The relationship between Yeshua Ga-Nozri and Woland in the novel by M. A. Bulgakov “The Master and Margarita” is a very interesting topic, which at first causes bewilderment. In these relations there is no habitual Christian antagonism. Here you can more likely trace partnerships based not on parity, but on a certain subordination of Woland's “department” to Yeshua’s “ministry”. This is especially evident in the last chapters of the novel.
Antagonism or interaction?
If we represent Jesus Christ in the image of Ga-Nozri, and see Satan in Woland (these comparisons suggest themselves), we need to give an answer to the question of why such an interaction arose, almost a collaboration of the two “departments”. The highest leadership sends to the lower (performer) Levi Matvey. The messenger passes the order to ensure peace for the Master, the protagonist of the novel. And Satan, the one who is entrusted with the knowledge of Christian heology, agrees. Let's look at these intricacies and relationships of the kingdom of heaven and the underworld.
Key Quotes
Let's recall the plot of the novel "The Master and Margarita." The content of this multifaceted literary work can be briefly conveyed as follows. Woland arrives in Moscow in the 1930s with his retinue and occupies the apartment of the late writer Berlioz. His goal is to find Margarita, the queen of her May ball. During the development of the plot, he encounters a Master, a writer who created a novel about Yeshua Ga-Nozri. Further, the story goes as if in two parallel realities: in the modern author of Moscow and Yershalaim (Jerusalem) almost two thousand years ago. Poached by colleagues from MASSOLITH, the writer eventually broke down and burned his work. “Manuscripts do not burn,” Woland said, and here the notebook with the apocryphal “Gospel of the Master” reappeared. “Happy end?” You ask. Not really. Here is a key quote from the novel:
“- He [Ga-Nozri] read the work of the Master ... He asks you to take the Master with you and reward peace. Is it really difficult for you to do, spirit of evil?
“There is nothing complicated for me, and you know that well.” - Woland was silent for a while and asked: - And you, why don’t you take him to your place in your light?
“He did not deserve the light, he earned the peace,” said the messenger Levi sadly. ”
Author World Model
This dialogue above raises a number of issues that are conceptual in nature. Let's formulate them. Why didn't the Master deserve the light? Why, with a request to provide the suffering writer with peace, Yeshua (Christ), through the messenger, addresses Woland? After all, Satan, according to Christian beliefs, rules hell. But God is omnipotent and can Himself do everything, including to give someone peace. If Christ gives the Master into the hands of Woland, can this be called a worthy reward? It is not in vain that Levi Matvey has a sad voice. What does “peace” mean for Bulgakov himself, how does he relate to the “darkness” and “light” of the New Testament? As you can see, the dialogue between Levi Matthew and Woland is devoid of any antagonism. The characters dive slightly, but it looks like an exercise in sophistry. We can say that for Bulgakov, Woland is not an absolute evil. He is rather a proud and imagining independent executor of the will of God.
Neo-Thomist model of the world
Mikhail Afanasevich Bulgakov cannot be blamed for adhering to Orthodox dogma. Levi Matvey and Yeshua do not look like representatives of the Highest Good. The master “guessed” the Passion of Christ, but he describes them as the sufferings of a perishable person. Yes, Yeshua, the writer, "does not quench smoking flax." He reads in the hearts of people (in particular, in Pontius Pilate). But His divine essence is revealed later. The former tax collector, the evangelist Leviy Matvey, looks like an absolutely implacable religious fanatic who “incorrectly spells Yeshua’s words”. Thus, these characters of Bulgakov’s novel are not pure Light, but his messengers. And in Christianity, the messengers of God are angels. But Satanail is also an angel, only a fallen one. And he is not Absolute Evil. Therefore, the meeting of Woland and Levi Matvey is devoid of gospel antagonism (we recall at least the Second Epistle to the Corinthians, chapter 6).
Platonic world model
Consider the novel "The Master and Margarita", the contents of which we briefly retold, in the light of the teachings of classical Greek philosophy. Plato represented the earthly world as a material embodiment of ideas. Pouring down emanations, they are removed from the light source. Therefore, they are distorted. In the mountain world, the divine world of ideas remains unshakable, and below - the perishable, material vale of sorrow. This Plato model does not answer the question of why the Master did not deserve the light, but at least explains what peace means. This is a state between the earthly world of sorrows and the Kingdom of Absolute Good, a kind of intermediate layer of reality, where the quiet existence of the human soul is established. This is exactly what the Master, broken by persecution, wanted to be alone with Margarita and forget all the horror experienced by Moscow in the thirties of the twentieth century.
The image of the Master and sorrow of Levi Matvey
Many researchers of Bulgakov’s work agree that the main character of the novel is autobiographical. The writer also burned the first edition of “The Master and Margarita,” and wrote the second “to the table,” realizing that publishing such an “unorthodox” story in the USSR would doom himself to a link to the Gulag. But, unlike his literary hero, Bulgakov did not renounce his brainchild, he released him into this world.
The quotes about the Master represent him as a man, broken by the system: “I have no more aspirations, no dreams, and no inspiration either ... nothing interests me around ... I am broken, I am bored ... This novel has become hateful to me, I have suffered too much because of him ". While in a psychiatric hospital, he hopes that Margarita will forget him. Thus, he betrays her. Cowardice is not a virtue at all. But even greater sin is despondency. Margarita speaks of her lover: "Oh, you are miserable, unbelieving ... They have devastated your soul." This explains the sad voice of Levi Matthew. Something unclean cannot enter the Kingdom of Heavenly Father. And the Master does not strive for Light.
World Model of Early Christianity
The original Church represented the material world as a creation of an exceptionally evil principle. Therefore, the Christians of the first centuries did not need a theodicy, justification of God for the existing evil. They hoped for a “new earth and a new heaven," where truth dwells. This world, they believed, is ruled by the prince of darkness (Gospel of John, 14:30). Souls striving for Light, like Pontius Pilate, tormented by conscience , will be heard and accepted into the heavenly chamber. Those who are too mired in their sins, who “loved the world”, will remain in it and will go through new cycles of rebirth, be embodied in new bodies. The characteristic of the Master, given by Bulgakov himself, allows us to judge that this character does not aspire to the Light. Unlike Pontius Pilate, he craves only peace - primarily for himself. And Yeshua Ga-Nozri allows him to make this choice, because no one can be driven by force into the Kingdom of Heaven.
Why the Master did not deserve the light, but he was granted peace
Margarita in the novel looks more determined, bold and purposeful woman than her lover. She is not only the Muse of the Master. She is ready to compete for himself. The spiritual nobility of Margarita is shown at the May ball of Woland. She does not ask for anything for herself. She puts her whole heart on the altar of love. Bulgakov contrasts the image of the Master, who abandoned his novel and is already ready to renounce Margarita, to his main character. Here she is, yes, she would be worthy of light. But she longs to enter into it only hand in hand with the Master. According to Bulgakov, there are other worlds where people find peace and tranquility. Dante Alighieri in "The Divine Comedy" describes Limb, where the souls of the righteous, who do not know the light of Christianity, live without knowing grief. There the author of the novel places his lovers.
A reward or a sentence?
We have already answered the question of why the Master did not deserve the light. But how to perceive his fate - should we rejoice for him or be sad with Levi Matthew? From a Christian point of view, it is not good to be away from God. But, they taught, all souls will one day see their light and see the truth. They will turn to God; He will not leave His children. And when they are cleansed from sins, He will accept them, as the Father received his prodigal son. Therefore, the fate of the Master and Margarita cannot be considered a sentence of eternal alienation from the world. All souls will once be saved, since their kingdom is the kingdom of heaven. Including Woland. Everyone just has their own repentance.