Analysis of Chapter 12 “Black Magic and Its Exposure” The work was carried out by students of MBOU Secondary School No. 9 in Amursk, Matvey Poluyanov and Andrey Molchanov, Teacher I.V. Plokhotnyuk. 2015 I am part of that force, I am part of that force that always wants evil and does good. Goethe “Faust” M. And Bulgakov is one of the brightest writers of the 20th century. The wonderful fantasy and satire of the novel “The Master and Margarita” made the work one of the most read in Soviet times, when the government wanted to hide the shortcomings of the social system and the vices of society by any means. That is why the work, full of bold ideas and revelations, was not published for a long time. One of main themes of the novel:

• good;
• denunciation of human vices.

Chapter 12 “Black magic and its exposure” The most striking scene of the “good” deeds of evil forces is the chapter “Black magic and its exposure”. Woland exposes the worst side of human nature, exposes human vices and punishes a person for his misdeeds. Woland and his retinue seduce the audience, thereby showing the most vicious people and revealing their deepest vices. Oleg Basilashvili as Woland Human vices

• Greed
• Fury
• Envy
• Cruelty
• Impudence
• Pride

The first vice In order to expose human vices, Woland arranged tests, the first of which was “money rain”. The first of the vices Woland exposed was “greed,” showing everyone that the craving for money is inherent in people at the level of instincts. The second vice is the cruelty of the audience towards the offending entertainer. Example: - “Tear off his head!” - someone said sternly in the gallery. And then - their faint-heartedness and pity for the unfortunate man with his head torn off. The third vice The third vice that Woland exposed was “envy,” which manifested itself when Woland called a girl out of the crowd and dressed her in the most beautiful clothes. The women in the hall began to envy her and revealed their true colors. The meaning of the title of chapter 12 The title of the twelfth chapter is very symbolic. It talks specifically about exposure. This is an exposure of people and their vices that do not change over time. The audience in the variety show is a collective image of the author’s contemporary Muscovites. They, like many centuries ago, love money, decorate their outer shell, not paying attention to the inside. The author managed to see the main human vices and skillfully ridicule them. This is where Bulgakov the satirist’s great skill was manifested. The author managed to see the main human vices and skillfully ridicule them. This is where Bulgakov the satirist’s great skill was manifested. Conclusion In conclusion, we can say that the chapter about the black magic session is of great importance in the ideological and artistic structure of the novel: it is one of the most important in the author’s disclosure of the theme of good and evil through human vices. The main artistic lines of the novel are closely intertwined in it.

Chapter 12. Black magic and its exposure

A little man in a holey yellow bowler hat with a pear-shaped crimson nose, checkered trousers and patent leather boots rode onto the Variety stage on an ordinary two-wheeled bicycle. He made a circle to the sound of a foxtrot, and then let out a cry of victory, causing the bicycle to rear up on its hind legs.

Having ridden on one rear wheel, the man turned upside down, managed to unscrew the front wheel while moving and let it go behind the scenes, and then continued on one wheel, turning the pedals with his hands.

On a high metal mast, with a saddle on top and one wheel, a plump blonde woman in tights and a skirt dotted with silver stars rode out and began to ride around. When meeting her, the man uttered greeting cries and kicked the bowler hat off his head.

Finally, a little boy of about eight with an old face rolled up and darted between the adults on a tiny two-wheeler, to which was attached a huge car horn.

Having made several loops, the whole company, accompanied by the alarming beat of a drum from the orchestra, rolled up to the very edge of the stage; the spectators in the first rows gasped, because it seemed to the public that the whole trio with their cars would crash into the orchestra.

But the bicycles stopped just at the moment when the front wheels were already threatening to slide into the abyss on the heads of the musicians. The cyclists loudly shouted “Up!” They jumped off the cars and bowed, with the blonde blowing kisses to the audience, and the little one sounding a funny signal on her horn.

Applause shook the building, the blue curtain moved from both sides and covered the cyclists, the green lights with the sign “exit” at the doors went out, and in the web of trapezoids under the dome, white balls lit up like the sun. There was an intermission before the last part.

The only person who was not in the least interested in the miracles of the Giulli family's bicycle technology was Grigory Danilovich Rimsky. He sat completely alone in his office, biting his thin lips, and a twitch passed over his face every now and then. Likhodeev's extraordinary disappearance was joined by the completely unexpected disappearance of the administrator Varenukha.

Rimsky knew where he went, but he went... didn’t come back! Rimsky shrugged his shoulders and whispered to himself:

But for what?!

And, a strange thing: the easiest thing for such a businessman as the CFO, of course, was to call where Varenukha had gone and find out what had happened to him, and yet he could not force himself to do this until ten o’clock in the evening.

At ten, having committed complete violence against himself, Rimsky picked up the phone and then became convinced that his phone was dead. The courier reported that the rest of the machines in the building had also deteriorated. This, of course, unpleasant, but not supernatural event, for some reason completely shocked the financial director, but at the same time made him happy: there was no longer any need to call.

Just as a red light flashed and blinked above the findirector’s head, signaling the start of intermission, a courier entered and announced that a foreign artist had arrived. For some reason, the financial director shuddered, and, becoming completely gloomier than a cloud, he went backstage to receive the guest, since there was no one else to receive him.

Curious people were peeking into the large restroom from the corridor, where alarm bells were already ringing, under various pretexts. There were magicians in bright robes and turbans, a speed skater in a white knitted jacket, a storyteller pale with powder, and a make-up artist.

The arriving celebrity amazed everyone with his unprecedentedly long, marvelously cut tailcoat and the fact that he appeared in a black half mask. But most surprising of all were the black magician’s two companions: a long checkered one in a cracked pince-nez and a fat black cat, who, entering the restroom on his hind legs, sat down completely at ease on the sofa, squinting at his exposed makeup lamps.

Rimsky tried to put a smile on his face, which made it look sour and angry, and bowed to the silent magician sitting next to the cat on the sofa. There was no handshake. But the cheeky checkered one recommended himself to the financial director, calling himself “their assistant.” This circumstance surprised the financial director, and again unpleasant: the contract made absolutely no mention of any assistant.

Very forcedly and dryly, Grigory Danilovich inquired from the checkered one that had fallen on his head about where the artist’s equipment was.

Diamond, our most precious, Mr. Director,” the magician’s assistant answered in a rattling voice, “our equipment is always with us. Votona!” Ein, bloom, drey! - and, twirling his knobby fingers in front of Rimsky’s eyes, he suddenly pulled out from behind the cat’s ear Rimsky’s own gold watch with a chain, which the findirector had previously had in his vest pocket under a buttoned jacket and with a chain threaded through a loop.

Rimsky involuntarily grabbed his stomach, those present gasped, and the make-up artist, looking through the door, grunted approvingly.

Your watch? Please get it,” said the checkered one, smiling cheekily and handing his property to the confused Rimsky on a dirty palm.

“Don’t get on the tram,” the narrator whispered quietly and cheerfully to the make-up artist.

But he soaked a piece of cleaned room with someone else's watch. Suddenly getting up from the sofa, he walked up to the mirror table on his hind legs, pulled the cork out of the decanter with his front paw, poured water into a glass, drank it, put the cork back in place and wiped his mustache with a makeup rag.

Here no one even gasped, they just opened their mouths, and the make-up artist whispered in admiration:

Ay, cool!

Then the bells rang alarmingly for the third time, and everyone, excited and anticipating an interesting number, rushed out of the restroom.

A minute later, the audience's lights went out, a reddish glow flared up and a reddish glow appeared on the bottom of the curtain, and through the illuminated slit of the curtain, a plump, cheerful, childlike man with a shaved face, in a rumpled tailcoat and stale underwear appeared before the public. It was the entertainer Georges Bengalsky, well known throughout Moscow.

So, citizens,” Bengalsky spoke, smiling with a childish smile, “now he will speak to you...” here Bengalsky interrupted himself and spoke with different intonations: “I see that the number of audiences for the third section has increased even more.” Today we have half the city! One day the other day I met a friend and said to him: “Why don’t you come to us? Yesterday we had half the city.” And he answers me: “And I live in the other half!”

Bengalsky paused, expecting an explosion of laughter, but since no one laughed, he continued: “...So, the famous foreign artist Monsieur Woland is performing with a session of black magic!” Well, you and I understand,” here Bengalsky smiled with a wise smile, “that it does not exist in the world at all and that it is nothing more than a superstition, but simply Maestro Woland has a high degree of mastery of the trick technique, which will be seen from the most interesting part, that is, the revelation this technique, and since we are all, as one, both for the technique and for its exposure, we will ask Mr. Woland!

Having uttered all this nonsense, Bengalsky clasped both hands, palm to palm, and waved in greeting through the cut in the curtain, causing him, making a quiet noise, to disperse to the sides.

The appearance of his long assistant, the cat, who entered the stage on his hind legs, was very popular with the audience.

“A chair,” Woland ordered quietly, and that same second, unknown how or where, a chair appeared on the stage, in which the magician sat down. “Tell me, dear Bassoon,” inquired Woland of the checkered player, who apparently had another name besides “Koroviev,” “what do you think, since the Moscow population has changed significantly?”

The magician looked at the silent audience, amazed by the appearance of the chair out of thin air.

“Exactly so, sir,” answered Fagot-Koroviev quietly.

You are right. The townspeople have changed a lot, outwardly, I say, like the city itself, however. There’s nothing to say about the costumes, but these... what’s their name... trams, cars appeared...

Buses,” Fagot suggested respectfully.

The public listened attentively to this conversation, believing that it was a prelude to magical tricks. The backstage was crowded with actors and stage workers, and between their faces one could see Rimsky’s tense, pale face.

The face of Bengalsky, who was nestled at the side of the stage, began to express bewilderment. He raised his eyebrows slightly, taking advantage of the pause, he spoke:

The foreign artist expresses his admiration for Moscow, which has grown technically, as well as for the Muscovites,” here Bengalsky smiled twice, first to the orchestra, and then to the gallery.

Woland, Fagot and the cat turned their heads towards the entertainer.

Did I express admiration? - the magician asked Fagot.

“No, sir, you didn’t express any admiration,” he answered.

So what is this man saying?

And he simply lied! - the checkered assistant said loudly throughout the theater and, turning to Bengalsky, added: - Congratulations, citizen, having lied!

There was a splash of laughter from the gallery, and Bengalsky shuddered and widened his eyes.

But, of course, I’m not so interested in buses, telephones, and so on...

Equipment! - suggested the checkered one.

“Exactly right, thank you,” the magician said slowly in a heavy bass voice, “how much more important is the question: have these townspeople changed internally?”

Yes, this is the most important question, sir.

In the wings they began to look at each other and shrug their shoulders, Bengalsky stood red, and Rimsky was pale. But then, as if guessing the anxiety that had begun, the magician said:

However, we started talking, dear Bassoon, and the audience is starting to get bored. Show me something simple first.

The audience moved with relief. Bassoon and the cat went in different directions along the ramp. Bassoon snapped his fingers and shouted recklessly:

Three four! - he caught a deck of cards from the air, shuffled it and threw it to the cat with a ribbon. They intercepted the ribbon and threw it back. The satin snake snorted, Bassoon opened his mouth like a chick, and swallowed it all, card after card.

After this, the cat bowed, shuffling his right hind paw, and caused incredible applause.

Cool, cool! - they shouted in admiration backstage.

And Fagot pointed his finger at the stalls and announced:

This tapericha deck, dear citizens, is in the seventh row of citizen Parchevsky, just between the three-ruble note and the summons to appear in court in the case of paying alimony to citizen Zelkova.

The parterre began to stir, began to get up, and, finally, some citizen, whose name was definitely Parchevsky, all crimson with amazement, took a deck from his wallet and began poking it in the air, not knowing what to do with it.

Let it remain as a souvenir for you!” Fagot shouted. - It’s not for nothing that you said yesterday at dinner that if it weren’t for poker, your life in Moscow would be completely unbearable.

“It’s an old thing,” one heard from the gallery, “this one in the stalls is from the same company.”

Do you think so? - Fagot shouted, squinting at the gallery, - in that case, you’re in the same gang with us, because it’s in your pocket!

There was movement in the gallery, and a joyful voice was heard:

Right! Him! Here, here... Stop! Yes, these are chervonets!

Those sitting in the stalls turned their heads. In the gallery, some confused citizen discovered in his pocket a bundle tied in a bank account and with the inscription on the cover: “One thousand rubles.”

The neighbors piled on him, and in amazement he picked at the cover with his fingernail, trying to find out whether these were real chervonets or some kind of magic ones.

By God, they are real! Chervontsi! - they shouted joyfully from the gallery.

“Play this deck with me,” someone asked cheerfully

fat man in the middle of the stalls.

Avekplesir! - responded Fagot, - but why with you alone? Everyone will warmly participate! - and commanded: - Please look up!... One! - a pistol appeared in his hand, he shouted: - Two! - The pistol jerked upward. He shouted: “Three!” - it flashed, thumped, and immediately from under the dome, diving between the trapezoids, white pieces of paper began to fall into the hall.

They spun, they were blown to the sides, driven into the gallery, thrown back into the orchestra and onto the stage. A few seconds later, the rain of money, growing thicker, reached the seats, and the audience began to catch pieces of paper.

Hundreds of hands rose, the audience looked through the pieces of paper at the illuminated stage and saw the most faithful and righteous watermarks. The smell also left no doubt: it was the incomparable smell of newly printed money. First, joy, and then amazement gripped the entire theater. The word “chervonetsy, chervonetsy” was heard everywhere, exclamations of “ah, ah!” and cheerful laughter. Some were already crawling in the aisle, groping under the chairs. Many stood on the seats, catching fidgety, capricious pieces of paper.

The faces of the police gradually began to express bewilderment, and the performers began to lean out of the wings without ceremony.

A voice was heard on the same floor: “What are you grabbing? It’s mine! It was flying to the room!” And another voice: “Don’t push me, I’ll push you like that!” And suddenly a splash was heard. Immediately a policeman’s helmet appeared on the mezzanine, and someone was led out of the mezzanine.

In general, the excitement grew, it is not known what would have happened if Fagot had not stopped the rain of money by suddenly blowing into the air.

The two young people, exchanging a significant, cheerful glance, rose from their seats and headed straight to the buffet. There was a buzz in the theater, all the spectators' eyes sparkled with excitement. Yes, yes, it is unknown how all this would have resulted if Bengalsky had not found the strength to move.

Trying to gain better control of himself, he, out of habit, rubbed his hands and in a voice of greatest sonority spoke like this:

Here, citizens, we have seen a case of so-called mass hypnosis. A purely scientific experiment, which proves in the best possible way that no miracles of magic exist. Let's ask maestro Woland to expose this experience to us. Now, citizens, you will see how these supposedly monetary pieces of paper will disappear as suddenly as they appeared.

Here he applauded, but in complete solitude, and at the same time he had a confident smile on his face, but in his eyes there was no such confidence at all, and rather a plea was expressed in them.

The public did not like Bengalsky's speech. There was complete silence, which was interrupted by a checkered bassoon.

This is again a case of so-called lies,” he announced in a loud goat tenor, “pieces of paper, citizens, real!”

Bravo! - the bass barked abruptly somewhere in the heights.

By the way, this one,” here Fagot pointed at Bengalsky, “I’m tired of.” He pokes his head around all the time where he is not asked, ruining the session with false remarks! What should we do with him?

Rip his head off! - someone said sternly in the gallery.

How do you say it? Asya? - Fagot immediately responded to this ugly proposal, - tear off your head? This is an idea! Hippopotamus!” he shouted to the cat, “do it!” Ein, bloom, drey!

And an unprecedented thing happened. The fur on the black cat stood on end, and he meowed in a tearing manner. Then he curled up like a panther, swung straight at Bengalsky’s chest, and from there jumped onto his head. Rumbling, with his plump paws, the cat grabbed the entertainer’s thin hair and, howling wildly, tore this head from his full neck in two turns.

Two and a half thousand people in the theater screamed like one. Blood flowed upward in fountains from the torn arteries on the neck and flooded both the shirtfront and tailcoat. The headless body somehow awkwardly raked its legs and sat down on the floor. The hysterical screams of women were heard in the hall. The cat handed the head to Fagot, picked it up by the hair and showed it to the audience, and this head desperately shouted to the whole theater:

The doctors!

Will you continue to spout all sorts of nonsense in the future? - Fagot asked menacingly to the crying head.

I won't do it again! - the head croaked.

For God’s sake, don’t torment him! - Suddenly, covering the commotion, a woman’s voice sounded from the box, and the magician turned his face towards this voice.

So, citizens, should we forgive him, or what?” asked Fagot, addressing the audience.

Forgive! Forgive! - At first, separate and predominantly female voices were heard, and then they merged into one chorus with male ones.

What do you order, sir? - Fagot asked the disguised man.

“Well,” he responded thoughtfully, “they are people like people.” They love money, but this has always been the case... Humanity loves money, no matter what the shadows are made of, whether leather, paper, bronze or gold. Well, frivolous...well, well...and sometimes mercy knocks in their hearts...ordinary people...in general, they resemble the old ones...the housing problem only spoiled them... - and loudly ordered: - Put on your head.

The cat, aiming more carefully, put his head on his neck, and she sat down exactly in her place, as if she had never left.

And most importantly, there wasn’t even a scar left on my neck. The cat fanned Bengalsky’s tailcoat and plastron with his paws, and the traces of blood disappeared from them. Fagot lifted the seated Bengalsky’s legs, put a wad of ducats in his tailcoat pocket and escorted him from the stage with the words:

Get out of here! It's more fun without you.

Looking around senselessly and staggering, the entertainer only made it to the fire station, and there things became worse for him. He cried out pitifully:

My head, my head!

Along with the others, Rimsky rushed towards him. The entertainer was crying, catching something in the air with his hands, muttering:

Give me my head! Give me your head! Take the apartment, take the paintings, just give me your head!

The courier ran to the doctor. They tried to put Bengalsky on the sofa in the restroom, but he began to fight back and became violent. I had to call a carriage. When the unfortunate entertainer was taken away, Rimsky ran back to the stage and saw that new miracles were happening on it. Yes, by the way, whether at this time or a little earlier, but only the magician, along with his faded chair, disappeared from the stage, and it must be said that the audience did not notice this at all, carried away by those extraordinary things , which were deployed on stage by Fagot.

And Fagot, having sent the injured entertainer away, announced to the public like this:

Tapericha, when we got tired of this, let's open a ladies' store!

And immediately half the stage was covered with Persian carpets, huge mirrors appeared, illuminated from the sides by greenish tubes, and between the mirrors were display cases, and in them the spectators, in a cheerful stupor, saw Parisian women's dresses of different colors and styles. These are the first display cases, and in others hundreds of hats appeared, both with and without feathers, and with buckles, and without them, and hundreds of shoes - black, white, yellow, leather, satin, suede, with straps, and with stones. Cases appeared between the shoes, and the shiny edges of the crystal bottles sparkled with light. Mountains of handbags made of antelope leather, suede, silk, and between them are whole piles of hammered gold oblong cases in which there is lipstick.

God knows where a red-haired girl in a black evening dress came from, a good girl to all, if her freakish scar on her neck hadn’t spoiled her, she smiled at the shop windows with a master’s smile.

Bassoon, smiling sweetly, announced that the company exchanges old ladies' dresses and shoes for Parisian models and Parisian shoes completely free of charge. He added the same regarding handbags, perfumes and other things.

The cat began to shuffle with his hind paw, his front paw, and at the same time making some gestures characteristic of doormen opening the door.

The girl, although hoarse, but sweetly sang, burbling, something incomprehensible, but, judging by the women’s faces in the stalls, very seductive:

Guerlain, Chanel number five, Mitsuko, Narcisse noir, evening dresses, cocktail dresses...

The bassoon wriggled, the cat bowed, the girl opened glass cases.

Ask! - Fagot yelled, - without any embarrassment or ceremony!

The audience was worried, but no one dared to go on stage yet. But finally some brunette came out of the tenth row of the stalls and, smiling in such a way that she said she absolutely didn’t care and didn’t care at all, walked up the side ladder and up to the stage.

Bravo! - Fagot cried, - I welcome the first visitor! Hippopotamus, chair! Let's start with the shoes, madam.

The brunette sat down in a chair, and Fagot immediately dumped a whole pile of shoes on the carpet in front of her.

The brunette took off her right slippers, tried on a lilac one, stomped on the carpet, and examined the heel.

And they won't reap? - she asked thoughtfully.

To this Fagot exclaimed offendedly:

What are you, what are you! - and the cat meowed out of resentment.

“I’ll take this pair, monsieur,” the brunette said with dignity, putting on the second shoe.

The brunette's old shoes were thrown out behind the curtain, and she herself followed there, accompanied by a red-haired girl and Fagot, who carried several fashionable dresses on his shoulders. He fussed, helped and, for added importance, hung a centimeter around his neck.

A minute later, a brunette came out from behind the curtain in a dress that sent a sigh through the entire orchestra. The brave woman, who had become surprisingly prettier, stopped at the mirror, moved her bare shoulders, touched the hair on the back of her head and bent over, trying to look behind her back.

“The company asks you to take this as a reminder,” said Fagot and handed the brunette an open case with a bottle.

“Mercy,” the brunette answered arrogantly and walked along the ladder to the stalls. While she was walking, the audience jumped up and touched the case.

And then there was a clear breakthrough, and women came onto the stage from all sides. In the general excited conversation, laughs and sighs, a man’s voice was heard: “I won’t let you!” and a woman’s: “Despot philistine, don’t break my hand!” The women disappeared behind the curtain, left their dresses there and came out in new ones. A whole row of ladies sat on stools with gilded legs, energetically stamping their newly-shod feet on the carpet. Bassoon knelt down, wielded a horny dresser, the cat, exhausted under piles of handbags and shoes, dragged himself

showcases to stools and back, the girl with a disfigured neck appeared and disappeared and reached the point where she began to rattle completely in French, and the surprising thing was that all the women understood her perfectly, even those who did not know a single French words.

General amazement was caused by a man who squeezed onto the stage. He announced that his wife had the flu and that he therefore asked him to convey something to her through him. To prove that he was really married, the citizen was ready to present his passport. The caring husband's statement was met with laughter, Fagot shouted that he believed as himself, without a passport, and handed the citizen two pairs of silk stockings, the cat added a case of lipstick on his own behalf.

Latecomers rushed onto the stage, happy women in ball gowns, pajamas with dragons, formal business suits, and hats pulled down over one eyebrow flowed from the stage.

Then Fagot announced that the store was closing until tomorrow evening in exactly one minute, and an incredible bustle arose on the stage. The women quickly, without any fitting, grabbed the shoes. One, like a storm, burst behind the curtain, threw off her suit there, took possession of the first thing that turned up - silk, in huge bouquets, a robe, and, in addition, managed to pick up two cases of perfume.

Exactly a minute later a pistol shot rang out, the mirrors disappeared, the display cases and bureaus fell through, the carpet melted in the air just like the curtain. The last thing to disappear was the tall mountain of old dresses and shoes, and the stage became again austere, empty and bare.

And here a new character intervened.

A pleasant, sonorous and very persistent baritone was heard from box No. 2:

- Still, it would be advisable, citizen artist, that you immediately expose to the audience the technique of your tricks, especially the trick with banknotes. It is also desirable for the entertainer to return to the stage. His fate worries the audience.

The baritone belonged to none other than tonight's guest of honor, Arkady Apollonovich Sempleyarov, chairman of the acoustic commission of Moscow theaters.

Arkady Apollonovich was seated in a box with two ladies: an elderly one, expensively and fashionably dressed, and the other, young and pretty, dressed more simply. The first of them, as it soon became clear when drawing up the protocol, was the wife of Arkady Apollonovich, the author, a distant relative of him, an aspiring and promising actress who came from Saratov and lived in the apartment of Arkady Apollonovich and his wife.

“Sorry!” responded Fagot, “I’m sorry, there’s nothing to expose here, everything is clear.”

- No, it's my fault! Exposure is absolutely necessary. Without this, your brilliant numbers will leave a painful impression. The audience demands an explanation.

“The masses of spectators,” the impudent gayer interrupted Sempleyarov, “as if they didn’t say anything?” But, taking into account your respected desire, Arkady Apollonovich, I will, so be it, make an expose. But for this, will you allow me one more tiny number?

“Why not,” Arkady Apollonovich answered patronizingly, “but certainly with exposure!”

- I obey, I obey. So, let me ask you, where did you go last night, Arkady Apollonovich?

At this inappropriate and perhaps even boorish question, Arkady Apollonovich’s face changed, and changed quite a lot.

“Arkady Apollonovich was at a meeting of the acoustic commission last night,” Arkady Apollonovich’s wife said very arrogantly, “but I don’t understand what this has to do with magic.”

“Oh, madam!” confirmed Fagot, “naturally, you don’t understand.” You are completely mistaken about the meeting. Having left for the mentioned meeting, which, by the way, was not scheduled yesterday, Arkady Apollonovich released his driver at the building of the acoustic commission on Chistye Prudy (the entire theater was quiet), and he took the bus to Yelokhovskaya Street to visit the artist of the traveling regional theater Militsa Andreevna Pokobatko and spent time with her guests for about four hours.

- Oh! - someone exclaimed painfully in complete silence.

A young relative of Arkady Apollonovich suddenly burst out laughing with a low and terrible laugh.

- All clear! - she exclaimed, - and I have long suspected this. Now it’s clear to me why this mediocrity got the role of Louise!

And, suddenly swinging her short and thick purple umbrella, she hit Arkady Apollonovich on the head.

The vile Fagot, who is also Koroviev, shouted:

- Here, respectable citizens, is one of the cases of exposure that Arkady Apollonovich so persistently sought!

- How dare you, scoundrel, touch Arkady Apollonovich? - Arkady Apollonovich’s wife asked menacingly, rising to the couch to her gigantic height.

A second short burst of satanic laughter took possession of the young relative.

“Who knows,” she answered, laughing, “but I dare to touch you!” - and the second dry crack of an umbrella was heard, bouncing off Arkady Apollonovich’s head.

-Police! Take it! - Sempleyarov’s wife shouted in such a terrible voice that many people’s hearts turned cold.

Then the mother-in-law jumped out and suddenly barked at the theater in a human voice:

- The session is over! Maestro! Shorten the march!!

The maddened conductor, not realizing what he was doing, waved his baton, and the orchestra did not play, and did not even strike, and did not even strike, but, in the disgusting expression of the cat, cut short some incredible march, unlike anything else in its swagger.

For a moment it seemed as if some obscure but daring words of this march had once been heard, by the stars in the south, in a café-chantant:

His Excellency

Loved poultry

And took under his protection

Pretty girls!!!

Or maybe there weren’t any of these words, but there were others based on the same music, some extremely indecent ones. What is important is not this, but what is important is that after all this, in the Variety, something like a table of Babylonian devastation began. The police ran to the Sempleyar box, curious people climbed onto the barrier, hellish explosions of laughter and frenzied screams were heard, muffled by the golden ringing of cymbals from the orchestra.

And it was clear that the stage was suddenly empty and that the fool Fagot, as well as the insolent cat Behemoth, melted into the air and disappeared, just as the magician had previously disappeared in a chair with faded upholstery.

[ M.A. Bulgakov]|[ Master and Margarita - Table of contents ]|[ Library « Milestones» ]

© 2001, Library« Milestones»

M. A. Bulgakov’s novel “The Master and Margarita” is multifaceted
A work in which three main
Storylines: the story of Christ, which is also
The Master's novel; relationship between the Master and Margarita; events,
Related to the presence of the devil in Bulgakov’s contemporary Moscow.
The last storyline is satirical: the writer
Uses evil spirits as a kind of spotlight, mercilessly
Highlighting the social and human shortcomings of Moscow
And Muscovites. The satirical review occupies the bulk of the first
Parts and culminates in the chapter “Black Magic and Its
Exposure.”
Woland has not yet been directly called Satan (the Master will do this in the next
Chapter), but the reader, of course, already guesses that with the “professor
“Woland is doing something dirty. Hardly an artist-magician, let him
Even the highest class could predict with such accuracy
The death of Berlioz, “throwing out” Styopa Likhodeev to Yalta, bringing him together
Crazy Homeless, take the “bad apartment” No. 50. K

Same thing
Woland talks about his stay in the palace of Pontius Pilate,
Getting to know Kant - his power is not limited to Moscow
“tricks.” At the beginning of the chapter, the reader still does not know why
Woland needed a performance at the Variety Theater, but he suspects
Some kind of trick.
The magician arriving at the theater is met by financial director Rimsky. Rest
Administration representatives mysteriously disappeared: director
Likhodeev sends some fantastic telegrams to the theater about
That he was allegedly abandoned by “hypnosis” to Yalta, administrator Varenukha
I sent these telegrams to the “relevant authorities”
And he also disappeared. “But for what?!” - Rimsky is perplexed, afraid to call
To that formidable institution where Varenukha went. Bulgakov fearlessly
The novel touches on the extremely dangerous topic of repression of the 30s.
Innocent people were arrested, they disappeared, as if “their damn
He dragged me away,” and the rest continued to live in obedience and fear. Bulgakov
He finds the strength to ridicule this slavish obedience. So,
For example, Varenukha was “lucky”: he was only kidnapped by demons and
Turned into a vampire for a while.
The appearance of the magician makes a strong impression on the workers
Theatre, his retinue is especially striking. Woland in a black half mask
Restrained and silent, but his companions begin the performance already
Behind the scenes. “Long checkered one in a cracked pince-nez” continuously
He talks some nonsense and immediately demonstrates “magic equipment”
“, pulling out Rimsky’s gold watch. Huge black
The cat doesn't talk yet, but he's already walking around on his hind legs and drinking.
Water from a glass, like a person.
The magician's performance begins rather strangely. Instead of,
To entertain the public, he sits down in something that came from nowhere.
There is a chair on the stage and begins to discuss with the “checkered” Bassoon
Moscow and Muscovites. Woland notes that the city and its inhabitants
They have changed a lot in appearance, but he is interested in “much more important
The question is: have these townspeople changed internally?” Now it becomes
It is clear why Woland needed this performance. For a long time
The devil, who has never been to Moscow, wants to know what its current situation is like.
Residents. The real performance will be given by the audience, and the viewer
There will be only one - Woland.
Next begins the testing of Muscovites with various diabolical
Temptations. However, there is nothing supernatural in these temptations
No - Woland only forces the audience to open up internally.
Bassoon makes it rain money and the audience eagerly rushes in
Catch “naughty pieces of paper” from places. To the mediocre entertainer Bengalsky,
Boring everyone with vulgar remarks, the cat Behemoth,
At the request of the audience, he tears off his head. And the head continues
Live and even beg for forgiveness. The audience stands up for the poor guy
The entertainer, and Hippopotamus “pushes” his head back into place.
Woland has enough observations to conclude: “. People
Like people. They love money. Well, frivolous ones. Well then. and mercy
Sometimes it knocks on their hearts. ordinary people. apartment
The question only spoiled them.” Having made sure that human
Nature does not change, the devil disappears. But his companions
They continue to expose the public's shortcomings.
A “ladies’ store” appears on the scene, in which citizens
They can purchase foreign goods that are inaccessible to Soviet people for free.
Outfits, cosmetics, handbags. Naturally, after
After a moment of confusion, the audience flocks onto the stage,
A monstrous rush, even one man breaks into the store
For a gift for a sick wife.
The chapter ends with an exposure, but not of “black magic”,
And the authorities present in the hall. When is culturally important?
The world's face, Comrade Sempleyarov, asks to produce ideologically
The necessary exposure of all miracles, Fagot publicly exposes
Chief. It turns out that Sempleyarov “takes under the protection
Pretty girls”, seducing them with the promise of a leading role
In the theatre. An unprecedented scandal occurs, the public laughs, and in this
Bassoon and Hippopotamus are melting into confusion in the air.
So, the “black magic” session is the culmination of the first part
Romana. Having gathered a full house at the Variety Show, Woland holds a peculiar
“sociological research”, forcing Muscovites to bare
Mental shortcomings. Of course, not all townspeople are like this, among them there are
The Master and Margarita, capable of true creativity and love,
A homeless man experiencing an internal upheaval, but in Variety
The inhabitants, subject to ordinary human passions, gather.
They are greedy for money and clothes, frivolous and deceitful - in a word,
“people are like people.” Bulgakov could not correct human nature
And the social vices of his time, but he opposed them
A powerful weapon is merciless laughter. Therefore time has no power
Over his amazing novel.

1. M. Bulgakov's novel The Master and Margarita is very complex in compositional terms. In its plot, two worlds exist in parallel: the world in which Pontius Pilate and Yeshua Ha-Nozri lived, and the contemporary Bulgakov...
2. (based on the novel “The Master and Margarita” by M. Bulgakov) What do we remember when we hear the name “Mikhail Bulgakov”? Of course, “The Master and Margarita”. Why? The answer is simple: the question of eternal values ​​is raised here -...
3. According to Bulgakov's concept of personality, the category of talent includes a moral aspect. An artist cannot isolate himself, his creative gift obliges him to give himself, his calling is to promote...
4. E. Mustangova: “At the center of Bulgakov’s work is the novel “The White Guard.” Only in this novel does the usually mocking and sarcastic Bulgakov turn into a soft lyricist. All chapters and places related to the Turbins...
5. 1891, May 15 In Kyiv, Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov was born into the family of a professor at the Kyiv Theological Academy. 1900-1909 Years of study at the gymnasium. 1909 Admission to the Faculty of Medicine at Kyiv University. 1916 Graduation from university...
6. The civil war began on October 25, 1917, when Russia split into two camps: “white” and “red.” The bloody tragedy changed people's ideas about morality, honor, dignity, and justice. Each of the warring parties...
7. The episode “Interrogation in the Palace of Herod the Great” is the core of the second chapter of M. A. Bulgakov’s novel “The Master and Margarita” “Pontius Pilate”. This chapter logically breaks down the first and third - modern chapters, in...
8. A subtle psychologist - Bulgakov, intertwining the realistic and the fantastic in his work “The Master and Margarita”, achieved the opportunity to satirically depict Moscow in the 30s. All events of the novel develop in three time plans: the present...
9. Ivan Nikolaevich Ponyrev is a poet who writes under the pseudonym Bezdomny. Ivan is the ideological successor and spiritual heir of the Master. After meeting Woland at the Patriarch's Ponds and the tragic death of Berlioz, he ends up...
10. There are many works in literature in which the real and fantastic worlds “coexist”. These are Homer’s “Iliad”, Dante’s “Divine Comedy”, and Zhukovsky’s romantic ballads. The emergence of realism (twenties of the 19th century) was almost...
11. M. A. Bulgakov is the son of a professor at the Kyiv Theological Academy. His family was thoroughly intelligent and pious. Mikhail's parents lived on the descent to Podol opposite St. Andrew's Church. Almost every Sunday and...
12. The place where a person was born is the most dear to him. Whether it is a city, a village or a village, it will forever remain in a person’s heart. After all, this is a small homeland where the happiest...
13. 1. The novel by M. A. Bulgakov is a unique work of Russian realism. 2. The combination of reality and fantasy in the novel. 3. The moral and philosophical meaning of the novel. M. A. Bulgakov worked on the novel “The Master and Margarita”...
14. The hero of the story “Heart of a Dog” is professor of medicine Philip Filippovich Preobrazhensky. He deals with the then fashionable problem of human rejuvenation. We must pay tribute to the scientist's talent. He is known for his works and...
15. Bulgakov's creative path is full of drama. He entered literature with rich life experience. After university, where he graduated in medicine, Bulgakov worked as a zemstvo doctor at the Nikolskaya hospital in Sychevsky district....
16. Bulgakov mastered the craft of a playwright in the ancient art of “cutting and sewing.” In the biography of Moliere, summing up preliminary results of his observations in this area, the author of “Days of the Turbins” agrees with the author of “Tartuffe”, who “thoroughly...
17. The action of the novel takes place in the winter of 1918/19 in a certain City, in which Kyiv is clearly visible. The city is occupied by German occupation forces, and the hetman of “all Ukraine” is in power. However, from day to day...
18. So, for example, the composition of the love of the Master and Margarita is not so much unusual in its essence as in its very design. It is this design that gives the very mysterious character that Bulgakov conveyed to his...
19. The master writes a novel, Margarita is the master’s only support, she supports him in his creative work, inspires him. But they were able to finally unite only in the other world, in the last refuge. The Master's novel...
20. M. A. Bulgakov's novel The Master and Margarita is to some extent autobiographical, since the Master is Bulgakov's double. No, this is not the shadow of the author, not his copy, this is a living person. He looks like...

One of the brightest writers of the 20th century. The wonderful fantasy and satire of the novel “The Master and Margarita” made the work one of the most read in Soviet times, when the government wanted to hide the shortcomings of the social system and the vices of society by any means. That is why the work, full of bold ideas and revelations, was not published for a long time. This novel is very complex and unusual, and therefore is interesting not only to people who lived in Soviet times, but also to modern youth.

One of the main themes of the novel - the theme of good and evil - sounds in every line of the work, both in Yershalaim and Moscow chapters. And oddly enough, punishment in the name of the triumph of good is carried out by the forces of evil (the epigraph of the work is not accidental: I am part of that force that always wants evil and does good).

Woland exposes the worst side of human nature, exposes human vices and punishes a person for his misdeeds. The most striking scene of the “good” deeds of an evil force is the chapter “Black Magic and Its Exposure.” The power of revelation reaches its apogee in this chapter. Woland and his retinue seduce the audience, thereby revealing the deepest vices of modern people, and immediately show the most vicious ones. Woland orders the head of the annoying Bengalsky, who lied too much, to be torn off (“butting around all the time where he is not asked, ruining the session with false remarks!”). Immediately the reader notices the cruelty of the audience towards the guilty entertainer, then their faint-heartedness and pity for the unfortunate man with his head torn off. The forces of evil expose such vices as distrust of everything and suspicion, brought up by the costs of the system, greed, arrogance, self-interest and rudeness. Woland punishes the guilty, thereby directing them to the righteous path. Of course, the exposure of the vices of society occurs throughout the entire novel, but it is more clearly expressed and emphasized in the chapter under consideration.

This chapter also asks one of the most important philosophical questions of the entire novel: “Have these townspeople changed internally?” And, having slightly traced the reaction of the audience to the tricks of black magic, Woland concludes: “In general, they resemble the previous ones... the housing problem only spoiled them...” That is, comparing people who lived thousands of years ago and modern ones, we can say that time nothing has changed: people love money just as much, and “charity sometimes knocks on their hearts.”

The possibilities of evil are limited. Woland gains full power only where honor, faith, and true culture are consistently destroyed. People themselves open their minds and souls to him. And how gullible and vicious the people who came to the variety theater turned out to be. Although the posters said: “Sessions of black magic with its complete exposure,” the audience still believed in the existence of magic and in all of Woland’s tricks. The greater their disappointment was that after the performance, all the things donated by the professor evaporated, and the money turned into simple pieces of paper.

The twelfth chapter is a chapter that contains all the vices of modern society and people in general.

The scene in question occupies a special place in the artistic structure. The Moscow line and the line of the dark world merge together, intertwining and complementing each other. That is, the dark forces show all their power through the depravity of Moscow citizens, and the cultural side of Moscow life is revealed to the reader.

In conclusion, we can say that the chapter about the black magic session is very important in the ideological and artistic structure of the novel: it is one of the most important in the author’s disclosure of the theme of good and evil, in it the most important artistic lines of the novel are closely intertwined.

The novel “The Master and Margarita,” unfinished in 1940, is one of the most profound works of Russian literature. For the most complete expression of his ideas, Bulgakov builds his composition as a combination of the real, the fantastic and the eternal. This structure makes it possible to best show the changes that have occurred over two millennia in the souls of people, and ultimately answer the main questions of the work about good and evil, creativity and the meaning of life.

If we consider the composition of the “Moscow” chapters of the novel (i.e., its “real” part), it becomes obvious that the scene of the black magic session is the climax. The reasons for the appearance of this episode are also clear - to conduct a kind of test of people, to trace the evolution of their souls.

Variety show visitors encounter an otherworldly force, but never realize it. On the one hand, the motive of recognition appears here. In Bulgakov, only “favorite” heroes, heroes with a soul are able to understand that Satan is in front of them. The variety show audience, on the contrary, is soulless, dead, and only occasionally “mercy... knocks on their hearts.” On the other hand, the author uses the technique of everyday life of the fantastic, that is, characters who arrive from the world of eternity, in reality acquire specific earthly features. The most characteristic detail is the faded magician's chair.

And it is Woland who, at the beginning of the episode, poses the main question: “Have these townspeople changed internally?” The conversation that follows about Muscovites, together with the latter’s reaction to black magic, constitutes the ideological content of the scene.

The first test to which the unfortunate spectators were subjected was the "money shower" - a test of money that ended with the compere's head being torn off. It is important that the proposal came from the public. This indicates that the craving for “money notes” among city residents is inherent at the level of instinct. When the Bengali personification of intelligence becomes an obstacle to wealth, they strive to remove it. But in essence, the entertainer is the same money-grubber, which is confirmed by the remark: “Take the apartment, take the paintings, just give me your head!” It seems that the “housing problem” (according to the magician, the main reason for the depravity of Muscovites) is the motive of the scene. Its main meaning is to prove that people have not lost their greed.

The next test to which the public is subjected is a ladies' store. It is interesting to trace the change in adverbs characterizing the state of the first visitor: from “decisively all the same” and “thoughtfully” to “with dignity” and “arrogantly.” The brunette has no name, it is a collective image, using the example of which Bulgakov shows how greed takes possession of a person’s soul.

What motivates these people? Judging by the reaction of the audience to the appearance of a transformed woman - envy, that very “feeling of a crappy category”, which, together with the thirst for profit and careerism, can push a person to do anything. This illustrates the “exposure” of Arkady Apollonovich, another “mouthpiece of reason.” Sempleyarov is accused of “providing protection” to young actresses. Honor is sacrificed for a career, and a high position gives the right to dishonor others.

In light of all this, the meaning of the title of the chapter becomes clear - “Black magic and its exposure.” It is not magic that is debunked in front of people, but, on the contrary, human vices are revealed with the help of witchcraft. This technique is used in other places in the novel (for example, the self-writing suit).

If we talk about the artistic originality of the episode, then it is necessary to note the features of the carnival scene in the session. A classic example is the scene of Katerina Ivanovna’s madness in Crime and Punishment. Even the noises in this episode are similar to Bulgakov’s: laughter and clinking of plates in “The Master and Margarita” and laughter, the thunder of the basin and singing in Dostoevsky.

The speech design of the scene is typical for the “Moscow” chapters. The episode is written in a dynamic language, “cinema style” - one event follows another with virtually no author’s commentary. It is also necessary to note the classical techniques: hyperbole, grotesque.

So, the scene of a black magic session occupies an important place in the ideological and artistic structure of the novel. From the point of view of composition, it is the culmination of the development of action in the “Moscow” chapters. All the main vices of modern man (who has not changed) are considered, except, perhaps, the most important one - cowardice. It was because of her that the master was deprived of light, and she also took away death from the cruel fifth procurator of Judea, the horseman Pilate of Pontus.

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Woland, who suddenly appeared in Moscow, and his retinue managed to do a lot of things that shocked the imagination of the average person in four days, but the most incredible and scandalous incident was the incident at the Variety Theater.

This episode is skillfully woven into a special satirical and everyday layer of the novel, associated with the storyline of Woland, who appears wherever moral and ethical principles are violated. The whole atmosphere of the stage in the Variety Show is both real and phantasmagoric. Under bursts of laughter, hooting and applause from joyfully excited spectators, horrific things happen, a number of monstrous experiments are carried out, tests of humanity and heartlessness, greed, honesty, decency, meanness, deceit, mercy...

By confronting the audience of the Variety Theater (where, according to entertainer Bengalsky, half of Moscow had gathered) with evil spirits, the writer seems to be exploring whether they have moral support, whether they are able to resist temptation, the temptation to sin, whether they can rise above the gray everyday life, take your mind off gossip, apartment squabbles, intrigue, self-interest.

Careful reading of this chapter helps the reader to uncover the secret of Woland’s visit to Moscow in the 30s and to guess the purpose of his visit. Appearing on the stage of the Variety Theater as a “famous foreign artist”, “magician and sorcerer”, “Monsieur” Woland does not entertain the audience, but, on the contrary, he gazes intently at it. (“I’ll tell you a secret... I’m not an artist at all, but I just wanted to see Muscovites en masse, and the most convenient way to do this was in the theater... I just sat and looked at the Muscovites.”) He is primarily concerned with the question , has the “Moscow population” changed? At first glance, yes: “...The townspeople have changed a lot... outwardly... like the city itself, by the way.” However, Woland is interested in “a much more important question: have these people changed internally? »

And so a session of black magic unfolds, masterfully performed by Koroviev-Fagot and the cat Behemoth. After a trick with cards, “some confused citizen discovered in his pocket a pack tied in a bank account and with the inscription on the cover: “One thousand rubles.” The astonished public was not excited by the miracle of the appearance of money, but only by one thing - whether they were real chervonets or fake. When the “money rain” began to fall, “... merriment, and then amazement, gripped the entire theater. Everywhere the word “chervonetsy, chervonetsy” was buzzing, screams were heard... Some were already crawling in the aisle, groping under the chairs. Many stood on the seats, catching fidgety, capricious pieces of paper.” Tension grows in the hall, a scandal brews, and a fight breaks out. With subtle irony, Bulgakov depicts how Soviet citizens selflessly and tenderly “love money”: “Hundreds of hands rose, spectators looked through pieces of paper at the illuminated stage and saw the most faithful and correct watermarks. The smell also left no doubt: it was the incomparable smell of freshly printed money.” The epithets “the most faithful and correct”, “incomparable to anything in charm” attract attention - this is how they speak about something very dear and cherished. And the reaction to the “revelations” of Georges of Bengal, who demanded the disappearance of these “allegedly monetary pieces of paper,” seems natural. The public suggested tearing off his head, which was done with lightning speed. The deliberately naturalistic scene of the head being torn off shocks the audience. People, amazed by their own herd cruelty, came to their senses: “For God’s sake, don’t torture him! - suddenly, covering the din, a woman’s voice sounded from the box...” A chorus of female and male voices joined him: “Forgive, forgive!..” And here Woland intervenes for the first time: “Well... they are people like people . They love money, but this has always been the case... Humanity loves money, no matter what it is made of, whether leather, paper, bronze or gold. Well, they are frivolous... well, well, and mercy sometimes knocks on their hearts... ordinary people... In general, they resemble the old ones... the housing problem only spoiled them... - And he loudly ordered: “Put on your head " These words of the prince of darkness, which have already become textbook, carry both contemporary political overtones to Bulgakov and deep philosophical meaning. Yes, over the past almost two thousand years, people have “changed little internally.” How similar the crowd in ancient Yershalaim during the announcement of the verdict is to those who thirst for “bread and circuses” in the Variety Show: “Then it seemed to Pontius Pilate that the sun, ringing, burst above him and filled his ears with fire. Roars, squeals, groans, laughter, and whistles raged in this fire.”

But the slightest manifestation of humanity in a person - mercy - reconciles the author (and, oddly enough, Woland) with people, makes him believe in the moral nature of man. The theme of goodness and mercy, running through the entire novel, is very clearly indicated in this chapter.

The episode at the Variety Theater also has another “... very relevant and also philosophical meaning”: “socialist theorists believed that the establishment of socialist relations would lead to fundamental changes in the moral as well as mental nature of man... The experiment failed...” (G. Lesskis).

Life is open to Bulgakov’s all-seeing Woland without blush and makeup. Woland's piercing ironic view is close to the author, who views the individual and all of humanity from a certain distance - cultural, temporal - trying to reveal the moral essence of people. With the help of mysticism and fantasy, Bulgakov ridicules everything that has turned away from goodness, has been lied to, corrupted, morally emasculated, and has lost the eternal truths.

Thus, the twelfth chapter, being the culmination of the “Woland - Muscovites” storyline, plays a very important role in revealing the philosophical and political subtext of the novel, reflecting its stylistic richness and originality.