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Characters · 15
Azazello
Azazello is one of Woland's three main retainers in Bulgakov's satirical masterpiece, acting as the demonic enforcer and assassin of the group.
character
Baron Meigel
Baron Meigel is a minor yet significant character in Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita, representing the culture of Soviet surveillance and its ultimate, darkly humorous downfall.
character
Behemoth the Cat
Behemoth is a massive black tomcat with supernatural proportions and a member of Woland's entourage in Mikhail Bulgakov's satirical masterpiece.
character
Hella
Hella is a minor yet distinctly unsettling character in Woland's retinue from Mikhail Bulgakov's satirical novel.
character
Ivan Bezdomny (Homeless)
Ivan Nikolayevich Ponyrev, who writes under the pen name Bezdomny ("Homeless"), is a young Soviet poet whose journey is a key part of the novel's structure.
character
Judas of Kiriath
Judas of Kiriath appears only in the Jerusalem chapters of Bulgakov's novel—a story initially dictated by Woland and later expanded through Pontius Pilate's troubled memory and The Master's manuscript.
character
Koroviev (Fagot)
Koroviev, also known as Fagot, is Woland's main lieutenant and master of ceremonies throughout the novel.
character
Margarita
Margarita is a passionate and fiercely loyal female protagonist in Bulgakov's novel, playing the roles of a romantic heroine, a Faustian bargainer, and a symbol of redemptive love.
character
Matthew Levi
Matthew Levi is a former tax collector who became a devoted disciple of Yeshua Ha-Nozri, appearing in both the ancient Jerusalem chapters and the contemporary Moscow frame of the novel.
character
Mikhail Berlioz
Mikhail Berlioz chairs MASSOLIT, the influential literary association in Moscow, and edits a substantial literary journal.
character
Nikanor Ivanovich Bosoi
Nikanor Ivanovich Bosoi chairs the tenants' association at 302-A Sadovaya Street — the same building where Woland and his entourage reside.
character
Pontius Pilate
Pontius Pilate, the Roman Procurator of Judaea, stands out as one of The Master and Margarita's most psychologically intricate characters, anchoring the novel's ancient Jerusalem sections that consist of the Master's repressed manuscript.
character
The Master
The Master is the novel's troubled artist-hero and the author of the Pontius Pilate manuscript—the text that appears in alternating chapters.
character
Woland (Satan)
Woland represents Satan, acting as the novel's chief supernatural figure and moral judge.
character
Yeshua Ha-Nozri
Yeshua Ha-Nozri is Bulgakov's take on Jesus Christ, featured only in the novel-within-the-novel sections that depict a single day in ancient Yershalaim.
character
Key quotes · 10
“The man who is broke is in a much worse position than a man who has never had a kopek.”
This wry comment comes from Woland, the enigmatic devil figure who appears in Soviet Moscow, during his first meeting with literary editor Berlioz and young poet Ivan Homeless at Patriarch's Ponds in Chapter 1.
Woland · Chapter 1 – Never Talk to Strangers
“Cowardice is the greatest sin.”
This declaration — "Cowardice is the greatest sin" — is spoken by Yeshua Ha-Nozri (the Christ figure in the novel) and later echoed by Woland (Satan) towards the end, making it one of the most thematically significant statements in Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita.
Yeshua Ha-Nozri / affirmed by Woland · Chapter 32 (epilogue chapters) and echoed from Chapter 2
“Manuscripts don't burn.”
This famous line is delivered by Woland — the Devil himself — in Mikhail Bulgakov's satirical novel The Master and Margarita.
Woland (the Devil) · Chapter 24: The Extraction of the Master
“Never talk to strangers.”
This warning, which ironically titles the novel's opening chapter, is shown through action rather than just spoken.
Narrator / Chapter Title · Chapter 1: Never Talk to Strangers
“The fact is that they have no documents at all! Simply can't stand such creatures!”
This line comes from Woland's henchman Koroviev (Fagot) — or is generally attributed to his demonic entourage — during one of the chaotic moments in Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita.
Koroviev (Fagot) / Woland's retinue · Part One (approximate)
“What would your good be doing if there were no evil, and what would the earth look like if shadows disappeared from it?”
This line is spoken by Woland — who is essentially Satan, posing as a mysterious foreign professor — to Matthew Levi, a devoted disciple of Yeshua (Jesus), in Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita.
Woland · Chapter 29 — The Fate of the Master and Margarita is Decided
“I am part of that power which eternally wills evil and eternally works good.”
This line is spoken by Woland, Bulgakov's version of the Devil, in The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov.
Woland (the Devil) · Chapter 1 – Never Talk to Strangers
“He who loves must share the fate of the one he loves.”
This line is delivered by Matthew Levi, Yeshua's loyal disciple, as he conveys a message from Yeshua to Woland at a critical moment in the novel.
Matthew Levi (quoting Yeshua) · Chapter 29 — The Fate of the Master and Margarita Is Decided
“Follow me, reader! Who told you that there is no true, faithful, eternal love in this world?”
This lyrical apostrophe appears in Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita (written in the 1930s, published in 1967), where the narrator directly addresses the reader during the chapters recounting the love story between the Master and Margarita.
Narrator
“Everything will turn out right, the world is built on that.”
This quietly hopeful declaration is made by Woland — Satan himself — near the end of Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita.
Woland · Chapter 32 (It's Time! It's Time!)
Symbols · 6
Behemoth the Black Cat
In Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita, Behemoth—Woland's massive black cat who enjoys vodka and games of chess—represents chaotic, irreverent disorder that sheds light on human hypocrisy and pretense.
Fire
In Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita, fire symbolizes both destructive liberation and purifying truth.
Moonlight
In Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita, moonlight serves as a symbol of guilt, memory, and the inescapable nature of moral consequences.
Satan's Grand Ball
In Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita, Satan's Grand Ball serves as a striking reversal of Soviet moral and social order.
The Golden Spear / Lance
In Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita, the golden spear — or lance — held by Pontius Pilate's loyal dog-soldier Matthew Levi plays a crucial role in the execution scene at Golgotha.
The Master's Manuscript
In Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita, the Master's handwritten novel about Pontius Pilate reflects the unbreakable power of genuine creative truth.
Literary devices · 12
Irony
Irony fuels the novel.
Allegory
The entire Moscow plot serves as a lasting allegory for Stalinist Soviet society.
Extended Metaphor
The Master's manuscript — and its astonishing survival — carries an extended metaphor that weaves through the novel's two timelines.
Juxtaposition
Bulgakov builds the novel around juxtaposition, shifting between two vastly different settings: 1930s Moscow and first-century Jerusalem.
Motif
The moon is a recurring theme in the novel, weaving through both timelines.
Symbolism
Woland's retinue is packed with symbolism.
Allusion
The novel is rich with allusion.
Epigraph
The epigraph — taken from Goethe's Faust, Part One, and spoken by Mephistopheles — sets the stage for the novel's moral complexities even before the first chapter starts: 'I am part of that power which eternally wills evil and eternally works good.'
Dramatic Monologue
Pilate's lengthy internal speeches — especially his tormented struggle over whether to save Yeshua — serve as dramatic monologues within the third-person narrative.
Narrative Poem
Bulgakov uses a complex narrative structure that keeps the act of storytelling at the forefront.
Pathetic Fallacy
Weather and atmosphere in Moscow change in exact response to supernatural occurrences.
Conceit
The novel's central idea is that the Devil's visit to Moscow serves as the city's only genuine audit.
Vocabulary · 25
mortal
Subject to death; certain to die at some point. Here the word is used to stress that humans not only die but can die suddenly and without warning.
adjective · Chapter 1
procurator
A senior Roman governor appointed to rule a province and administer justice on behalf of the emperor. In this novel it is Pilate's official title as the Roman ruler of Judea.
noun · Chapter 2
cobblestones
Small, rounded stones set into the ground to pave a road or path. They are the hard surface of the street where Berlioz meets his end.
noun · Chapter 3
Tolstoy blouse
A loose, belted Russian shirt with a side-fastening collar, named after the writer Leo Tolstoy who famously wore one. It signals a deliberately simple, old-fashioned style of dress.
noun · Chapter 6
icon
A small religious image of a saint or holy figure, traditionally painted on wood and used in Orthodox Christian worship. Ivan carries a paper one pinned to his chest during his chaotic chase.
noun · Chapter 6
schizophrenia
A serious mental illness whose symptoms can include confused thinking, hallucinations, and losing touch with reality. The doctors use it as their official explanation for Ivan's wild claims about Woland.
noun · Chapter 6
in full swing
Operating at its liveliest and most active level, with everything going on at full energy. Used here to describe the restaurant buzzing with noise, food, and celebration.
phrase · Chapter 6
unsanitary
Dirty or unhygienic in a way that is likely to cause disease or health problems. Here it describes the officially reported filthy condition of a back staircase.
adjective · Chapter 7
foreign currency
Money issued by another country, which Soviet citizens were forbidden to possess. Holding it was treated as a serious crime in 1930s Moscow.
noun · Chapter 7
tenants' association
A Soviet-era committee of residents responsible for managing a shared apartment building, including housing rules and reporting on occupants. Its chairman held real local power.
noun · Chapter 9
reedy
Describes a voice that is thin, high-pitched, and slightly unpleasant, like the sound of a reed instrument played badly. It signals that the speaker sounds weak or insincere.
adjective · Chapter 9
compère
The host or master of ceremonies who introduces acts and keeps a stage show running. Here it refers to the theatrical announcer whom Woland exposes as a liar.
noun · Chapter 12
mass hypnosis
The idea that a large crowd can be made to see or believe things that are not real through a single hypnotist's influence. Soviet officials use this term to explain away Woland's supernatural tricks as a scientific trick.
noun · Chapter 12
séance
A meeting at which someone claims to contact supernatural forces or spirits, often as a theatrical performance. Woland's show at the Variety Theatre is described in these terms.
noun · Chapter 9
manuscript
A handwritten or typed text of a book before it has been published. The Master burns his novel in despair, but Woland restores it, declaring that manuscripts don't burn.
noun · Chapter 13
psychiatric clinic
A hospital or ward specifically for treating people with mental illness. Several characters in the novel are sent there after encounters with Woland, whether they are truly ill or simply inconvenient to the authorities.
noun · Chapter 8
migraine
A severe, recurring headache, often on one side of the head, that can cause intense pain and sensitivity to light. Pilate suffers from one throughout his interrogation of Yeshua.
noun · Chapter 2
conjured
Produced by magic or illusion rather than by real means. The word describes the fashionable clothes and goods that Woland's show creates for the audience, which vanish when the spell ends.
adjective
colonnade
A row of evenly spaced columns supporting a roof or walkway, forming a sheltered outdoor corridor. Pilate meets his secret-service chief here for a private, guarded conversation.
noun · Chapter 25
expose
To reveal someone's wrongdoing or hidden secret publicly, leaving them open to punishment or shame. Woland's assistants threaten to unmask audience members who are holding forbidden foreign money.
verb · Chapter 14
crucifixion
A method of execution used in the ancient Roman world in which a person is nailed or tied to a large wooden cross and left to die. It is the fate of Yeshua and the other condemned men in the Jerusalem chapters.
noun · Chapter 16
century
In the ancient Roman army, a unit of roughly eighty soldiers commanded by a centurion. Here it refers to the armed escort that accompanies the condemned men to their execution.
noun · Chapter 16
ventilation shaft
A narrow passage built into a wall or floor to allow air to circulate through a building. It becomes a hiding place for the incriminating foreign banknotes planted on Bosoi.
noun · Chapter 9
despondent
Feeling a deep, hopeless sadness and loss of spirit, with no energy or desire to go on. Margarita is in this state after the Master's disappearance leaves her life empty.
adjective · Chapter 19
henchman
A loyal follower who carries out the dirty or dangerous work of a more powerful person without question. Azazello acts as Woland's enforcer, delivering threats and magical gifts on his master's behalf.
noun · Chapter 20