Yeshua and Woland.
Tiny tot came up to father,
And he asked his Dad,
Tell me, if it’s not a bother,
What is “Good,” and what is “Bad”?!
Vladimir Mayakovsky.
It
is only natural that Bulgakov, having lived through hard times in Russia in the
beginning of the twentieth century, was so deeply interested in the question of
good and evil that all his works are converging on this fundamental point. In
this preoccupation with the philosophical question number one, Bulgakov follows
the great Russian poet Mikhail Yurievich Lermontov: in order for the people to
become attracted to God, one must raise the profile of evil, sort of argument
ad contrarium. In his unimaginably short life of just twenty-six years,
Lermontov wrote many works which make the reader dwell on the struggle of good
and evil. It will be too superficial to conclude that his interest in the
demonic subject matter was caused by some personal qualities of his. In his poem
Demon [the devil], Lermontov was
attracted by two particular qualities: his Demon’s absolute fearlessness and
pride. But there can be no doubt, in the final analysis, as to on whose side of
the struggle was Lermontov himself.
In
his poem Combat, he shows it without
any equivocation:
“…And seeing the malice of the other
fighter,
I pitied his young adversary…
…But the whirlwind retreated before the
thunders
And the black stallion fell to earth.”
Lermontov
is a philosopher-poet, and this is his way of describing the revolt of Lucifer
against God. Notice that in Lermontov’s poem God is a young warrior, which is a
direct allusion to Jesus Christ long before His physical birth on earth, and
Lucifer is “clad in black,” that is, his attire is that of a monk.” In
Bulgakov, too, both Woland and Azazello wear black. By such loaded words as “whirlwind,”
“malice,” “clad in black,” and “black stallion,” Lermontov shows Lucifer, whom
he calls Demon in his works.
Lermontov
has allegorical poems where at first sight he is writing about friends, about
his father’s death and his relationship with his son; and yet the theme of good
and evil, God and Satan, comes through and through, and compels one to think.
This is what attracted Bulgakov in Lermontov the most. As I said before,
Bulgakov was heavily influenced by Lermontov’s creative works. Without Lermontov,
there wouldn’t have been a Bulgakov as we know him. (I will be writing on this
subject in my chapter The Two Bears.)
But
here we are interested in just one question: Where and how did Bulgakov get the
idea about the friendly relationship between Woland (the devil) and Yeshua
(Jesus Christ)? Bulgakov raises the question of this relationship not just in Pontius Pilate, but demonstrably in the
main novel of Master and Margarita, and
it is here where the relationship gets indeed friendly. Lermontov’s influence
becomes paramount. Just like Lermontov, Bulgakov loves understatements, leaving
certain things behind the scenes. It makes both of them supremely interesting
to read, being immersed in deep thought at the same time.
Of
this relationship, quite extraordinary and unexplored by anyone either before
or after, one scene in Master and
Margarita in particular speaks volumes. Before his departure from Moscow, “high above the city on the stone terrace of one of the most
beautiful buildings in Moscow" (the
building of the State Lenin Library)Woland receives a messenger
(Levi Matthew) from Yeshua. Both Yeshua and Matthew dwell in Paradise, which
Bulgakov, following Lermontov, calls “Light.” Matthew conveys to Woland Yeshua’s
request to deliver both Master and Margarita to “Rest.” (They have not deserved
“Light.”) The following words are said: “HE
has read Master’s composition...” Notice that Matthew Levi calls Yeshua “He.” It is very important that neither
Matthew nor Woland are calling Yeshua by name. This detail somehow passes
unnoticed. But, after all, the devil is
in the detail! And it takes just one detail like this one, to build the
whole novel Master and Margarita upon
it, as Bulgakov does not show any previous contacts between Yeshua and Woland.
So, this fact alone ought to set the reader’s thoughts on the right course:
It really had to be Yeshua
who had commissioned the “composition” about his last day on earth. Otherwise,
how could “He” have read it?
Incidentally,
there are three principal proofs of
Yeshua being the commissioner, and Woland being the agent directly
commissioning the novel through his subordinates.---
Number
one.
Woland’s
surprised reaction to Master’s words that he had written a novel about Pontius
Pilate (“What is
the novel about?.. About what, what? About whom?.. Here now? This is terrific!
And you couldn’t find another subject? Let me see it!”) was
completely disingenuous, as it was none other than Woland in the second chapter
of Master and Margarita who was
shooting this novel’s text from memory to Berlioz and Ivanushka. A more direct
indication that Woland’s surprise was all in jest comes from the reaction of
his retinue to it.---
“What is the novel about?”“A novel about Pontius Pilate.”
Here once again flickered and trembled the tongues of the candles,
and the crockery on the table rattled. Woland burst into a thundering laughter,
but nobody was either scared or surprised by it. For some reason, Begemot
started applauding.”
The
fact that Woland’s thundering laughter does not surprise his company in the
least proves that it was Azazello and his illustrious company who had chosen Master
for this purpose. The reader must realize, of course, that it would be hard for
this subject to strike a modern man’s mind without an external persuasion. In
other words, this idea was not Master’s idea.
Number
two.
When
Begemot hands Woland the burnt manuscript, Woland does not even open it. The
reader may remember that already back in the second chapter of Master and Margarita, Woland impeccably recites
the whole opening chapter of “Master’s composition” from memory to Berlioz and
Ivanushka, on Patriarch Ponds.
Number
three.
Woland
memorably tells Master :“And to you I say that your novel will still bring you more surprises.”
Woland
knows that the involvement of Yeshua in Master’s life and subsequent fate does
not end there. In other words, not only does the idea of Pontius Pilate come from “above,” but Master’s whole life rests in
God’s hands.
(To
be continued…)
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