Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita: Social Ferocity in Satire

Mikhail Bulgakov's novel 'The Master and Margarita' is examined for its satirical ferocity against Soviet society and cultural establishments. The work, inspired by Goethe's Faust, features the Devil as Woland who wreaks havoc in 1930s Moscow alongside a grotesque entourage including the cat Behemoth. The novel intertwines three narratives: the persecution of a writer (the Master) and his love Margarita, Woland's magical disruptions, and the story of Jesus and Pontius Pilate. First drafted in 1928 and completed by 1940, the final version was published in full in Germany in 1966 and in the Soviet Union in 1973, with edits by Bulgakov's wife. The novel's styles range from grotesque to tragicomic to romantic-dramatic. It inspired a 1972 film adaptation starring Ugo Tognazzi, an opera rock by Aleksandr Gradskiy, and influenced the Rolling Stones' 'Sympathy for the Devil' and Salman Rushdie's 'The Satanic Verses'. The phrase 'Manuscripts don't burn' reflects Bulgakov's own burning of the first draft in 1930 due to censorship fears. The article emphasizes the satirical critique of mediocrity, hypocrisy, and social pettiness.