the Master does not strive for the Light.

Model of the world of early Christianity

The Primitive Church represented the material world as a creation of an exclusively evil inclination. Therefore, the Christians of the first centuries had no need for theodicy, the justification of God for the existing evil. They put their trust in "a new earth and a new heaven" where truth dwells. This world, they believed, is ruled by the prince of darkness (Gospel of John, 14:30). Souls striving for the Light, like Pontius Pilate, tormented by conscience, will be heard and accepted into the heavenly chamber. Those who are too mired in their sins, who "loved the world", will remain in it and will go through new cycles of rebirth, incarnate in new bodies. The characterization of the Master, given by Bulgakov himself, makes it possible to judge that this character does not aspire to the Light. Unlike Pontius Pilate, he longs only for peace - first of all for himself. And Yeshua Ha-Nozri allows him to make this choice, because no one can be forced into the Kingdom of Heaven.

Why the Master did not deserve the light, but he was granted peace

Margarita in the novel looks like a more determined, courageous and purposeful woman than her lover. She is not only the muse of the Master. She is ready to fight for him. The spiritual nobility of Margarita is manifested at Woland's May ball. She asks nothing for herself. She puts her whole heart on the altar of love. The image of the Master, who abandoned his novel and is already ready to renounce Margarita, Bulgakov contrasts with his main character. Here she is, yes, she would be worthy of the light. But she longs to enter it only hand in hand with the Master. According to Bulgakov, there are other worlds where people find peace and tranquility. Dante Alighieri in The Divine Comedy describes Limbo, where the souls of the righteous, who do not know the light of Christianity, live without knowing grief. The author of the novel puts his lovers there.

Reward or sentence?

We have already answered the question of why the Master did not deserve the light. But how to perceive his fate - should we rejoice for him or grieve along with Levi Matthew? From a Christian point of view, there is nothing good in being away from God. But, they taught, all souls will someday see the light and see the truth. They will turn to God, He will not leave His children. And when they are cleansed from their sins, He will receive them, as the Father received his prodigal son. Therefore, the fate of the Master and Margarita cannot be considered a sentence of eternal alienation from the world. All souls will someday be saved, because their real home is the Kingdom of Heaven. Including Woland. Just atto each his own repentance.