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!
कोई टिप्पणी नहीं:
एक टिप्पणी भेजें
टिप्पणी: केवल इस ब्लॉग का सदस्य टिप्पणी भेज सकता है.