GALINA SEDOVA’S BULGAKOV. XXIX.

Galina Sedova’s Bulgakov.

The Fantastic Love Story of Master and Margarita Continues.

 

“I saw a dream… I saw a maiden;

She was sitting there like the last dream of a soul

Summoned to Heaven… At her feet

Perhaps a child was sitting… Ach!

And he was sitting, pressing her hand in fear,

Following her every movement with his eyes…

And how he treasured the glance of her eyes,

The cause of his demise…”

 

M. Yu. Lermontov.

 

Thus, having finished his novel, Master disappears prior to Woland’s arrival in Moscow, and Margarita is left without Master until next year’s Easter, that is, from mid-September until the beginning of May. Her first meeting with Azazello by the Kremlin Wall takes place right on the day before the Ball of the Spring Full-Moon. (Curiously, the meeting also takes place “exactly one year, same day, same hour after she was sitting on this same bench with him [Master].”)

Now why is it Azazello who comes to this meeting with Margarita? There can be only one answer: he is the demon-tempter and he is after her soul. Having found out that Margarita hates the critic Latunsky, Azazello does not mince any words, presenting himself as a killer: “To shoot somebody, or some other trifle like this --that’s my primary specialty.” A trifle like “slapping somebody around” or “throwing somebody out of the house…”

It becomes clear right away that Azazello offers Margarita his services, in order to put her into a position of dependency. But, as we shall find out later on, this is not in her character.

She is sufficiently satisfied with the fact that Azazello is inviting her to a “foreigner” where she will be able to find out something about her Master. She doesn’t react to Azazello’s offer to kill Latunsky. Thus the first try after her soul fails.

The second try takes place during Margarita’s meeting with Woland, when having learned about her vandalizing orgy in Latunsky’s apartment, she receives another offer to kill him. Despite her own threat in a fit of rage to “poison” Latunsky, Margarita, understanding who she is dealing with, takes a step back and asks Woland personally not to allow that to happen.

The third attempt takes place at the ball, when Woland has just sent Nikolai Ivanovich, transformed into a hog, “to the cooks.” Margarita’s reaction is instantaneous:

“For slaughter?! Have mercy, Messire, he is Nikolai Ivanovich, my downstairs neighbor!”

Woland retreats. The neighbor’s life is saved.

The scrutiny of Margarita continues at the ball when Koroviev tells her the dreadful story of a young woman who killed her newborn son. The childless Margarita is already known for her compassionate nature, as she soothed and lulled back to bed a scared child in the building where she had just destroyed Latunsky’s apartment.

It could be expected in this instance that Margarita would be set against a woman who killed her child. But this is not the case. Bulgakov shows himself here as a defender of women’s rights. Margarita immediately alleges the culpability of the rapist who had got that wretched woman pregnant, with the tragic outcome for the baby. When Kot-Begemot suggests that “juridically” the man who raped the woman wasn’t responsible under the law for the baby’s murder, Margarita sinks her nails into his ear, causing the cat to yell for mercy.

Strange as it may seem, this turns out to be Margarita’s biggest test, and she passes it with flying colors. In the run-up to the ball, Koroviev coaches her on her duties as the hostess, and gives her demonstrably contradictory advice: “no preference” to any of the guests, yet “love him, love him you must.” But, surely, “love” is an exceptionally preferential attitude, and Margarita effectively disregards the “no preference” rule, showing an overwhelming preference bordering on “love” for the most unlikely object of her childless affection: the child-killer Frieda.

Indeed, when the time comes to receive the reward for her “services” at the ball, and being fully aware that she is entitled to just one request (“Oh, how cleverly and distinctly did Woland emphasize, repeat Margarita’s own words: ‘one thing’!”), Margarita’s request is not about Master, but about Frieda, the murderess, being that she would no longer be punished by being handed every single day the handkerchief she used to smother her baby…

Margarita does this not entirely of her own will. This is the most interesting part of her interaction with the demonic force. Here Woland himself comes into play:

“One’s presence alone at the scene of the murder of that consummate scoundrel the baron, merits that the person be rewarded, especially if that person is a woman. Well?..”

Introducing the word “woman” into their conversation, Woland puts a psycholinguistic spell on Margarita, who now seems to have no choice, but to ask on Frieda’s, rather than on Master’s behalf.

“Margarita’s breath nearly stopped as she was about to utter the hallowed words, long prepared in her soul, when suddenly her face whitened, she opened her mouth and rolled her eyes. ‘Frieda! Frieda! Frieda! My name is Frieda!’ someone’s persistent, pleading voice rang in her ears. --- ‘My name is Frieda!’

The sensible Margarita tries to salvage the situation by dragging out time. “So, as it seems to be, I can ask about... one thing?”

Once already was she able to win against Woland, when she decided to ignore Azazello’s advice that she was supposed to ask for her reward for her troubles, even though Woland did ask her: “Perhaps you wish to say something for a farewell?”

It is now Woland, instead of Azazello, who is aggressively working to put Margarita into the subservient position of a petitioner. But Margarita is yet again up to the challenge, and she refuses to fall for the trick. Proudly, she submits no request, but on the contrary, offers more of her help to Woland, if she and her help are needed. Woland praises her: “…Never ask for anything.” But still, ever so “cleverly and distinctly,” and with an understanding smile, Woland urges her to demand “one thing.”

The proud Margarita (no wonder: the Romanov blood of the Koshkin clan is running in her veins!) does not submit to Woland’s insistent suggestion, and solicits on Frieda’s, rather than on Master’s behalf. Woland is by no means disappointed. This game gives him great pleasure, and he has no intention of yielding himself, as he continues to put pressure on Margarita, this time mocking her compassion, and practically comparing her to a rag of cloth, several of which he intends to plug the holes in his bedroom with, to block compassion from seeping into the room. Woland is obviously playing for her to succumb to pressure, eager to convince Margarita that hers is a losing game and that by getting inside her head with “Frieda” he, Woland, is sure to win.

Margarita is genuinely amazed. She is an innocent, a “virgin” in these matters, to use Bulgakov’s word. She seems not to understand that Woland is playing mind games with her. Meantime, Woland produces his last trump in this game, as if trying to crush Margarita with it.

“But of course you are a highly moral person?”

This is explicit mockery, practically an insult. They both know that Margarita, a married woman with an illicit affair on the side, cannot possibly be called a moral person. But the end result is not how a person has been knocked off her feet, but how ably she manages to get up. Margarita has no intention of defending herself; she attacks. This is the only way she can preserve her soul from Woland’s reach. She points out to Woland that Frieda believes in her, Margarita’s, power as the Queen of the Ball. However, in this capacity, Margarita received every ounce of her power from the devil, thus it is not hers, but the devil’s power which is at stake here. Unless she pardons Frieda, the devil’s prachs [dead bodies] will feel deceived, and waste away. In the meantime, Margarita is motivated not by her non-existent morality, but by the simple fact that she would from then on be haunted by Frieda’s ghost, making the rest of her life unbearable. In other words her motive is not altruistic, but perfectly selfish.

Margarita wins this round of the game too, thanks to the agility of her Koshkin-clan brain. Woland, on his part, cannot deny himself the pleasure of demonstrating to her the vastness of his power. He suggests that he is not going to pardon Frieda, as Margarita can do it “on her own.”

(To be continued tomorrow…)