#MASTER MARGARITA CITY TRIAL#
A trial is something that must be overcome, a test of will and strength. This word adversary comes from the word adversity, one of the definitions of which is a trial, according to the Oxford English dictionary. It was in the Old Testament that the name “Satan” was first coined, being the Hebrew word for adversary. The literary critic A.C Wright has chronicled three evolutions of the Devil from the Old Testament, the Rabinnic apocryphal, and the New Testament. It is interesting to note the nebulous nature of depictions of Satan throughout history, seeing them change in both purpose and shape. This evil lies not on the shoulders of Woland rather, it made its home in the hearts of men who could do nothing but watch as their country was cast into a period of hatred, persecution, and betrayal. The darkness was not brought by Woland, nor his retinue of minions instead it was brought on by the Soviet Elite, a government playing of the weaknesses of good men in the face of adversity. In fact, from the start of the story we get a sense that evil has been in the city for some time now, casting a shadow over the hearts of the masses. However the arrival of Woland, as he calls himself, is not the source of evil plaguing the city. Bulgakov’s depiction of the city and its inhabitant throughout both plots of the story give one the feeling that amidst the farce there is the presence of a great evil. In Mikhail Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita, the one they call Satan makes a visit to the city of Moscow, leaving a trail of discord and chaos in his wake. However, despite the presence of evil one notices in the world, the malefactor has never made himself known. The world constantly lives in fear of Him, warding him off with prayer and ritual. Traditional interpretations of Satan give rise to the image of an omniscient harbinger of evil, the shadowy figure behind all wrongdoing in the world.
Poisoning the Masses: The nature of evil in Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita
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