Woland as Satan and Stalin

The Devil in literature has taken many shapes and forms. Depending on the culture and the time period, there has been representation of the devil that has resulted today in a complex history of this character throughout literary works. There has even been a demonic hierarchy that has come to be, where sometime Satan and Lucifer can be two distinct characters. One is the representation of evil, while the latter is the fallen angel that has dared to defy God. In Russian literature though, Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov follows the paradigm of the Faustian genre. A deal with the devil, and the presence of demonic servants is present, but there are three worlds that are portrayed which end up to be inexplicably linked. Written between the years on 1928 and 1940 reflect the political and social turmoil that Russian society experience, especially with the rise of communist and Stalin. The character professor Woland is introduced in the first pages, but one quickly realizes who this individual actually is. Through a detailed expose of Woland’s physical description, it becomes clear that he is not only the devil named Satan, but also is an allegorical rendition of Stalin.

Using Woland’s physical descriptions, it can be deduced that he is not only a devil, but also rather Satan himself. Woland is first introduced when Bezdomny and Berlioz are arguing about the existence of Jesus, and hence God.

“The subject was lame in neither foot, and he was neither short, nor hugely tall, but simply tall. As for his teeth, the left ones has platinum crowns, the right - gold. He was dressed in an expensive gray suit and wore foreign-made shoes of the same color. A gray beret was cocked rakishly in his ear, and under his arm he carried a ...

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... of a higher standing in the demonic hierarchy. As the narrative progresses, Woland is connected to the fallen angel Satan. In this novel, the denomination of Satan and Lucifer are interchangeable as they both name the same individual. It is only after the Master’s statement that the reader has sufficient evidence to conclude that Woland is Satan, the prince of Hell and the fallen angel. By keeping the identity of Woland as which devil ambiguous, Bulgakov was able to create a retinue around Woland that accomplish the evil deeds, and slightly alter the paradigm of the Faust tradition narratives.

Works Cited

Bulgakov, Mikhail, Diana Lewis Burgin, and Katherine Tiernan Connor. The Master and

Margarita. New York: Vintage Books, 1996. Print.

Ryan, Karen L.. Stalin in Russian satire, 1917-1991. Madison, Wis.: University of Wisconsin

Press, 2009. Print