Event Title
Bulgakov's Two Devils
Presentation Type
Oral and/or Visual Presentation
Presenter Major(s)
Russian Studies
Mentor Information
Christine Rydel, rydelc@gvsu.edu
Department
Modern Languages and Literatures
Location
Kirkhof Center 2216
Start Date
13-4-2011 12:30 PM
End Date
13-4-2011 1:00 PM
Keywords
Philosophy/ Literature, World Perspective
Abstract
The devil is a prominent figure in two of Mikhail Bulgakov's works, the well-known novel The Master and Margarita and the earlier and lesser-known Diaboliad. Although in each the devil visits Soviet-era Moscow and interacts with a number of Muscovites, despite similarities in motif and theme, The Master and Margarita and its devil do not simply reexamine the ideas found in the earlier work. The two devils portray two uniquely different manifestations of the devil. Woland, the refined and relatively intellectual devil of The Master and Margarita, often serves as a benefactor to Margarita, while the devil of Diaboliad, a harsher and more chaotic figure, torments the clerk Korotkov and eventually drives the man to suicide.
Bulgakov's Two Devils
Kirkhof Center 2216
The devil is a prominent figure in two of Mikhail Bulgakov's works, the well-known novel The Master and Margarita and the earlier and lesser-known Diaboliad. Although in each the devil visits Soviet-era Moscow and interacts with a number of Muscovites, despite similarities in motif and theme, The Master and Margarita and its devil do not simply reexamine the ideas found in the earlier work. The two devils portray two uniquely different manifestations of the devil. Woland, the refined and relatively intellectual devil of The Master and Margarita, often serves as a benefactor to Margarita, while the devil of Diaboliad, a harsher and more chaotic figure, torments the clerk Korotkov and eventually drives the man to suicide.