Slavonica, Vol. 11, No. 2, November 2005

AN INTERPRETATION OF THE OCCULTSYMBOLISM IN MIKHAIL BULGAKOV’S

THE MASTER AND MARGARITA

Amy de la Cour

Ceres Health Foods, Worthing

Much of the extensive scholarly criticism on The Master and Margarita has focused onBulgakov’s ‘cosmology’ and how the events of the novel can be seen as a mirror of his worldview. In particular, The Master and Margarita is often seen as a literary exposition of aGnostic outlook. The overwhelming tendency of many studies is to look for a ‘key’ which canunlock the riddles in the novel and answer some of the more difficult questions pertaining todevelopments in the plot. This often means that the book is approached from the outside. Incontrast, I have tried to look at it from the inside out, and ask how the imagery and symbolismin the book can help answer some of these questions and reveal clues as to Bulgakov’s inten-tions and world view. The fact that much of the symbolism in the book is drawn from Goethe,witchcraft and black magic has been noted — but not that this occult symbolism runs muchdeeper to include, for example, Masonic and alchemical motifs. As well as exposing thisparticular layer of symbolism, I have examined how it points to Bulgakov’s belief in theimportance and need of a spiritual ‘re-birth’ both for individuals and for Russia itself; and thatthe secret to regeneration lies in the power of such an inner journey.

Introduction

The inherent difficulties in interpreting Master i Margarita (The Master and Margarita) meanthat the critical literature on the book has almost developed into an industry of its own: everypossible interpretation, it seems, has been suggested — from apocalyptic Gnosticism1 toStalinist allegory2 to Freudian psychoanalysis.3 The literature surrounding the book continuesto evolve, with new insights and explanations, as more material from previously unseenarchives is revealed. But the sheer quantity of criticism and the hugely diverse and frequentlycontradictory nature of the interpretations point to a series of riddles inherent in the themeand narrative structure that are unlikely ever to be resolved, there being no one conclusion oranswer to the mysteries contained in the work — and it has to be a possible conclusion thatthis was exactly Bulgakov’s intention.

Bulgakov started work on the original idea for the novel as early as 1928, as far as we know,and was still dictating revisions to the text on his death bed in 1940.4 Whether the book as itstands is actually finished is debatable, as is the question surrounding the different versionsthat are available.5 What is undeniable is that over the twelve or so years that it was written,

© 2005 W. S. Maney & Son Ltd doi: 10.1179/136174205x60465

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The Master and Margarita evolved from its beginnings as a novel ‘about the devil’6 to include awealth of biographical detail from the author’s increasing frustration at the difficulties heexperienced as a writer in Stalinist Russia (including his burning of the original manuscriptand its being rewritten effectively in secret with no hope of publication), his renewed faith inlove after his marriage to his third wife, and a sense of resignation in the face of the death thathe knew, at the end, was imminent. Another difficulty in interpretation is in the paucityof information about the sources Bulgakov consulted.7 However, I think many critics haveoveremphasized the role played by what we do know of these sources and have undervaluedBulgakov’s place in the overall development in Russian culture. The Master and Margarita hasto be placed in context, particularly in the context of a long tradition of literary and visualrepresentations of both the ‘real’ Christ and the devil himself, who was very much in vogueat the turn of the century.8 In addition to these artistic antecedents, Bulgakov, especially asthe son of an esteemed theologian,9 would have also been rooted in the history of Russianreligious philosophy and in particular its turn at the beginning of the twentieth centurytowards mystical thought as part of the dissatisfaction with traditional Orthodox philosophy.All these external factors entangle the complex web that is the text itself, and so furthercomplicate attempts to come to a comprehensive understanding of the work.

Bearing this in mind, I want to take one aspect of this web for discussion in this essay: thatof Bulgakov’s world-view and his cosmological emphasis. That is not to say that the themesof narrative structure, narrative voice, and space/time relations are not just as important, butit is the question of cosmology that has caused so much difficulty and controversy in interpre-tation, and is a fundamental basis for further analysis of the text. Is there an easily applied ‘key’that will unlock the secrets of the text? Is that key a Gnostic world view,10 an OrthodoxChristian world view,11 or an essentially apocalyptic vision?12 Or is there no such systembehind the work at all? The purpose of this essay is to show that the usual models citedapropos Bulgakov’s world view, as well as having inherent inadequacies as monist theories, failto take into account the complicated world of symbolism in the novel and what that itselfsymbolizes, as well as ignoring the occult motifs, taken from Goethe, freemasonry, Boehme,alchemy, and the Kabbalah that point to a deeper understanding of Bulgakov’s vision of aspiritual quest for inner development and rebirth.

Satan in Moscow: a Gnostic conception?

In the huge amount of literature written on the subject of Bulgakov’s worldview in The Masterand Margarita, it is the essentially Gnostic/dualistic idea that is most prevalent. On an initialreading of the novel, it is easy to see why this idea is so persuasive, as it concretely addressesthe question of evil in the book and would thus answer the problem of the exact nature ofWoland’s role. While the function and nature of Christ’s demystified narrative poses manyquestions as well, it is the character of Woland that is more difficult to understand: an amalgamof literary sources and popular clichés, his actions do not conform in their entirety to anytraditional concepts of the devil: the tempter, the Old Testament judge13, or the entertainer inFaust who is engaged in a battle with God for his subjects’ souls. In fact, the reader can almostbe persuaded to feel sympathy for this seemingly gentle devil (although there is an awful lot ofgrotesque violence in the book, this is always the work of Woland’s retinue; he remains farmore ambiguous). The Gnostic conception does answer some of these questions: in Gnosti-cism, a fall or a disharmony in God has led to the creation of the material world which, as adivine ‘mistake’, is inherently evil and ruled by a demiurge. The material world, with all its

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suffering and dependence on earthly pleasures cannot, for a Gnostic, be the creation of a goodGod. However, a spark of divinity remains trapped in man’s material body and this spark canbe reunited with its source in those initiates who have received the revelation of divineknowledge, or gnosis.

There is no doubt in The Master and Margarita that Woland is in charge of this, the earthlyrealm (his globe accessory is the obvious testament to this). The conception of this world asa living hell of materialism can be seen in the greed and corruption exposed everywherein Moscow, a capital run with materialism as its dominant creed. Pilate, the Master, andMargarita, all ‘initiates’ with the knowledge of the real Passion story, are those who arerescued from their materialistic prison — or are they? This position does not elucidate thefinal destination of the Master and Margarita, or Pilate’s years of suffering, or the ultimatereturn to the material realm of Bezdomnyi, who should also be an initiate. More importantly,dualism alone does not explain Woland’s place in the divine scheme. There are many theoriesof exactly how good and evil interact within Gnostic theory, the most extreme beingManichaeism which sees a fierce battle for supremacy between good and evil being the forcethat creates the material world. Other theories see good and evil as being in opposition,but aware of their essential interdependence. But there is little sense of Woland being inopposition to the divine or trying to destroy it — he seems, far more, to be a mere employee,and one who readily accepts his place in the divine scheme. In addition, any Gnosticworldview would not incorporate the essential fatalism that runs throughout The Master andMargarita: Woland, for example, says at the beginning in his conversation with Bezdomnyiand Berlioz that in order to rule ‘hyyho kak-hnkak nmets tojhqi, plah ha hekotopqi,xots ckolsko-hnvyds ppnlnjhqi cpok’14 (‘one must have a precise plan worked out’).15

Woland accepts his place in the divine scheme unquestioningly, and the infinite wisdom ofthat scheme is constantly alluded to in the symbolism of the sun, the moon and the weather:everyday reminders that we are not in charge of nature and that the celestial spheres includethe material in their plan; which is not something a Gnostic thinker would accept. That thiswas the overriding world view of Bulgakov himself can be seen in a letter he wrote to hisfellow writer Il´f, in which he said: ‘Jto paho nln pozdho, bce ctahet ha cbon mecta’.16

Goethe and Faust: the spiritual journey

In attempting an explanation for the genealogy of Woland, the symbolism linked to Faust isoften mentioned. In fact, from the very beginning in the epigraph, references to Faust litterBulgakov’s text; however despite the similarities (for example: Satan’s ball, the poodle imag-ery, the names Woland and Margarita) these are an unconvincing clue to Bulgakov’s aimsbecause they are just that: superficial similarities. But it could be that Bulgakov quotes Faust soas to allude to a deeper affinity with Goethe’s philosophy: Goethe showed in Faust his firmconviction that rationalism was inadequate for the assimilation of spiritual ideas. We can see adirect parallel with The Master and Margarita in that the atheist Soviet Union is corrupt anddecaying without any acknowledgement of the power of the spiritual, unseen world, and thatits corresponding realism in the arts is not the true role of genius, through which imaginationcan be divinely inspired and give rise to the development of the human spirit. This is fairlyevident in the text, but what is rarely commented on is that Faust cannot just attain thespiritual knowledge he craves overnight. He has to go on an inner journey that involves himhaving to ‘die’; only then can he be fully awakened, through the birth of his higher self. As

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Rudolf Steiner, discussing the Faust legend, says, ‘Man dies from the lower life in order to liveagain in a higher existence’.17 Is it not possible that it is to this aspect of Goethe’s philosophy(expressed most famously in Faust but evident throughout his work) that Bulgakov is alludingin his references to Faust and in the deaths of Pilate, the Master, and Margarita? In this way,the retelling of Christ’s Passion can be seen as a symbol for man’s need of an inner, spiritualrebirth, just as essential for human evolution as developments in technology and the sciences.This interpretation of the text is further enhanced by the exposure of Masonic imagery in TheMaster and Margarita: the imagery of the knight on his quest for higher, lost knowledge.

Whether or not Bulgakov was a Freemason, the occult symbolism that synthesized suchsystems as the Kabbalah, Rosicrucianism, alchemy, and Freemasonry enjoyed a renewedinterest in the art and literature of the early twentieth century and would have been easilyaccessible to him.18 These systems shared the belief that through ancient hidden practices andsymbols man could come to possess superior divine knowledge and unity with the divinesource, and so their various ideas often become amalgamated. As for Freemasonry itself, ithad as important a role in Russia as in the rest of Europe in counteracting the excessiverationalism of the enlightenment and included many of the eighteenth century’s most distin-guished names, in particular Pushkin (who held specific importance for Bulgakov).19 Goethe,of course, was a Freemason, and Steiner lectured extensively on the importance of Freema-sonry and Rosicrucianism in Goethe’s thought, lectures that could well have been available toBulgakov, given the interest in Anthroposophy in Russian artistic circles.20

While the specific symbols will be discussed in more detail, the general process in Masonicliterature is that the initiate, having gone through the initiation ceremony and a ritual ‘death’(often involving the adoption of a new name, like the Master)21 embarks, in a similar fashionto a medieval knight (and note how often Pilate is referred to as a ‘Knight’ or the ‘Knight ofthe Golden Lance’), on a spiritual journey. This journey will be beset with difficulties andinvolves attaining many levels of knowledge but, for those who can prove their spiritualworth, the reward is salvation — commonly depicted as a paradise/Garden of Eden.22 Thesimilarities with the Master and Margarita, especially their final destination, are obvious. Thecrossing of a stream, as they have to in order to get to their paradise, is a common symbol forthe progression onto a higher stage of knowledge, the bridge being an allusion to when theQueen of Sheba crossed a stream by means of a bridge made out of wood from the Tree ofLife.23 Masons on such a quest are often depicted as having to reach specific stages, eachsymbolized by a gate or door, the knowledge required to open it being the ‘key’. For thisreason keys are sometimes given as a symbol when a Mason progresses from one degree toanother. In The Master and Margarita, of course, the Master has managed to acquire or steal a setof keys from the nurse, which has given him ‘bozmoyhocts bqxodnts ha ovwni valkoh’.24

The journey is also symbolized by the process of building a spiritual temple within oneself,symbolism that stems from the Legend of the lost Temple of Solomon and finds its echo inYeshua’s words ‘jto pyxhet xpam ctapoi bepq n cozdactcr hobqi xpam nctnhq’.25

The Transformation of White to Red: occult symbols

We are first introduced to Masonic/alchemical symbolism in the first chapter of thebook, when Woland pulls out his famous cigarette case: ‘Oh vql gpomadhqx pazmepob,jepbohhogo zolota, n ha kpqwke ego ppn otkpqbahnn cbepkhyl cnhnmn n velqm oghemvpnllnahtobqi tpeygolshnk’.26 Gold is, of course, the alchemist’s final goal and triangles

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are an ancient symbol with many occult references: in Masonic symbolism, the triangle repre-sents strength, perfection, and rebirth, as well as, when also linked to fire, heat, or bright light,the realm of the spirit.27 The six pointed star of Solomon shows the intersection of twotriangles — one spirit, one matter — and their mutual interdependence. Here, the equation ofthe triangle with fire would definitely indicate Woland’s affinity with the spirit realm, despitehis material form.28 In alchemy, a similar denial of matter (ritual death) is required before theprocess of transformation can occur: from the initial blackness of nothing is produced thewhite of creation, before the final transformation to the red that symbolizes the highest stage,the philosopher’s stone. In this way, red and white are opposites symbolizing the eternalopposites that govern the cosmos: day/night; sun/moon; life/death; male/female etc.29 Thisindicates that an interpretation of the way Pilate appears ‘b velom plawe c kpobabqmpodvoem’30 is a sign of his capacity for inner alchemy, spiritual transformation. Similarly, thepersistent symbolism of blood, the colour red, and the profusion of rose symbolism can beseen as an expression of the power of rebirth and the possibility of perfection. Roses enterMasonic symbolism as an emblem of one of the three pillars on which all life rests: the pillar ofBeauty (the other two being Strength and Wisdom). This symbolism was elevated to a higherplane in Rosicrucianism, which saw the rose as a symbol of the divine nature of aestheticcreation, and the exalted status of the artist within the world. The rose changing colour, fromwhite to red, as they do in Pilate’s spilt wine,31 indicates the flower’s development and attain-ment of a new, lofty plane of aesthetic beauty.32 The intrinsic role played in the cosmos byartistic creation is thus reiterated throughout the novel with this recurrent symbol.

Although it is, of course, not the only layer of significance present in the scene of Satan’sBall, elements of a Masonic initiation ceremony are present, symbolizing Margarita’s willing-ness to forgo her past life and wholeheartedly embrace a journey involving illumination fromthe supernatural. Masonic initiation rites vary tremendously, but some basic, generic practicescan be discerned in Margarita’s arrival at flat no. 50, in chapter 22, Ppn cbejax (By Candle-light). It is common in such a ritual for members to guard the entrances to the Lodge. AsMargarita and Koroviev approach, they see three such ‘guards’ at the various entrances to theflat. At first, the initiate is blindfolded and led through various rooms, all to disorientate him,and sometimes it is shouted to him ‘that he is being thrown into Hell’33 (Margarita, of course,already suspects this). Margarita is at first led into a room that is so dark that ‘hnjego he vqlobndho, kak b podzemelse’.34 The initiate is then ‘led to a flight of stairs in a room whichis very dimly lit’ — the staircase is specially constructed so that you think you have ascendeda long way although you have hardly moved at all; the staircase in Masonry is a commonsymbol of the long, never-ending ascension to higher knowledge.35 Similarly, Margaritaand her guide ‘tyt ctaln podhnmatscr po kaknm-to wnpoknm ctypehrm, n Mapgapntectalo kazatscr, jto kohua nm he vydet. Eë popayalo, kak b pepedhei ovqkhobehhoimockobckoi kbaptnpq moyet pomectntscr qta heovqkhobehhar, hebndnmar, ho xop-owo owywaemar veckohejhar lecthnua’.36 Next the Masonic initiate finds himself in anilluminated room, and he is asked ‘do you recognise who is your master?’37 Similarly,Margarita finds herself ‘b cobepwehho heovsrthom zale, da ewë c kolohhadoi’38 (such asthe entrance hall to many Masonic Lodges would be) and Koroviev tells her, ‘Bq [. . .]kohejho, yye dogadalncs o tom, kto haw xozrnh’.39 Only once she replies in the affirma-tive, and what is expected of her has been explained, is she led through to the ‘light’: the roomwhere Woland is. Just as in Masonry the path to knowledge is a difficult one, Margarita’sexperience at the ball proves that she has to endure quite an ordeal, but one which ultimatelybrings great reward.40

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Finally, the last and most important symbol: the moon. For many commentators, theconstant sun/moon imagery in the book is further evidence of its Gnostic and dualistictendencies. It is true that in many dualistic systems (especially that of Boehme), the sun andmoon were the eternal representations of the inherent dualism and interdependence of theopposite forces of the world at work. The overwhelming presence of the moon in the novelcan also be read as the traditional idea of the moon as a symbol of all that governs the world ofthe spirit, the emotions, the passive and feminine principle of the unseen world. Certainly thisconception is important in the novel, highlighting the presence of the supernatural even whenthe citizens of Moscow deny it. But the moon seems to suggest even more than that. Itfunctions as a symbol of the path to enlightenment: Pilate and Yeshua finish the novel walkingalong this path seemingly forever. In the Jewish Kabbalah, the moon is the entrance to thespiritual realm and its light can illuminate the path man should take, by illuminating in himthe divine spark and the memory of the light, so often hidden, that we all have inside us.41 Isit the awakening of this spark and the awareness of the difficulties it brings, that gives theMaster, Pilate, and Bezdomnyi no peace when the moon is full? Just as the ‘red dawn’ symbol-izes a spiritual rebirth and the actualization of knowledge (it is ‘b vlecke pepbqx ytpehhnxlyjei’ that the Master and Margarita cross into their new realm42), the moon represents theway to that rebirth. Pilate has a long way to go, and in Masonry an initiate can start on hisjourney only once he has accepted God as all-powerful as well as reconciling himself to theidea of immortality. Maybe it took Pilate all those thousands of years to accept this, for he isjust beginning his journey at the same time that the Master and Margarita finish theirs.

Conclusion

The Master and Margarita, in both its symbolic structure and in its more farcical, theatricalscenes, calls for a spiritual rebirth — not through any particular doctrine or creed, but throughan understanding that only by accepting the ultimate mystery of the universe can we progressto a deeper level of existence. Bulgakov exposes the failings of Soviet society in the greed andcorruption of its citizens, but he also questions the ideological need to know everything, tohave ‘proof’, definite answers, and the unquestioning assumption that what is presented as atruth, especially a written truth, is an undeniable fact. Of course while specifically relevant toBulgakov’s time and experience in Communist Russia, the human impulse to seek in scienceand rationalism explanations of those things in the world that are hard to understand iscommon to many cultures. From the very beginning of the book, The Master and Margaritaquestions the reader’s traditional assumptions in both its unconventional representations ofcharacter and in the style of the novel itself, asking us not only to re-evaluate our thoughts on,for example, traditional depictions of the crucifixion, but also to question our expectations offiction as a genre.

I have here pointed out a layer of symbolism in The Master and Margarita that I see as centralto an understanding of the book. It is, of course, not the only one and not exclusive: as I havementioned, the writing of the book was a process itself, taking many years and so incorporat-ing a wealth of detail from Bulgakov’s own life experience and the evolution in his ownthought. In particular, the granting of the Master and Margarita ‘peace’ and not ‘light’ at theend of the book can point to the wish fulfilment and extreme exhaustion of a dying man whosuffered so much in his life. Many critical studies have attempted to evaluate the symbolism orallegorical nature of the work by a ‘decoding’ process, and in doing so have fallen into the trap

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Bulgakov has deliberately created that is central to the book’s conception: the assumption thatwe can know a definite truth. In ‘encoding’ his fiction, Bulgakov has obscured any obviousmeaning, and thus asks the reader to go on a similar journey to that of the main characters.Writing about Goethe, Steiner sees that some people, ‘while realising that there are no boundsto man’s search for wisdom, but that it is capable of infinite expansion, are aware that thedepths of the universe are unfathomable, that in every unmasked secret lies the origin of thenew; and in every solution of a riddle another lies unrevealed’.43 And it is with this in mindthat we need to approach Bulgakov’s work.

But it is also the type of symbolism that is important, and that is what I have attemptedto unravel in this essay. Traditionally, occultists and mystics of all persuasions have soughtin symbols clues to the deeper mysteries of the universe, and such symbols are usually inthese systems revealed as steps on the life-long road to deeper knowledge. Bulgakov’s use ofMasonic and occult symbolism throughout the book points to this need for growth anddevelopment in man’s inner life to mirror the advancements in the sciences, technology, andall that creates our external life. It is possible that the main message in the symbolism of TheMaster and Margarita is a very simple reminder that there are signs all around us that point to anexistence that goes beyond the visible, if we are open to this different way of seeing. We comeback, as in the epigraph at the beginning of the novel, to Faust, and the Chorus Mysticus at theend of Part II:

Alles VergänglicheIst nur ein Gleichnis;Das Unzulängliche,Hier wird’s Ereignis;Das Unbeschreibliche,Hier ist’s getan;Das Ewig-WeiblicheZieht uns hinan.44

Bibliography

Barratt, A., Between Two Worlds. A Critical Introduction to ‘The Master and Margarita’ (Oxford: Clarendon Press,1987).

Belozerskaia-Bulgakova, L., My Life with Mikhail Bulgakov, trans. By M. Thompson (Ann Arbor, Munich:Ardis, 1983).

Bethea, D., The Shape of Apocalypse in Modern Russian Fiction (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1989).Billington, J., The Icon and the Axe (London: Weidenfeld, 1966).Buck, J., Symbolism of Freemasonry or Mystic Masonry (Chicago: Ezra Cook Publishing, 1925).Bulgakov, M., Mactep n Mapgapnta (Mockba: pedakunohho-nzdatelsckni komplekc ‘Mnlocepdne’,

1991).Cavendish, R. (ed.), Encyclopaedia of the Unexplained: Magic, Occultism and Parapsychology (London: McGraw

Hill, 1974).Chudakova, M., ‘The Master and Margarita. The Development of a Novel’, Russian Literature Triquarterly,

15 (Spring 1976), 177–209.Chudakova, M., ‘Usloviie sushchestvovaniia’, V mire knig, 12 (1974), 79–81.Chudakova, M. (ed.), Mikhail Bulgakov: Sovremennye tolkovaniia. K 100-letiiu so dnia rozhdeniia (Moskva:

Akademiia Nauk SSSR, 1991), p. 25.Cottrell, A., Goethe’s View of Evil and the Search for a New Image of Man in our Time (London: Floris Books,

1982).Curtis, J. A. E., Manuscripts Don’t Burn. Mikhail Bulgakov, A Life in Letters and Diaries (London: Bloomsbury,

1991).

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Curtis, J. A. E., Bulgakov’s Last Decade. The Writer as Hero (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987).Ericson, E., The Apocalyptic Vision of Bulgakov’s ‘The Master and Margarita’ (Lewiston: E. Mellen Press,

1991).Goethe, Faust (Hamburg: Christian Wegner Verlag, 1954).Hanratty, G., Studies in Gnosticism and in the Philosophy of Religion (Chippenham: Four Courts Press, 1997).Haber, E., ‘The Lamp with the Green Shade: Mikhail Bulgakov and His Father’, Russian Review, 44.4

(October 1985), 333–50.Krugovoi, G., The Gnostic Novel of Mikhail Bulgakov: Sources and Exegesis (New York: University Press of

America, 1991).Lessing Baehr, S., The Paradise Myth in Eighteenth Century Russia (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1991).Mahlow, E., Bulgakov’s’ Master and Margarita’: the Text as Cipher (Vantage Press, 1975).Milne, L., Mikhail Bulgakov: a Critical Biography (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990).Pittman, R., The Writer’s Divided Self in Bulgakov’s ‘Master and Margarita’ (Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1991).Proffer, E., ‘On The Master and Margarita’, Russian Literature Triquaterly, 6 (Spring 1973), 533–64.Raphael, A., Goethe and the Philosopher’s Stone (London: Routledge, 1965).Reed, T. J., Goethe (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1984).Rosenthal, B. (ed.), The Occult in Russian and Soviet Culture (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1997).Steiner, R., Goethe’s Standard of the Soul (London: Anthroposophical Publishing Company, 1925)Steiner, R. The Temple Legend. Freemasonry and Related Occult Movements (London: Rudolf Steiner Press, 1985)Waite, A., A New Encyclopaedia of Freemasonry, vols 1–2 (Rider, 1921).Weeks, L., ‘Hebraic Antecedents in The Master and Margarita: Woland and Company Revisited’, Slavic

Review, 43.2 (Summer 1984), 224–41.Weeks, L. (ed.), ‘The Master and Margarita’: A Critical Companion (Evanston: Northwestern University Press,

1996).Yanovskaia, L., Treugol´nik Volanda. K istorii romana ‘Master i Margarita’ (Kiev: Libid´, 1991).Yanovskaia, L., Tvorcheskii put´ Mikhaila Bulgakova (Moskva: Sovetskii Pisatelech´, 1983).

1 See G. Krugovoi, The Gnostic Novel of Mikhail Bulgakov: Sources and Exegesis (New York: University Pressof America, 1991).

2 For example, in E. Mahlow, Bulgakov’s ‘Master and Margarita’: the Text as Cipher (Vantage Press, 1975).3 In R. Pittman, The Writer’s Divided Self in Bulgakov’s ‘Master and Margarita’ (Basingstoke: Macmillan,

1991).4 For the history of the writing of the text, see M. Chudakova, ‘The Master and Margarita. The Development

of a Novel’, Russian Literature Triquarterly, 15 (Spring 1976), 177–209.5 An analysis of the various texts and translations is given in A. Barratt, Between Two Worlds. A Critical

Introduction to ‘The Master and Margarita’ (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1987).6 See Chudakova, op. cit.7 Possible sources are given in M. Chudakova, ‘Uslovie sushchestvovaniia’, V mire knig, 12 (1974), 79–81.8 Representations of a ‘realistic’ Christ are especially notable in the paintings of A. Ivanov, I. Kramskoi, and

N. Ge and in the fiction of Tolstoi, Dostoevskii, and later Symbolist writers such as A. Belyi and A. Blok. Forthe devil in turn of the century culture, see K. Groberg, ‘The Shade of Lucifer’s Dark Wing: Satanism inSilver Age Russia’ in The Occult in Russian and Soviet Culture, ed. by B. Rosenthal (Ithaca: Cornell UniversityPress, 1997).

9 For the influence of his father on his worldview, see E. Haber, ‘The Lamp with the Green Shade: MikhailBulgakov and His Father’, Russian Review, 44.4 (October 1985), 333–50.

10 As in Krugovoi 1991, and Barratt 1987.11 E. Ericson, The Apocalyptic Vision of Bulgakov’s ‘The Master and Margarita’ (Lewiston: E. Mellen Press,

1991).12 D. Bethea, The Shape of Apocalypse in Modern Russian Fiction (Princeton: Princeton University Press,

1989).13 As suggested in L. Weeks, ‘Hebraic Antecedents in The Master and Margarita: Woland and Company

Revisited’, Slavic Review, 43.2 (Summer 1984), 224–41.14 M. Bulgakov, Master i Margarita (Moscow: Miloserdie, 1991), p. 10. (Hereafter referred to as M & M). All

English translations are from The Master and Margarita, trans. by M. Glenny (London: The Harvill Press, 1967).

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15 M. Bulgakov, The Master and Margarita, trans. by M. Glenny (London: The Harvill Press, 1967), p. 2016 ‘Sooner or later, everything finds its own place’ (my translation), in Mikhail Bulgakov: sovremennye

tolkovaniia. K 100-letiyu co dnia rozhdeniia, ed. by M. Chudakova (Moscow: Akademiia Nauk SSSR, 1991),p. 5.

17 R. Steiner, Goethe’s Standard of the Soul (London: Anthroposophical Publishing Company, 1925), p. 16.18 See M. Carlson, ‘Fashionable Occultism: Spiritualism, Theosophy, Freemasonry and Hermeticism in

Fin-de-Siècle Russia’, in The Occult in Russian and Soviet Culture, pp. 135–53.19 See Carlson, as above, and the discussion of Freemasonry in J. Billington, The Icon and the Axe (London:

Weidenfeld, 1966). According to Haber, Bulgakov’s father wrote and published an article on Freemasonry(E. Haber, ‘The Lamp’, p. 334, n. 3).

20 See R. Steiner, The Temple Legend. Freemasonry and Related Occult Movements (London: Rudolf SteinerPress, 1985).

21 See M & M, p. 135: the Master says he has ‘renounced’ (otkazalcr) his name. The word ‘Master’ itselfconjures Masonic connotations: the Master is the highest degree attainable in Craft Masonry. Higher OrderMasonry, however, has many additional degrees to progress to: in the Royal Arch degree, the ‘high Priest’ iscalled Jeshua (Steiner, The Temple Legend, p. 89).

22 See S. Lessing Baehr, The Paradise Myth in Eighteenth Century Russia (Stanford: Stanford University Press,1991).

23 Steiner, The Temple Legend, p. 162.24 M & M, p. 130. This has given him ‘the freedom of the balcony’ (Glenny, p. 154).25 Ibid., p. 21, ‘the temple of the old beliefs would fall down and the new temple of truth would be built up’

(Glenny, p. 33).26 Ibid., p. 11. ‘It was of enormous dimensions, made of solid gold and on the inside of the cover a triangle

of diamonds flashed with blue and white fire’ (Glenny, p. 21).27 See, for example J. Buck, Symbolism of Freemasonry or Mystic Masonry, (Chicago: Ezra Cook Publishing,

1925), p. 132. A triangle of fire is also connected to the Prometheus legend, and the giving to man of both fireand the arts, the power of creation.

28 An entirely different interpretation is given in L. Yanovskaia, Treugol nik Volanda. K istorii romana ‘Masteri Margarita’ (Kiev: Libid´, 1991), pp. 69–70. She suggests that the symbol had originally been an ‘F’, from atime in the development of the novel when Woland was called Faland, and as it was originally conceived asan initial, concludes the triangle must be the Greek letter ‘D’, for ‘Devil’.

29 See A. Waite, A New Encyclopaedia of Freemasonry, vols 1–2 (Rider, 1921).30 M & M, p. 15, ‘in a white cloak lined with blood red’ (Glenny, p. 27).31 Ibid., p. 30232 In Waite (1921).33 Steiner, The Temple Legend, p. 78.34 M & M, p. 249, ‘as dark as a cellar’ (Glenny, p. 285)35 Steiner, The Temple Legend, p. 7936 M & M, p. 249. Margarita ‘began to mount a broad staircase, so vast that to Margarita it seemed endless.

She was surprised that the hallway of an ordinary Moscow flat could hold such an enormous, invisible butundeniably real and apparently unending staircase’ (Glenny, p. 285). The scenes at ‘Satan’s ball’ have beenshown to be heavily influenced by the Bulgakovs’ impressions of the extravagant ball they attended at theAmerican Embassy in Moscow in 1935 — including the detail of the vast and seemingly never-endingstaircase. See, for example, the information in M. Chudakova, Zhizneopisanie Mikhaila Bulgakova (Moscow:Kniga, 1988), 2nd edn.

37 Steiner, The Temple Legend, p. 7938 M & M, p. 250. Margarita is in a ‘vast, colonnaded hall’ (Glenny, p. 287).39 M & M, p. 251. She has ‘naturally guessed who our host is’ (Glenny, p. 287).40 There are other references to initiation rites in the text, but they are not as noticeable; such rites

vary tremendously but the basis remains the same: the progress from dark to light, through many roomsand a staircase, and the importance of giving the ‘right’ answers. Other possible references could be theseven-armed candelabra (seven is a magic number, along with three, in Masonry), the presence of skulls andcoffins (which denoted ritual death/rebirth), and the sword Woland has, which the master in an initiationceremony also uses.

41 In Lessing Baehr (1991) and Encyclopaedia of the Unexplained: Magic, Occultism and Parapsychology, ed. byR. Cavendish (London: McGraw Hill, 1974) — under the heading ‘Cabala’.

188 Amy de la Cour

42 M & M, p. 387, ‘in the first rays of morning’ (Glenny, p. 431).43 Steiner, Goethe’s Standard of the Soul, p. 5.44 J. W. Goethe, Faust (Hamburg: Christian Wegner Verlag, 1954), p. 364. ‘All things corruptible | Are but

a parable | Earth’s insufficiency | Here finds fulfilment | Here the ineffable | Wins life through love | EternalWomanhood | Leads us above. From Goethe, Faust. Part Two, trans. by Philip Wayne (London: PenguinBooks, 1959), p. 288.