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37ФИЛОЛОГИЧЕСКИЕ НА УКИ/PHILOLOGICAL SCIENCES
УДК 82-31
THE ANTI-DOGMATIC METAPHORS IN M. BULGAKOV'S NOVEL "THE MASTER AND MARGARITA"
АНТИДОГМАТИЧЕСКИЕ МЕТАФОРЫ В РОМАНЕ М. БУЛГАКОВА «МАСТЕР И МАРГАРИТА»
©Abdurazakova D.
Sholom-Aleichem Priamursky State University Birobidzhan, Russia, [email protected]
©Абдуразакова Д. С.
Приамурский государственный университет им. Шолом-Алейхема г. Биробиджан, Россия, [email protected]
Abstract. The article describes Christian reminiscences in Mikhail Bulgakov's novel "The Master and Margarita". From the perspective of evangelical traditions the themes, issues and progenre originality of the work are explored in the novel. The novel is analyzed in terms of menippea genre. In addition, the specifics of using the "shift" techniques lexical bias are discussed in the article; violation of the logic of cause and effect linkages, accurately traced episodes, as well as the expansion of the thematic fields, images with symbolic meaning, artistic ambiguity by using words are also described in this article. The reasons of rejection of the classical model of the universe, the binary system of concepts (good and evil, light and darkness, harmony and chaos) are analyzed. A comparative-typological analysis of the main characters of the novel is drawn. The range of problems are touched upon the issue, there are risen and closely intertwined topical issues and at the same time eternal issues: "What is truth?", "What is real and imaginary freedom?", "Man and his faith", "The problem of power, conscience, man's responsibility for his actions", "The artist's fate in a totalitarian regime", "Why do betrayals happen?", "Where is the border between mind and common sense?", "How does true charity, love and devotion become apparent?".
Аннотация. Статья посвящена проблемам антидогматических метафор христианских реминисценций в романе М. Булгакова «Мастер и Маргарита». С точки зрения евангельских традиций в романе исследуется тематика, проблематика и жанровое своеобразие произведения. Роман проанализирован с точки зрения жанра мениппеи. Кроме того, в статье рассмотрена специфика использования приемов «сдвига», лексического смещения; нарушение логики причинно-следственных сцеплений, точно прорисованных эпизодов, а также расширение тематического поля, образов, имеющих символический смысл, благодаря использованию художественной многозначности слова.1 Проанализированы причины отказа от классической модели мироздания, системы бинарных понятий (добро и зло, свет и тьма, гармония и хаос). Проведен сравнительно-типологический анализ главных героев романа. Затронуты вопросы широты проблематики, в которой поднимаются и тесно переплетаются между собой вопросы злободневные и одновременно вечные: «что есть истина?», «в чем свобода истинная и мнимая?», «человек и его вера», «проблема власти, совести, ответственности человека за свои поступки», «судьба художника в условиях тоталитарного режима», «из-за чего совершаются предательства?», «где граница между умом и здравым смыслом?», «как проявляются истинное милосердие, любовь и преданность?».
Keywords: Bulgakov, reminiscent, the Gospel, "The Master and Margarita".
Ключевые слова: Булгаков, реминисценция, Евангелие, «Мастер и Маргарита».
M. Bulgakov's novel "The Master and Margarita" is one of the unique works of the twentieth century. To the works of M. Chudakov, I. Suhih, P. Abraham, I. Balza, A. Vulis, A. Zerkalova, L. Katsis, A. Korolev, A. Kiselev, V. Lakshina, V. Losev, S. Lurie, N. Utehin and others are devoted to M. Bulgakov's research. The product was being produced from 1928 to 1940, in the height of struggle against religion in our atheistic state then, and the product was not published during the life of the writer. It first saw the light at the end of the epoch of the "thaw" (a magazine "Moscow", 1966, № 11 and 1967, №1. The novel was the revelation for readers of those years, that was breaking usual picture of the world. The scope of the supernatural, biblical characters were taken as a bright anti-dogmatic metaphor. That time ordinary soviet people knew almost nothing about the Bible. People were attracted by the extraordinary mental and artistic courage and humor of the novel. For the first time in the literature of the Soviet period, it was expressed the ironic attitude towards reason's self-reliance. It also pointed out the bounds of reason and exoteric knowledge.
What is the reason of this phenomenon?
The future writer was born in the family of a scientist-theologian, both of his grandfathers were priests. The Christian traditions were honored in Bulgakov's family. The first-born son of the 7 children was given the name in honor of Archangel Michael who was the guardian angel of his native city — Kiev. Archangel Michael is considered as the guardian angel of all believers in Christ. However, Michael did not study in theological seminary, but in high school, his stepfather and brothers were physicians. Bulgakov graduated with honours the Medical Faculty of Kiev University. Bulgakov's relatives and friends remembered how Michael, who was keen on the natural sciences, used to love teasing household by his unbelief and shocked his family by going to the eatery during a lent. He also did not mind to flirt with the evil spirits. So, getting the children's medical degree, Bulgakov began practicing medicine as a venereologist. Did he think that time that he was healing not the body, but God' s punishment, and thus secretly was betraying Christ? The contemporary reality was reproduced as the devil's delusion in the story "Dyavoliada" (1924). And the character of the story, "no. 13 — Elpit-Rabkommuna's Home", a "brilliant manager" rescuing hostel commune from fire, was called B. S Christi (a mocking analogy with God Savior Christ). Perhaps the more a game with Satan was risky, the more a soul was looking for salvation.
The presented book to the writer's birthday "Venediktov, or memorable event of My life" (the author — «botanist X» it is the pseudonym of an agricultural scientist A. V. Chayanov) served as an impetus for the plot of the novel. In this book, the protagonist-narrator (whose name is Bulgakov) told us about Satan's staying in the Moscow, whose name is Venediktov (remember: a name Woland also starts with a «b» letter). As he admits, in an iron box under Satan's (Venediktov) lock is Bulgakov's soul. Mikhail Afanasievich Bulgakov read the book as a mystical sign. The soul in the story Chayanov was in Satan's power. It had to be rescued. A novel about Christ and Satan became an act of personal salvation. For faith writer, undoubtedly felt therapeutic-mechanical effects. A diary entry of October 26, 1923 indicates about it: "Maybe strong and brave people do not need Him (God -), but to people like me, live with the thought of Him is easier". The writer went from the Devil to God. But why did he go from the Devil?
As we know, there are 8 editions of the drafts of the novel, the first of them were under the title "Black magician", "Engineer's Hoof', "Consultant with a hoof1', "Great chancellor", "Prince of Darkness". In these editions an emphasis was on the image of the Devil, nor Master, nor Margarita was not that time in the work. The characters in the title of the canonical edition will appear in the novel only after a series of tragic events that had been experienced by the writer. The modern reality reminded to Bulgakov two thousand years ago events — the advent of Christ to Jerusalem: here and there was an atmosphere of grovelling in front of strong people, cowardice, treachery and denunciation. The writer obviously particularly worried about two problems: theomachism and conditions of an artist's work in "red" of Russia. In 1929 it appeared a ban on Bulgakov's novel. In a state of severe depression the writer burnt the most part of the manuscripts of his "sunset" suffering novel. In desperation, Bulgakov wrote a letter to the Government (1930), he wanted to
understand whether he could work in his home country, or he had to emigrate: because the writer could not live without his motherland. According to researchers who are studying Bulgakov's works, in 1931 the writer returned to the novel again and, in fact, he began to write it again, decided to add things that he had experienced in recent years. This way Master and Margarita appeared. The third Bulgakov's wife Elena Sergeevna Shilovskaya served as a prototype of Margarita, who played a big role in the life of the rejected, gravelly sick author. At about the same time to Woland's entourage joined to him: Cow — Fagotto, Behemoth, Azazello and Hella. In 1934 the first full version of the novel was completed. In 1938 the final version was completed. However, «grinding» of the novel lasted to 1940, until the writer's death.
Roman was broadened and deepened, from the original idea only contours remained. In the novel, there were intertwined satire, poetry, philosophy and politics. The novel has become multigenre and multi-dimensional. It clearly traced four storylines: "Yershalaim" chapters, Moscow life of the 30-ies of XX century, Woland's and his entourage's adventures, the love of The Master and Margarita. By a structure it resembles a "matryoshka principle", showing a novel in a novel.
The modern researchers who are studying Bulgakov's works also give another genre definition of "The Master and Margarita" — a book that is associated with the Bible. However, there are some deviations from the Bible in the novel, in all probability, all these deviations were conscious, because Bulgakov as a man of his generation, who was brought up in the doctor of theology family, definitely knew the true gospel history. So, Jesus was executed at 33 years old, but Yeshua was executes at 27 years old. Jesus was born of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, Yeshua's mother was a woman of questionable behavior, and his father was a Syrian, whom Yeshua did not remember. Jesus had 12 apostles, Yeshua had only one student — Matthew Levi (and Mattew wrote down Yeshua's words wrong). Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey; Yeshua went to Yershalaim by foot. Jesus' sermon, "Love your neighbor as yourself' is changed to "all people are of good". According to the Bible, on the seventh day after the execution Christ's resurrection took place. In Bulgakov's novel after the hanging Matthew Levi kidnapped Yeshua's body and buried it. The Biblical Judas hanged himself on an aspen, Bulgakov's Judas was killed by Pilate's orders. The explicit polemic is perceptible with the Gospel texts. The divine origin of Yeshua is appealed. He was not the son of God but is the son of man. There are words "hang" and «post» in the novel, but there are no words "crucified" and "cross". There is no canonical Gospel history, and Satan is not in the conventional sense.
The novel features a breadth of perspective, it raises eternal problems: "What is the truth?", "What is real and imaginary freedom?", "Man and his faith", "The problem of power, conscience, man's responsibility for his actions", "The artist's fate in a totalitarian regime", "Why do betrayals happen?" , "Where is the border between mind and common sense?", "How does true charity, love and devotion become apparent?" and the others. However, the most global problem is the problem of good and evil.
As an epigraph to the novel the words of Mephistopheles in Goethe's tragedy "Faust" are preceded:
"So who are you, finally?
— I am a part of that power,
That always wants evil
And eternally makes good".
And 'the part of that power" — Bulgakov's Woland — appears in Moscow at 30-ies of XX century, in order to make a kind of audit and see how people have changed for nearly two thousand years. He, Prince of the Darkness, knows what kind of people were at the time of Christ's appearance.
From the Orthodox Christians there were a lot of reproaches to the novel for the fact that it created a new Gospel — the Gospel of Woland. How can it be explained?
According to the Christian view, time is linear. This is a perpetual motion of a man to God on a way of redemption and salvation. According to the menippea carnival view, time is cyclical, it is an eternal repetition, mutual transition of life and death, good and evil. In the novel, obviously the
dualistic conception of the author affected, in accordance with which the world is divided between God and the Devil. For Bulgakov's lifetime, he hesitated between faith and unbelief more than once, but in recent years, according to Elena Sergeevna, lived with the thought of God. And as menippea depicts a life inside out, the Devil takes the place of the Savior that is at odds with the Orthodox tradition.
However, Bulgakov's Woland is not Satan in the conventional sense. With his help, the boldest hypotheses are realized, the routine of life is broken, and some kind of moral revision is committed. And it turns out that for two thousand years nothing has changed: "... the people as people. They love money, but it has always been like this... Well, frivolous ... Well, well ... and mercy sometimes knocks at their hearts ... ordinary people ... in general, resemble previous ... housing problem only spoilt them». So, a new special "breed" of Soviet people remained the same. The main target of Woland is complacency of atheistic reason (mind), the so-called "common sense", that does not recognize the sphere of enigmatic and mysterious (remember the story of Ivan Homeless, Berlioz, Georges Bengal). Woland brought out into the open people who had mired in a sin. For example, the theater chief — Varenukha, Woland punished him for lies, Sempliyarova Woland punished for bigamy. Innocent people Woland and his entourage did not hurt. On the contrary, Woland connected the Master and Margarita, returned to the Master the manuscript (that had been fired before) and complied with Margarita's request not to give a bloodied handkerchief to unhappy Frida.
In comparison with the other characters of the novel, Woland had the privilege of an action. And this is particular bitterness. Alas! The Evil is punished not in a real life but in eternity. The Master's words that he addressed to Margarita are imbued with despair: "When people are completely robbed, as you and me, they are looking for salvation from other-worldly forces". This is the reason of treatment of the author to the evil spirits in the form of Woland. And anyway, in a process of reading the novel gives the impression that there is a force, to which Woland obeys. This way, Matthew Levi at the last day of Woland's staying in Moscow addressed to him with Yeshua's commission: award the Master with peace. Thus, if Woland is all-powerful in front of people, he is not all-powerful in front of God. In the latest edition of the novel Yeshua and Woland did not fight as God and the Devil. It seems that they divided the spheres of influence and coexisted peacefully, heading two departments: Woland — the ministry of justice, Yeshua — the department of mercy. In the image of Yeshua — a reminder of the contemporaries of the great example of suffering and death for all humanity, faith in the triumph of good, because arrested, brutally beaten, the Hero (Yeshua) does not get tired of repeating: "All men are good". In the midst of rebellion, persecution of priests and destruction of temples, Bulgakov offers his artistic version of Christ's life that is addressed to an atheistic world. But the author does not fit in His students, because it is difficult to reconcile with the evil impunity.
The novel begins with a dream of vengeance and retribution. Margarita avenged persecutors of her beloved Master not in a Christian way. But she was crowned with words of forgiveness. Margarita rejected Woland's proposal to destroy critic Latunsky, asked to stop Frida's (child-killer) sufferings. Matthew Levi was ready to kill Pontius, but Yeshua forgave him, who was the culprit of his death — a man who had been burdened with terrible pangs of own conscience. So the writer can prove that if the first step of the truth is justice, then the highest step of the truth is Christian charity.
References:
1. Korolev A. Prodigal Son. Banner, 1994, no. 4, pp. 196, 204.
2. Losev V. Sunset novel. Introductory article. Mikhail Bulgakov. The Master and Margarita. Moscow. Publishing company AST, 2001, pp. 5-27.
3. Suhih I. "The Master and Margarita" by Mikhail Bulgakov: a maze novel. Russian literature of the twentieth century. School. Directions. Methods of creative work. Moscow, Logos, 2002, pp. 466-485.
4. Chudakova M. Biography of Mikhail Bulgakov. Moscow, 1988.
№2 2017 г.
Список литературы:
1. Королев А. Блудный сын // Знамя. 1994. №4.
2. Лосев В. Закат романа. Вступительная статья // Михаил Булгаков. Мастер и Маргарита. М.: Издательство АСТ, 2001. С. 5-27.
3. Сухих И. «Мастер и Маргарита» Михаила Булгакова: лабиринты романа // Русская литература ХХ века. Школа. Направления. Методы творчества. M: Логос, 2002. С. 466-485.
4. Чудакова М. Биография Михаила Булгакова. М., 1988.
Работа поступила Принята к публикации
в редакцию 20.12.2016 г. 22.12.2016 г.
Cite as (APA):
Abdurazakova, D. (2017). The anti-dogmatic metaphors in M. Bulgakov's novel "The Master and Margarita". Bulletin of Science and Practice, (2), 360-364. Available at: http://www.bulletennauki.com/abdurazakova, accessed 15.02.2017.
Ссылка для цитирования:
Абдуразакова Д. С. Антидогматические метафоры в романе М. Булгакова «Мастер и Маргарита» // Бюллетень науки и практики. Электрон. журн. 2017. №2 (15). С. 360-364. Режим доступа: http://www.bulletennauki.com/abdurazakova (дата обращения 15.02.2017). (На англ.).
