No One Believes in Magic Anymore: Irony, Communism, and the Reality of the Supernatural

Woland, one of the major characters in Mikhail Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita, is introduced within the first few pages of the novel as man who was later described multiple ways, but the narrator notes that, “all of the reports were worthless” (5). The most important thing about Woland, the narrator states, is that he is a foreigner (6). This is an irony that is continued throughout the narrative; he is actually a foreigner nowhere because he is Satan.

Woland’s purpose in the narrative functions primarily in one of three episodes that take place in the novel: The Moscow episode. The irony of Woland’s character is that he is the devil, he is supernatural, he exists in the reality of the narrative, yet at the beginning of the novel, no one believes he exists. This irony is drawn throughout the Muscovite episode. Bulgakov uses this irony to comment on the harm the oppressive communist regime of Josef Stalin brought on the Russian people.

The title of the first chapter, “Never Talk to Strangers” is an ironic twist on the consequences of Berlioz and Bezdomny’s conversation with Woland. The title refers not only to those consequences but also to the restrictions placed on the Russian people with regards to speaking to foreigners for fear of spies. This fear is especially apparent in the first chapter as Berlioz and Bezdomny mentally try to guess where Woland is from. Their conversation with Woland sets the events of the novel in motion when they tell him, “We don’t believe in God” (7). They go on to tell Woland that their country “made a conscious decision long ago not to believe the fairy tales about God” (7). These facts about Communist Russia become very important throughout the Muscovite episode particularly with nearly every character involved in the episode, including the narrator, continually repeats clichés regarding the devil such as “The devil knows what’s going on [. . .] the devil knew how [. . .] the devil knows what [. . .] the devil only knows” and so on (87, 90, 97, 105). The irony of these phrases is that devil, Woland, really does know what is happening in each instance, making the statements no longer clichés but ironic statements of fact.

The irony is continued in many specific scenes; the most important is the chapter titled “Black Magic and Its Exposé.” Woland decides to demonstrate his power to the people of Moscow. He secures a slot at the theater managed in part by Stepan Styopa Likhodeyev. When Woland appears in Stepan’s apartment and isn’t recognized, Woland asks him, “What? You’ve forgotten my name too?” referring to the atheism of the entire country (65). On the night of the performance, the master of ceremonies introduces Woland thus:

I would like to present the famous foreign artiste, Monsieur Woland, in a performance of black magic! Of course, you and I know [. . .] that there is no such thing in the world as black magic, and it is nothing other than a superstition and that Maestro Woland is simply a master of conjuring technique, a fact which will become obvious in the most interesting part of his performance, that is, when he reveals the secrets behind his technical skill. (100)

Again, the atheism of the nation is presented and in an overtly, almost unnecessarily obvious way. The emcee comes across as attempting to stifle any belief in magic that Woland’s tricks might bring about. Of course, the tricks are real.

Woland begins the show, first by appearing in a chair out of thin air followed by a question he poses to his assistant: “Tell me, dear Fagot [. . .] have the Muscovites changed, in your opinion, in any significant way? (101). At first, he answers his own question by discussing modern inventions which were not present during his last visit to Moscow. The audience is completely silent, still stunned by Woland’s miraculous appearance. After a brief interruption, courtesy of the emcee, Woland writes off the exterior changes saying he is “not so much interested” in those things and states that “A much more important question is: have the Muscovites changed on inside” (101)? This is one of the central questions of Bulgakov’s text itself and the rest of the chapter makes a clear statement about the condition of the Muscovites during his lifetime and while under Stalinist rule.

Bulgakov’s answer would most likely be, “No, they haven’t changed. They only pretend to have.” The reality, as Woland demonstrates, is that while the Muscovites pretend to be large supporters of communism and its ideals, especially the condemnation of capitalist materialism, they are subject to the temptations of materialism like anyone else. Woland punishes the Muscovites for this. Fagot makes money fall from the sky creating chaos among the audience as they rush to grab the money shouting at each other, “That’s mine! It was coming toward me! [. . .] Don’t push me or I’ll push you back” (103)! The emcee assures the citizens that there is an explanation for the money, and ironically, the true explanation is that Fagot literally made money appear out of nowhere. Fagot then orders Behemoth, the giant black cat, to tear off the emcee’s head, which prompts the audience to cry out for the head to be returned, still believing that what they are seeing is not real. Woland begins a meditative speech, directed at Fagot, prompted by the audience’s pleas: “They are people like anywhere. They love money, but that has always been true... People love money, no matter what it is made of, leather, paper, bronze, or gold. And they are thoughtless... but, then again, sometimes mercy enters their hearts... they are ordinary people” (104). This is a blatant statement about the Muscovites under Stalinist rule: They only pretend to have changed on the inside. Deep down, what is truly human about them hasn’t changed, so to pretend as though it has is ridiculous.

Woland makes the Muscovites look truly ridiculous when he invites the women in the audience to receive new clothes in exchange for their old. Shortly after the incident with the emcee, Woland quietly disappears with his armchair and allows Fagot and Behemoth to finish the show. A store appears on stage, again out of nowhere, and the women in the audience, after seeing the success of one woman and her new shoes, rush the stage in a frenzy, completely ignoring the very tenants that are supposed to make communism superior to capitalism. Even after this, the audience still does not believe what they witnessed to be reality, and a man demands an exposé. Fagot reveals that the man is having an affair, sending the audience once again into complete chaos. Fagot and Behemoth disappear just as Woland had, and the show is over. As soon as it ends, all the new clothes disappear, leaving many women in their underwear, running around in the street outside the theater. They are tricked by Woland who perceived the Muscovites to have ultimately changed for the worse.

Bulgakov uses the irony of a real supernatural power existing in and interacting with an atheistic society to convey his own feelings toward the oppression imposed by communist rule in Russia. Through Woland, the reader is confronted with the belief that no matter what rules are imposed, human beings do not truly change inside. There are certain traits that are always innately human. Bulgakov and his countrymen hadn’t changed; many simply pretended.

Works Cited

Bulgakov, Mikhail. The Master and Margarita. Trans. Diana Burgin and Katherine Tiernan O’Connor. New York: Vintage International, 1995.