Discussion on Master & Margarita - Chapter 5

Chapter 5  

The title of this chapter is “The matter was in Griboedov”.

House of Griboedov , where the office of MASSOLIT was located, is discussed in great detail. Bulgakov narrates what all used to take place in that house…like, providing the best possible facilities to the members of MASSOLIT, which included the best food, housing in the Writers’ colony in Perelygino, free travel and holidays to create literary works…..In short this was a place where the proletarian writers were ‘brought up’. They were kept aloof from the society and given the best treatment. To possess the Identity Card of MASSOLIT was a matter of great pride.

Now come to other things:

Why Griboedov’s name given to the Building? Bulgakov says that this House belonged to the aunt of famous writer Griboedov and that he used to read extracts from his play “Woe from Wit” (GORE OT UMA) to this aunt who would listen sitting on the sofa in the Hall with Columns. But Bulgakov immediately negates his own statement by saying, “We don’t know whether Griboedov had any such aunt who possessed such big, palatial house” and then he says, “whether there was such an aunt or not, we don’t know…whether he read her extracts from his play or did not read, we are not sure…may be he read, may be, he didn’t read”

This is again similar to Berlioz telling the Professor that though his story is interesting, it does not match with the one given in the Holy Bible…immediately we infer that the Yeshua-Pontius Pilate episode is not about the real Christ!

Same thing here.

But why Griboedov? The building which is referred to here is House of Gertsen..the name given to it by Bulgakov is Griboedov House. Again the same thing concerned with thinking/intelligence. Griboedov’s play depicts how an educated/intelligent/thinking man suffers in the society where others were illiterates. Here the same thing is referred to for the society contemporary to Bulgakov.

Ivan Bezdomnyi arrives in Griboedov- House in search of Professor…

There were twelve writers waiting for Berlioz (the twelve disciples!)…while waiting for him in that small, suffocating room. While cursing Berlioz for being late, they pour out their frustration.

And when the famous Jazz begins, they come down to have ‘some thing’. Suddenly there comes the news about Berlioz’s death. The Jazz stops, people stop eating and drinking for a few minutes and then slowly resume it by saying, how can we help it? Why to throw away Vodka? He is dead but we are still alive and we should eat to live. A bitter truth!

Pay attention to the manager of Griboedov’s house. Bulgakov suggests and then immediately refutes that he was a pirate! But it is interesting to note the background of people who were now creating proletarian literature/protecting proletarian writers.

Note the reaction of people on seeing Ivan with the Icon, the burning candle and his funny attire. Note how the manager Archibald Archibaldovich scolds the watchman for allowing Ivan into the Griboedov. Note the puffy face who was asking Ivan in his very ear the name of Professor. Note the poet Riukhin.

More about Riukhin in next chapter.

By the end of this chapter Ivan is bundled into a truck and taken away to the Clinic of Dr Stravinsky about which the Professor had already predicted in the Patriarchy Park.

Discussion on Master & Margarita - Chapter 4

Discussion on Master & Margarita – Chapter 4

 We can say that Chapter 4 indicates the beginning of action in Moscow.

As soon as Bezdomnyi heard the first screams, he rushed towards the exit and saw Berlioz’s severed head rolling along the fencing of Patriarchy Park.

He was so stunned that he collapsed on a nearby bench and could not move. 

When the screams stopped he heard two women discussing the tragic incident and one of them commented, “Annushka! Our Annushka! She bought one liter of sunflower oil but the bottle hit the turnstile and the whole oil spilled on the ground. The unfortunate man slipped over it and fell over the rails.”

The bells start ringing in Bezdomnyi’s mind! Annushka! Sunflower oil! The meeting! Pontius Pilate! The Professor!

Ivan Bezdomnyi jumped to the conclusion that Professor knew about Berlioz’s death….maybe he himself had plotted the accident!!??  He comes back to the bench where he was sitting with the Professor a little while ago and sees that the same tall, thin person in a checkered shirt was sitting near the Professor. 

He was wearing specs with one glass!

This person is one of the most important characters of the novel. Ivan requests him to help in catching the criminal…..well, you must have read all this…

Let us go to the ‘chase’…..

Ivan is following the troika….the Professor, the Big, giant cat and the tall, thin man.

Pay attention to the small details…

The cat is paying money to the tram-conductor; she only says that the cats are not allowed inside the trams, but nobody…nobody, pays attention to the fact that the CAT was PAYING money to the conductor!

While following the professor Ivan somehow decides that he is in Building No 13, Flat No.47. This was one such building which earlier belonged to the noble class and is now converted into a community building. The destruction that has taken place inside the building, the dust and dirt, the common kitchen with a paper icon of the Christ and a candle…the woman bathing who mistook Ivan as her lover and she asks him to go back as her husband is expected any moment…the similar orange shaded lamps seen from ALL windows, the same music, a loud screaming voice singing a love song from Evgenyi Onegin (this loud, angry voice is depicted many times!)….you get a glimpse of the Moscow of 20’s!

Then happens an interesting thing.

When Ivan jumps into Moscow River in search of professor….

The water was very cold, there was oil spilled on the water from the steamers etc that were sailing on the river, Ivan’s clothes are stolen, only the candle and the paper icon of the Christ which he had lifted from the building No 13 was left on the bank and also the clothes of the peasant whom Ivan had entrusted his clothes. Ivan had no choice but to put on the short trousers and a loose shirt, he pinned up the icon on his shirt and held the candle in one hand and starts for Griboyedov House.

Can we say that this was purification of Ivan in the water mixed with oil; he adopts the Icon, is he baptized? Some people might think on these lines, but we shall notice that a gradual change takes place in Ivan’s outlook, his thinking process. He comes to know many things which earlier seemed insignificant to him.

The next chapter reveals many things of the literary life of Moscow.

Discussion on Master and Margarita – Chapter 3

We have seen in Chapter 2 that the foreigner narrates the episode of Yeshua-Ha-Nostri being sentenced to death by Pontius Pilate. And by the time the convicts are taken to the Bald Mountain it was already ten o’clock.

Chapter 2 has taken place in Yerushalem.

Chapter 3 begins with the same sentence which has closed Chapter 2. By saying again that it was about 10 o’clock in the morning Bulgakov brings the readers back to the time and space where Berlioz and Bezdomnyi were discussing about Christ.

By this time it is already evening and there is Moon in the sky. Berlioz does not want to irritate this ‘insane’ German, but still says that the Professor’s story is not similar to those mentioned in the Holy Bible. Professor repeats the words said by Berlioz some time ago that the things mentioned in the Holy Bible have never taken place. Berlioz is taken aback.

He asks the Professor where he is staying in Moscow, and the professor answers that he plans to stay in Berlioz’s flat. And really does the professor occupy Berlioz’s flat for full three days!

The strange transparent man whom Berlioz had earlier seen in the park reappears again and asks Berlioz, who was going to make a call to the Office regarding Foreigners, whether he should send a telegram to his uncle in Kiev? 

Thus we get hint to two events: the place where the foreigner is going to stay and that Berlioz has an uncle in Kiev.

Berlioz slips over the oil spilled by some woman and falls on the rails, and is immediately crushed by a tramcar which was being driven by a woman.

Thus Professor’s prediction comes true: the meeting of MOSSOLIT that Berlioz was going to preside over can’t take place, Berlioz’s head is severed, and a woman had done it (the tram car driver was a woman!). And next moment people who had assembled there saw Berlioz’s head rolling along the fencing of the Patriarchy Ponds.

WE can say that this chapter serves as prelude to the forthcoming events, it establishes professor as fortune teller, it also emphasizes that man has no control over his future, he doesn’t even know what is going to happen to him the next moment.

How will Bezdomnyi react to all this?

Discussion on Master & Margarita - 02.5

M&M – 2.5  

We can now see that there are four main characters in this chapter:

Pontius Pilate, who represents The Caesar in Yerushalem;

Yeshua, who is accused of inciting the people to destroy the temple of Yerushalem;

Mark Krysoboi, the Chief of security, shown to be taller than the tallest of soldiers;

Kaif, The Religious Head.

But there are two more characters, a sweeping reference to whom is found in the chapter:

The Caesar and The man in hood, whom Pilate meets in the dark room just for a few seconds.

The Caesar is not present in Yerushalem, but his presence is always felt there. That is why when the second charge is levelled against Yeshua – the charge of showing disrespect to Him, Pilate comes to know that he won’t be able to save Ha-Nostri from imminent death. He tries to send signals to Yeshua that he rejects this allegation, but Yeshua confesses that he had told people about the rule of Kings: Any government is just an instrument to torture people…and a time will come when there will be no rulers left in the world and the Man will enter the kingdom of truth and justice.

That was the end of it!

Pilate declares Yeshua guilty and confirms death sentence upon him by the Lower court, and he rubs his hands as if he is washing them.

While Pilate is scared of the Caesar, Kaif does not leave an opportunity to complain against him to the Caesar. Pilate, the Administrative Head and Kaif, the ideological/political head hate each other. But they are also careful lest no one overhears them. Kaif wants Yeshua to die, while Pilate wants to save him, but finds that he cannot do so.

The Holy Bible does not mention that Pilate developed some soft feelings for Yeshua.

Please pay attention to the depiction of the Caesar. The ulcerous growth on his forehead…

We shall think about these details when we discuss chapters 16, 25 and 26 dealing with the theme of Pilate-Yeshua.

Discussion on Master & Margarita - 2.4

‘Just then the armed soldiers brought a young man of about 27 years. He was in a tattered blue long gown, a white kerchief on his head…’

So, the age of Yeshua Ha-Nostri is given as 27 years….The Holy Bible mentions the same as 33 years….

Yeshua is wearing a blue dress, according to the Holy Bible, it was black….He says that he does not remember his parents, says that they were Syrians…this is again deviation from the Holy Bible.

Ha-Nostri is accused of inciting people to destroy the temple in Yerushalem…he says that he did not incite any one for this and had said that the temple of old beliefs will come down and in its place a new temple of truth will come up.

This was going against the local ideological/religious system which was headed by Kaif.

Please pay attention to the relationship between Pontius Pilate and Kaif…

They hate each other. Kaif had complained to the Caesar against Pilate. Chapter 2 shows that Pilate in fact wanted to save Yeshua. He wanted to take him away from Yerushalam and keep with him. But Kaif insisted that he wants Yeshua to be hanged.

After pronouncing death sentence to Yeshua, he rubs his hands as if he is washing them. The same action will be repeated in a letter chapter as well.

Shall get back to you soon!