Bar-Rabbān
maleRobber whose release is requested by Sanhedrin and granted by Pilate
Mikhail Berlioz and the poet Ivan “Homeless” Ponyrev begin their night at Patriarch’s Ponds with an absurd atheistic debate that is interrupted by a mysterious foreign scholar who proclaims the historicity of Jesus and foretells Berlioz’s violent death; moments later a tram crashes into Berlioz, leaving his head on the cobbles and launching Ivan into a frantic chase through Moscow’s alleys. Ivan’s pursuit ends in a broken‑down apartment, a naked intruder, stolen icons and a barefoot escape to the Griboedov’s theatre, where the sudden appearance of the enigmatic consultant “W” triggers a chaotic midnight meeting of twelve writers and forces Ivan into a psychiatric clinic. Meanwhile, the black‑magic professor Woland and his retinue arrive at the Variety Theatre, staging a surreal séance that showers money, decapitates the master of ceremonies, and vanishes, while a series of supernatural attacks—on Styopa Likhodeev, Varenukha and other officials—spreads panic through Sadovaya Street. Parallel to the Moscow turmoil, Pontius Pilate’s interrogation of Yeshua Ha‑Nozri culminates in a brutal execution on Bald Mountain, only to be disrupted by a storm summoned by the desperate tax‑collector Matthew Levi, freeing Yeshua and drowning the condemned. In the aftermath, Ivan, still haunted by the consultant’s whisper, is coerced to write a report, confronts the lingering presence of Woland’s shadow, and ultimately faces the choice between surrendering to madness or exposing the mystic conspiracy that has upended his world.
Primary Author
Mikhail Bulgakov
Source Title
The Master And Margarita
Publisher
Penguin Books Ltd
Language
en
Summary Language
English
Published Date
2007-01-01
Published Year
2007
Rights
Not available
Contributors
Identifiers
No identifiers provided.
Description
<p>The devil comes to Moscow wearing a fancy suit. With his disorderly band of accomplices - including a demonic, gun-toting tomcat - he immediately begins to create havoc.<p>Disappearances, destruction and death spread through the city like wildfire and Margarita discovers that her lover has vanished in the chaos. Making a bargain with the devil, she decides to try a little black magic of her own to save the man she loves ...
Bar-Rabbān
maleRobber whose release is requested by Sanhedrin and granted by Pilate
Dysmas
maleOne of the two robbers condemned alongside Yeshua
Gestas
maleSecond robber condemned alongside Yeshua
Joseph Kaifa
maleHigh priest of the Sanhedrin who debates release of Bar‑Rabbān
Mark Ratslayer
maleCenturion nicknamed ‘Ratslayer’ who whips Yeshua and escorts him
Matthew Levi
maleFormer tax collector who becomes Yeshua's companion
Pontius Pilate
maleRoman procurator of Judea, suffering severe headache, presides over Yeshua's trial
Yeshua Ha-Nozri
maleGalilean prisoner, identified as Jesus, denies incitement, discusses philosophy
Mad German Professor
maleclaims to have witnessed Pilate’s balcony and displays severe mental instability
Woman tram driver
femaleoperates the tram that strikes Berlioz, causing his death
Bearded Fellow
maleSmoker who guards Ivan’s clothes at the river and later steals them.
Black Cat
neutralHuge black cat that walks on hind legs, boards a tram, and aids the professor’s escape.
Choirmaster
maleEx‑choirmaster who confronts Ivan after Berlioz’s death, wearing a broken pince‑nez and claiming not to understand Russian.
Kiriushka
femaleNaked woman in the bathroom who mistakes Ivan for a intruder and shouts about Fyodor Ivanych.
Little Girl
femaleFive‑year‑old who opens the door to apartment 13‑47 for Ivan.
Doctor Stravinsky
maleChief of the psychiatric clinic, about forty‑five, examines and detains Ivan Homeless
Fyodor Vassilyevich
maleBearded staff member tasked with monitoring Ivan Homeless
Ivan Nikolaevich Homeless
malePoet detained in a psychiatric clinic, recounts encounter with mysterious foreign consultant who knows Pontius Pilate
Azazello
maleMysterious red‑haired man, part of Woland's retinue, assaults Varenukha. Azazello appears as a red‑haired man at the funeral, reveals the stolen head, and invites Margarita to a midnight rendezvous with a foreigner, giving her a golden ointment box.
Koroviev
maleAssistant to Woland, speaks on telephone, informs Varenukha of Likhodeev's absence.
Messenger Woman
femaleUniformed woman delivering super‑lightning telegrams.
Professor Woland
maleBlack‑magic professor whose séance is advertised.
Red‑haired Naked Girl
femaleNaked red‑haired girl appearing in Likhodeev's apartment hall, offers a kiss. She materializes at Rimsky's window as a decayed corpse, stretches a green arm to open the latch, and disappears with a crowing cock.
Rimsky
maleFinancial director of the Variety Theatre, managing office affairs. He flees the office after the supernatural encounter, steals the magic banknotes, and vanishes on the Leningrad express.
Styopa Likhodeev
maleDirector of Variety Theatre, previously contracted with Woland, now missing.
Varenukha
maleAdministrator of the Variety Theatre, active in handling telegrams and phone calls. Varenukha arrives bruised, pallid, wearing a striped scarf, and casts no shadow; lies about Styopa Likhodeev; disappears supernaturally.
Praskovya Fyodorovna
femaleNurse who aids Ivan, picks up pages, gives injection
Black‑bearded Lone Spectator
maleA black‑bearded man attempted to breach the cordons, was wounded, then wrote frantic notes on a parchment about Matthew Levi’s despair.
Man in Hood
maleMysterious hooded figure observed the execution, sat on a three‑legged stool, examined Yeshua's body and declared him dead.
Tribune
maleRoman tribune arrived late on the hill, whispered to the centurion, and departed with the hooded man after the executions.
Ace of Diamonds
neutralAsh‑coloured dog that appears during the investigation, howls from the broken window and leads officers to a cab stand.
Affiliate Manager
maleManager of the city affiliate, obsessed with organizing clubs, forces staff into a forced choir performance.
Anna Richardovna
femaleSecretary of Prokhor Petrovich, found sobbing and frantic during Vassily's investigation.
Karpov
maleMessenger who reports that the magician was supposedly staying in Likhodeev's apartment.
Madame Rimsky
femaleWife of Rimsky who appears sobbing after the disappearance of the Variety staff.
Prokhor Petrovich
maleChairman of the Spectacles Commission, present during Vassily's visit and witnessed a surreal scene with a phantom suit.
Vassily Stepanovich Lastochkin
maleSenior bookkeeper of the Variety theatre who attempts to manage the chaos after the black‑magic séance.
Weeping Girl
femaleYoung woman selling literature at the affiliate, who breaks into hysterical singing.
Andrei Fokich Sokov
maleVariety Theatre barman who meets Woland, receives a prophecy of liver cancer and seeks medical help.
Maximilian Andreevich Poplavsky
maleUncle of the dead editor Mikhail Berlioz, industrial economist from Kiev who travels to Moscow to claim his nephew's Sadovaya apartment.
Professor Bouret
maleNeurologist who appears in Kuzmin’s office offering consolation amid the leech chaos.
Professor Kuzmin
malePhysician who examines the barman’s head, dismisses the cancer prophecy, and experiences surreal leech infiltration.
Margarita Nikolaevna
femaleMargarita is introduced as the grieving, childless wife of a prominent specialist; her backstory, dream, and actions are detailed.
Natasha
femaleNatasha is Margarita’s housemaid who chats about the séance rumors.
Similar topics