7-9 (Black Poodle)

In Chapters seven through nine, the reader discovers that the devilish trio indeed does have the power to create events. Not only can they transport people from one place to another, they can manipulate people and create objects. In addition, Bulgakov further obfuscates the truth from the reader by only letting us know the events through the devilish characters' narrations, which cannot be trusted. The reader is left hanging, uncertain what to believe. Essentially, in these three chapters, the devil is clearly in control, wreaking havoc, and inducing people to sin.

First we see this with poor Styopa, whom we only get to know for one chapter. I looked up his last name in the Master and Margarita site: Likhodeyev is derived from the word likhodiei, which means scoundrel, blackguard, villain. Styopa does seems to fit this descriptions, as we find out that he has been having several affairs, gets drunk often, and shirks his work. When he wakes up in the morning, he doesn't remember anything. Again, as aforementioned, this leaves the narration of events up to the devil. And as neither Styopa nor the reader know what happened, Bulgakov gives the devil the ultimate power of creating Styopa and the audience's memory. At first, I speculated on the potential of the devil not having any real power, and only lying to Styopa. But what the devil claims is seemingly proven by the agreement of a third party--the financial manager of the Variety Theater. So can he/they control what other people think? The devil convinces Styopa to drink as much as he wants and indulge in great food--one of the seven deadly sins: gluttony. Ultimately the three devilish characters throw Styopa out by transporting him to Yalta, where he meets his end by falling off a cliff out of shock.

Second, we see the devil's increasing power in their dealings with Nikanor Ivanovich. Nikanor Ivanovich, house chairman of the apartment building where Berlioz lived, is completely drawn into the devil's game: corrupted by greed to sign off a very profitable contract and then obtain two free tickets to the theater, he is brought to his downfall when the police catch him for his illegal actions. Here Bulgakov shows how the devil can create and recreate objects: first he/they create a contract that appears in Nikanor Ivanovich's suitcase and then he/they make everything in his briefcase disappear.

In sum, Bulgakov gives the devil the power to create that past (by dictating memory), manipulate the present (by transporting Styopa), and change the future (by setting up events that lead to Nikanor's arrest). I suppose now I haven't really talked much about Homeless, but to fit with the theme of my post, even Ivan's current situation reinforces the devils power. Homeless, the only person who realizes the extent of the three character's dangerous nature, is stuck in an insane asylum, unable to leave. Although a writer, his speech seems inarticulate--perhaps an effect of the devil? And no matter how much he tries to explain what's going on, the doctor takes it as further confirmation that Homeless suffers insanity. In the end, Homeless is trapped, and the devil is loose.

My last question: does the devil target sinful people? Or does he/they induce people to sin before disposing of them?
-Black Poodle