Why should you read "The Master and Margarita"? - Alex Gendler
-
0:08 - 0:11The Devil has come to town.
-
0:11 - 0:15But don’t worry –
all he wants to do is stage a magic show. -
0:15 - 0:18This absurd premise
forms the central plot -
0:18 - 0:22of Mikhail Bulgakov’s masterpiece,
"The Master and Margarita." -
0:22 - 0:25Written in Moscow during the 1930s,
-
0:25 - 0:29this surreal blend
of political satire, historical fiction, -
0:29 - 0:31and occult mysticism
-
0:31 - 0:35has earned a legacy as one
of the 20th century’s greatest novels– -
0:35 - 0:37and one of its strangest.
-
0:37 - 0:40The story begins
when a meeting between two members -
0:40 - 0:42of Moscow’s literary elite
-
0:42 - 0:45is interrupted by a strange gentleman
named Woland, -
0:45 - 0:48who presents himself as a foreign scholar
-
0:48 - 0:51invited to give a presentation
on black magic. -
0:51 - 0:55As the stranger engages the two companions
in a philosophical debate -
0:55 - 0:58and makes ominous predictions
about their fates, -
0:58 - 1:02the reader is suddenly transported
to 1st century Jerusalem. -
1:02 - 1:04There a tormented Pontius Pilate
-
1:04 - 1:09reluctantly sentences
Jesus of Nazareth to death. -
1:09 - 1:11With the narrative
shifting between the two settings, -
1:11 - 1:16Woland and his entourage–
Azazello, Koroviev, Hella, -
1:16 - 1:19and a giant cat named Behemoth–
-
1:19 - 1:21are seen to have uncanny magical powers,
-
1:21 - 1:24which they use to stage their performance
-
1:24 - 1:28while leaving a trail
of havoc and confusion in their wake. -
1:28 - 1:33Much of the novel’s dark humor
comes not only from this demonic mischief, -
1:33 - 1:36but also the backdrop
against which it occurs. -
1:36 - 1:40Bulgakov’s story takes place
in the same setting where it was written– -
1:40 - 1:43the USSR
at the height of the Stalinist period. -
1:43 - 1:47There, artists and authors
worked under strict censorship, -
1:47 - 1:50subject to imprisonment,
exile, or execution -
1:50 - 1:54if they were seen
as undermining state ideology. -
1:54 - 1:56Even when approved, their work–
-
1:56 - 1:58along with housing, travel,
and everything else– -
1:58 - 2:01was governed by a convoluted bureaucracy.
-
2:01 - 2:02In the novel,
-
2:02 - 2:07Woland manipulates this system
along with the fabric of reality, -
2:07 - 2:09to hilarious results.
-
2:09 - 2:13As heads are separated from bodies
and money rains from the sky, -
2:13 - 2:16the citizens of Moscow
react with petty-self interest, -
2:16 - 2:20illustrating how Soviet society
bred greed and cynicism -
2:20 - 2:22despite its ideals.
-
2:22 - 2:24And the matter-of-fact narration
-
2:24 - 2:28deliberately blends
the strangeness of the supernatural events -
2:28 - 2:32with the everyday absurdity
of Soviet life. -
2:32 - 2:36So how did Bulgakov
manage to publish such a subversive novel -
2:36 - 2:38under an oppressive regime?
-
2:38 - 2:40Well… he didn’t.
-
2:40 - 2:43He worked on "The Master and Margarita"
for over ten years. -
2:43 - 2:45But while Stalin’s personal favor
-
2:45 - 2:49may have kept Bulgakov
safe from severe persecution, -
2:49 - 2:52many of his plays and writings
were kept from production, -
2:52 - 2:55leaving him safe but effectively silenced.
-
2:55 - 2:58Upon the author’s death in 1940,
-
2:58 - 3:00the manuscript remained unpublished.
-
3:00 - 3:04A censored version
was eventually printed in the 1960s, -
3:04 - 3:06while copies of the unabridged manuscript
-
3:06 - 3:09continued to circulate
among underground literary circles. -
3:09 - 3:13The full text was only published in 1973,
-
3:13 - 3:16over 30 years after its completion.
-
3:16 - 3:20Bulgakov’s experiences
with censorship and artistic frustration -
3:20 - 3:23lend an autobiographical air
to the second part of the novel, -
3:23 - 3:26when we are finally
introduced to its namesake. -
3:26 - 3:30"The Master" is a nameless author
who’s worked for years on a novel -
3:30 - 3:34but burned the manuscript
after it was rejected by publishers– -
3:34 - 3:37just as Bulgakov
had done with his own work. -
3:37 - 3:41Yet the true protagonist
is the Master’s mistress Margarita. -
3:41 - 3:44Her devotion
to her lover’s abandoned dream -
3:44 - 3:48bears a strange connection
to the diabolical company’s escapades– -
3:48 - 3:52and carries the story
to its surreal climax. -
3:52 - 3:55Despite its dark humor
and complex structure, -
3:55 - 3:58"The Master and Margarita"
is, at its heart, -
3:58 - 4:02a meditation on art, love, and redemption,
-
4:02 - 4:05that never loses itself in cynicism.
-
4:05 - 4:10And the book’s long overdue publication
and survival against the odds -
4:10 - 4:14is a testament
to what Woland tells the Master: -
4:14 - 4:17“Manuscripts don’t burn.”
- Title:
- Why should you read "The Master and Margarita"? - Alex Gendler
- Speaker:
- Alex Gendler
- Description:
-
View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/why-should-you-read-the-master-and-margarita-alex-gendler
The Devil has come to town. But don't worry– all he wants to do is stage a magic show. This absurd premise forms the central plot of Mikhail Bulgakov's masterpiece, "The Master and Margarita." Its blend of political satire, historical fiction and occult mysticism has earned a legacy as one of the 20th century's greatest novels– and one of its strangest. Alex Gendler explores the subversive novel.
Lesson by Alex Gendler, directed by Adriatic Animation.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TED-Ed
- Duration:
- 04:12
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