Yet, until meeting the Master, she lives a life devoid of meaning. Margarita-young, beautiful, and rich-possesses every material good. An idol to Margarita, a mentor to Ivan the Homeless, and a god to Pilate, the Master has considerable impact on the lives of others. As such, the Master is best analyzed through his relationships with other characters. Performing few actions and delivering infrequent dialogue, his most notable and character-defining moments are relayed in backstory, not within either of the two timelines that unfold across the novel. Only featured in eleven of the thirty-two chapters, the Master is a title character, but rarely present in the novel. Personifying truth in an age of censorship and deceit, his character arch is imbued with the full significance of Bulgakov’s message.

Bulgakov writes one of the titular characters, the Master, to be the thematic crux of the novel. He argues, if citizens had been guided by bravery and sincerity rather than self-preservation, then Soviet society would not have been able to deteriorate as it did. A throughline in the novel, Bulgakov continuously reaffirms that individuals are responsible for their own choices, even if they live in an unjust society. Authors, such as Bulgakov, found methods of conveying searing political commentary through allegory, subtlety, and myth.įilling Master and Margarita with satire and subtle digs, Bulgakov uses comedy and creativity as a vessel to communicate a deeply earnest moral about the role of personal cowardice in Soviet corruption. However, while direct criticism was impossible, indirect was not. During this period authors and poets-the individuals most well equipped to transcend propaganda and recognize societal flaws-were prohibited from doing so at threat of death or imprisonment. Mikhail Bulgakov wrote Master and Margarita between 19, during some of the most severe years of Soviet censorship.

The master of margarita