THE MASTER AND MARGARITA

A character guide… because I love you.

The characters can be split into three main groups:

Contemporary Russians

Satan and his posse

Characters from the Master’s

Novel

The Contemporary Russians

Mikhail Alexandrovich BerliozBerlioz

• Head of Moscow literary association called Massolit • Last name shared with the French composer Hector

Berlioz who wrote The Damnation of Faust

The Contemporary Russians

Ivan Nikolaevich Ponyrev “Bezdomny” “Homeless”

• Employed by Beroliz to write an anti-religious poem

The Contemporary Russians

Stephen Bogdanovich Likhodeyev“Styopa”

• Last name derived from the Russian word for “malfeasant”

• Director of the Variety Theater • Berlioz’s roommate

The Contemporary Russians

Ivan Savelievich Varenukha

• The house manager at the Variety Show• From man to creature of darkness to man again!

“Varenukha”

The Contemporary Russians

George Bengalsky

• The master of ceremonies at the Variety Show• Loses his head for a bit and then joins the crew at the

hospital

“Bengalsky”

The Contemporary Russians

Grigory Danilovich Rimsky“Rimsky”

• The financial director of the Variety Show

The Contemporary Russians

Nikanor Ivanovich Bosoy• House Chairman of No. 302-b, Sadovaya Street (where

Beroliz lived)• Greedy, greedy… bad idea when you’re dealing with

the devil.

The Contemporary Russians

The Master• A trained historian with a mysterious past who speaks

five languages• We meet him in the psych ward

• We know that his life had no meaning until he met Margarita

• An author who wrote a novel about Pontius Pilate meeting Jesus of Nazareth

The Contemporary Russians

Margarita Nikolayevna“Margarita”

• The Master’s lover, trapped in a loveless marriage • Serves as hostess of Satan’s Grand Ball on Walpurgis

Night• Named after Faust’s Gretchen

Satan and his posse

Professor Woland“Satan”

• Claims to be a “foreign professor”• Purported purpose in Moscow? To put on a black

magic show. Obviously.

Satan and his posse

KorovievFagot/Fagotto, ex-

choirmaster • Woland’s assistant• Capable of all sorts of magic!

Satan and his posse

Behemoth The giant black cat

• In Russian, his name can literally translate to “hippopotamus” (as well as the Biblical figure)

• Has a deep love for chess, vodka, and pistols. Why not?

Satan and his posse

Azazello

• Has a fang jutting out of his mouth• A messenger and assassin; maybe one of the horsemen of

the Apocalypse?

Name could be a reference to Azazel, a demon or scapegoat in Hebrew text

-also- in the book of Enoch, the fallen angel who teaches people to make weapons, jewelry, and the sin of wearing

makeup

Satan and his posse

HellaThe Devil’s Lady Friend

• “…perfect, were it not for a purple scar on her neck…”• Is she a vampire?

Characters from the Master’s Novel

Pontius PilateThe Procurator of Judea,

Hegemon • We’ll talk more about this guy in a minute…

Characters from the Master’s Novel

AphraniusThe mysterious hooded

figure• Turns out he’s the head of the Roman Secret Service in Judea

Characters from the Master’s Novel

Yeshua Ha-NozriTranslated: Jesus of

Nazarene

Characters from the Master’s Novel

Mark Rat-Killer • A Centurion

• Rather large and unattractive

Characters from the Master’s Novel

Joseph/Yoseph KaifaCiaphus

• Head high priest in Jerusalem

Characters from the Master’s Novel

Judah/Yehudah of Kiriaf/KeriothWe might think of him as

Judas• Paid by Kaifa to suck at life and ruin everything

Characters from the Master’s Novel

Matthu Levi / Levi Matvei The author of the Gospel of Matthew

• He’s been following Yeshua around, writing things down on parchment when we first hear of him