Being the only member of Woland and his entourage with a Russian name, he is Woland’s assistant and translator, and is capable of creating any illusion. Unlike Behemoth and Azazello, he doesn’t use violence at any point. Like Behemoth, his true form is revealed at the end: a never-smiling dark knight.
In penance for a poorly-made joke he was forced to assume the role of a jester; he paid off his debt by serving Satan on his Moscow journey. Vasily Ivanovich Shverubovich (1875-1948), an actor at the Moscow Art Theatre (MkhAT) who performed under the name Vasily Ivanovich Katshalov, is a possible inspiration for Koroviev. Katshalov hailed from Vilnius, Lithuania, and had a distinctive accent when he sang.
He was tall and thin, standing at 1.85 meters, and wore pince-nez glasses due to his nearsightedness. Kachalov possessed an irresistible charm on stage with his eloquently speaking, pleasant voice, and a great sense of humor. Another MkhAT actor and director, Grigory Grigoryevich Konsky (1911-1972), also shared some characteristics with Bulgakov’s portrayal of Koroviev. He was a close friend of the Bulgakov family and known as a “master of irony and humor”.
Azazello
Azazello (Азазелло) is a menacing, fanged, and wall-eyed member of Woland’s retinue who acts as a messenger and assassin. His name may be a reference to Azazel, the fallen angel who taught people to make weapons and jewelry, and taught women the “sinful art” of painting their faces (mentioned in the pseudepigraphal Book of Enoch 8:1–3). He gives a magical cream to Margarita.
He transforms into his real shape in the end: a pale-faced demon with black, empty eyes. Bulgakov appends an Italian suffix to the Hebrew name עֲזָאזֵל Azazel. The name Azazel is frequently associated with Satan in various religious texts and beliefs. In Bulgakov’s archives, a book called Azazel and Dionysus was discovered, published in 1924 and authored by Nikolai Evreinov (1879-1953), who was a director, dramatist, historian, philosopher, and psychologist.
Hella
Hella (Гелла) is a beautiful, redheaded succubus. Her name may be a reference to the Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary (the Soviet equivalent of the Encyclopedia Britannica), underneath the section on “witchcraft”, where “Hella” was one of the names of premature girls who became vampires after death on the island of Lesbos. She serves as maid to Woland and his retinue. She is described as being “perfect, were it not for a purple scar on her neck”, suggesting that she has been executed by hanging. In the earlier version of the book, she was named Marta.
According to Valery Konstantinovich Mershavka, a Russian psychologist and translator, Hella was inspired by Sophia Perovskaya. Perovskaya was a member of the socialist revolutionary organization named The Will of the People and participated in three attempts to assassinate Tsar Alexander II, the last of which was successful, leading to her execution by hanging.
Characters from Judaea subplot
Pontius Pilate
The Roman Procurator of Judaea (a governor of a small province). The historical Pontius Pilate was the Prefect of Judaea, not the procurator. This fact was not widely known until after Bulgakov’s death. In the novel, Pontius Pilate is a central character in the subplot set in ancient Jerusalem. Pilate suffers terribly from migraines, has suicidal thoughts, and loves only his dog, Banga.
He is tasked with determining Yeshua Ha-Notsri’s guilt and ultimately is responsible for his death sentence. Nevertheless, after this sentencing, Pilate experiences feelings of guilt and doubt: “it seemed vaguely to the procurator that there was something he had not finished saying to the condemned man, and perhaps something he had not finished hearing.” Thus, overall, Bulgakov’s portrayal of Pontius Pilate offers a nuanced exploration of human nature and the consequences of moral choices.
Yeshua Ha-Notsri
Jesus the Nazarene (Иешуа га-Ноцри), a wanderer or “mad philosopher”, as Pilate calls him. His name in Hebrew is said to mean either “Jesus who belongs to the Nazarene sect” or “Jesus who is from a place called Nazareth”, though some commentators dispute the latter interpretation. In the Master’s version, Yeshua describes himself as an orphan (he says “some say that my father was a Syrian”), calls everybody (even a torturer) “kind man”, denies doing miracles, and has one full-time “Apostle”, not twelve, among other departures from the Gospels and mainstream Christian tradition. In the Master’s novel there is not a hint of the cleansing of the Temple or cursing the fig tree. The atheist regime of the novel still considers this Jesus to be offensive.
Aphranius
(or Afranius). Head of the Roman Secret Service in Judaea. That character was later an inspiration for the 1995 novel The Gospel of Afranius by Kirill Eskov.
Niza
Aphranius’s henchwoman, who entices Judas to his death.
Levi Matvei
Levite, former tax collector, follower of Yeshua. Levi attempts to save Yeshua with a bread knife, and after failing, he is the only spectator, except for the executioners, of Yeshua’s death and cuts Yeshua’s body down from the cross. Levi is introduced as a semi-fictionalized character in the Master’s novel, but toward the end of The Master and Margarita, the “historical” Matthew of the Gospel appears in Moscow to deliver a message from Yeshua to Woland.
Caiaphas
Politically savvy High Priest of Judaea. Caiaphas supports the execution of Yeshua in order to “protect” the status quo ante religion, and his own status as the Chief of the Sanhedrin, from the influence of Yeshua’s preachings and followers. He is considerably more aggressive towards Pilate than most accounts, and seems unconcerned by the other man’s senior status.
Mark the Ratslayer
The centurion in Yershalaim. Tall, strong, and physically intimidating, the Ratslayer is an agent of the state and a symbol of its brutality. Mark the Ratslayer also illustrates Yeshua’s argument about humanity’s inherent goodness. Despite his cruelty, Yeshua claims that the Ratslayer is not a bad person; he has simply “become cruel and hard” after being disfigured by others and subjected to violence himself.
Banga
Pilate’s loyal dog. He provides Pilate with comfort and Pilate feels comfortable complaining to him about his headaches. Banga is the only “being” Pilate is attached to, and therefore fosters a humanization of the procurator, characterizing him as profoundly lonely.
Judas Iscariot
A spy/informant hired by Caiaphas to assist the authorities in finding and arresting Yeshua. In contrast to the Gospels’ version, in which Judas is a long-time member of Jesus’s “inner circle” of Apostles, Bulgakov’s Judas (of Karioth) meets Yeshua for the first time less than 48 hours before betraying him. He is paid off by Caiaphas, but is later assassinated on Pilate’s orders for his role in Yeshua’s death.
Themes and imagery
The novel deals with the interplay of good and evil, innocence and guilt, courage and cowardice, exploring such issues as the responsibility towards truth when authority would deny it, and freedom of the spirit in an unfree world. Love and sensuality are also dominant themes in the novel.
Love
Margarita’s devotional love for the Master leads her to leave her husband, but she emerges victorious. Her spiritual union with the Master is also a sexual one. The novel is a riot of sensual impressions, but the emptiness of sensual gratification without love is emphasized in the satirical passages. Rejecting sensuality for the sake of empty respectability is pilloried in the figure of Nikolai Ivanovich, who becomes Natasha’s hog-broomstick.
Love is not only relevant in the Master’s relationship with Margarita, but also his relationship with writing as a whole. After he wins the lottery and leaves his job at the museum, he decides to purchase a flat where he can hide out and write. It is here that he begins his novel on Pilate. This novel takes him through many ups and downs, culminating in his capture and internment in the mental hospital, but only after he destroys his novel.
Religion
The interplay of fire, water, destruction, and other natural forces provides a constant accompaniment to the events of the novel, as do light and darkness, noise and silence, sun and moon, storms and tranquility, and other powerful polarities. There is a complex relationship between Jerusalem and Moscow throughout the novel, sometimes polyphony, sometimes counterpoint. Though the two parts of the novel are set centuries apart, the action in both unfolds in parallel over the course of five days (Wednesday to Sunday).
The chapters consisting of the Jerusalem story (chapters 2, 16, 25, and 26) are woven into the lives of the Moscow characters, and there are several characters that even bridge the two narratives. Woland, who visits Berlioz and Bezdomny in Moscow, claims to have been present during Yeshua’s trial in Jerusalem.
And Levi Matvei, Yeshua’s disciple, appears in Moscow at the end of the novel. The overlap between the two plot lines is further complicated by the fact that the Jerusalem story is presented as the novel written by the master, raising questions of authorship and muddling the distinction between fiction and reality.
Critique of Soviet Regime
Bulgakov employs Aesopian language in order to criticize the hypocrisy of Soviet society. He makes a commentary on the flaws of Soviet society by referencing distinct issues such as the housing crisis, corruption and the secret police. His methodology of introducing characters that benefit from the new regime, and then punishing them for their sins through Woland displays his condemnation of the conditions in the 1930s Soviet Union. An issue that is particularly emphasized in the novel is censorship, literary repression and suppression of creativity. Bulgakov’s portrayal of Massolit writers and their luxurious, extravagant lifestyles is a mockery of their real-life counterparts such as Vladimir Mayakovsky.
The novel is a satirical critique of the Soviet regime that condemns the decline of humanity’s virtues,
