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