57 pages • 1 hour read
The Master and Margarita
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Summary and Study Guide
Overview
The Master and Margarita is a novel by Russian author Mikhail Bulgakov. The novel was written over the course of 12 years but due to the content being deemed controversial by the Soviet Union it was not published until 1966, which was more than two decades after Bulgakov’s death. The novel uses themes, ideas, and imagery from Christianity and the supernatural as well as dark comedy to subtly critique the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin. The Master and Margarita has been adapted into many forms of media, such as films, television shows, ballet, and music. Famously, the novel provided the inspiration for the 1968 song Sympathy for the Devil by the Rolling Stones. This guide uses an eBook version of the 2011 Ardis edition, translated by Diana Burgin and Katherine O’Connor.
Plot Summary
The Master and Margarita is split into two narratives. The first narrative is set in Moscow in the 1930s. During this time, a mysterious figure named Woland (who, the reader later discovers, is Satan in disguise) visits two writers named Mikhail Alexandrovich Berlioz and Ivan Nikolayevich Ponyryov. The two writers discuss one of Ivan’s poems; Mikhail believes the poem depicts Jesus Christ as too real.
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