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AATSEEL
The Master and Margarita: A Critical Companion
This book, part of the acclaimed AATSEEL Critical Companions series, is designed to guide readers through Mikhail Bulgakov's satirical masterpiece. An introduction places The Master and Margarita and Bulgakov within Russian history and literature, and essays by scholars offer opinion and analysis of the novel's structure, its place in current criticism, its connection to Goethe, and its symbolism and motifs. There is also an abundance of primary source material, including an excerpt from an earlier version of the novel, and related correspondence and diary entries.
Northwestern University Press and the American Association of Teachers of Slavic and East European Languages (AATSEEL) are pleased to announce the establishment of a new series of critical companions to Russian literature. Under the direction of the AATSEEL Publications Committee, leading scholars will edit volumes intended to introduce classics of Russian literature to both teachers and students at the high school and undergraduate levels. Each volume will open with the volume editor's general introduction discussing the work in the context of the writer's oeuvre as well as its place within the literary tradition. The introductory section will also include considerations of existing translations and of textual problems in the original Russian. The following sections will contain several informative and wide-ranging articles by other scholars; primary sources and other background material - letters, memoirs, early reviews, maps; and annotated bibliographies. Combining the highest order of scholarship with accessibility, these critical companions will illuminate the great works of Russian literature and enhance their appreciation by both teachers and students.
Northwestern University Press and the American Association of Teachers of Slavic and East European Languages (AATSEEL) are pleased to announce the establishment of a new series of critical companions to Russian literature. Under the direction of the AATSEEL Publications Committee, leading scholars will edit volumes intended to introduce classics of Russian literature to both teachers and students at the high school and undergraduate levels. Each volume will open with the volume editor's general introduction discussing the work in the context of the writer's oeuvre as well as its place within the literary tradition. The introductory section will also include considerations of existing translations and of textual problems in the original Russian. The following sections will contain several informative and wide-ranging articles by other scholars; primary sources and other background material - letters, memoirs, early reviews, maps; and annotated bibliographies. Combining the highest order of scholarship with accessibility, these critical companions will illuminate the great works of Russian literature and enhance their appreciation by both teachers and students.
252 pages, Paperback
First published March 18, 1996
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
September 3, 2012
The Master and Margarita has been a focus of literary scholars and critics ever since its initial publication in 1966 and 1967 in the literary journal Moskva. Bulgakov's work, with its parallel story lines in Moscow and Jerusalem (or Yershalaim), lends itself to a multitude of critical readings and responses. For readers new to the novel, Laura Weeks' The Master and Margarita: A Critical Companion is an excellent introduction to the many schools of criticism that have formed around The Master and Margarita.
In her lengthy introduction to the volume, Weeks provides a useful overview of the critical reception of The Master and Margarita, both at the time of its initial publication and after. She begins with a history of the writing of the novel, which spanned 12 years, from 1928 until Bulgakov's death in 1940. Her careful overview of this history of writing and revision is helpful in understanding the complicated publication history of the novel, which in turn readers must understand to make informed decisions about which translation to read.
Weeks hits her stride in the heart of her introduction, where she provides an excellent overview of critics' and scholars' main approaches to unlocking the meanings of The Master and Margarita. She addresses the attempts of some scholars to find one approach that will unlock all the mysteries of the novel, including attempts to read the entire novel as a coded representation of specific individuals living in Moscow, an approach which set some scholars laboriously to tracing connections between characters in The Master and Margarita and historical figures. Weeks advocates a more complex and nuanced reading of the novel, one which incorporates different interpretive angles to recognize the many different themes and influences that Bulgakov masterfully made his own. Weeks identifies the following approaches as particularly representative of this criticism: the novel as carnival, following Bakhtin's work; the novel as Menippean satire, a mixture of contradictory elements creating an atmosphere of disjointed reality that lends itself to social and political satire; the novel as political allegory; the novel as Faustian parody; and the novel as miraculous fairy tale. Weeks also devotes time to discussing theological frameworks of interpretation, focusing not only on Christian frameworks, but also on Gnostic and Manichaean readings that provide fascinating insights into Bulgakov's representations of good and evil.
Armed with this framework, the reader can move on to Part Two of this volume, comprised of eight excerpts and articles that serve as excellent examples of the critical approaches that Weeks introduced in Part One. Highlights included V. Lakshin's early article, "M. Bulgakov's Novel The Master and Margarita," Andrew Barratt's overview of recent criticism, and Ellendea Proffer's "Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita: Genre and Motif." I also enjoyed the excerpt from David Bethea's monograph tracing apocalyptic imagery and themes, and Edythe C. Haber's brief piece, "The Mythic Structure of Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita." The volume concludes with Part Three, comprised of some primary texts, including a restoration of an earlier version of The Master and Margarita's Chapter 5, and excerpts from Bulgakov's correspondence and his wife's diaries. There is also a helpful note on translations, and a brief annotated bibliography of major works of criticism written in English.
This one volume does not purport to provide an exhaustive examination of all the critical texts written about The Master and Margarita. Instead, it provides an excellent foundation for additional exploration. I was grateful to have this roadmap to guide me through the thickets of criticism on The Master and Margarita.
In her lengthy introduction to the volume, Weeks provides a useful overview of the critical reception of The Master and Margarita, both at the time of its initial publication and after. She begins with a history of the writing of the novel, which spanned 12 years, from 1928 until Bulgakov's death in 1940. Her careful overview of this history of writing and revision is helpful in understanding the complicated publication history of the novel, which in turn readers must understand to make informed decisions about which translation to read.
Weeks hits her stride in the heart of her introduction, where she provides an excellent overview of critics' and scholars' main approaches to unlocking the meanings of The Master and Margarita. She addresses the attempts of some scholars to find one approach that will unlock all the mysteries of the novel, including attempts to read the entire novel as a coded representation of specific individuals living in Moscow, an approach which set some scholars laboriously to tracing connections between characters in The Master and Margarita and historical figures. Weeks advocates a more complex and nuanced reading of the novel, one which incorporates different interpretive angles to recognize the many different themes and influences that Bulgakov masterfully made his own. Weeks identifies the following approaches as particularly representative of this criticism: the novel as carnival, following Bakhtin's work; the novel as Menippean satire, a mixture of contradictory elements creating an atmosphere of disjointed reality that lends itself to social and political satire; the novel as political allegory; the novel as Faustian parody; and the novel as miraculous fairy tale. Weeks also devotes time to discussing theological frameworks of interpretation, focusing not only on Christian frameworks, but also on Gnostic and Manichaean readings that provide fascinating insights into Bulgakov's representations of good and evil.
Armed with this framework, the reader can move on to Part Two of this volume, comprised of eight excerpts and articles that serve as excellent examples of the critical approaches that Weeks introduced in Part One. Highlights included V. Lakshin's early article, "M. Bulgakov's Novel The Master and Margarita," Andrew Barratt's overview of recent criticism, and Ellendea Proffer's "Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita: Genre and Motif." I also enjoyed the excerpt from David Bethea's monograph tracing apocalyptic imagery and themes, and Edythe C. Haber's brief piece, "The Mythic Structure of Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita." The volume concludes with Part Three, comprised of some primary texts, including a restoration of an earlier version of The Master and Margarita's Chapter 5, and excerpts from Bulgakov's correspondence and his wife's diaries. There is also a helpful note on translations, and a brief annotated bibliography of major works of criticism written in English.
This one volume does not purport to provide an exhaustive examination of all the critical texts written about The Master and Margarita. Instead, it provides an excellent foundation for additional exploration. I was grateful to have this roadmap to guide me through the thickets of criticism on The Master and Margarita.
November 28, 2015
The Master and Margarita: A Critical Companion byLaura Weeks was a very helpful aid in reading Mikhail Bulgakov's book, The Master and Margarita. The Master and Margarita is a difficult but rewarding read and Weeks' essays were an invaluable aid in grasping the historical and cultural context of the work as well as understanding some of the major symbols, motifs, and themes of the book. I was very grateful to have this guide with me as I sometimes loved and often struggled with Bulgakov's classic work.
November 4, 2021
Quite multifaceted and fun?
Particularly enjoyed the two close readings (actually found them rather brilliant in highlighting some minor echoisms) and of course the Faust comparison: Margarita-Faust and Master (really, what does he master??)- Gretchen. Can't support the more obvious Margarita-Margarete link but it doesn't fail to entertain me in its qualities of creating a notional chiasm.
Particularly enjoyed the two close readings (actually found them rather brilliant in highlighting some minor echoisms) and of course the Faust comparison: Margarita-Faust and Master (really, what does he master??)- Gretchen. Can't support the more obvious Margarita-Margarete link but it doesn't fail to entertain me in its qualities of creating a notional chiasm.
October 21, 2019
Helpful, a bit. I'm not convinced anyone has completely cracked the Bulgakov Code yet. Maybe I should start doing this with all the Russians I read...
June 5, 2009
I enjoyed this book of criticism very much, as it has many things to say from many different voices. I take notes on books like this in my journal, and my notes took up about five pages this time. My only major cause for pause is that I felt like I was reading everyone's senior thesis... I honestly felt like I could have written some of these essays without trying too hard to get to the same points. Would I have necessarily thought to write an essay on the circle motif? Maybe not, but if you assigned me that as a paper topic I'd probably come up with something very similar to this stuff. Nothing really jumped out at me, except for the varying opinions of Woland and his motivations. That was extremely interesting to think about... but the rest was just sort of helpful, but not as enlightening as I had hoped. Still, solid.
September 30, 2014
This is a decent companion to The Master and Margarita. It has 9 essays, which seems like such a small number, compared to a Norton Critical Edition, for example. The essays are good, but short, and are often excerpts from something else. There are a couple of really good essays, though, specifically Laura Weeks' introductory essay, her "Houses, Homes, and the Rhetoric of Inner Space in Mikhail Bulgakov," and Ronald LeBlanc's "Stomaching Philistinism: Griboedov House and the Symbolism of Eating in The Master and Margarita." The book also has a "recreated" version of an early version of one of the chapters in tM&M, some letters from Bulgakov, and entries from his wife's diary.
July 15, 2017
A compilation of level headed critical interpretations of Bulgakov's novel from different perspectives along with commentary on some of his other works and the political environment in which he wrote.
Laura Weeks work is not a "companion" in the sense of being read in parallel with the novel in the fashion of Cliff's Notes because as an editor she didn't select the essays to fit that function. However, as a companion it does give a sense to the structure and a deeper meaning of the novel and might be more profitably read once you've gotten well into your own reading of Bulgakov's novel.
Laura Weeks work is not a "companion" in the sense of being read in parallel with the novel in the fashion of Cliff's Notes because as an editor she didn't select the essays to fit that function. However, as a companion it does give a sense to the structure and a deeper meaning of the novel and might be more profitably read once you've gotten well into your own reading of Bulgakov's novel.
January 4, 2015
I would definitely recommend this reading companion for first-time readers of TMaM, as well as those who are re-reading. The articles are academic in tone, but use relatively simple language to explain the ideas being explored.
There are spoilers in some of the essays, so proceed with caution if you're worried about that.
There are spoilers in some of the essays, so proceed with caution if you're worried about that.
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June 14, 2011I decided not to read this book.
September 24, 2012
I read this so long ago, it had to say anything substantial. I remember really loving it and the witches party at the end was wild!
January 7, 2014
Very helpful introduction to scholarship on "The Master and Margarita."
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews