Sections: Literature

Lesson objectives:

1. Develop skills in analyzing an episode of a work of art. Continue working on the formation of a monologue answer. To instill the skills of self-assessment of literary works.
2. To deepen the concept of "artistic image".
3. Expand the literary horizons of students, arouse their interest in the source study aspect in understanding the content of the novel.

Preliminary preparation for the lesson:

2. Prepare messages:

Creative story of the chapter "The Great Ball at Satan's."
- Woland's literary prototypes.
- Prototypes of guests at the great ball at Satan's (about each hero - a separate message).
- Analysis of the final episode in the scene of the great ball with Satan.

3. Competition of students' drawings for the 23rd chapter of the novel.

4. Immediately before the lesson, two students are offered individual cards with assignments:

Compare works where the image of the ball is given in the romantic and realistic traditions.
- Find translations of the words freedom and Frieden in the English-Russian and German-Russian dictionaries.

During the classes.

I. Introduction.

In the introduction, we say that in the previous lessons, the students received the key to comprehending the “impossible” novel “The Master and Margarita”, that together we have already identified the directions of the search for meaning and now an important lesson, the purpose of which is to prepare for an essay and ... make new discoveries.

We write down the topic of the lesson and determine the ways of collaboration (they can be presented on the board):

1. Discuss the topic of the composition (title), its tradition in Russian literature.
2. Repeat the literary terms necessary for the disclosure of the topic, deepen the concept of "artistic image".
3. Analyze the episode "The Great Ball at Satan's."
4. Draw conclusions.

We select 2 experts to work on literary concepts.

As they discuss the chapter “The Great Ball at Satan,” they document the terms that they will read at the end of the lesson.

II. Discussion of the topic of the essay.

1. Title.

During the discussion of the title of the topic on the board and in notebooks, the following entry may turn out:

What will you talk about?

What is this ball called? (Chapter 23 is called "The Great Ball at Satan's," in Chapter 22, Koroviev tells Margarita that he is called "the spring ball of the full moon or the ball of a hundred kings.")

Where does the 23rd chapter fit into the novel? (It is found in the second part of the novel.)

What compositional role does this episode play? (This is the climax in the life of otherworldly forces.)

What role do otherworldly forces play in the novel in terms of the narrative of three worlds: ancient, modern and otherworldly? (Otherworldly forces in the novel act as a link between the ancient and modern worlds.)

Find the keyword in the title. (Image.)

You need not only to retell the events of the May night, but to show what image of the ball M. Bulgakov creates.

2. Deepening the concept of "artistic image".

In the 7th grade, drawing up the thesis plan for the introductory article of the textbook, we talked about the difference between literature and science and remembered that imagery is a property of art in general, the reproduction of life in an image, in a concrete-sensual form, or, in the words of Chernyshevsky, in “ forms of life itself ", and not" in the forms of thought ", not in concepts. The artistic image is dual in nature. On the one hand, it should give an idea of ​​the reflected reality, even if the work is not realistic. We take the author's point of view and conditionally "believe" in his characters. Otherwise, we will not be able to perceive this artistic reality (for example, the distant past or the fantastic world) as a real action unfolding in front of us. But, on the other hand, we see that this is still not life itself, that it is skillfully done by the author.

It is the capacious imagery that allows the literary classics to reflect the whole world, as in a drop of water; solve huge socio-historical and enduring universal human problems.

Consequently, the imagery of literature does not consist in individual techniques, but in the subordination of each word, each element of the work to a certain super-task aimed at the aesthetic development of the entire wealth of the world.

Determine now, what should be the goal, the idea of ​​your essay?

(To see how in a small drop - an episode, a separate chapter - the artistic world of the author is reflected; show how the analyzed episode refracts the main themes of the entire work, what moral problems are solved by the author.)

3. About the traditional character of the ball in Russian literature.

Let's see how traditional the image of the ball was in Russian literature. We listen to the answer of the student who completed the individual task on the card (see Appendix 1.).

4. The student's message about the creative history of the ball scene creation (see. Appendix 2.)

III. Analysis of the episode of the novel - 23rd chapter "The Great Ball at Satan's."

1. Let's define the chronotope of this episode.

Where is the great ball taking place? (In the "bad apartment" No. 50 on Sadovaya street 302-bis.)

In order to describe such a grandiose ball, it was necessary to expand the space of an ordinary Moscow apartment to supernatural proportions. And, as Koroviev explains, "for those who are well acquainted with the fifth dimension, it costs nothing to push the room to the desired limits."

Here it is worth remembering Wells's "The Invisible Man", where Griffin expounds his idea that allowed him to achieve invisibility: “I found the general law of pigments and light refractions, a formula, a geometric expression that includes four dimensions. Fools, ordinary people, even ordinary mathematicians, do not even suspect what value any general expression can have for the student of molecular physics. " Bulgakov parodies the English science fiction writer, increasing the number of dimensions to five and thereby gaining the opportunity to see the invisible under normal conditions: the giant halls in which the ball takes place are located in the former apartment of Berlioz.

Show to what extent Berlioz's former apartment has been expanded.

When does chapter 23 begin? ("Midnight was approaching," "not more than ten seconds until midnight.")

2. Whose eyes is the ball shown? (Margaritas.)

It is no coincidence that the description of the ball and other events of that night is absent in the materials of the investigation. After all, the beloved of the Master is the only person who could tell in detail about this, but she disappeared without a trace.

Let's turn to the actors. I ask you to write down the name of each and note with which topic, problem the literary hero is connected. The consultants will talk about character prototypes.

3. Conversation about Woland.

Who is hosting the great ball?

Briefly describe it.

In what form does Woland appear at the ball?

(“Then Margarita saw Woland again ... Margarita was struck by the fact that Woland went out on this last exit at the ball in the same form in which he was in the bedroom. The same dirty, patched shirt hung on his shoulders, his feet were in worn-out night shoes . Woland was with a sword, but he used this naked sword as a cane, leaning on it. Limping, Woland stopped near his dais ... ".)

Satan doesn't smile. Moreover, the author's irony never touches Woland. Why? Refer to the epigraph of the novel.

You can tell students about Woland in different versions of the novel (see Appendix 4).

Why did Bulgakov need Woland "majestic and regal", close to the literary tradition of Goethe, Lermontov and Byron, Vrubel's painting, as we find Woland in the final text of the novel?

(This is connected with the philosophical concept of the novel. Woland personifies eternity. He is that eternally existing evil, which is necessary for the existence of good.)

4. Conversation about Margarita.

We have already noted that the other world in the second part of the novel is shown as if through the eyes of Margarita. What role does she play at the ball? (Margarita is the queen of the ball, she is the Devil's bride.)

What can you say about the prototypes of this image? (Bulgakov retained the name of Goethe's heroine in his novel, but his Margarita also has a real prototype. They were served by Elena Sergeevna Shilovskaya, who became the third wife of Mikhail Afanasyevich. The writer made extracts about Margarita Valois, known for her passion, and about Margarita Navarra - both historical Margaritas, as noted in the dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron, they patronized writers and poets.Since 1934, the image of the Master becomes central in the novel, next to him is a generalized poetic image of a woman who loves.)

Why exactly Margarita came up for the role of the hostess of the ball? (In Chapter 22, Koroviev explains to Margarita the reasons for choosing her as Queen: “A tradition has been established ...”.)

So, "midnight was approaching, we had to hurry." Margarita is being prepared for the ball. "Koroviev came from somewhere and hung on Margarita's chest ...". We find in the text that he hung on her chest. (“Koroviev came from somewhere and hung on Margarita’s chest a heavy, oval-framed image of a black poodle on a heavy chain.”)

What happened? Why? (Koroviev and Behemoth began to treat her with deference. The image of a black poodle is a symbol of the power of evil. Woland had a "cane with a black knob in the shape of a poodle's head.")

What is the name of this little "speaking" detail in literary criticism? (Artistic detail.)

In one of the lessons, the subject of our attention was the story of the Master and Margarita, but the theme of love in a broader philosophical sense has been heard from the beginning of the 23rd chapter.

(Students find in the text of the novel Koroviev's advice to Margarita before the start of the ball: "Allow me, Queen, to give you the last advice. Among the guests there will be different, oh, very different, but no one, Queen Margot, no advantage! If someone does not like ... I understand that you, of course, will not express this on your face ... No, no, you cannot think about it! He will notice, notice at the same instant! You need to love him, love him, queen! The hostess of the ball will be rewarded for this. : do not miss anyone! At least a smile, if there is no time to drop a word, at least a tiny turn of the head. Anything, but just not inattention. From this they wither ... ".)

In addition to the theme of Love, another main theme of the novel is connected with the image of Margarita. Formulate it after the suggested initial data. Cm.<Рисунок 1>

Woland is throwing a great ball, and he needs a hostess for the ball. There is Margarita, who, in order to save the Master, is ready to sell her soul to the Devil. She becomes his bride, but she loves the Master.

How does she feel before the Master? (Guilt.)

What does she do in a moral sense? (Treason.)

This is a crime for which it is inevitable what? (Pay.)

What is the main theme you can articulate? (The theme of guilt and reckoning, crime and punishment.)

IV. Characteristics of the guests of the ball.

Let's see how this theme of the entire novel - the theme of guilt and reckoning - is refracted in the ball scene. All guests of the ball can be conditionally divided into imaginary and true poisoners, great villains, and the episode with Frida occupies a special position in the chapter.

The diagram is presented on the board. Cm.<Рисунок 2>

1. Characteristics of the guests - men, imaginary poisoners, at the great ball at Satan's.

Who appears first? ("Monsieur Jacques with his wife.")

As you can see, Ker was not such a sinister figure, the accusations against him remained unproven and were generated by slander of his eminent debtors. Historical Jacques la Coeur died a natural death, and Bulgakov's character was executed on the gallows.

Why? (There is a real crime - there must be a real punishment.)

What is the role of the first guest? Let's read how it appears, how Margarita reacts, and understand what the author's goal is. (Both by his invention of the execution of Jacques and by this eerie scene of the appearance of the first guests, the author achieves whipping up the atmosphere at the beginning of the ballroom congress. Margarita is amazed at the eerie spectacle, but gradually gets used to it.)

Who is the next of the male guests - the imaginary poisoners? (“At this time, a headless skeleton with a torn off hand appeared from the fireplace below, hit the ground and turned into a man in a tailcoat ... A lone tailcoat ran up the stairs.

Count Robert, - Koroviev whispered to Margarita, - is still interesting. Notice how funny, queen, the opposite is the case: this one was the queen's lover and poisoned his wife. " [Vol.3. - С.331-332.])

Bulgakov, in his interpretation of this image, followed V. Scott. He executes the count, following the principle: if the crime in the novel is real, then just retribution follows. It is characteristic that at the ball Leicester appears alone, since his mistress, the queen, is not involved in the crime.

What other sorcerer and alchemist was hanged? ("Queen, a second of attention: Emperor Rudolph, a sorcerer and alchemist ... Another alchemist - hanged." [Vol.3. - P.336.])

A number of putative poisoners at the ball are completed by “someone new”. Do you feel in this ironic "someone new" some ominous hint, an omission?

Another participant in the process of the "bloc of Pravotrotsky" was at the ball. His prototype is Bukharin. Who is this? ("Lower tenant" Nikolai Ivanovich.)

As you can see, this hero is connected with the main theme of the novel - the theme of art.

2. Characteristics of the guests - women, true poisoners.

Let's return to our poisoners. All the alleged poisoners at the ball are men. But in front of Margarita are true poisoners, or rather, poisoners, since they are all women.

V. Analysis of the episode, conventionally called "Frida".

1. In the scene of the ball, the image of Frida occupies a special position. The name itself evokes many associations.

Answer of a student who worked with English-Russian and German-Russian dictionaries before the lesson.

The word "Frida" is close to both English, meaning "freedom", and to German, which translates as "peace", "rest".

Thus, the name of Frida is indirectly connected with the most important themes of the novel - the theme of Freedom and with the theme developed in the final chapters of the novel - the theme of Peace. It also has to do with the theme of guilt and reckoning. Tell us about Frida. Who is she? Why did you end up at Satan's ball? How is her fate decided after the ball?

2. Student's monologue response using text.

3. Student message about Frida's prototypes(see Appendix 11).

How is Frida's fate decided after the ball? (Chapter 24: Frida is granted mercy).

Reading an episode of Frida's forgiveness.

Who forgives Frida? Satan - a symbol of evil or God - a symbol of good?

(A person forgives a person, as in the episode when the Master forgives Pilate.)

Why, of all the guests - poisoners, villains - only Frida is forgiven?

(She also experienced pangs of conscience during her lifetime. For 30 years in the afterlife, every day the maid put her a handkerchief with which she strangled the baby. Consequently, Frida paid off for her guilt in full. She earned Freedom and Peace precisely because she suffered in earthly life. )

Now let us draw a conclusion-assumption about the connection between the image of Margarita and a series of guests at the ball in the thematic sense of guilt and reckoning.

Agree: the fact that a string of villains, murderers, poisoners passes in front of Margarita, mixed with whores and pimps, is not accidental.

Additional questions:

1) How does Margarita herself assess her guilt before the Master?

2) Why are so many poisoners and poisoners passing by at the ball in front of her?

3) Who will poison the Master and Margarita in the future?

4) What opportunity does Bulgakov leave for the thinking reader?

5) Why is Woland introducing Margarita to the famous villains and libertines?

6) What alternative reading gives

What episode ends with Satan's great ball? ("Woland stopped near his dais, and immediately Azazello appeared in front of him with a dish in his hands, and on this dish Margarita saw the severed head of a man with knocked out front teeth." Berlioz.)

Why is Woland treating Berlioz so cruelly?

What thesis, which gives spiritual light to human life, permeates the entire novel as a whole? ("Each will be given according to his faith.")

In the artistic world of Bulgakov, "everyone is given according to his faith." Berlioz is a man without imagination, he is deprived of imagination and the ability to perceive someone else's point of view, he does not believe in anything except his dogma, he receives "by his faith" - nothingness.

It is noteworthy that in the work Woland repeats almost word for word the words of Christ quoted by the Evangelist Matthew: "According to your faith, let it be unto you." The devil quotes Jesus ... This already suggests that in Bulgakov's novel they are not antagonists, they constitute that harmony of the universe, in which there is a place for darkness and light.

V. Results of the analysis of the episode "The Great Ball at Satan's."

1) How is the theme of guilt and reckoning refracted in this episode?

(- According to Bulgakov, if the crime is real, and not imaginary, then just retribution follows.

If a person experiences pangs of conscience during his lifetime, he deserves forgiveness.

Bulgakov leaves the master and Margarita an alternative: the poisoning is imaginary - in the end, they find themselves not in the world of Evil (in hell), they are given Peace.

Hence, each will be given according to his faith.)

2) In the same way, starting from the prototypes of the heroes, you can consider how the main themes of the novel are refracted in this episode: the theme of Good and Evil, the theme of Love, the theme of Creativity, the theme of the Artist, the theme of Light and Peace. The book will help you with this:

Sokolov B.V. M. Bulgakov's novel "The Master and Margarita": Essays on creative history. - M .: Nauka, 1991.

3) Now let's listen to the experts. What literary concepts did you write down?

(Episode, composition, climax, artistic image, imagery, association, portrait, grotesque, tradition, parody, fantasy, prototype, epigraph, author's irony, humor, satire, personification, symbol, artistic detail.)

Vi. Homework: write an essay on the theme "The image of the ball in the novel by MA Bulgakov."

List of used literature:

1. Bulgakov M.A. Works: in 3 volumes. Vol. 3. Master and Margarita. Novel. Letters. - Yekaterinburg: U-Factoria, 2002.
2. Marantzman V.G. Study of literature in the 9th grade. Method. A guide for the teacher. - M .: Education, 1992.
3. Modern dictionary-reference book on literature / Comp. and scientific. ed. S. I. Kormilov. - M.: Olympus; AST LLC, 1999.
4. Sokolov B.V. M. Bulgakov's novel "The Master and Margarita": Essays on creative history.- M.: Nauka, 1991.
5. Chebotareva V.A. Prototype of Bulgakov's Margarita. // Lit. Azerbaijan.-1998.- No. 2. - S. 117-118.

Ministry of Education of the Saratov Region

State educational institution

Secondary vocational school

Saratov College of Culinary Arts

Analysis of the episode "The Great Ball at Satan's" in M. Bulgakov's novel "The Master and Margarita"

Is done by a student

group O-16

Chuvilin Andrey

Saratov 2009

The uniqueness of the novel "The Master and Margarita" lies, first of all, in the complex motivational structure, in the diverse interweaving of repetitive dynamic images and themes. The links between them are mostly associative, and sometimes the logic of the links can be reversed. It is this feature of the novel that makes it difficult to analyze it, therefore, considering the ball scene, which is key for understanding the work, we will try to understand the logic of associative links and from it “stretch the threads” to the general figurative structure and problems of the novel.

In the development of the plot, the episode of the ball is the culmination: it is a turning point in the fate of the master and Margarita (a love novel), and this is the apotheosis of Woland's power (a “cruel” novel). The scene of the ball at Satan's, as it were, pulls together all the knots of the "Moscow novel". However, this is not his only role: the climax of the episode, rather, creates an atmosphere of tension for closer attention to the inner, associative side of the episode, which “connects” another part of “The Master and Margarita” - an antique novel. More on this later, but first it is important to define the context of the ball scene.

“Messire gives one ball every year. It is called the spring ball of the full moon, or the ball of a hundred kings ... So, sir: Messire is single ... - a mistress is needed ... A tradition has been established that the hostess must certainly bear the name of Margarita. We found one hundred twenty-one Margarita in Moscow - none fits. "

Everything is important in this detailed explanation. First, Satan needs an earthly mistress with a living soul. It is no coincidence that the name Margarita, which means "pearl". In Gnostic literature, this was the name of the precious human soul, or the Soul of the World - Sophia, whom the Gnostic Savior came to free from the captivity of the satanic dragon and return to the realm of divine light. Bulgakov's Margarita, on the other hand, voluntarily agrees to give her soul to the devil. This immediately suggests the idea of ​​"inversion", the ambivalence of meanings in the episode: Margarita does not play the role that the name stipulates. This idea is supported by the symbol of the moon (“ball of the full moon”), because Bulgakov's image of the moon is a repeating motif of distorted light. Associations associated with the very concept of "Satan's ball" are also important. On the one hand, the ball is a usual secular entertainment, but this - “with Satan” - puts a mystical religious meaning into it, layering and deepening the inner meaning of the concept. “Satan’s Ball” is an interweaving, a synthesis of the real and the supernatural, this is the border of two worlds, where everything is “the other way around”. The mysticism and solemnity of the ball scene with the preceding episode, purely ironically representing Woland's retinue, is also “on the contrary” consistent. But behind this possibility of "switching" from irony to pathos is the metamorphosis that Bulgakov needs, that is, transformation. This is the key word for the episode of Satan's ball, with which you can try to reveal his inner essence, moving from “line to line”.

First, the ball is described in relation to Margarita. She is the queen and a kind of center of the story, while Woland himself appears at the end of the ball. Thus, the episode receives a natural tension associated with the expectation of a semantic denouement.

What kind of world opens up to Margarita, that is, what is the spatio-temporal organization of the text? "The ball fell on her immediately in the form of light, together with it - sound and smell." This description shows that Bulgakov strove to create a concrete-sensual, objective, “tangible” atmosphere of a supernatural ball. The space is infinitely expanded: the tropical forest gives way to the coolness of the ballroom, walls of tulips, roses, terry camellias emerge from nowhere, hissing fountains and pouring water all around. The surreal, in fact, the world is not only seen, but also heard: the roar of trumpets, a jazz orchestra. When describing the ball, the orchestra also uses color painting, painting the gloomy world in bright colors. The struggle between light and shadow also manifests itself: “... Koroviev met her in the darkness with a lamp”. The time of the ball slows down: “These ten seconds seemed extremely long to Margarita.”

What is this - a hint of overcoming death by stopping time?

So, Bulgakov creates the atmosphere of the ball oversaturated with external details, makes its space objective, but at the same time capable of incredible metamorphoses (quick change of visual “pictures”). Another important point: bright, beautiful images can be associated associatively with dark, devilish ones: hissing fountains - hissing cauldrons, blacks in silver bandages - devils, light-darkness. Similar transformations are taking place with the heroes.

From the very beginning, Margarita was doused with “hot, thick and red” blood. This detail is associated with the baptism motif, only Bulgakov has blood instead of holy water. Christian associations are also evoked by the mention of “a heavy, oval-framed image of a black poodle on a heavy chain, which burdened Margarita”. This attribute of black forces in reverse illumination is the Christian cross. Indeed, the main task of Margarita at the ball is to love everyone and thereby resurrect the souls of the dead. Koroviev insists: "... no one, Queen Margot, any advantage! .. just not inattention ... to love, to love!" Margarita came to the ball with her living soul (remember the name), so that, giving it to sinners, “give” them a new life. Christ came to earth with the same mission. It is no coincidence that the conductor of the orchestra shouts after Margarita: “Hallelujah!” Which means “praise to God”. The mention of rose oil is also symbolic: this detail correlates the ball scene with the master's novel about Pontius Pilate. Bulgakov emphasized the suffering, martyrdom role of Margarita: “The worst suffering was caused by her right knee, which was kissed. It was swollen, the skin on it turned blue, despite the fact that several times Natasha's hand appeared near this knee with a sponge ”. The sponge is another detail that connects Margarita with Christ at the associative level.

So, the way of Margaret at Satan's ball is a distorted mission of Christ. Has Queen Margot fulfilled her role? How does the resurrection itself take place?

It is interesting to note that all Woland's guests - the resurrected sinners-dead - are historically real persons. Bulgakov confronts a fantastic, supernatural event with a real, supra-plot person participating in it. Thus, in the scene of the ball, three realities come into contact: concrete historical, artistic (the heroes of the novel are Margarita, Berlioz, Meigel) and the realities of a higher order (Satan, witches). How does the synthesis process take place?

Guests at the ball emerge from an immense fireplace that resembles a “cold mouth”. There is an association with ash, decay, extinguished fire of life. “Suddenly something banged down in the huge fireplace, a gallows jumped out of it with half-scattered ashes dangling on it ... and a handsome black-haired man in a tailcoat and patent leather shoes jumped out of it.” Using lowered verbs in describing this metamorphosis, Bulgakov expresses irony in relation to everything that happens. This is not how they depict resurrection, transformation, the victory of life over death. All these “headless skeletons”, “running out coffins”, “decomposed corpses” are a parody of people. The triumph of the moment is deliberately distorted by Bulgakov. Woland's retinue is ridiculous, pretending to repeat to each guest: "I am delighted!" The queen of the ball cannot fulfill her mission - she did not love everyone. Margarita gave preference to Frida, seized by simple human, not divine compassion. Whatever Margarita did is pretense: “... she mechanically raised and lowered her hand and, grinning monotonously, smiled at the guests ... her face was pulled into a motionless mask of greetings”. Exactly - everything that happens begins to resemble a great masquerade.

Further - more terrible. The masquerade turns into a real orgy, Bulgakov's irony - into sarcasm. When the staircase was empty with a stream of guests, everything changed in the very atmosphere of the ball: “... on the stage, where the waltz king's orchestra was playing, now monkey jazz was raging. A huge gorilla in shaggy sideburns with a pipe in hand, danced heavily, conducting. " Sinners were transformed into monkeys, and not into angels with pure souls - this is the result of the devilish version of resurrection.

The gloomy ending is also emphasized by the attributes, the description of the scale of the orgy: “... immediately, with a hiss and a roar, the stirring mass of champagne left the pool, and Neptune began to spew ... a wave of dark yellow color” (cognac). The appearance of ancient pagan deities at the ball, which began with Christian motives, shows how polarly the semantic accents have shifted: from the expectation of light to darkness. The erupting champagne is now associated with boiling lava, "hellish furnaces", "devilish white chefs" are mentioned. Resurrection turned into a bacchanalia. Hopes are broken - this is the end

No, on the contrary, this is the time of the appearance of Woland, the devil himself, the second, after Margarita, the semantic center of the episode. It is to him that Bulgakov instructs him to summarize everything that happened, to say his word.

“Woland went out into this last great exit at the ball just in the same form in which he was in the bedroom. The same dirty patched shirt ... ”After a while, a metamorphosis took place. Woland found himself in some kind of black chlamyd with a steel sword on his hip. What changed Woland? No, not the living soul of Margarita, but the blood of the murdered Meigel, drained from the cup - the skull of Berlioz. This symbolically represents the idea of ​​Woland: “You go into oblivion, and it will be joyful for me to drink from the cup into which you turn into being”. Thus, the devil proclaims the infinity and power of being as such, punishing those who do not believe in eternal life with non-being: "Each will be given according to his faith."

"The Great Ball at Satan's" is the twenty-third chapter of the second part of the novel by M.A. Bulgakov's "The Master and Margarita". This episode is preceded by the first meeting between the Master and Margarita, the writing of a novel about Pontius Pilate, the burning of this literary work, the Master's getting into a mental hospital and the conversation between his beloved and Azazello. The chapter takes place in the "third", otherworldly world, associated, first of all, with Woland and his retinue. However, the key character of this episode is not Satan or any of his servants, but Margarita is the main character of the entire work.

Chapter twenty-three begins with a description of the preparations for the ball. Margarita wears shoes made of pale rose petals, which symbolize Christ, and an adornment with the image of a black poodle - a faithful companion of Satan, which once again proves the interconnection and inseparability of concepts such as "God" and "Devil", "good" and "evil".

Shortly before this, the woman was doused with blood, thereby performing the ritual of initiation into a Satanist servant. Having examined all the richly decorated, stately halls, Margarita begins to greet the guests who appear at the ball from the fireplace. And since fire is a symbol of hell, it is easy to guess that all the "visitors" were people who committed any crimes, taking sin on their souls. There were a lot of guests at the ball, and the end of this process “no one was interested in Margarita, just as none of the kings, dukes, cavaliers, suicides, poisoners, gallows and procurers, jailers and cheats, executioners, informers, traitors, madmen, detectives, molesters ". There are also two important details worth noting. The first is the fact that all the guests are people who actually lived once, there are no fictional characters among them. In this way, Bulgakov again connects the mystical and the real worlds. The second feature is as follows: after all, there was one person who was remembered by Margarita brighter than everyone else. It was Frida, a woman who was forced to kill her child by putting a handkerchief in his mouth because of the inability to feed him. After listening to the story, the host of the ball promised Frida to help her atone for her guilt. Having met all the guests, Margarita once again flew into all the halls and thereby demonstrated her inner freedom, the freedom of the soul. In addition, when describing the ball before and after the arrival of guests, one can notice an antithesis. Initially, a calm and serene atmosphere reigned in all rooms. But already in the midst of the event began, as Bulgakov says, "bacchanalia and confusion." The guests had fun, drank and did not think about their sins at all. The episode culminates when Woland appears at the ball. Baron Meigel, a German spy who monitored Satan's movements in Moscow, is brought to Satan, and the head of the late Berlioz is brought. “Each will be given according to his faith,” the devil says to the former head of the board of MASSOLIT. The reader is convinced that life without faith is immoral and impossible. It is religion that is the element that unites people and provokes their observance of moral norms. Woland and then Margarita drink Meigel's blood from Berlioz's skull. Satan, having absorbed the essence of sinful people, immediately noticeably changed, all his ailments disappeared and a magnificent dress appeared. And Margarita, having taken a sip, finally completed the process for which, in fact, the whole ball was organized - the heroine's transition to the side of the devil and the acquisition of satanic properties.

So, why did Margarita agree to become the hostess of the ball, what did she want to ask in return? The reader learns about this already in the twenty-fourth chapter. We understand that her true goal is far from getting rid of Frida's torment, not showing mercy, but true love for the Master, the desire to be close to him. Thus, in the chapter "The Great Ball at Satan's" the author of the novel solves the main philosophical questions: the problem of faith, good and evil, inner freedom and lack of freedom of man and, of course, true love.

The Master and Margarita is a unique multi-genre and multifaceted novel of the 20th century that influenced world culture. Its author is Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov, an outstanding writer, one of the most outstanding personalities in the history of Russian literature. This work summarizes his ideas about life, since he put all of himself into his "creation": all his feelings that he experienced over the years of his life, all his thoughts about love, about freedom, about death and immortality, about the struggle between good and evil, on a moral duty, thereby forcing readers to reflect on eternal problems.

With particular interest and excitement, I read the climax, chapter 23 of the novel entitled "The Great Ball at Satan's."

First of all, I would like to note the fact that the “spring full moon ball, or the ball of a hundred kings” was held in an ordinary Moscow apartment no. 50 on Sadovaya street 302-bis, which would seem impossible and strange, but Koroviev explained: “to those who is well acquainted with the fifth dimension, nothing is worth pushing the room to the desired limits. "

Even in the previous chapter, "By Candlelight," it becomes known that the main heroine of the novel, Margarita, was elected queen of the ball, because "... a tradition has been established ... the hostess of the ball must certainly bear the name of Margarita ... she must be a local native ..."

The episode begins with preparations for the planned event: "Gella and Natasha, who is helping her, poured some hot, thick and red liquid over Margarita ..." gold buckles "," ... a royal diamond crown flashed in her hair "," Koroviev hung on his chest a heavy oval-framed image of a poodle on a heavy chain.

This decoration was extremely burdensome for the queen. " I want to remind you that we first come across the image of a poodle in the description of Woland's appearance in the first chapter "Never Talk to an Unknown." Likewise, at the ball "some black man threw a pillow with a golden poodle embroidered on it under Margarita's feet." And this is not without reason: after all, the image of a poodle symbolizes the devil, and the moment when the heroine was washed in blood resembles some kind of Satanic ritual. Thus, Bulgakov quite responsibly and carefully reacted to the description of the Queen's preparation for the "great ball".

Also, Margarita had a very difficult task: “among the guests there will be different, oh, very different, but no one, Queen Margot, no advantage! .. do not miss anyone ... anything, but not inattention.”

It all started with the piercing gaze of the cat Behemoth: "... the ball fell on her immediately in the form of light, together with it - sound and smell ... the roar of pipes fell on her, and the sound of violins that escaped from under him poured her body like blood ..." seconds that remained until midnight seemed extremely long, but then from the fireplace "a gallows jumped out with half-disintegrated ashes dangling on it ... a handsome black-haired man in a tailcoat and patent leather shoes jumped out of it." As Koroviev had said, completely different guests began to come one by one. But they were united by one thing - they were all dead-sinners: Monsieur Jacques poisoned the royal mistress, Count Robert poisoned his wife, Mrs. Tofane, who had a Spanish boot on her leg and greenery around her neck, got tired of her husband, Mrs. inheritance, Emperor Rudolph is a sorcerer and alchemist. None of them aroused sympathy from Margarita Nikolaevna. Frida was an exception: “when she was serving in a cafe ... the owner somehow called into the pantry, and nine months later she gave birth to a boy, took him into the forest and put a handkerchief in her mouth, and then buried it in the ground ... at the trial she said that she had nothing feed the baby". For this, a maid was assigned to her, who for the past thirty years had been putting a plait shawl on the table at night, which Frida could not get rid of in any way. The queen did not find only the "young woman" guilty, she felt sorry for the guest. Even after becoming a witch, Margarita did not lose her bright human feelings, and that is why in the next chapter, "The Extraction of the Master," she "sacrificed" her desire and forever saved Frida from torment.

All this time, the heroine was accompanied by Koroviev and Behemoth, who helped her: guided and encouraged. And Woland, surrounded by Abadonna, Azazello and several others similar to Abadonna, black and young, appeared at the end of the ball. “Margarita was struck by the fact that he went out to this last great exit at the ball just in this very form in which he was in the bedroom“ the same dirty patched shirt hung on his shoulders, his feet were in worn-out night shoes ... ”And the head of that Berlioz himself, who was cut off by a tram at Patriarch's Ponds in the third chapter "The Seventh Proof", became a goblet for Satan, he was filled with the blood of the murdered Baron Meigel, "serving on the entertainment commission in the position of introducing foreigners to the sights of the capital", who turned out to be "an earpiece and a spy." Woland took a sip with the words: “I drink your health, gentlemen,” then ordered Margarita to drink: “Do not be afraid, queen, the blood has long gone into the ground. And where it spilled, grapes are already growing. " After that, "the crowds of guests began to lose their appearance ... the columns disintegrated, the lights went out, everything shrank ..."

The uniqueness of the novel "The Master and Margarita" lies primarily in the complex motive structure, in the diverse interweaving of repetitive dynamic images and themes. The links between them are mostly associative, and sometimes the logic of the links can be reversed. It is this feature of the novel that makes it difficult to analyze it, therefore, considering the ball scene, which is key for understanding the work, we will try to understand the logic of associative links and from it “stretch the threads” to the general figurative structure and problems of the novel.

In the development of the plot, the episode of the ball is the culmination: it is a turning point in the fate of the master and Margarita (a love novel), and this is the apotheosis of Woland's power (a “cruel” novel). The scene of the ball at Satan's, as it were, pulls together all the knots of the "Moscow novel". However, this is not his only role: the climax of the episode, rather, creates an atmosphere of tension for closer attention to the inner, associative side of the episode, which “connects” another part of “The Master and Margarita” - an antique novel. More on this later, but first it is important to define the context of the ball scene.

“Messire gives one ball every year. It is called the spring ball of the full moon, or the ball of a hundred kings ... So, sir: Messire is single ... - a mistress is needed ... A tradition has been established that the hostess must certainly bear the name of Margarita. We found one hundred twenty-one Margarita in Moscow - none fits. "

Everything is important in this detailed explanation. First, Satan needs an earthly mistress with a living soul. It is no coincidence that the name Margarita, which means "pearl". In Gnostic literature, this was the name of the precious human soul, or the Soul of the World - Sophia, whom the Gnostic Savior came to free from the captivity of the satanic dragon and return to the realm of divine light. Bulgakov's Margarita, on the other hand, voluntarily agrees to give her soul to the devil. This immediately suggests the idea of ​​"inversion", the ambivalence of meanings in the episode: Margarita does not play the role that the name stipulates. This idea is supported by the symbol of the moon (“ball of the full moon”), because Bulgakov's image of the moon is a repeating motif of distorted light. Associations associated with the very concept of "Satan's ball" are also important. On the one hand, the ball is a usual secular entertainment, but this - “with Satan” - puts a mystical religious meaning into it, layering and deepening the inner meaning of the concept. “Satan’s Ball” is an interweaving, a synthesis of the real and the supernatural, this is the border of two worlds, where everything is “the other way around”. The mysticism and solemnity of the ball scene with the preceding episode, purely ironically representing Woland's retinue, is also “on the contrary” consistent. But behind this possibility of "switching" from irony to pathos is the metamorphosis that Bulgakov needs, that is, transformation. This is the key word for the episode of Satan's ball, with which you can try to reveal his inner essence, moving from “line to line”.

First, the ball is described in relation to Margarita. She is the queen and a kind of center of the story, while Woland himself appears at the end of the ball. Thus, the episode receives a natural tension associated with the expectation of a semantic denouement.

What kind of world opens up to Margarita, that is, what is the spatio-temporal organization of the text? "The ball fell on her immediately in the form of light, together with it - sound and smell." This description shows that Bulgakov strove to create a concrete-sensual, objective, “tangible” atmosphere of a supernatural ball. The space is infinitely expanded: the tropical forest gives way to the coolness of the ballroom, walls of tulips, roses, terry camellias emerge from nowhere, hissing fountains and pouring water all around. The surreal, in fact, the world is not only seen, but also heard: the roar of trumpets, a jazz orchestra. When describing the ball, the orchestra also uses color painting, painting the gloomy world in bright colors. The struggle between light and shadow also manifests itself: “... Koroviev met her in the darkness with a lamp”. The time of the ball slows down: “These ten seconds seemed extremely long to Margarita.”

What is this - a hint of overcoming death by stopping time?

So, Bulgakov creates the atmosphere of the ball oversaturated with external details, makes its space objective, but at the same time capable of incredible metamorphoses (quick change of visual “pictures”). Another important point: bright, beautiful images can be associated associatively with dark, devilish ones: hissing fountains - hissing cauldrons, blacks in silver bandages - devils, light-darkness. Similar transformations are taking place with the heroes.

From the very beginning, Margarita was doused with “hot, thick and red” blood. This detail is associated with the baptism motif, only Bulgakov has blood instead of holy water. Christian associations are also evoked by the mention of “a heavy, oval-framed image of a black poodle on a heavy chain, which burdened Margarita”. This attribute of black forces in reverse illumination is the Christian cross. Indeed, the main task of Margarita at the ball is to love everyone and thereby resurrect the souls of the dead. Koroviev insists: "... no one, Queen Margot, any advantage! .. just not inattention ... to love, to love!" Margarita came to the ball with her living soul (remember the name), so that, giving it to sinners, “give” them a new life. Christ came to earth with the same mission. It is no coincidence that the conductor of the orchestra shouts after Margarita: “Hallelujah!” Which means “praise to God”. The mention of rose oil is also symbolic: this detail correlates the ball scene with the master's novel about Pontius Pilate. Bulgakov emphasized the suffering, martyrdom role of Margarita: “The worst suffering was caused by her right knee, which was kissed. It was swollen, the skin on it turned blue, despite the fact that several times Natasha's hand appeared near this knee with a sponge ”. The sponge is another detail that connects Margarita with Christ at the associative level.

So, the way of Margaret at Satan's ball is a distorted mission of Christ. Has Queen Margot fulfilled her role? How does the resurrection itself take place?

It is interesting to note that all Woland's guests - the resurrected sinners-dead - are historically real persons. Bulgakov confronts a fantastic, supernatural event with a real, supra-plot person participating in it. Thus, in the scene of the ball, three realities come into contact: concrete historical, artistic (the heroes of the novel are Margarita, Berlioz, Meigel) and the realities of a higher order (Satan, witches). How does the synthesis process take place?

Guests at the ball emerge from an immense fireplace that resembles a “cold mouth”. There is an association with ash, decay, extinguished fire of life. “Suddenly something banged down in the huge fireplace, a gallows jumped out of it with half-scattered ashes dangling on it ... and a handsome black-haired man in a tailcoat and patent leather shoes jumped out of it.” Using lowered verbs in describing this metamorphosis, Bulgakov expresses irony in relation to everything that happens. This is not how they depict resurrection, transformation, the victory of life over death. All these “headless skeletons”, “running out coffins”, “decomposed corpses” are a parody of people. The triumph of the moment is deliberately distorted by Bulgakov. Woland's retinue is ridiculous, pretending to repeat to each guest: "I am delighted!" The queen of the ball cannot fulfill her mission - she did not love everyone. Margarita gave preference to Frida, seized by simple human, not divine compassion. Whatever Margarita did is pretense: “... she mechanically raised and lowered her hand and, grinning monotonously, smiled at the guests ... her face was pulled into a motionless mask of greetings”. Exactly - everything that happens begins to resemble a great masquerade.

Further - more terrible. The masquerade turns into a real orgy, Bulgakov's irony - into sarcasm. When the staircase was empty with a stream of guests, everything changed in the very atmosphere of the ball: “... on the stage, where the waltz king's orchestra was playing, now monkey jazz was raging. A huge gorilla in shaggy sideburns with a pipe in hand, danced heavily, conducting. " Sinners were transformed into monkeys, and not into angels with pure souls - this is the result of the devilish version of resurrection.

The gloomy ending is also emphasized by the attributes, the description of the scale of the orgy: “... immediately, with a hiss and a roar, the stirring mass of champagne left the pool, and Neptune began to spew ... a wave of dark yellow color” (cognac). The appearance of ancient pagan deities at the ball, which began with Christian motives, shows how polarly the semantic accents have shifted: from the expectation of light to darkness. The erupting champagne is now associated with boiling lava, "hellish furnaces", "devilish white chefs" are mentioned. Resurrection turned into a bacchanalia. Hopes are broken - this is the end

No, on the contrary, this is the time of the appearance of Woland, the devil himself, the second, after Margarita, the semantic center of the episode. It is to him that Bulgakov instructs him to summarize everything that happened, to say his word.

“Woland went out into this last great exit at the ball just in the same form in which he was in the bedroom. The same dirty patched shirt ... ”After a while, a metamorphosis took place. Woland found himself in some kind of black chlamyd with a steel sword on his hip. What changed Woland? No, not the living soul of Margarita, but the blood of the murdered Meigel, drained from the cup - the skull of Berlioz. This symbolically represents the idea of ​​Woland: “You go into oblivion, and it will be joyful for me to drink from the cup into which you turn into being”. Thus, the devil proclaims the infinity and power of being as such, punishing those who do not believe in eternal life with non-being: "Each will be given according to his faith."

Woland comes, bringing with him not only death and blood, but - the triumph of retribution. He gives the last, final chord to the ball, proclaiming death as the guarantee of a future life. Evil, according to Woland, is an integral part of the universe in general. It is no accident that at the end of the episode a pagan motive appears, enclosed in the last phrase before the “general decay”: “Do not be afraid, queen, the blood has long gone into the ground. And where it was spilled, grapes are already growing ”.

So, we can summarize that the episode of Satan's ball not only "completes" the central image of Woland in the novel, "voices" his philosophy, not only shows the sacrifice of Margarita ... This, I think, is his side function. The main thing is that the fantastic episode of the ball is a hidden metaphor for the cohesion of life and death. On about fifteen pages, Bulgakov unfolds a whole mythological picture of the world. Two poles are indicated in advance: Margarita (soul), associated with Christian martyrdom, and Woland (blood), reminiscent of a pagan worldview; and the logic of the development of events is clearly indicated by the movement from dust (non-being) to resurrection (imaginary), and then to death and decay, which promises eternal life. It turns out a compositional, vicious circle. But it is important that Bulgakov's death at the end is more solemn and, if you will, life-affirming than the resurrection at the beginning.

That is why Woland is important at the end of the ball, that “resurrection saves”, just as in the novel as a whole, Woland puts everything in its place - after all, he is initially above the world and its vanity. From this comes his famous: "What would do your good if there were no evil?" Bulgakov himself proves the integrity and indivisibility of all “fragments” of life, connecting opposites, combining disparate images and details into the synthetic fabric of a work of art. Violating the clear logic of mutual correlation of images, he holds them together with barely visible associative links, creating a whole symphony of sounds, colors, images, thoughts and ideas.

Teacher's note

Every year, at the end of April - beginning of May, our graduates free up the day in the schedule when they “train” to write an essay for 6 hours. Everything goes like a real exam: 6 hours, lunch break, literary texts 1 hour from the start. In advance, the children are informed only of the circle of authors, with whose names the topics will be associated.

The work of Olya Strizhevskaya was written in May 2001 in just such conditions.