The Bard. Genesis.
M. A. Berlioz.
Posting #16.
“…The past rushes
before him
Like a grotesque dream, like
a shadow…”
A. S. Pushkin. Ruslan
and Lyudmila.
So,
how does Bulgakov use the theme of the jug in Master and Margarita?
Having
unexpectedly for himself spotted Niza in the street, Judas, who had just
received a bag of money at Caiaphas’ palace, set off after her, nearly knocking
down a passerby carrying a jug (sic!) in his hands.
I
already wrote elsewhere that this “passerby” was none other than Woland. As
opposed to the broken jug of Falernian wine at the procurator’s feet, the
“passerby” in question has his jug so full of wine that there is enough in
there for Bulgakov’s Chapter 30: It’s
Time! It’s Time! in which Azazello, on a mission from Woland, brings master
and Margarita a jug (or a bottle?) of – yes! – Falernian wine:
“And
again I have completely forgotten, shouted Azazello, slapping himself on
the forehead. Busy to the utmost! The
point is that Messire has sent you a gift. – Here he was addressing master
in particular. – A bottle of wine, that
is. Please kindly note that this is that same wine which the Procurator of
Judea was drinking. Vino Falerni. – From out of a piece of dark coffin
brocade, Azazello produced an utterly moldy jug...”
How
can it be? Now Bulgakov calls Woland’s gift “a bottle of wine.” Now he produces
a jug, “an utterly moldy jug,” at that!
With
such a deliberate discrepancy Bulgakov tries to draw the attention – if not of
the reader, then at least of the scholar.
Had
the scholar paid attention to what he or she was supposed to pay attention to,
in the sub-novel Pontius Pilate,
namely, to the “passerby with a jug” whom Judas had nearly knocked down, some
better analysis than currently in circulation could have been expected.
“...The wine was sniffed, poured in glasses, they looked through it
at the light in the window, disappearing before the approaching storm. They saw
how everything was turning into the color of blood. Here’s to Woland’s health! – exclaimed Margarita, raising her
glass, and all three of them brought the glasses to their lips and took large
gulps from them...”
Observe
the insistent comparison of wine to blood in the passage above!
If
Ruslan in the poem Ruslan and Lyudmila bleeds
to death from the wounds inflicted by Farlaf, after the wicked witch Naina
drugged Ruslan with a bewitched deep sleep, then Bulgakov poisons his heroes
with wine which is 2,000 years old.
Along
with that, Bulgakov shows us that master –
“...wanted to grab a knife from the
table, to stab Azazello with it, but his hand helplessly slid off the tablecloth;
everything surrounding master in the basement was now colored black and then
disappeared altogether. He fell backwards, and in his fall, cut the skin of his
temple against the corner of the bureau’s board.”
Blood
again, even if Bulgakov does not use the word: there is no need to. It is
enough that the Falernian wine colors everything into the color of blood,
because it is the wine which in this case is the killer.
Now
back to Pushkin’s Ruslan and Lyudmila.
Having
filled his two jugs with “dead” and “living” water, the good wizard Finn –
“...In
two moments Finn found himself
In the valley where Ruslan
was lying
In blood, voiceless,
motionless.
And the old man stood over
the knight,
And sprinkled him with dead
water,
And right away the wounds
shone,
And the corps glowed with
wondrous beauty…”
How
is this reflected in Bulgakov’s Chapter 30: It’s
Time! It’s Time!?
After
the death of the real Margarita in her mansion, Bulgakov writes:
“In a moment, [Azazello]
was at the side of the brought-down lovers…”
Once
again, Pushkin’s Ruslan and Lyudmila:
“...In
two moments Finn found himself
In the valley where Ruslan
was lying…”
I
am on the right track:
“...Margarita was lying with her face stuck into a rug. With his
hands of iron, Azazello turned her over like a puppet and peered into her face.
The face of the poisoned woman was changing, as he looked...
[This
is all as a result of a few drops of the same wine that had caused her
poisoning. We see Bulgakov’s mysticism on display here. As the ‘real’ Margarita
dies of a heart failure at her mansion, her soul transmigrates into the new
body of the ‘poisoned’ Margarita created by Woland, which until then had been
soulless. See my chapters Demonic
Transformations and Varia.]
“Even in the descending storm’s twilight one could see how her
temporary witch’s squint was disappearing in the eyes, as well as the former
cruelty and wildness of her features was leaving them...”
I
am obviously not going to insist that Margarita had looked anything like
Pushkin’s wicked witch Naina, but what and how can be said about the body
manufactured by the devil?
And
finally, the most important thing:
“The face of the deceased lightened up and at last softened, while
her grin ceased to be a predatory grin, but had become merely a suffering
woman’s grimace…”
Compare
this to Pushkin’s:
“...And
the corps glowed with wondrous beauty…”
And
next he continues:
“...Then
the old man sprinkled the hero
With the water of life,
And fresh, filled with a new
strength,
Quivering with a new life,
Ruslan rises to a bright day,
Stares with avid eyes around
him.
The past rushes before him
Like a grotesque dream, like
a shadow.
But where’s Lyudmila? He’s
alone!..”
And
as we know, master and Margarita are together in Bulgakov’s novel:
“...Then Azazello unclenched her white teeth and poured into her
mouth several drops of that same wine which he had used to poison her...”
Instead
of Pushkin’s “water of life,” Bulgakov describes the homoeopathic method of
cure: a large quantity kills, a few drops cure.
Then
Bulgakov attends to master:
“Here master got up, looked around with a lively and radiant gaze,
and asked: So, what is the significance
of all this newness?”
How
well does this correspond to Pushkin’s words:
“...And
fresh, filled with a new strength,
Quivering with a new life,
Ruslan rises to a bright day…”
To
be continued…
***
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