Berlioz is an homage to Hector Berlioz, who wrote The Damnation of Faust. Ringing any bells?
Also, understand that Bulgakov was writing for and working at the Moscow Artistic Academic Theatre (MXAT in Russian) and had to deal with Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko. By the 1930s they hated each other and as soon as one of them warmed up to Bulgakov, the other decided to hate him. Nemirovich-Danchenko was usually out of the country (in India even, at one point) and so it was difficult for Bulgakov at the theatre. Many of the Variete personages are based on people he knew. He hated both Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko as egotistical, self-absorbed people absorbed with their own celebrity.
Rimsky is, I believe, Nemirovich-Danchenko. The rest should be clear after that.
Also, understand that Bulgakov was writing for and working at the Moscow Artistic Academic Theatre (MXAT in Russian) and had to deal with Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko. By the 1930s they hated each other and as soon as one of them warmed up to Bulgakov, the other decided to hate him. Nemirovich-Danchenko was usually out of the country (in India even, at one point) and so it was difficult for Bulgakov at the theatre. Many of the Variete personages are based on people he knew. He hated both Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko as egotistical, self-absorbed people absorbed with their own celebrity.
Rimsky is, I believe, Nemirovich-Danchenko. The rest should be clear after that.
Political correctness is the pettiest form of casuistry.
ἡ δὲ κἀκ τριῶν τρυπημάτων ἐργαζομένη ἐνεκάλει τῇ φύσει, δυσφορουμένη, ὅτι δὴ μὴ καὶ τοὺς τιτθοὺς αὐτῇ εὐρύτερον ἢ νῦν εἰσι τρυπώη, ὅπως καὶ ἄλλην ἐνταῦθα μίξιν ἐπιτεχνᾶσθαι δυνατὴ εἴη. – Procopius
Ummaka qinnassa nīk!
*MySmiley*
ἡ δὲ κἀκ τριῶν τρυπημάτων ἐργαζομένη ἐνεκάλει τῇ φύσει, δυσφορουμένη, ὅτι δὴ μὴ καὶ τοὺς τιτθοὺς αὐτῇ εὐρύτερον ἢ νῦν εἰσι τρυπώη, ὅπως καὶ ἄλλην ἐνταῦθα μίξιν ἐπιτεχνᾶσθαι δυνατὴ εἴη. – Procopius
Ummaka qinnassa nīk!
*MySmiley*
The Joint Book Club: Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita
- 15/07/2010 08:36:47 AM
1604 Views
Things you liked
- 15/07/2010 08:37:57 AM
1014 Views
The Passion interludes and Margarita's witchification and night flight.
- 23/07/2010 11:19:59 PM
1196 Views
Things you didn't like
- 15/07/2010 08:38:20 AM
920 Views
Things that didn't make sense to you
- 15/07/2010 08:38:54 AM
967 Views
The murder of Judas.
- 23/07/2010 11:13:58 PM
927 Views
Does it make more sense if Aphranius is seen as...
- 26/07/2010 12:39:46 AM
883 Views
See, that seemed obvious to me.
- 28/07/2010 02:55:02 AM
1023 Views
Oh, so that was them making up a story to tell anyone else if needed? *NM*
- 28/07/2010 08:29:10 AM
535 Views
The walls have ears. Nobody would know that better than Aphranius and Pilate.
- 31/07/2010 07:32:09 PM
1064 Views
Also, who was Koroviev supposed to be?
- 23/07/2010 11:44:28 PM
944 Views
Characters (ordinary)
- 15/07/2010 08:39:53 AM
984 Views
Characters (supernatural)
- 15/07/2010 08:40:36 AM
924 Views
Behemoth was hilarious. I love the idea of him being a large mischievous cat.
- 23/07/2010 11:22:01 PM
845 Views
I'm reserving a spot for my comments but not posting them just yet.
- 15/07/2010 03:46:34 PM
1005 Views
*NM*
I had a very interesting conversation about the novel yesterday.
- 16/07/2010 02:44:53 PM
1082 Views
Re: I had a very interesting conversation about the novel yesterday.
- 21/07/2010 12:22:28 PM
974 Views
I haven't collected my thoughts on the experience of reading the novel yet, but I wanted to share...
- 16/07/2010 02:50:03 PM
1085 Views
My thoughts
- 20/07/2010 04:50:06 AM
1173 Views
Does this story translate well?
- 20/07/2010 06:27:50 PM
979 Views
About evil in this book.
- 21/07/2010 07:14:59 PM
891 Views
There is a Russian author who believes Margarita was Gorky's girlfriend.
- 22/07/2010 03:15:13 AM
1057 Views
Aha. There's the question I was going to ask:
- 31/07/2010 10:32:17 PM
872 Views
To the devil with this. I don't care if I am showing my ignorance.
- 31/07/2010 10:52:54 PM
1242 Views
Any time you have a dual story, the invitation to draw parallels exists.
- 10/08/2010 05:56:23 PM
985 Views
For all the expressed interest, this book club discussion is languishing. *NM*
- 21/07/2010 02:07:23 AM
503 Views
An anniversary, a birthday, and a successful job interview do tend to slow me down somewhat 
- 21/07/2010 02:08:10 PM
930 Views
- 21/07/2010 02:08:10 PM
930 Views
Vacation and all the stuff associated with it. Will try to write something, but it might be a while. *NM*
- 23/07/2010 02:03:57 AM
505 Views
Give me a day or two to catch up on things and finish the book. *NM*
- 24/07/2010 11:14:17 PM
485 Views
Names.
- 21/07/2010 07:16:23 PM
1016 Views
They're not common.
- 22/07/2010 03:08:55 AM
1005 Views
The Damnation of Faust has been steadily moving up on my list of books to read. So many
- 26/07/2010 05:42:41 PM
978 Views
Why do you think Bulgakov chose to wait so long before introducing us to Margarita?
- 24/07/2010 12:05:59 AM
896 Views
Have any of you heard of The Whisperers: Private Life in Stalin's Russia?
- 25/07/2010 09:01:30 PM
1042 Views
Unfortunately do to my eye surgery I could not participate.
- 28/07/2010 12:36:28 AM
1050 Views
I "read" it in audiobook form, in the car and on the move.
- 29/07/2010 02:55:50 PM
1045 Views
I wonder if having the words in front would have helped Ivanovich's dream make (more) sense.
- 29/07/2010 10:37:27 PM
829 Views
I've finished.
- 28/07/2010 02:39:57 AM
999 Views
I am about 2/3 of the way through the book and it sounds like my feelings on almost all of it are
- 28/07/2010 05:48:07 AM
859 Views
Civil Rights? You do realize that Russia never imported slaves, right?
- 28/07/2010 01:52:12 PM
1108 Views
It felt like two different books.One part I felt like I was wading through a meaningless fluff.
- 31/07/2010 10:45:52 PM
993 Views