10-12

One of things I struggled to understand in these chapters was whether or not Styopa is actually in Yalta. In other words, is it all in his mind, or did Woland literally transport him there? In chapter 10 Varenukha and Rimsky hear a voice in Likhodeyev’s apartments “singing ‘Cliffs are my refuge...’” (Page 120). The last time we see Styopa (in the end of chapter 7) he is on a jetty near a mountainside (presumably in Yalta). The fact that someone in his apartment is singing about cliffs suggests that such a person could very well be insane...(read more)
-Cracked Wristwatch

In this section of The Master and Margarita it was confusing to see that Styopa, by the account of his peers, had indeed come into the theater to officially ratify his contract with Woland. However, when he first heard of it, Styopa had no idea of the existence of the contract and was willing to stake his life that he had never seen Woland before. And so this opens up a number of questions: Did Styopa just forget about the contract with Woland and his meeting with him as a result of his intoxication? Did Woland control him without his knowledge? Or did Woland or one of his associates simply assume the guise of Styopa in order to have the contract ratified properly? The later seems unlikely since the devilish trio appears to be capable to generating contracts out of nowhere. ...(read more)
-Primus Stove


A theory about the devil's powers: In chapters 7-9, I posted about the devil's seeming ability to recreate the past, distort the present, and influence the future. Now I wonder if the devil can also create objects as well--which seems to give the devil the power traditionally only reserved to God--the power of creation. However, I did notice that despite being able to create objects and also make them disappear as in the case of Nikanor's contracts/letters, the devil could not make the Yalta telegrams disappear from Varenukha's briefcase. ...(read more)
-Black Poodle



The first thing I noticed that seemed very important to me is that the trio clearly has power over PEOPLE as well as just objects. It becomes apparent (I think) that they manipulated Styopa the previous day to go into work and have this bogus contract created. In fact Styopa is described as rushing in "like a maniac", which shows a kind of possessed...(read more)
-Powdered Whiskers

I'm still playing with the extent of the devil's power, and I am beginning to think he can control the future, or at least the near future. When Varenukha was off to send out the telegrams, he is warned with the sand i his eyes, the banging windows and the shaking maples and lindens. Are these warnings from the devil himself? Then, when he ignores the warnings, "Varenukha was suddenly overcome by an irresistible impulse to step for a moment into the summer toilet to make sure the electrician had put a net over the bulb" (126). It's not everyday we get sudden impulses to go somewhere random while on a mission. The toilet is also, where the retinue is waiting for him. He seems to have been coerced or made to go into the toilet to be confronted by the retinue. Maybe the devil does have control over the future...(read more)
-Apricot Soda

The nude lady might be Bulgakov’s way of drawing attention to someone or something, and this character definitely has something peculiar about her. When she places her palms on Varenukha’s already soaked and cold shoulders he feels that “those palms were still colder” (128). This and the earlier occasion with the naked woman in the bathtub reminded me of The Shining. I haven’t seen the movie in years, but I distinctly remember there being an evil, naked, wet woman in a bathroom who turned old and really scary once Jack Nicholson decides to join her. I believe the woman in The Shining wants to kiss Nicholson just as this woman wants to kiss Varenukha. My first thought, as anyone will guess, was that these women’s kisses would be the kiss of death. We don’t know for sure that Varenukha is dead after the tenth chapter, but he is said to have “fainted and never felt the kiss” in the end (128)...(read more)
-Golden Horseshoe

Who are these mysterious characters that just keep appearing? When Varenukha is delivering the money and the telegrams, some unknown character calls him, warning him not to show the telegrams to anyone. In the end of that chapter, a naked woman kisses Varenukha, which makes him faint. She reminded me of the girl that Ivan saw in the shower in Chapter 4. I feel like Bulgakov wouldn't insert a scene, however small, that doesn't relate to the story. So far, every detail has connected back to the main plot and contributed something. In the end of Chapter 11, when Ivan is talking to himself...(read more)
-Spanish Boot