https://cr.middlebury.edu/public/russian/Bulgakov/public_html/themes.html
https://www.masterandmargarita.eu/en/index.html
The Master and Margarita is, ultimately, a huge study in cognitive dissonance. It’s about a state of mind where nothing adds up and yet you must act as if it does. Often, the only way to survive in that state is to tune out. And, ideally, make a lot of jokes about how terrible everything is.
The important information apparently had indeed produced a strong impression on the traveler, because he passed his frightened glance over the buildings, as if afraid of seeing an atheist in every window.
‘You’ll find that same deck, esteemed citizens, on citizen Parchevsky in the seventh row, just between a three-rouble bill and a summons to court in connection with the payment of alimony to citizen Zeikova.’ There was a stirring in the stalls, people began to get up, and finally some citizen whose name was indeed Parchevsky, all crimson with amazement, extracted the deck from his wallet and began sticking it up in the air, not knowing what to do with it.
‘You may keep it as a souvenir!’ cried Fagott. ‘Not for nothing did you say at dinner yesterday that if it weren’t for poker your life in Moscow would be utterly unbearable.’
‘An old trick!’ came from the gallery. The one in the stalls is from the same company.’
‘You think so?’ shouted Fagott, squinting at the gallery. ‘In that case you’re also one of us, because the deck is now in your pocket!
There was movement in the balcony, and a joyful voice said: ‘Right! He’s got it! Here, here! ... Wait! It’s ten-rouble bills!’
Those sitting in the stalls turned their heads. In the gallery a bewildered citizen found in his pocket a bank-wrapped packet with ‘One thousand roubles’ written on it. His neighbours hovered over him, and he, in amazement, picked at the wrapper with his fingernail, trying to find out if the bills were real or some sort of magic ones.
‘By God, they’re real! Ten-rouble bills!’ joyful cries came from the
gallery.
Love leaped out in front of us like a murderer in an alley leaping out of nowhere, and struck us both at once. As lightning strikes, as a Finnish knife strikes! She, by the way, insisted afterwards that it wasn’t so, that we had, of course, loved each other for a long, long time, without knowing each other, never having seen each other, and that she was living with a different man ... as I was, too, then ... with that, what’s her ...
Understand that the tongue can conceal the truth, but the eyes - never
And a fact is the most stubborn thing in the world.
Never ask for anything! Never for anything, and especially from those who are stronger than you
Manuscripts don’t burn.
He said he would not leave even if they started to kill him, and even offered for that purpose a bread knife he had with him.
‘Go on,’ answered Pilate, ‘there was no mistake. Generally, I am beginning to feel a bit at a loss, Aphranius, I am apparently dealing with a man who never makes mistakes. That man is you.’
Well, he who loves must share the lot of the one he loves.
Everything will turn out right, the world is built on that.