The Master and Margarita Book 2, Chapters 19 - 25
Chapter 19
The narrator directs the reader to the life of Margarita, Master’s lover, whom he mistakenly thinks has forgotten about him. Margarita is a beautiful, 30-year-old woman, who lives in a pleasant apartment with a young, wealthy, and kind husband. They do not have any children, and though her husband is a good man, she would leave him in a heartbeat to be with the Master. She has been blaming herself during the period of his absence, for not giving him more support. She wakes up in the morning after the events at the variety theatre and feels that something has changed in the air. She had experienced a dream of Master in her sleep, and she now feels certain that she would be reunited with him soon either living or dead. She reads the half-burned pages of the book Master had written and remembers him. She hears her maid, Natasha, tell her the gossip about the wild events that took place at the theatre the previous night. Margarita then goes out to the park, as she travels she overhears wild stories about the events of the previous night and a rumor that a corpse’s head had been stolen right before the funeral.
She sits in the park while thinking of Master, and is approached by Azazello. He comments on the passing funeral procession of Berlioz and tells her that his head had been stolen earlier that morning. Margarita asks Azazello to point out the literary critic Latunksy, who had led the hate campaign against Master’s work. Azazello tells her that he has been sent as an emissary from a foreign man, who wishes to meet with her that evening. It takes him a little time to convince her that he represents an individual who can reunite her with Master, who is still alive and well. He gives her an ointment and asks her to rub it on her naked body that evening and wait for a signal from him.
Chapter 20
In the evening, Margarita writes a letter to her husband, telling him that will be leaving him, and begins to apply the golden ointment she had been given. The ointment begins to make her glow, and it makes her appear younger. Margarita is overjoyed by the transformation and gives all of her clothes to her maid as she tells her that she will be leaving. Natasha begins to pack up her new dresses and learns that her mistress had turned into a witch by applying a golden ointment. Margarita sees her neighbor, Ivanovich, in the street, and displays her naked and glowing body to him. She tells him that she dislikes his boorish behavior, and then she receives a call from Azazello. He tells her to fly over the city by making herself invisible and directs her to a meeting place. Margarita takes off from her window on a flying broom.
Chapter 21
It takes a little time for Margarita to understand the controls of her broom, but she deeply enjoys the experience of flying invisible over the city. She flies by the house for literary workers and decides to visit Latunksy, but it turns out that he isn’t at his house since he is attending Berlioz’s funeral. She breaks into his house through the window and goes about destroying it through whatever means she can find. She proceeds to destroy all the windows on the floor and moves on to do the same with the other floors causing mass panic within the building. She eventually stops when she discovers a scared child in his room, whom she comforts before leaving peaceably. In the air, she finds her maid Natasha, who also seems to have turned into a witch, and she is riding a flying hog that is clutching a briefcase. Natasha explains that she had used some of the creams that had been left over by Margarita, and transformed their neighbor Ivanovich, when he had seen her and propositioned her for sex. Margarita is deeply satisfied and amused by how events have transpired and promises Natasha that she will aid her in remaining a witch forever.
Chapter 22
They fly over the countryside and take a dip in the river. Margarita hears music that is being played in her honor on the other side of the river, and she swims over to them. The party is filled with magical naked beings, who bow to her, and help her dress in clothes. The magical beings assure her that Natasha has been sent ahead to prepare for her arrival in Moscow and that a car has also been requested. Margarita comfortably prepares for her travel, and when the car arrives, being driven by a rook, she feels a longing for the river bank. The car brings her to an empty cemetery, where she is received by Azazello, and he guides her to Berlioz’s apartment. Margarita is received by Korovyov, who guides her into the vast hall that is somehow crammed into the tiny apartment. Korovyov explains that it is possible through the magic of the fifth dimension, and he elaborates on why Margarita has been called.
Korovyov tells her that Woland is hosting the spring ball of the full moon, and by tradition, the hostess of the event is always called Margarita. She has been chosen from 100 other women of the same name and even hints at her having been related to nobility. Margarita accepts the proposal to host the event, and she is led to meet Woland and his retinue. She finds Hella rubbing a salve onto his knee, he introduces his retinue to her, and she remarks at the weight of his hand on her shoulder. He shows her his magical globe that displays the destruction of his servant, Abbadon, who he later summons. Woland tells Margarita to only drink water during the ball and assures her that Natasha will be allowed to attend the event but the flying hog will not be allowed inside.
Chapter 23
Margarita is prepared for the ball by Woland’s retinue, Hella rubs her with rose oil and blood, while she is clothed in golden slippers and a crown. Korovyov takes her in his arms and guides her towards the ballroom, where the orchestra has already begun to play, and at Korovyov’s instruction, Margarita thanks the orchestra very loudly. She is led to another room, where she and the others wait to greet the guests at the end of a large carpeted staircase. The guests arrive in coffins and materialize into formally dressed men that are accompanied by their naked female companions. They are all sinners who have been sent to hell for crimes such as murder, counterfeiting, and much more. Margarita takes particular interest in the story of a woman who had killed the baby that was fathered in her by a rapist. She grows tired from greeting all the sinners, and Korovyov helps her retain her focus, promising her that she would soon get her reward.
After greeting the guests, Hella rubs some more blood on Margarita and Korovyov leads her to the ballroom, where she is to share the stage with Woland. He arrives in tattered clothes and limps onto the stage with a grand sword. On the stage, he is presented with the severed head of Berlioz, who is sentenced to non-being as per his atheist beliefs by the devil. He transforms Berlioz’s head into a cup, and then he calls forward a from the Theatrics Commission who had organized Woland’s trip to Moscow. Woland declares that the man is a spy, and he is shot dead, while his blood is filled into the cup that had once been Berlioz’s head. Woland toasts the room and takes a drink, and offers it to Margarita. She is immediately transported on taking a sip of the blood, she finds herself in the room of the Jeweller’s wife, and moving towards a half-opened door.
Chapter 24
After the ball, Margarita eats to her heart’s content in the room where she had been received. Woland and his retinue play pranks on one another, and Margarita decides that it is time for her to leave. She finds she can’t ask for her wish outright, but Woland stops her before she leaves, and gives her a wish. Instead of wishing for herself, Margarita wishes that the woman who killed her child should no longer be tortured, and the wish is granted. She is asked to make another wish for herself, and she asks to be reunited with Master, who appears immediately in his asylum clothes. He is calmed down by a drink, and he guesses that Woland is the devil because of his conversation with Ivan. Woland is very amused when he learns that Master had written a book about Pontius Pilate. Margarita asks that they be returned to their life in the basement as they had been when Master had been writing his novel. All of Master’s worries about the bureaucracy are sorted out by magic, while Natasha is allowed to remain a witch, but Ivanovich is transformed back into a human being. Varenukha returned to being a human being since he doesn’t like being a vampire. Master is unsure what he will do in the basement, but both Woland and Margarita convince him to have more faith in his work. Margarita and Master are driven to their basement apartment which seems to be the same as they had left it a year ago, while Master sleeps, Margarita reads the novel.
Chapter 25
Pontius Pilate is in a raging temper after the execution, until he finally hears the footsteps of the head of his secret service, Afranius. He assures the procurator about the temper in the city and gives him an account of Yeshua’s final moments. The Procurator is surprised by Yeshua’s humble attitude and turns the conversation toward Judas. He tells Afranius that he has heard rumors of Judas’s death, and wishes for Afranius to take note of them. He also asks him to ensure that Yeshua’s body is quietly buried in a secret grave.
Analysis
Margarita makes a deal with the devil to receive magical powers that empower her to exercise her sense of morality upon the world. Margarita defies the conventions of morality by trashing a literary critic’s home for his role in Master’s downfall and destroys a significant part of other people’s homes as well. She isn’t quite aware of the consequences of her deal with the devil, and they only begin to register with her as she greets the most evil men of history as they make their way to Woland’s hall. However, Margarita also gleans a greater understanding of morality as she learns about the various sinners that had been cast into hell, such as the woman who helped wives poison their abusive husbands, and the woman who had killed her child after she had been raped. Woland no longer appears to be the charming magician, but fully integrates into the image of the devil as he drinks the blood of a sinner from the skull of another.
