Written in the first half of the last century, the novel “The Master and Margarita” amazes with its unrelenting relevance. It would seem that almost a hundred years have passed since work on the book began, but people have hardly changed. This is exactly what Woland said, quotes with his statements became popular, they went to the people and gained eternal life. Why were the words of this gloomy character so wise, since more and more readers have been pondering them for so many years?
Woland or Bulgakov?
It is interesting that almost no one attributes the authorship of these wise sayings to the author of the novel. Who said this, Bulgakov or a black magician who visited Moscow quite a long time ago? Here you should remember about the writer’s kitchen; the author’s point of view does not always coincide with the point of view of his character, even if it is such a figure as Woland. Quotes from the novel are so prominent and effective that the image of Satan, who met the unfortunate Ivan Bezdomny on the Patriarch's Ponds, becomes alive and authentic.
As Woland said, people have always loved money, no matter what it was made of. Frivolous creatures, not alien to merciful manifestations.
“The housing issue only ruined them.” Can Woland’s quotes from “The Master and Margarita” now be called outdated? Meanwhile, the statement given here can be considered a real motto of tolerance, which is now becoming almost the duty of every educated person.
The role of Woland's retinue
In assessing society, establishing order and retribution, the lord of the shadows is helped by his faithful confidants. In fact, he himself does nothing wrong, but only makes fair decisions. Like every king, he has a retinue. However, Koroviev, Azazello and Behemoth look more like tamed jesters than faithful servants. The only exception is the image of Gella.
The author masterfully experiments in creating confidants of the demonic ruler. Traditionally, dark characters are portrayed as scary, evil, frightening, and Woland’s retinue in Bulgakov’s novel is full of jokes, irony, and puns. The author uses a similar artistic technique to emphasize the absurdity of the situations into which Muscovites drive themselves, as well as to highlight Woland’s seriousness and wisdom against the background of his buffoonish surroundings.
Top three most popular sayings
Each character has biting phrases that can be considered iconic. They are placed in the epigraphs of other works, they are referred to as wisdom, dressed in a short and succinct form. What words did Woland remember? The quotes speak for themselves.
“Manuscripts don’t burn.” This was said to the Master in response to his confession that he had burned the manuscript of the novel. A wonderful and biting phrase, in just three words, debunking the myth about the futility of a writer’s efforts.
“Never ask for anything! Never and nothing, and especially among those who are stronger than you. They will offer and give everything themselves!” Psychologists have been breaking spears around this quote for decades, building entire theories on it, summing up the scientific basis, sociological surveys and studies.
“There is only one freshness - the first, and it is also the last.” It would seem like a completely everyday note that slipped between the lines. But she gained wings and became top for many people.
Quotes from Woland from The Master and Margarita (30 quotes)
“The Master and Margarita” is a novel by Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov, work on which began in the late 1920s and continued until the death of the writer. The novel is an unfinished work; editing and bringing together the draft notes was carried out after the death of her husband by the writer’s widow, Elena Sergeevna. The first version of the novel, which had the titles “The Engineer’s Hoof”, “The Black Magician” and others, was destroyed by Bulgakov in 1930. As with any significant work, the novel “The Master and Margarita” has many meanings. This is, of course, a novel about the reality of God and the Devil. This is a novel about love, about truth, about redemption. You will find Woland's quotes from The Master and Margarita here.
I like to sit low - it’s not so dangerous to fall from low.
Yes, man is mortal, but that would not be so bad. The bad thing is that he is sometimes suddenly mortal, that's the trick!
What would your good do if evil did not exist?
A brick will never fall on anyone’s head for no reason at all.
Manuscripts don't burn.
People are like people. They love money, but this has always been the case... Humanity loves money, no matter what it is made of, whether leather, paper, bronze or gold. Well, frivolous... well, well... ordinary people... in general, they resemble the old ones... the housing issue only spoiled them...
Well, the one who loves must share the fate of the one he loves.
Nonsense! In three hundred years this will pass.
Which country's wine do you prefer at this time of day?
Everyone will be rewarded according to their faith.
The most interesting thing about this lie is that it is a lie from the first to the last word.
Why pursue in the footsteps of what is already over?
...never ask for anything! Never and nothing, and especially among those who are stronger than you. They will offer and give everything themselves!
It's sometimes nice to linger on the festive midnight.
There is only one freshness - the first, and it is also the last. And if the sturgeon is second freshness, then this means that it is rotten!
“We speak different languages, as always,” Woland responded, “but the things we talk about don’t change because of this.
...the one who until recently believed that he was in control of something suddenly finds himself lying motionless in a wooden box, and those around him, realizing that the person lying there is no longer of any use, burn him in the oven.
That’s it, as you please, evil lurks in men who avoid wine, games, the company of lovely women, and table conversation. Such people are either seriously ill or secretly hate those around them. True, exceptions are possible. Among the people who sat down with me at the banquet table, I sometimes came across amazing scoundrels!
Fact is the most stubborn thing in the world.
I'm talking about mercy... Sometimes, completely unexpectedly and insidiously, it penetrates into the narrowest cracks.
A person without a surprise inside, in his box, is uninteresting.
- ... but here’s the question that worries me: if there is no God, then, the question arises, who controls human life and the whole order on earth? - The man himself controls.
“Of course, of course,” Woland responded, “I had the pleasure of meeting this young man at the Patriarch’s Ponds.” He almost drove me crazy, proving to me that I don’t exist!
Everything will be right, the world is built on this.
Beauties behave strangely.
Annushka has already bought sunflower oil, and not only bought it, but even bottled it. So the meeting will not take place.
And no points of view are needed, he simply existed, and nothing more.
This knight once made a bad joke... his pun, which he made while talking about light and darkness, was not entirely good. And after that the knight had to joke a little more and longer than he expected. But today is the night when scores are settled. The knight paid his account and closed it!
One, two... Mercury in the second house... the moon has left...
I frankly don't like breaking news on the radio. They are always reported by some girls who mumble the names of places. In addition, every third of them is tongue-tied, as if they were deliberately selected.
Woland's reasoning
It is interesting that in the novel the Prince of Darkness does not indulge in long monologues, but manages to touch on all sorts of topics. This is why Woland is interesting. At the same time, the quotes become quite long, because every word is in place. “A fact is the most stubborn thing in the world,” and this is indisputable, but not everything can be said so briefly.
Woland's thoughts about good and evil, about human vices, about the sudden mortality of a person who cannot dispose of himself so stupidly - all this creates a unique setting for the novel. The reader subconsciously admits to himself that he himself has thought so more than once.
Features of creating an image
Bulgakov's novel is built in two chronological planes and locations: Soviet Moscow and Ancient Jerusalem. The compositional concept of the novel is also interesting: a work within a work. However, Woland is present in all compositional planes.
So, a mysterious stranger arrives in Soviet Moscow in the spring of 1935. “He was wearing an expensive gray suit, foreign-made shoes that matched the color of the suit... under his arm he carried a cane with a black knob in the shape of a poodle’s head. He looks like he's about forty years old... The right eye is black, the left one is green for some reason. The eyebrows are black, but one is higher than the other. In a word - a foreigner." Bulgakov gives this description of Woland in the novel.
He presented himself as a foreign professor, an artist in the field of magic tricks and sorcery, to some heroes and, in particular, to the reader, he reveals his true face - the lord of darkness. However, it is difficult to call Woland the personification of absolute evil, because in the novel he is characterized by mercy and just actions.
Relevance for all times
“He who loves must share the fate of the one he loves.” Woland's quotes from The Master and Margarita may seem contradictory, especially in the wake of the popularity of the postulate that no one owes anyone anything. But popular statements quickly lose relevance, and again what is left behind is what was said once upon a time on the pages of a controversial novel.
It may seem that Woland is uttering some truisms, especially if you dissect the book, examining his speech from different points of view. But at all times, people who avoided the entertainments familiar to most - wine, gambling, female society - seemed suspicious. Sudden mercy really spoils everything, seeping into the narrowest crack at the wrong moment. And the clownish framing of Woland’s statements with the witticisms and buffoonery of his retinue makes wise thoughts more relatable and does not age as a result.
Golden Calf - Quotes
I see that you love money unselfishly. Tell me, what amount do you like?
- How do you say? Will he bring the money on a silver platter? - On a platter for me, and on a platter for you.
Get to the point. Send the linemen to my disposal. Units arrive in the city as soon as possible. Guard uniform. Well, sound the march! I will command the parade! You won't go hungry along the way. I take it upon myself. The gasoline is yours, the ideas are ours.
Don't make a cult out of food.
Pedestrians must be loved. Pedestrians make up the majority of humanity. Moreover, the best part of it. Pedestrians created the world.
It should be noted that the car was also invented by pedestrians. But motorists somehow immediately forgot about it. Meek and intelligent pedestrians began to be crushed. Streets created by pedestrians have passed into the hands of motorists.
I'm not a surgeon, I'm a neurologist, I'm a psychiatrist. I study the souls of my patients. And for some reason I always come across very stupid souls.
Milk and hay, what could be better! Always thinking; “I can still do this. There will still be a lot of milk and hay in my life.” But in reality this will never happen again. So know this: it was the best night of our lives, my poor friends. And you didn't even notice it.
- Stop! If I catch up, I’ll fire everyone! - Stop, fool! Don't you see, they've lost the boss!
I am a non-party monarchist. Servant to the king, father to the soldiers. In general, soar, falcons, eagles, grieve to the fullest...
Why are you yelling like a polar bear in warm weather?
Untalented old man! Untalented madman! Another great blind man has emerged - Panikovsky! Homer, Milton and Panikovsky! Warm company! And Balaganov? Also a sailor from a broken ship. They're beating Panikovsky, they're beating Panikovsky! And myself... Let's go to the city garden. I'll set up a scene for you at the fountain.
Icebergs! We can understand this. There has been no life for ten years. All Icebergs, Weisbergs, Eisenbergs, all sorts of Rabinovichs.
You are not in church, you will not be deceived.
Why do we love you? Girls don't like people like you. They love young, long-legged, politically literate people. And you will soon die. And no one will write about you in the newspaper: “Another one burned down at work.” And a beautiful widow with Persian eyes will not sit on the grave. And crying children will not ask: “Dad, dad, can you hear us? "
ABOUT! - the Americans shouted. They had already heard this word in one respectable family from Chicago. And there excellent references were given about “pervatsch’e”. The head of this family was at one time with the American occupation corps in Arkhangelsk, drank “pervatsch” there and since then cannot forget the charming feeling that he experienced.
Don't say that! I will outlive you all. You don't know Panikovsky. Panikovsky will still sell and buy you all.
You are an interesting person! Everything is fine with you. It’s amazing, with such happiness - and in freedom.
So God sent a fool to the commissioner for hooves! Nothing can be entrusted. I bought a car with a Turkish accent. So, I'm the head of the department? You are a pig, Shura, after this!
- Don't you need a chairman? - Which chairman? - Official. In a word, the head of the institution. - I am the head myself. - So, you are going to serve time yourself? That's what they would have said right away. Why have you been fooling me for two hours now?
I am the Chairman of the Pound. I always sat. I sat under Alexander the Second, the “Liberator,” under Alexander the Third, the “Peacemaker,” under Nicholas the Second, the “Bloody.” I also sat under Kerensky. Under war communism, however, I didn’t sit at all, pure commerce disappeared, there was no work. But how I sat during the NEP! How I sat during the NEP! These were the best days of my life.
“A pathetic, insignificant person,” Panikovsky confirmed, serving tea to the tables. He was pleased to know that there were people in the world even smaller than himself.
The sky is now desolate. Not that era. Wrong period of time. The angels now want to come to earth. It’s good on earth, there are public services, there is a planetarium, you can look at the stars accompanied by an anti-religious lecture.
Only an insurance policy can give a person complete peace of mind,” Ostap answered without slowing down. “Any life insurance agent will tell you that.” Personally, I don't need you anymore. Here is the state, it will probably be interested in you soon.
You know, Shura, I respect Bender very much, but I have to tell you: Bender is an ass! By God, a pathetic, insignificant person!
The meeting continues! And, as you can see, gentlemen of the jury, the ice has broken. My client tried to kill me. Of course, out of childish curiosity. He just wanted to know what was inside me.
I didn't just work. I even got hurt. After conversations with Berlaga, Skumbrievich and Polykhaev, I lost faith in humanity. Isn't it worth a million rubles, faith in humanity?
For a good person, a million is not a pity.
Fate plays with man, and man plays the trumpet.
Here lies MIKHAIL SAMUELEVICH PANICOVSKY, a man without a passport.
I have often been unfair to the deceased. But was the deceased a moral person? No, he was not a moral person. He was a former blind man, an impostor and a goose thief. He put all his strength into living at the expense of society. But society did not want him to live at its expense. But Mikhail Samuelevich could not bear this contradiction in his views, because he had a hot temper. And that's why he died. All!
- And we won’t make revolutions with you! You can do it yourself. - I? No, I won’t make a revolution, - Well, they will do it without you and they won’t ask you.
Eat it. These are eggs. If eggs exist, then someone should eat them?
Asking a cigarette from a miser like you would be simply painful. You would never hold out a cigarette case, fearing that instead of one cigarette they would take several from you, but you would dig around in your pocket for a long time, with difficulty opening the box and pulling out a pathetic, bent cigarette. You are not a good person.
Here I am a millionaire! - Ostap exclaimed with cheerful surprise. - An idiot's dreams come true!
The transport got out of hand. We quarreled with the railroad. Air routes are closed to us. On foot? Four hundred kilometers. This is not encouraging. There is only one thing left to do - convert to Islam and ride camels.
Yesterday, an old woman came up to me on the street and offered to buy an eternal needle for a primus stove. You know, Adam, I didn't buy it. I don't need an eternal needle, I don't want to live forever. I want to die. I have all the vulgar signs of being in love: lack of appetite, insomnia and a manic desire to write poetry. Listen to what I sprinkled last night in the fluctuating light of an electric lamp: “I remember a wonderful moment, you appeared before me like a fleeting vision, like a genius of pure beauty.” Is it really good? Talented? And only at dawn, when the last lines were written, I remembered that this verse had already been written by A. Pushkin. Such a blow from a classic!
No need for applause! I didn't make the Count of Monte Cristo. We'll have to retrain as building managers.
