Religious Doctrine in the Works of Mikhail Bulgakov (With Special Reference to Belaia Gvardiia, Beg and Master I Margarita) Isobel Victoria Martin
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Religious doctrine in the works of Mikhail Bulgakov (with special reference to Belaia Gvardiia, Beg and Master i Margarita) Isobel Victoria Martin Isabel Martin wants to show that Russian Orthodox Doctrine can provide a cohesive whole for Bulgakov's works, uniting them on a spiritual level. Master thesis at the Department of Russian of the University of Durham, Unted Kingdom - January 1998. From the archives of the website The Master and Margarita http://www.masterandmargarita.eu Webmaster Jan Vanhellemont B-3000 Leuven +32475260793 Durham E-Theses Religious doctrine in the works of Mikhail Bulgakov (with special reference to Belaia Gvardiia, Beg and master I Margarita) Martin, Isobel Victoria How to cite: Martin, Isobel Victoria (1998) Religious doctrine in the works of Mikhail Bulgakov (with special reference to Belaia Gvardiia, Beg and master I Margarita) , Durham theses, Durham University. 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Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 RELIGIOUS DOCTRINE IN THE WORKS OF MIKHAIL BULGAKOV (WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO BELAIA G VARDIIA, BEG AND MASTER I MARGARITA) ISOBEL VICTORIA MARTIN M.A. BY RESEARCH DEPARTMENT OF RUSSIAN UNIVERSITY OF DURHAM JANUARY 1998 The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without the written consent of the author and information derived from it should be acknowledged. ABSTRACT This thesis will examine the works of Mikhail Afanasevich Bulgakov with special reference to Belaia gvardiia. Beg, and Master i Margarita. It shall be shown that Russian Orthodox Doctrine can provide a cohesive whole for his works, uniting them on a 'spiritual' level. At first an assessment will be made of the extent to which Bulgakov was a believing Christian, then the following examination of his works will be divided into the Divine and the Human, beginning with an examination of the Devil. The nature of Christ and God will then be considered and be shown to correspond on may levels with the tenets of Doctrine. In the second half, man and his relationship to God will be discussed, showing that the mortal condition of man and his attempts to come close to God are of importance to Bulgakov. Finally, his portrayal of man's progression through judgement to the attainment of Salvation will be considered, showing that, despite some deviations, Bulgakov's artistic ideas are founded in Doctrine. CONTENTS Abbreviations and Note page i Preface 1 1 Faith: by way of an introduction 4 2 The Devil 16 3 The Teaching and Nature of Christ 30 4 The Nature of God 49 5 The Nature of Man and his Relationship to God 64 6 The Attainment of Forgiveness and Salvation 87 Conclusion 107 Appendix A: Translations of Quotations 111 Select Bibliography 117 Acknowledgements 121 ABBREVIATIONS As a complete Collected Works was not available at the time of writing the following editions have been used. Works and the page number are referred to in the text in brackets. MiM Mikhail Bulgakov, 'Master i Margarita' in (S Romany ovremennik, Mo skva, 1988). Eg Mikhail Bulgakov, 'Belaia gvardiia' in Romany (Sovremennik, Moskva, 1988). Beg Mikhail Bulgakov, 'Beg' in P 'esy (Sovetskii pisatel', Moskva, 1987). NOTE In quotations in Russian taken from Soviet editions I have followed the text and retained a small 6 for Eor. 1. PREFACE As has been well established since the publication in 1968 of Master i Margarita in the journal Moskva, Mikhail Afanas'evich Bulgakov is one of the most eloquent and popular Russian writers of the twentieth century. Despite languishing for over 25 years in an unavoidable silence, his novel and plays have received and are receiving the critical attention they deserve in both academic study and in the popular Russian and international press. This obvious universal appeal has prompted investigations into Bulgakov's life which have resulted in the publication of several significant biographies not only in the Russian language. In the critical literature about Bulgakov and his literary creations many articles have examined his works from a variety of angles, such as possible sources that Bulgakov may have drawn on for his works (for example, Classical literature, Russian literature, scientific publications), philosophical approaches such as existentialism, and structural analyses concerned with narrative technique. This quest to align Bulgakov with schools of thought has not only applied to philosophical considerations but to literary theoretical inquiries (Fairy- Tale', Bakhtin's concept of Camivalisation^, Menippean Satire^, the Fantastic'', Modernism^ and Magical Realism^). ' S. Hoisington, 'Fairy-Tale Elements in Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita', Slavic and East European Journal 25 (1981), pp. 44-55. ^ L . Milne, The Master and Margarita: A Comedy of Victory (Birmingham Slavonic Monographs, No. 3, 1977) ^ E . Proffer in Bulgakov: Life and Work (Ardis, Aim Arbor, 1984), p. 531, mentions this but also notes its limitations. See, for instance, Neil Comwell, The Literary Fantastic. Gothic to Postmodernism (Harvester Wheatsheaf, 1990). ^ Vladimir Tumanov, 'Diabolos ex Machina: Bulgakov's Modernist Devil', Scandoslavica (lomus 35, 1989), pp. 49-61. ^ For example, A.B. Chanady, Magic Realism and the Fantastic (London, 1985). As an alternative approach I intend to examine Bulgakov's works from the basis of Russian Orthodox Christianity as it is a system of beliefs about man and the universe with which Bulgakov would have been acquainted from his upbringing at home, from school and from personal interest. Russian Orthodoxy was a corner-stone of the Russian cultural life which Bulgakov, as we shall see, deeply cherished. Although many commentators have noted the significance that religious ideas play in Bulgakov's characters and their environment they are rarely compared with Doctrine. I intend to do so in order to assess the extent of Bulgakov's creative imagination (how far he strays from the 'given' laws and truths of Doctrine and how far he applies them in his work) and the relationship this may have had to his own personal and artistic integrity. In the following chapters I intend to try to find some sort of a cohesive whole, uniting Bulgakov's works on a 'spiritual' level, by examining his oeuvre in comparison with religious, namely Christian Russian Orthodox, doctrine. The importance of Christianity within Bulgakov's works is undeniable and has been most deeply examined by commentators with regard to Master i Margarita. It is my intention however to pay special attention to three works: the novel Belaia gvardiia, the play Beg and the final novel Master i Margarita. The novels are not only of spiritual significance but span Bulgakov's creative development, being finished (it is difficult to use the word "published" in reference to his works) in 1925 and 1940 respectively, thus marking the beginning and end of his literary career. Bulgakov was also a prolific playwright and it is for this reason and for the play's unrelenting examination of the human soul that I have chosen to study Beg. Before commencing my study of Bulgakov's works I shall first pause to assess to what extent Bulgakov was a believing Christian and how far this could have influenced his work, based on diaries and letters, contemporary accounts and significant books in his library. I shall then, in order to make as comprehensive an investigation as possible, compare and contrast Bulgakov's works in relation to some of the most important aspects of religious doctrine. Because Christianity is concerned with the relationship between the human and the divine I shall divide my work between these two principles, beginning my study of the Divine in reverse, as it were, with a consideration of the Devil. Because the Devil is more than a figure of religion for Bulgakov I shall also review his literary and traditional aspects as well as his theological significance. I shall turn my attention next to the nature and teaching of Christ, assessing questions of divinity, heresy, sources and the significance of his teaching as given in Master i Margarita. I shall then proceed to examine the nature of God, especially Bulgakov's understanding of His Love and His Omnipotence. In the second half of my thesis I shall concern myself with Man and his relationship to God. I shall look at Bulgakov's thoughts on mortality and its close links with sin and disease. I shall then concentrate on man's attempts to overcome sin and death and to come closer to God through the Sacraments. Finally I shall examine Bulgakov's expression of the progression to Forgiveness and Salvation within his works, considering also his notions of Judgment and Damnation, Hell and Heaven. Whilst undertaking this I shall also discuss critical opinion, biographical detail and sources where necessary. 2. FAITH (by way of an Introduction) An understanding of Bulgakov's personal faith is important when approaching his works. There is no denying the influence of Christian thought in his novels and so the question of the extent to which Bulgakov was a believer is very important, not only for obtaining a balanced view on his more 'religious' passages, but also for understanding his characters and the times in which they live.