The Master and Margarita Lecture: The Devil Comes to Town (Chapters I-XII) (Patreon)

'I am part of that power which eternally wills evil and eternally works good.'

Today we are discussing the mesmerising beginning of Bulgakov's masterpiece. We are meeting his characters together, wrangling with some deeply profound themes, and immersing ourselves in the vivid world of The Master and Margarita.

We're discussing the historicity of Jesus Christ, the three traditions of satire, speaking truth to power, guidelines for socialist realism, Russian Formalism, proofs of God, the psychological complexity of Pontius Pilate, the devil’s black magic show, and much more.

Timestamps:

• 0:00 the magic of this masterpiece
• 2:00 how Bulgakov transcends his time
• 3:00 epigraph from Goethe’s Faust
• 4:00 why Faust sells his soul to the devil
• 5:00 beginning of The Master and Margarita
• 6:00 Berlioz, Ivan/‘Homeless’ & Massolit
• 7:00 Bulgakov’s deep love of opera
• 8:00 parodying the writers’ associations
• 9:00 from Silver Age to Socialist Realism
• 10:00 ‘Literature and Revolution’
• 11:00 Bulgakov criticises the Soviet Union
• 13:00 a kaleidoscope of literary genres
• 14:00 on writing the novel in secret
• 15:00 exploring the three kinds of satire
• 17:00 the danger of misunderstanding irony
• 18:00 Bulgakov as menippean satirist
• 19:00 Bakhtin on the power of the novel
• 20:00 theological discussion with the devil
• 22:00 on the historicity of Jesus Christ
• 23:00 did Jesus live and die on the cross?
• 25:00 on records for Jesus and Pilate
• 26:00 astrology and agricultural rituals
• 28:00 Jesus vs pre-christian religions
• 30:00 on death-and-rebirth mythology
• 32:00 origin of good vs evil stories
• 33:00 Osiris crucified and risen again?
• 35:00 refuting mythical template argument
• 36:00 living in a world of soviet lies
• 37:00 the character of Professor Woland
• 38:00 can we prove that which requires faith?
• 39:00 the five proofs of Thomas Aquinas
• 42:00 Kant’s sixth proof & inner morality
• 44:00 Dostoyevsky’s exploration of evil
• 45:00 why should we behave in an ethical way?
• 46:00 existence of evil as seventh proof
• 48:00 devils, tricksters & mischief-makers
• 50:00 anthologising your favourite antagonists
• 53:00 Professor Woland’s fantastical retinue
• 55:00 Yeshua & Pilate in Yershalaim
• 57:00 from magical realism to brutal fact
• 58:00 Shklovsky on defamiliarisation
• 1:00:00 Russian Formalists on fabula & sjuzet
• 1:02:00 the last week of the life of Jesus
• 1:05:00 fears of Jesus as rebel & warrior king
• 1:07:00 the danger of revolutionary metaphors
• 1:09:00 ‘all authority is violence over people’
• 1:11:00 the psychological complexity of Pilate
• 1:13:00 exploring the question ‘what is truth?’
• 1:15:00 on the trial & crucifixion of Jesus
• 1:16:00 gallows humour in Bulgakov’s novel
• 1:17:00 sanity as insanity in a crazy world
• 1:18:00 Bulgakov’s parody in Gribodoev’s
• 1:23:00 singing & dancing in soviet hell
• 1:25:00 the sorcery of Joseph Stalin
• 1:27:00 inventing ordinary explanations
• 1:29:00 revenge on the petty bureaucrats
• 1:30:00 turning roubles into dollars
• 1:32:00 Woland’s black magic show
• 1:34:00 the devil’s social commentary
• 1:35:00 ‘congrats, citizen, you done lied’
• 1:37:00 what are you making of this novel?
• 1:39:00 what are you making of the novel?

Resources to Explore:

• Music Appreciation: If you're a classical mood, why not treat yourself to Bulgakov's favourite opera? You can enjoy the entirety of Charles Gounod's Faust here. If you're in more of a classic rock mood, then crank up the volume on 'Sympathy for the Devil.' As they're my personal favourite band, it has filled me with joy to see so much love for the Rolling Stones here.
• Television Adaptation: You might wish to complement your reading by watching this miniseries (available with English subtitles) produced for television in 2005. Like the more recent film adaptation, this caused a lot of controversy when it first came out. Critics were concerned that the multi-layered nature of Bulgakov's novel couldn't be captured on film. But the series swiftly became the most popular series ever broadcast on Russian television.
• Scripture: Many readers have taken the prompt from Bulgakov to explore the gospels and have wanted to know about recommend works that explicate these writings. I would personally recommend checking out this volume, which is designed to appeal non-believers as well as believers, those coming to the stories for the first time, and those conducting theological research. It's filled with beautiful artwork, complementary essays, and historical context.
• Film Appreciation: Our discussion about satire may have left you craving more. If that's the case, then give yourself a screening of The Death of Stalin. I was delighted to see readers recommend this film because I find it to be hilarious. You might also like to check out Animal Farm. Both George Orwell's book and the film adaptation make a nice complement.
• Non-Fiction Pairings: We covered a lot of different topics in the lecture, so you might find it rewarding to pick one avenue that interests you the most and follow that rabbit hole. For the historicity of Jesus, you might like this book on ancient evidence for his life. For mythology, Frazer's The Golden Bough is incredibly influential. If Russian literary theory is more your thing, you could check out Shklovsky's 'Art as Technique'. Or perhaps you would find Trotsky's 'Literature and Revolution' to be interesting. Then there's Aquinas and Kant for the daring among us.
• Russian Poetry: It was wonderful to see Russian poetry appreciation in our recent poetry thread. If you would like to layer some poetry in with your reading of Bulgakov, this volume is excellent and showcases works extraordinary works from the greatest writers of Russian poetry. 

Reading Assignment:

Our next discussion will cover up to and including chapter twenty-three of the story, which takes us up to page 275 in the Penguin paperback edition.

Questions for You:

1) What are your impressions of The Master and Margarita thus far?

2) What do you make of Bulgakov's characters?

3) What is truth? 

If this is your first reading of The Master and Margarita, I would love to know how the story is meeting your expectations. 

If this is a reread for you, what is it like returning to the story? And please do share with us your favourite passages, ideas, and characters from the first part of the story.

Happy reading, everybody!