Woland was not alone in Bulgakov’s novel. He was accompanied by characters playing mainly the role of jesters. Woland's retinue hosted a variety of shows that were disgusting. They were hated by the Moscow indignant population. After all, the whole environment of "Messir" turned human weaknesses and vices inside out. In addition, their task was to carry out all the "dirty" work at the behest of the master, serving him. Everyone who was part of Woland's retinue had to prepare Margarita for the ball of Satan and sending her with the Master to the rest world.
The servants of the prince of darkness were three jesters - Azazello, Fagot (aka Koroviev), a cat with the nickname Behemoth and Gella - a female vampire.
Strange creatures were Woland's retinue. Each character is described separately below.
The genuine interest of each reader of the famous novel arises regarding the origin of the presented images and their names.
Hippo cat
Describing the image of Woland and his retinue, the first thing I want to describe the cat. In fact, a hippopotamus is a werewolf animal. Most likely, Bulgakov’s character was taken from the apocryphal book, Enoch's Old Testament. Also, the author could draw information about the Hippopotamus in the book “The History of the Relationship of Man with the Devil,” written by I. Ya. Porfiryev. In the mentioned literature, this character is a sea monster, a demon in the form of a creature with the head of an elephant, having fangs and a trunk. The demon's hands were human. The monster also had a huge belly, an almost imperceptible tail of a small size and very thick hind limbs, such as those of hippos. This similarity explains his name.
In the novel “The Master and Margarita,” Bulgakov introduced the hippo in the form of a huge cat, the prototype of which was the author’s pet, Flyushka. Despite the fact that Bulgakov’s furry favorite was gray in color, the animal is black in the novel, since his image is an embodiment of evil spirits.
Hippo Transformation
At the time when Woland and his retinue made the final flight in the novel, the Hippopotamus turned into a frail young page. Beside him was a purple knight. It was a transformed bassoon (Koroviev). In this episode, Bulgakov apparently reflected a comic legend from the story of S. S. Zayaitsky "Biography of Stepan Alexandrovich Lososinov." It refers to the cruel knight, with whom his page constantly appears. The main character of the legend had a passion for tearing off animal heads. This cruelty was transmitted by Bulgakov to the Hippopotamus, who, unlike a knight, tears his head off to a man - Georges of Bengal.
Hippopotamuses and gluttony
The mythological creature Hippo is a demon of carnal desires, especially gluttony. From here the cat appeared in the novel an unprecedented gluttony in Torgsin (foreign exchange store). Thus, the author shows irony in relation to visitors to this all-Union institution, including himself. At a time when people live starving outside the capitals, the demon Behemoth enslaved people in large cities.
The cat in the novel most often pranks, clowns around, makes various jokes, taunts. This character trait of the Hippo reflects the sparkling sense of humor of Bulgakov himself. This behavior of the cat and its unusual appearance became a way of evoking fear and confusion in people in the novel.
Demon Bassoon - Koroviev
What else is remembered by Woland and his retinue to readers of the novel? Of course, a prominent character is the representative of demons subordinate to the devil, Fagot, aka Koroviev. This is Woland's first mate, a knight and a devil all rolled into one. Koroviev appears to be a translator in Moscow who serves under a foreign professor and a former regent of the church choir.
There are several versions of the origin of the surname and nickname of this character. It is associated with some images of the works of F. M. Dostoevsky. So, in the epilogue of the novel “The Master and Margarita”, among the people detained by the police due to the similarity of their names with Krovyev, four Korovkin are mentioned. Here, apparently, the author wanted to point out a character from Dostoevsky’s novel entitled “The village of Stepanchikovo and its inhabitants”.
Also, the prototypes of the bassoon are a number of knights who are the heroes of some works of different times. It is also possible that the image of Koroviev arose thanks to one of Bulgakov's acquaintances. The prototype of a demon could be a real person, a plumber Ageich, who was a rare drunkard and dirty trick. He repeatedly mentioned in conversations with the author of the novel that in his youth he was one of the choir regents in the church. This, apparently, reflected Bulgakov in the hypostasis of Koroviev.
The similarity of the bassoon with a musical instrument
The bassoon musical instrument was invented by a resident of Italy, the monk Afranio
degli Albonesi. In the novel, the connection (functional) of Koroviev with this canon from Ferrara is sharply indicated. In the novel, three worlds are clearly defined, the representatives of each of which make up some triads according to similar qualities. The demon Fagot belongs to one of them, which also includes: Stravinsky’s assistant Fedor Vasilyevich and Afraniy, the “right hand” of Pontius Pilate. Koroviev made Woland his main associate, and his retinue did not bother him.
The bassoon is even outwardly similar to the eponymous, long and thin, triple-folded instrument. Koroviev is tall and thin. And in his imaginary servility, he is ready to fold three times in front of the interlocutor, but only in order to later harm him unhindered.
The transformation of Koroviev
At that moment when Woland and his retinue made their last flight in the novel, the author presents to the reader Fagot in the image of a dark purple knight who has a gloomy, unable to smile face. He thought about something of his own, resting his chin on his chest and not looking at the moon. When Margarita asked Woland why Koroviev had changed so much, the sir replied that this knight had once joked unsuccessfully, and his mocking pun about light and darkness was inappropriate. His punishment for this was buffoonery, a gaeric look and circus tattered clothes for a long time.
Azazello
What other representatives of the forces of evil did Woland's retinue consist of? "Master and Margarita" has another bright character - Azazello. Bulgakov created his name by converting one of the Old Testament. In the book of Enoch, the fallen angel Azazel is mentioned. It was he who, according to the apocrypha, taught people to create weapons, swords, shields, mirrors and various jewelry made of precious stones and not only. In general, Azazel managed to corrupt the world's population. He also taught male representatives to fight and to lie to women, and converted them to godlessness.
Azazzello in Bulgakov’s novel gives Margarita a magic cream that magically changes her appearance. Probably, the author was attracted by the idea of ​​combining in one character the ability to kill and seduce. Margarita sees the demon in the Alexander Garden just like that. She sees him as a seducer and killer.
Key responsibilities of Azazello
Azazello's main responsibilities are inevitably connected with violence. Explaining his functions to Margarita, he admits that his direct specialty is to give the administrator a face, shoot someone or expose him from the house, and other “trifles” of this kind. Azazello throws Likhodeev to Moscow from Yalta, expels Poplavsky (Uncle Berlioz) from his apartment, takes his life with the help of a revolver, Baron Meigel. The killer demon invents the magic cream that Margarita gives, giving her the opportunity to acquire witch beauty and some demonic possibilities. From this cosmetic product, the heroine of the novel gains the ability to fly and become invisible at her request.
Gella
Only one woman was allowed into his entourage Woland and his retinue. Gella Feature: The youngest member of the diabolical union in the novel, a vampire. Bulgakov took the name of this heroine from an article entitled “Witchcraft”, published in the Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary. It noted that such a name was given to the dead girls, who later became vampires, on the island of Lesbos.
The only character from the Woland retinue that is not in the description of the final flight is Gella. One of Bulgakov’s wives considered this fact the result of the fact that work on the novel was not completed completely. But it may be that the author deliberately excluded Gella from an important scene, as an insignificant member of the retinue of the devil, performing only auxiliary functions in the apartment, variety show and at the ball. In addition, Woland and his retinue could not on equal terms perceive next to him a representative of the lowest category of evil spirits. Among other things, Gella had no one to turn into, because she had her original appearance from the moment of transformation into a vampire.
Woland and his retinue: a characteristic of the devil forces
In the novel "The Master and Margarita," the forces of evil are defined by the author as roles unusual for them. After all, the sacrifices of Woland and his retinue are not righteous, not decent and kind people whom the devil must lead astray, but already taken
sinners. It is their messir and his assistants who convict and punish, choosing peculiar measures for this.
So, the director of the variety show, Stepa Likhodeev, has to go in an unusual way to Yalta. There, he is simply mystically thrown from Moscow. But, escaping with a terrible fright, he safely returns home. But Likhodeev has a lot of sins - he gets drunk, makes numerous connections with women, using his position, does nothing at work. As Koroviev says in the novel about the director of variety shows, he has been terribly lately lately.
In fact, neither Woland himself nor the diabolical assistants in any way influence the events taking place in Moscow during their visit to it. The unconventional representation of Satan in Bulgakov's style is manifested in the fact that the leader of otherworldly impure forces is endowed with some clearly expressed attributes of God.