Magic Of The Sorcerer Molière.
Posting #20.
“…But you, muddlers of
the chambers,
The easy-tongued demagogues,
You, the calamitous rousers
of the mob,
Slanderers, enemies of Russia!
What have you gained?..”
A. S. Pushkin. To the
Slanderers of Russia.
The
researcher will be well-served to pay close attention to Bulgakov’s chapter
titles. Thus, for instance, in the novel Molière
chapter 24 has the title: He is
Resurrected And Dies Again.
The
title of the 24th chapter of Master
and Margarita is The Extraction of
Master. What do these two chapters have in common?
Bulgakov’s
puzzles can also be found in such works of his as Diaboliada and Fateful Eggs.
As the reader knows, I always respond to the puzzles I come across, because I
am basing these puzzles on Bulgakov’s text. For instance, the 26th
chapter of the novel Molière is
titled The Great Resurrection, while
the 26th chapter of the novel Master
and Margarita is titled The Burial.
The
novel Molière starts with a Prologue which has the title I am Talking to the Midwife. At the same
time, the novel Master and Margarita starts
with Chapter I which has the title Never
Talk to Strangers.
Another
puzzle is hidden in Chapter 7 of Molière:
The Illustrious Gang. At the same
time the title of Chapter 7 in Master and
Margarita is The No-Good Apartment.
If
in Bulgakov’s novel Molière the title
of the 9th chapter is Prince
Conti Comes Out on Stage, then in chapter 9 of Master and Margarita the title is Koroviev’s Shenanigans, in which Koroviev alias the Checkered One
alias the Regent “comes out on stage,” and he is of course the hypnotizer in
chief of the whole gang appearing in Moscow.
While
the 10th chapter of Master and
Margarita has the title News From
Yalta, the 10th chapter of Molière
contains “news” in its title: Burgognians
Beware: Molière is Coming!
Also
containing a puzzle are the following words used by Bulgakov in the title of
the 11th chapter of Master and
Margarita: The Splitting of Ivan, whereas the 11th chapter of Molière, titled Bru-Ha-Ha, has a parallel subject relating to the splitting of Molière.
With the help of Philippe of France Duc d’Orleans, who realizes that his
perception of Molière is dual. Bulgakov writes:
“Philippe of France [alias Duc d’Orleans, the King’s only brother]
and Molière study each other with
their eyes. Philippe of France checks his impression. It is dual [sic!]: It
would seem that best of all he might like the smile and the creases on the
face, but by no means the eyes of the comedian. The eyes indeed appear wary,
kind of somber. But for some reason he is attracted to the eyes.”
An
amazing exercise in splitting!
No
matter how strange this may seem to the reader, despite the title of the 12th
chapter of the novel Molière: The Lesser
Bourbon, the content of this chapter corresponds to the content of the 12th
chapter of Master and Margarita: Black
Magic and Its Unmasking. Bulgakov writes:
“Molière’s troupe was nicknamed The
Troupe of Monsieur the Only Brother of the King, and the patron immediately
allotted the salary of 300 livres to each of Molière’s players. But at this
point it must be noted with great sorrow that according to the testimony of
contemporaries, of these 300 livres none were actually paid. The reason for
this is that the King’s Brother’s finances had been in a pitiable condition.”
And
this famous money scene is from the 12th chapter of Master and Margarita:
“Old trick,” came a
voice from the gallery. “That one in the
stalls is one of their company!
You think so? – yelled Fagot, screwing up his eyes at
the gallery. In that case you are in the
same gang with them, because the deck is now in your pocket!”
And
as the reader knows, the deck of cards turns in the pocket into a bank-wrapped
bundle of banknotes marked as “1,000 rubles.”
The
audience became highly agitated. Everybody wanted to believe that the money was
real. As the reader remembers, Fagot shot up from his pistol…
“...There was a spark and a bang and right away from under the
dome, diving among the trapezes, a shower of white papers started falling down
in the audience hall. In a few seconds the paper rain – thickening all the time
– reached the chairs, and the audience started catching the falling pieces of
paper.”
This
is how Bulgakov depicts the political assassination of A. S. Pushkin for money,
which once again supports my thought on the subject. (See my chapter The Bard.)
The
following words also have a special meaning:
“They were looking at the lit stage through the banknotes and saw
the truest and the rightest signs of authenticity: the water marks. The smell,
too, was leaving no doubts: it was the incomparable smell of freshly-printed
money… The word chervontsy was ringing
everywhere. Generally speaking, the excitement was growing, and it is difficult
to say what the outcome might have been, had Fagot not stopped the money rain
by suddenly blowing into the air.”
The
words “suddenly blowing into the air” signify
the death of A. S. Pushkin. Also pointing to it are Bulgakov’s following words:
“Immediately in the dress circle there appeared a policeman’s
helmet, someone was taken away from the dress circle.”
This
is how Bulgakov shows the arrest of the French subject D’Anthes who had killed
Pushkin in a duel by shooting him in the liver. D’Anthes was a professional
military man, which underscores the fact that Pushkin’s was a political
killing. In his play Alexander Pushkin, Bulgakov gives the following words to
D’Anthes, regarding Pushkin:
“He will be writing no more.”
In
his writings and overall opinions, Pushkin was very critical of the Europeans.
A good example of his invective is the poem To
the Slanderers of Russia. (See my chapter The Bard.) There are all too many anti-Europe articles and poems
throughout Pushkin’s works, curiously including a direct reproach to Byron who
joined an anti-Russian propaganda chorus without actually visiting Russia even
once in his life. Pushkin accuses Byron of thus dishonoring himself.
As
an example of Pushkin’s displeasure with Europe, the following poetic excerpt
can be quoted:
“Remembering the great day of Borodino
With a brotherly wake, we said:
Hadn’t the tribes advanced,
Threatening Russia with
calamity;
Wasn’t all Europe here?
And whose star was leading
it!..
…And now what? In their arrogance
They have forgotten their disastrous
retreat;
Forgotten the Russian bayonet and the snow,
That buried their glory in the desert…”
Pushkin
wrote this poem in 1831 as a tribute to the 19th anniversary of the
Battle of Borodino. In it he addresses the Europeans:
“…But you, muddlers of the chambers,
The easy-tongued demagogues,
You, the calamitous rousers of the mob,
Slanderers, enemies of Russia!
What have you gained? Or is the Ross
An ailing, enfeebled colossus?”
The
killer of Pushkin, D’Anthes, was arrested and expelled from Russia, which makes
Pushkin a martyr for the Russian Orthodox Christian Faith.
To
be continued…
***
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