Discussion on Master&Margarita - 12

Chapter 12

The banners mentioned that there is going to be a show  “Blackmagic and its Exposure” in Variety theatre on Thursday, in the second half.

The hall of Variety is full to its capacity.

The evening began with some small tricks on cycles by Julie and her family.

People are excited and they are eagerly waiting for the black magic show.

The only person who is nervous about this whole thing is Rimsky. He is sitting in his cabin and biting his lips in nervousness. Now and then his face would shiver with fear. He was scared that after Styopa’s disappearance, now Varenukha too has disappeared. Rimsky felt that there is a link between these two events.

He was wondering why Varenukha did not return from that place where he was sent with telegrams? He could not decide to call them and confirm whether Varenukha had reached there or not. At last at 10 in the night he decided to call there,  but he found that the telephone is dead, in fact all the telephones in Variety were dead. Though Rimsky was a little scared at this he, in fact, felt happy to know this, as this he saved him from calling them.

During the first interval Rimsky was informed that the foreign artist had arrived along with his team. He had to go to receive him as there was no one left in Variety to welcome him.

Voland has come with his interpreter and a big, fat cat. Presence of an interpreter too makes Rimsky unhappy. Some tricks by the assistant/interpreter of the foreign artist made people very excited, they were too impressed by the cat who was walking on her legs, drinking water from the jar…

When the third bell rings and the lights in the hall go off, the Master of Ceremonies, George Bengalsky introduces the artists and the show and comments that though the show is about black magic, we know that there is nothing called black magic and that the foreign artist is going to expose the technique of black magic…

The curtain opens; the magician enters along with his two assistants: the checkered tall man and the huge cat walking on its hind legs. Public applauded…

The magician, Voland orders for a chair and a chair appears on the stage. Voland asks his assistant, “Tell me, dear Fagot, don’t you think that people of Moscow have changed a lot?”

Fagot (who is actually Koroviev) answers in the affirmative.

Voland comments that apparently there is a lot of change in Moscow:  people are looking well dressed, trams, cars, buses…”

Bengalsky interrupts saying that the foreign artist seems impressed at Moscow’s technical achievement…the Muscovites too have impressed him.

Voland is angry, he asks Fagot, whether he has shown any sign of surprise?

Fagot denies and comments that Bengalsky is a liar.

Trouble begins for Bengalsky.

The next item, with pack of cards turns out to be hilarious when the cards change into currency notes…there is a race among the people to catch them. Bengalsky again comments that this was an example of black magic and that the currency notes will soon disappear.

Voland is really very angry….Fagot asks the audience how should they deal with Bengalsky, someone from the hall comments, “cut off his head!” Fagot agrees and calls Begemot (the huge cat is called Begemot). The next moment Begemot jumps on Bengalsky’s head and plucks off his head from his neck!   

Blood oozes like fountain from the broken veins and wets his coat..The headless torso stumbles for some time then sits on the stage and pleads, “please give me back my head…take everything back from me…my flat, my portraits…just give me back my head…”.

There are shrieks in the hall. People take pity on Bengalsky

Voland comments, “These people are like common people. They love money…but sometimes some kindness too appears in their hearts…problem of residential accommodation has spoilt them…” and he orders that Bengalsky’s head is put back on its place.

Bengalsky is made to promise that he will not poke his liar nose everywhere and then his head is placed back on his neck, his coat is cleaned; a bundle of currency notes is put in his pocket and he is taken out of the hall, but suddenly he goes into delirium….starts behaving like an insane and is taken to Stravinksky’s clinic.

Then starts the Fashion-shop…the shop with latest fashioned dresses, shoes, purses, cosmetics…Women are invited to get new dresses and accessories in exchange of their old costumes.

After this part of the show is over, the Chairman on the Accoustics Committee, Arkadi Appolonovich Simpleyarov demands that Fagot expose the technique of black magic. This proves disastrous to the chairman himself.

It is exposed in full of public that he tells lies to his wife regarding official meetings and spends time with female artists who come to Moscow to perform. Using this type of relationship he insists that they are given lead roles in famous plays, that is how actresses without any talent get plum roles in plays.

Bulgakov has exposed the reality of theatrical world; about how the problem of quarters brings change into people’s behavior…

Suddenly Begemot announces that the show is over and in a moment the stage is empty, Fagot and Begemot, as if dissolve in the air; the police enters Simpleyarov’s box where a relative of his, a young upcoming artist, starts banging him with her little umbrella at this exposure, and Simpleyarov’s wife thundering and calling the police….

Discussion on Master& Margarita - 11

Chapter 11

 This is a beautiful chapter which describes very briefly Ivan’s transition into a New Ivan.

When Ivan Bezdomnyi was advised by Prof. Stravinsky to give in writing the whole episode concerning Berlioz’s death, Ivan starts writing, but he could not write an impressive draft. No matter how many times he tried, the subsequent version came out worse than the earlier one.

In the meanwhile the sky is overcast with clouds; it started raining heavily and all this affected Ivan. He felt very nervous, he was disappointed, he was depressed and unable to control himself, he started crying.

The doctor gives him an injection and assures that everything will be alright.

Please note that the action takes place precisely at the same time when Varenukha is being lifted and carried to flat No. 50 amidst heavy rain….that is Thursday afternoon/evening.

Very soon the rain stopped, and the clear sky made all things visible from Ivan’s window.

Ivan was now feeling very calm and he felt that he is able to think in a more reasonable way.

He admits that it was foolish to run after the Professor and his team with a candle and the icon and to create scene at the Griboedov’s. He asks himself, “Why did I get so excited when Berlioz was run over by the tram car? Well, accidents do happen in life. Who was Berlioz to me? He was neither my friend nor a relative! Let him go to hell…he had a dangerously sweet tongue. If Berlioz has died, there will come a new President for the MASSOLIT, may be more dangerous than Berlioz!

I was a fool that I did all that…

Ivan is now changing…He feels that this hospital not bad, that Stravinsky is good…It would have been better to find out from him what happened to Pontius Pilate and Ha-Nostri.

Now and then Old Ivan tries to dissuade New Ivan from this transformation, but Ivan has now changed. He confesses that he was a fool to have created all that scandal.

After this change he finds himself drowsing and sees the forest of Lindens…the jolly cat passing by…

And when he was just about to fall asleep, the door of the balcony opens without any sound and a voice whispers, “shhhhhh….!!!”

DiscussiononMaster&Margarita(English)-Chapter 10

Chapter 10

This chapter is called “News from Yalta” and Bulgakov tells about Styopa’s activities from Yalta.

Action takes place in Variety Theatre. Variety is also situated on Sadovaya Street. Action starts at the same time when Ivan is being interrogated in Prof. Stravinsky’s clinic; Styopa is flung out of his flat into Yalta; Nikanor Ivanovich is arrested after the foreign currency is found in the lavatory of his flat ---please remember that it is the morning of Thursday.

So, the financial director and administrator of Variety are waiting for Styopa Likhodeev, who had informed the financial director Rimsky from his flat that he is reaching there in half an hour’s time.

 Varenukha, the administrator, is sitting in Rimsky’s cabin, so that he can avoid those who always surrounded him for free tickets.

Rimsky is unhappy with Styopa. He informs Varenukha that the day before Styopa had rushed like a crazy fellow into his cabin with a contract for this black-magic show and made Rimsky pay him some advance money for the magician. But where was magician? No one had seen him. And at 2.00pm in the afternoon there is neither Styopa nor the magician present in the theatre.

Then suddenly some telegrams start pouring into Rimsky’s cabin.

The first telegram (super lightening) was from Yalta’s secret service police which said that at 11.30 in the morning a crazy Likhodeev, in a night dress, with no shoes, was found in Yalta. He claimed to be the director of Variety. The secret police of Yalta wanted to know the whereabouts of Likhodeev.

Even before Rimsky could respond to this by saying that “Likhodeev – in Moscow” another super lightening thing pours in. It was from LIkhodeev, saying, ‘Request believe thrown Yalta hypnosis Voland. Inform secret police; confirm about Likhodeev.”

Before answering this telegram they try to contact Styopa on telephone in his flat – no response. Courier boy was sent there – the flat was found locked; and while they were wondering what to do , a third telegram with Styopa’s signature on a black photographic background is delivered. Styopa has attached his signature and requests to confirm that it is him who is in Yalta.

The biggest puzzle for Rimsky and Varenukha was how Likhodeev could be present at 11.30 a.m. in Moscow as well as in Yalta. But as the signature was confirmed to be his, Rimsky informs Yalta police that Likhodeev could not be contacted in Moscow, though he had called Variety from his flat at 11.30 a.m., but that the signature attached with the telegram is his.

Then comes the next telegram from Styopa requesting Rimsky to send him 500 roubles telegraphically so that he could start for Moscow.

Money is sent.

We notice that Rimsky, Varenukha and Styopa did not like each other. Rimsky is a serious type of person who could not tolerate Styopa’s dare-devil type of attitude. He was always in search of an opportunity to get Styopa punished by the authorities.

Rimsky puts all these telegrams in a cover and requests Varenukha to carry them personally to THEM.

Now and then we notice such oblique reference to organs like KGB (which was called NKVD at that time.)

But as Varenukha was about to leave for THAT place, he is threatened on telephone not to carry them anywhere.

But Varenukha  has to go. Before leaving he decides to peep into the green room in Variety’s garden to check whether the mechanic has fixed the  metallic net on a bulb in the lavatory there.

Bulgakov very beautifully describes how the wind was roaring, how it was pushing him back hitting him on his face… there starts heavy downpour.

Suddenly he is accosted by  two persons: a short, fat, cat like creature who slaps him on the left ear for daring to carry the telegrams; another slap he receives on right ear from a sportsman like person with red hair.

They lift him from both sides and carry  into Likhodeev’s flat amidst the heavy rain, where a completely naked woman  with green-phosphoric eyes rushes to kiss him…her icy cold hands were pressing his shoulders….

So, Varenukha is the victim in this chapter. He is punished for telling lies, mismanaging the free tickets.

The description is full of suspense and mystery. The pouring rain, the gushing water on the streets, the raging storm create a very dreary atmosphere.

Bulgakov does not write…he creates a live scenario! The readers feel that they are experiencing the whole thing. Total involvement by readers….You are no longer a reader who is separate from the author!

Discussion on M &M (English) - Chapter 9

Chapter – 9

So, Voland’s activities have started in Moscow. First he occupies flat No. 50 of building No. 302, in which Berlioz used to live along with Stepan Likhodeev.

Voland and his team stay in this flat for three days and we shall see what all they do; how they make Moscow feel about their presence.

We shall see what happens the very next day after Berlioz’s tragic death:

·         Stepan Likhodeev is thrown into Yalta;

·         A transformation has started taking place in Ivan’s thinking.

All this happens at around twelve in the morning.     

What happens in building No. 302?

The president of housing society of building No. 302, Nikanor Ivanovich Bosoi, was busy during the intermittent night of Wednesday and Thursday. At around midnight a committee comes to the building No. 302. Jheldibin, who was going to be the president of MASSOLIT in place of late Berlioz was also there in the committee. They informed Nikanor Ivanovich about Berlioz’s death. His papers and other things are sealed, the two rooms which he was using, were also sealed.

And the news about Berlioz’s death spreads like wild fire. Everyone is trying to take advantage of this opportunity. President’s office is flooded with applications for these two rooms.

From here we come to know that the action of the novel has started on Wednesday – Berlioz is killed, Ivan is sent to Stravinsky’s clinic. On Thursday Stepan Likhodeev is flung out of flat No. 50 and thrown into Yalta.

Coming back to Nikanor Ivanovich. 

From the applications that Nikanor Ivanovich received, readers come to know in what circumstances people lived in community buildings, and what all they were doing to procure some reasonable sort of accommodation.

They were requesting the president of the housing society to give them Berlioz’s two rooms; they were threatening him; they were putting conditions; they were trying to bribe him; they were telling to carry out repairs with their own money.

They found that their co-dwellers were thieves and robbers; they were illiterate, uncultured people.

Nikanor Ivanovich was avoiding these people and hence he comes to flat No. 50 to hide himself from them. But he is taken aback when he sees a tall, thin man in checkered shirt…it was the same person who had met Berlioz in Patriarchy Park.

We come to know that his name is Koroviev and he is the interpreter for the foreigner who is going to perform in Variety Theatre in the evening. Nikanor Ivanovich is informed that Styopa Likhodeev has invited Professor Voland (this was the name of the mysterious professor) and his team to stay in his flat for one week and that Nikanor Ivanovich has already been informed about the same. The letter from Styopa is found in Nikanor Ivanovich’s briefcase…

Nikanor Ivanovich informs the tourist bureau about this strange foreigner and he is told that they already have information about him and have no objection to his staying in Likhodeev’s  flat for one week.

Nikanor Ivanovich is paid rent towards the flat and another bundle of roubles is also offered to him for his ‘services’, which he accepts after confirming that there is no ‘witness’ to this transaction.

But, then, the roubles get converted into foreign currency; someone informs the authorities that Nikanor Ivanovich takes bribe in foreign denominations. 

The Secret Service men come to his flat and find the bundle of notes in the ventilator of lavatory of Nikanor Ivanovich’s flat.

Actually,  Koroviev himself had informed the authorities using the name of Secretary of housing society, Timofei Kvastsov…NIkanor Ivanovich is arrested…he tries to explain that he had taken roubles towards rent for the flat in which the mysterious professor was going to stay for one week; he tries to show Styopa Likhodeev’s letter, the contract signed between him and Voland, his passport…but everything had vanished…the contract, the passport, the money, the tickets for the evening show had vanished in the thin air.

From now onwards the things are getting complicated. Many unbelievable and magical, many serious things happen…those who are guilty in some way or other are punished…like Styopa was punished for his incompetence and misuse of official position, Nikanor Ivanovich is punished for taking bribe; interestingly, every victim of Voland’s gang exclaims in vain that the Devil has entered Moscow…

The chain of events that started with Berlioz and Ivan Bezdomnyi has now taken Styopa and Nikanor Ivanovich into its folds.

Next chapter tells exclusively about the Variety Theatre’s administrative officers, intrigues between them…

Discussion on Master & Margarita - Chapter 8

Chapter 8    

This chapter depicts the conversation which takes place between Professor Stravinsky and Ivan Bezdomnyi in Professor’s clinic.

Action takes place on the second day, approximately at that time when Stepan Likhodeev was flung out of his flat. Ivan wakes up in Room No 117 of Professor Stravinsky’s clinic.

He names the room where he is going to be interrogated by the doctors as ‘Factory-Kitchen’.

We notice that Ivan has calmed down a little. He is convinced that he can’t get out of here and hence he decides to cooperate with the doctors.

Some sarcastic remarks that Ivan makes to himself:

When the nurse, attending on him praises her hospital and comments that everyday foreigners and tourists come to visit the hospital, he quips, “how much you pamper the foreigners!” There was a general feeling of anger towards the foreigners…people did not like to interact with them; they were angry that foreigners were given many facilities and preferences over the Russians in the Soviet Union.

Another remark about educated people:

When Professor Stravinsky tries to find out in a reasonable why Ivan wanted to get the mysterious Professor arrested, Ivan is impressed by his approach to the whole thing and he thinks, “This man is intelligent. I must confess that sometimes you find intelligent people among the intellectuals.  You can’t deny this.”

He cooperates with Professor Stravinsky who succeeds in convincing him that Ivan need not personally rush to the police station to complain about the whole episode. It would be better to give a description of the whole episode and proper action will be taken by the authorities.

So, from an aggressive and adamant Ivan we see a person who is in the re-conciliatory mode. This is the middle stage of Ivan’s complete transformation. Soon we shall see a calm and intelligent Ivan in the following chapters who comes to understand the reality of the world in general and that of the literary world in particular!

Discussion on Master & Margarita - 7

Chapter 7   

Earlier we have seen what sorts of facilities were provided to the litterateurs in the Soviet Union. Bulgakov knew this world very well. He knew that only the proletarian writers enjoyed the best treatment provided by the government. But they had to follow the diktats of powers. Those who did not do so suffered a lot. Bulgakov was one of them.

Chapter 7 is the beginning of narration about the theatre: the actors, the administrators, playwrights etc. etc.

Chapter 7 tells about the director of Variety Theatre Stepan Bogdanovich Likhodeev.

Styopa (Stepan ) lived in Flat NO 50, building No 302, Sadovaya Street. He shared the flat with Berlioz.

This flat was infamous. It belonged to the widow of jeweler D’ Fuzher, Anna Frantsevna D’ Fuzher. After Revolution she let out three rooms, out of five, to two people. They disappeared without leaving any trace; Anna Frantsevna disappeared, her maid Anfisa too disappeared. And those who disappeared never came back.

This points to the real situation of that period when people would disappear, especially at nights. Their fate could never be known.

So, in the morning after Berlioz’s death, Styopa wakes up in his bed room with great difficulty. He sees a foreigner in front of him, who tells him that he is the professor of black magic and that the previous day Styopa had signed an agreement with him for giving a show of black magic in the Variety. Even some advance amount was paid to this magician.

Styopa thinks that as he had consumed a lot of Vodka, he is unable to remember anything about the magician and about his show. The magician shows him the contract…Styopa contacts the financial director of Variety who also confirms that the show of magician is scheduled for that very evening…

When Styopa comes back to the bed room after calling the financial director on telephone, he sees that the magician is now accompanied by three associates whom he sees entering the room one by one from the mirror – the tall thin man with spectacles with one glass; a huge cat and a well-built fellow of medium height and red hair.

The magician explains that this is his team and the team needs space to live. The only person who is extremely useless here is Styopa and he has to leave the flat.

Styopa’s uselessness  is proved by the cat : He is a rogue, gets involved in scandals, misuses the official car, misuses his official position to get things done in his favour, does not do his work properly – because he does not know anything!

It is not only STyopa whose qualities are described, but Bulgakov is indicating that worthless people are occupying important positions in the theatrical world.

Styopa is hurled out of the flat and he finds himself on the sea shore at Yalta!

Discussion on M&M - Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Ivan Bezdomnyi threatens that he will protest against his being forcibly brought to this mental hospital, he emphasizes that he is completely normal.

This clinic of Prof Stravinsky is newly opened in the outskirts of city and we shall see that more and more people will land there.

Now Riukhin realizes that Ivan has no trace of any mental disorder on his face. He is scared….

And Ivan shouts at him that he will ‘see’ Riukhin, even calls him ‘lice’!

Ivan goes on exposing poet Riukhin. He says that he has no talent…this Sashka, though he claims to be a proletarian poet, is a typical ‘Kulak’ hidden behind the mask of proletarian writer. Ivan talks bad about his poem written on the occasion of 10^th anniversary of the Revolution.

Riukhin does not argue. But while returning to Moscow he confesses that whatever insulting words were hurled at him by Ivan were true.

The description of Riukhin suggests that Bulgakov is hinting at the famous revolutionary poet of that time V.V.Mayakovsky. The expressions that help us to reach this conclusion are:

“Look at his lanky and melancholy personality and compare with his loud poems which he has written for the 1^st of May… ‘Get up!...and Scatter!’ and does he believe a single word of what he writes? Look into his heart and you will be shocked to see what he is thinking about!”

In ‘The Master and Margarita’ we often come across a loud voice on radio coming from all corners, all houses…that is Mayakovsky’s.

Bulgakov and Mayakovsky did not like each other and didn’t leave a chance to ridicule each other. Mayakovsky in his play “Bedbug” ridicules BUlgakov by depicting a scene where in his name was found in the dictionary of archaic words.

Bulgakov also never spared Mayakovsky….

But while returning back to Moscow, Riukhin analyses his own situation and he realizes that his life has gone waste and now nothing is possible to mend there. “ I am 32, and what next? May be I shall be writing a few poems every year…then what? Till how long? Till old age? What do these poems bring him? Fame? Oh, let me not cheat myself….fame never comes to them who create foolish poems. Why they are trash? I don’t believe a single word of what I write! Nothing is possible to change in my life….it has gone!”

Then the truck stops near a monument…. A man standing with his head down,        “Here is the example of perfect talent! Whatever he did, in whatever situation he was pushed into, everything just helped him! Otherwise what is so captivating in those words, ‘Hazy storm…’? And that white soldier killed him and made immortal…

This is about Pushkin…

So, Bulgakov has shown the literary situation of 20’s – 30’s of 20^th century and compared the same with that of 19^th century, and also shown what it is that makes the poetry immortal!

Also note that the first day of our story ends here. Which day of the week is this, we are yet to know. The action has taken place in and around Patriarchy Ponds, Griboedov House which are near to each other and then it shifts to the Clinic at the outskirts of Moscow. Ivan is declared Schizophrenic…so both the predictions of Professor come true!

Ivan is kept in Room No 117 of the Clinic and he will soon be surrounded by many others.