The Bard.
Bezdomny’s Progress.
Posting #4.
“Only now did the
procurator notice
that there was no sun
anymore.
Twilight had come.”
M. A. Bulgakov. Master
and Margarita.
After
all said and done, I must confess that the sly Bulgakov has fooled me once
again. The comparison of Dr. Stravinsky and his retinue to Pontius Pilate and
his retinue, made by the poet Ivan Bezdomny at the psychiatric clinic, if it
does not decisively outweigh all arguments in favor of V. Ya. Bryusov, at least
puts him in equal competition with K. D. Balmont. Added to this argument is
Professor Stravinsky’s frequent use of the word “slavno,” “glorious,” as in
“that’s glorious!” – instead of “that’s good!”
This
word must also belong to Bryusov, as Marina Tsvetaeva writes in her memoirs:
“…Passion for glory. And this is Rome. Who among those named –
Balmont, Blok, Vyacheslav [Ivanov], Sologub – sought glory? Balmont? Too much
in love with himself and the world. Blok? Entirety of conscience? – A Russian
considers striving for glory in one’s lifetime either deplorable or ludicrous.
Love of glory: love of self. Only Bryusov alone thirsted for glory. This ‘Stone
Guest’ was a lover of glory…”
What
confused me was a particular article by N. S. Gumilev. In his judgment, K. D.
Balmont falls into the circle of Symbolists, “eager to
hypnotize not by their subjects, as much as by the mode of their transmission,”
alongside such poets as Edgar Alan Poe, Mallarme, Vyacheslav Ivanov.
So
what kind of conclusion are we supposed to come to? Once again Marina Tsvetaeva
enters the picture:
“…Balmont. Bryusov. Both of them ruled then. In other worlds, as
you see, a diarchy contrary to our world is possible. As for the
Balmont-Bryusov diarchy, it presents us with an unheard of, inconceivable in
history example of a benign diarchy not only of non-friends, but of enemies.”
And
the very last line here struck me in particular:
“…As you see, one can learn not just from poets’ verses.”
Thus
in the character of Dr. Stravinsky both these Russian poets are present: both
Bryusov (Pontius Pilate, “Glorious!”) and Balmont. Considering
that these two names, Balmont and Bryusov, were circulated as a pair, it is
this “pair” which is depicted in the 8th chapter of Bulgakov’s Master and Margarita: A Duel Between the
Professor and the Poet.
This
made me think about the character of Pontius Pilate. There can be no doubt that
Pilate’s prototype is V. Ya. Bryusov. But remembering N. S. Gumilev’s words
about Bryusov’s “feminine moonness” as opposed to the “masculine sunness” of
Vyacheslav Ivanov, I decided to revisit the 2nd chapter of Master and Margarita: Pontius Pilate.
And
then I understood that in the scenes where Pontius Pilate has to be exposed to
the sun, which he definitely dislikes, his character reveals features of K. D.
Balmont, knowing that Balmont has written the poetry collection Let Us Be Like the Sun.
I
also remember that for his meeting with Aphranius, the Procurator chooses a
palace room shaded from the sun by dark drapes. This can be explained not only
by the fact that Aphranius happens to be the chief of the secret guard, but by
Pilate’s own dislike of the sun.
It
is precisely after this meeting that Pontius Pilate changes rather
dramatically. Bulgakov writes:
“The procurator was screwing up his eyes not because the sun was
burning his eyes, no! For some reason, he did not want to see the group of the
condemned [which included Yeshua, and because of him being there].”
Likewise,
note the following sentence, which points to Balmont with his Let Us Be Like the Sun:
“Pilate raised his head and
stuck it right into the sun…”
And
also Bulgakov’s following words:
“A green fire lit up under his [Pilate’s] eyelids, and his brain
caught fire from it.”
These
words also point to K. D. Balmont, who has a poetry collection titled Burning Buildings.
Bulgakov
writes:
“The city he hated so much has died, and he is standing alone,
burned by the sun’s vertical rays.”
These
words show us that Bulgakov returns Bryusov into the personage of Pontius
Pilate. But just a few sentences later Balmont is back:
“...It appeared to him [Pontius Pilate] then as though the sun,
ringing, burst over him, and flooded his ears with fire. Inside this fire,
raged roar, squeals, moans, laughter, and whistling...”
In
the 25th chapter of Master and
Margarita: How the Procurator Tried
to Save Judas from Kyriath Bulgakov returns to the theme of the sun in
Pilate’s conversation with Aphranius:
“And now you tell me, did
they give them the [intoxicating] beverage before hanging them on the poles?
Yes, but he [sic!] – here the guest [Aphranius] closed his
eyes – declined to drink it.
Who was it?
Forgive me, Igemon! – exclaimed the guest. – I did not say? Ha-Nozri.
Madman! – said Pilate, grimacing for some reason. A
little vein was pulsating under his left eye. – To die being burned by the sun! [sic!]
The
chapter closes with Aphranius [Balmont] taking his leave. Bulgakov writes his
last sentence of the chapter:
“Only now did the procurator notice that there was no sun anymore.
Twilight had come.”
And
so, the personage of Pontius Pilate is also dual, like that of Dr.
Stravinsky’s. Bryusov dominates through his strength and will (the Roman).
Balmont enters through his three collections of poetry: Only Love; Let Us Be Like The Sun; and The Burning Buildings.
This
is not the only time when Bulgakov joins two poets in the personage of
Aphranius. In other words, aside from Balmont, there is another Russian poet in
Chapter 26 The Burial. Both the researcher
and the reader can try their hand with this, as this story is extremely
interesting. I have it in another chapter. Alpha
and Omega.
The End of Bezdomny’s Progress.
***
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