(340 words) In the speech of many literary critics the word “chronotope” appears, which means the relationship of spatio-temporal coordinates. Indeed, it’s easy to determine from the lines of almost all works where the novel takes place and at what time: the details, the description of life and nature, and the thoughts of the heroes help in this. However, in the classics of Russian literature there is a work where it is difficult to immediately designate time and space. Mikhail Bulgakov presents to the readers “Masters and Margarita”, the plot of which is not so clear.
Turning to the plot of a mystical novel, you will not so quickly figure out which particular branch we are talking about. The fact is that the work includes not one, but three whole worlds. At first, this can be confusing, because you just read about the city dwellers, how the next chapter takes you to Pontius Pilate, but gradually you stop wondering even at the next lines about the ball of Satan. So, we will understand the time and space of the work. The chapters simultaneously cover modern Bulgakov Moscow, Ancient Yershalaim and the eternal other world. Therefore, a person who does not know anything in advance, picking up a book, can assume that he expects an exclusively romantic story of the Master and Margarita. However, love is far from the only storyline. The author places the ideological core of the novel in a philosophical and biblical branch, where we will meet the wandering philosopher Yeshua Ga-Nozri and the procurator of Judea Pontius Pilate. Bulgakov generously gives the authorship of the chapters he wrote to his character - the Master, who actively mentions these heroes in his own manuscript. Reading about literary Moscow, the MASSOLIT writers' association and cultural workers, we are imbued with a satirical plot, perhaps even recognizing the modern capital. But if in the previous two worlds time and space are more or less clear, then what about the beloved for many lines of the work - fantastic? The stay in Moscow of Woland and the adventures of his retinue - Azazello, Koroviev, Hippopotamus and Gela, undoubtedly cause great motivation to turn pages with interest. Unclean force sends Stepa Likhodeev to Yalta and settles in his usual, modern apartment at that time. But after contacting the Woland retinue, Margarita becomes the mistress of the ball for the dead sinners, where the concepts of time and space are practically erased.
Thus, the novel covers the ancient and modern worlds, including at the same time the eternally existing otherworldly reality. A retinue of Voland Bulgakov only confirms the possibility of their visit at any time, anywhere.
Delivering happiness
Agathon
