Author describes the “explosion” of “Master and Margarita” 07:29

We should not associate the lead role of Bulgakov’s novel “The Master and Margarita” with its film adaptation: before the release of Lokshin’s film there were suspicions that “The Master and Margarita” was inferior, for example, to “The Idiot” in terms of sales. ” Writer Konstantin Obraztsov told socialbites.ca about this.

“From the moment this book was first published in a Moscow magazine in 1967, it was extremely popular, especially among the Soviet creative intelligentsia, whose passion for Bulgakov’s “sunset romance” made “The Master and Margarita” popular and even fashionable in other reading circles, and the censorship deletions of the author’s text, limited editions and the book’s scarcity only increased its popularity,” he explained.

The first reason why “The Master and Margarita” became a cult book of the Soviet intelligentsia was the presence of half-tones, the lack of a clear boundary between good and evil, and moral rigidity. Creative search does not tolerate limitations; it is always located in a sphere close to understanding the contradiction between good and evil. In the conditions of the stifling certainty and moralistic labels of Soviet society, “The Master and Margarita” was perceived as a breath of freedom.

The second reason is the affirmation of the artist’s right to live outside the moral rules of society. As a truly romantic artist, the Master lives in a system of completely different moral coordinates, justified by his talent.

“In Bulgakov, a self-proclaimed talent can do anything: forget the name of a woman with whom he lived for several years, have an affair with someone else’s wife – and this will be forgiven, because their love is above the vulgar moral principles, just as the Master is above the narrow-minded society that surrounds him. And the lover will be forgiven for cheating on her husband – and if there is a Master and talent, he will not cheat at all! – and the fact that she became a witch in order to avenge him and save him. Just as they do not need narrow-minded puddles full of money, Moscow apartments, greed, denunciations; they go where there is creativity by candlelight, where there are walks along the night streets under the full moon, where there is the joy of creation and love, and where no one will interfere with being together,” the writer noted.

Obraztsov summed up that it would be difficult to find in Russian literature a more striking manifesto of the artist’s independence from the laws of society, and that it could not help but resonate with those who, deep down in their souls, saw themselves as Masters and Margaritas.

To parents earlier was given Tips on how to instill a love of reading in your child.