The Master and Margarita

Following Azazello’s instructions, Margarita applies the cream to her face. She bursts into “wild laughter” (174) when she looks in the mirror and seems to have become many years younger. She feels invigorated and “weightless” (175); she is convinced she is about to do something to change her life forever. She writes a note for her husband in which she asks for forgiveness and tells him not to look for her. She talks to Natasha and offers to leave all her clothes to the maid, explaining her happiness and her joy to be meeting with Woland. When she hears the footsteps of her neighbor Nikolai Ivanovich outside, Margarita tells him she is “sick and tired” (176) of his boorish behavior. When Azazello arrives, he tells her she will be able to fly. He instructs her to fly beyond Moscow and to head south, toward the river. Margarita rides a “dancing broom” (177) away from her old house and her old life.

Margarita quickly adapts to flying on a broomstick. She feels “invisible and free” (178) at last. She flies past the House of Dramatists and Literary Workers and spots Latunsky’s office inside. Still furious at “the one who ruined the Master” (179), she flies into the office, but Latunsky is not present; he is at Berlioz’s funeral. Margarita smashes the office to pieces and then floods it with bathwater. Before the neighbors can arrive, she takes to her broom and flies away. As she flies along the street, she smashes windows, stopping only to reassure a scared young boy that he is “having a dream” (182). Margarita flies out of the city and over the countryside. She is shocked when something passes her in the air, only to discover that Natasha is also with her. Natasha is riding “a fat hog” (183) that flies with a briefcase clutched in its front hooves. Natasha admits she tried Margarita’s magical cream and that the hog is actually the neighbor, Nikolai Ivanovich, who Natasha transformed after he propositioned her for sex. Margarita laughs and promises to help her “stay a witch” (185) forever.

They land beside a lake and take a swim. A drunk man interrupts their swim and Margarita notices a party is taking place on the opposite side of the lake. When she approaches the party, she hears music being played as a tribute to her. The party is populated by naked witches and magical creatures. A “goat-legged creature” (186) hands Margarita a glass of champagne and says that Natasha has been sent ahead to alert the people in Moscow to prepare Margarita’s new clothes. Using two twigs, he telephones for a car for Margarita, which arrives instantly. The car is driven by a “black, long-beaked rook wearing an oilskin cap and long driving gloves” (187) and, when Margarita is helped inside, it takes off into the sky toward Moscow.

As Margarita rides in the flying car, she thinks “with a certain sadness of the unknown river bank she had left behind, which she felt she would never see again” (188). She hopes she will soon be reunited with the Master and that she can be happy again. When the car arrives in Moscow, she is dropped off at an empty cemetery. Soon, Azazello appears to her, dressed in a dark black cloak. Margarita rides her broom and flies with Azazello to Berlioz’s apartment. The police are guarding the apartment, but Azazello and Margarita fly over them. Inside, they meet Korovyov, who leads them by lamplight into a giant hall, which is somehow “crammed into a Moscow apartment” (189). Korovyov explains that the hall is able to exist inside the apartment block thanks to the fifth dimensional magic. He explains that Woland is hosting “the Spring Ball of the Full Moon, or the Ball of a Hundred Kings” (190) and that Margarita’s job is to be the hostess. As is tradition, every hostess of the Spring Ball is named Margarita, and she is taken to wherever the ball is being held. Margarita has been selected from more than 100 other women who share her name in Moscow. She agrees to be the hostess for the ball.

Korovyov leads Margarita away and explains that the ball’s attendees will be people who were great, powerful, and influential in their time. None of them, he tells her, can compare in power to Woland. Meanwhile, he hints that Margarita may be distantly related to French royalty. They reach a small room in which a cheese board is laid out on a table. Azazello, now dressed in formal attire, stirs a steaming pot, which gives off “sulphureous fumes” (191) while Hella and Behemoth play chess. They stop to bow to Margarita. She sees Woland “sprawled” (192) on a bed on the other side of the room. She notices his differently colored eyes and his aged, weathered face. Woland excuses his homely, humble clothes and lays a hand on Margarita’s shoulder. She is shocked that the hand feels so heavy. Woland introduces Margarita to his entourage as Hella rubs “gobs of salve” (194) on to his knee. He chastises Behemoth for playing tricks with the magical chess set. Margarita is asked to take over from Hella, rubbing the cream onto Woland’s knee to help him deal with what doctors have said is a case of rheumatism, though Woland believes the pain is caused by “a certain enchanting witch” (195) hundreds of years ago. He shows Margarita a magic globe that charts the ongoing wars and conflicts of the world. Margarita looks closely and sees women and children being killed. Woland credits a demon named Abaddon for the “flawless” (196) destruction. He summons Abaddon, who appears just before Natasha. Woland agrees that Natasha can stay, but her hog will not be allowed to attend the ball. He advises Margarita that while she is the hostess she should drink water and nothing else.

Margarita is being prepared for the evening. Hella rubs her with rose oil and blood while Behemoth massages her feet. Korovyov places “an oval-framed picture of a poodle” (197) around her neck. Margarita is dressed in only golden slippers and a crown inset with diamonds. Korovyov reminds her to be polite to all the guests. In return, she will receive her reward. When she is ready, she walks with Korovyov into the large ballroom where an orchestra plays music. Margarita follows Korovyov’s instructions: she stands by a “low wall of white tulips” (198) and loudly thanks the conductor of the orchestra. Next, she walks into another room where she stands with Korovyov, Azazello, and Behemoth at the top of a “vast carpeted staircase” (199). The guests begin to arrive.

The guests arrive in magical coffins that materialize from thin air. The dead bodies climb out of the coffins and transform into elegantly dressed humans. Margarita greets the guests; they are all criminals and sinners sent to hell for their deeds, such as counterfeiting, poisoning, and murder. Margarita meets a “charming and reputable” (200) woman named Madam Tofana whose crime was providing poison to Neapolitan women who wanted to leave their abusive husbands. She meets a woman named Freida who, as Korovyov explains, killed the child she bore after being raped and who is now doomed to wake up every day beside the “handkerchief with a dark-blue border” (201) she used to smother the baby. The male guests are dressed in formal attire while the female guests are naked except for their jewelry, like Margarita. Greeting so many evil people is exhausting, and Margarita feels herself growing tired as the famous faces melt into “one huge blur” (203). Finally, the last guests (two vampires) arrive, and Margarita is transported back to the dressing room. Again, Hella rubs her with blood to bring her “back to life” (204).

Korovyov reminds Margarita of her duties as hostess, and she is sent back into the ballroom. By now, the members of the orchestra have turned into animals. Behemoth turns champagne into cognac to entertain the guests. Margarita’s final responsibility, Korovyov tells her, is to join Woland on stage. She sees Woland approach in his tattered old clothing, seemingly limping and using a heavy sword as a cane. The crowd quiets as he joins her on stage just as the clocks strike midnight. Azazello approaches with a platter on which sits Berlioz’s severed head. Woland jokes with the head, mocking Berlioz for his atheism. He says he will allow Berlioz to enjoy “departing into nonbeing” (205), which as an atheist he expected to follow his death. Woland turns Berlioz’s head into a cup and drinks a toast. A final guest arrives: Baron Maigel, who works for the Theatrical Commission and has been personally invited by Woland after helping to arrange Woland’s time in Moscow. According to Woland, however, Maigel is a spy. Azazello shoots Maigel and fills the ceremonial cup made from Berlioz’s head from the “pulsing stream” (206) of Maigel’s blood. Woland toasts the room, drinks, then hands the cup to Margarita. She drinks Maigel’s blood and, as the blood touches her lips, the entire ballroom seems to disappear. She finds herself in “the modest living room of the jeweler’s wife” (207) and walks toward the half-opened door.

Margarita is back in the room where she first met Woland. She eats and drinks “greedily” (208) to restore her energy then asks why Azazello shot Maigel. Azazello claims that Maigel “absolutely had to be shot” (209) and brags about his skill with a gun, showing off by shooting at tiny targets on playing cards across the room. Behemoth tries to copy Azazello but accidently shoots an “owl dozing on the mantelpiece” (211). Hella is furious with Behemoth, and the two must be separated. Margarita, remembering she is naked, begins to think she should leave. Woland removes his “soiled and threadbare robe” (211) for her. Just as she entertains the thought she has been tricked, Woland congratulates her on passing his test. The real test, he tells her, was that she never asked for anything. Woland grants Margarita one wish. Rather than wishing to be reunited with the Master, Margarita asks for the dead woman Freida to be released from her punishment. Margarita explains that she had no choice because Freida “believes in [Margarita’s] power” (213). Frieda appears, Margarita absolves her, and then Freida disappears again.

As Margarita is about to leave, Woland stops her. He says she should be given something for herself. Now, Margarita requests that she be reunited with the Master. The Master, still wearing the clothes from the asylum, appears before her. Margarita is overwhelmed with joy while the Master is disorientated. After receiving “a little something to drink” (214) from Korovyov, the Master returns to his normal self. Woland talks to the Master, who explains he met Ivan at the asylum, so he is able to guess Woland’s identity. When Woland asks about the Master’s nickname, the Master explains that he wrote a book about Pontius Pilate. Woland erupts with “thunderous laughter” (216) and orders Behemoth to summon an unburned version of the Master’s book. Margarita is delighted. She thanks Woland while the Master is shocked to see his own book returned to him. Margarita asks Woland to return the couple to their “basement apartment” (216). Woland summons the current occupant of their former home, who Azazello says was part of the smear campaign against the Master. Margarita attacks the man before Korovyov pulls her back. Woland uses magic to dismiss the man.

The Master is concerned the doctors at the asylum will notice he has gone. Korovyov uses magic to burn the medical records while also restoring the Master and Margarita as the rightful owners of their modest basement apartment. At Margarita’s request, Woland agrees to allow Natasha to “stay a witch” (218), though Nikolai Ivanovich is returned to his human form. Next to appear is Varenukha, who complains that he does not like being a vampire because he is not “bloodthirsty enough” (219). Azazello returns him to his human form. When Woland is alone with the Master and Margarita, they talk about the Master’s book. Woland and Margarita encourage the Master to have faith in his work and suggest the book has “more surprises” (220) yet. Before Woland says goodbye to the couple, he gifts Margarita a jewel-encrusted golden horseshoe. The couple is driven away in the car by the rook. As she gets into the car, Margarita realizes she has lost the horseshoe. In a strange series of events, Berlioz’s neighbor—an old woman named Annushka known locally as “the Plague” (221)—stole the horseshoe while watching the people magically fleeing from the apartment above her own. Azazello takes the horseshoe from her but gives her money. After leaving, the Master and Margarita arrive at their basement apartment. Everything inside is “just as it had been a year ago” (223). The Master falls asleep and Margarita reads parts of his book and thinks about how thankful she is that Woland reunited her with the man she loves.

Margarita reads about events in Yershalaim. The storm rages after Levi cut down the bodies from the crosses. In his palace, Pontius Pilate sips wine and becomes increasingly impatient. He breaks a wine jug and shouts at a “flustered” (225) servant. Finally, he hears the “long-awaited footsteps” (226) of Afranius, who changes from his storm-soaked clothes and confirms to Pilate that the mood in the city is “now satisfactory” (228). Pilate complains about the city, which is filled with magicians and wizards. He claims Yeshua is the latest in a long line of fanatical irritants. Pilate wants to get out of the city. As Afranius describes the execution, Pilate is surprised by Yeshua’s humble behavior. Pilate wants Yeshua to be “quietly” (230) buried in a secret location, so his grave will not attract people or stir up trouble. Next, they discuss Judas of Kerioth. Judas is the man who sold out Yeshua to the authorities. Pilate has “received information” (231) that people plan to kill Judas in revenge. Afranius is shocked that he has not heard this rumor. They discuss the imminent murder, which may cause trouble and scandal in the city. Pilate feels that the death of Judas is unavoidable. Afranius leaves, promising to report back later on the location of the executed men’s burial and the issue of Judas.