{"id":1057,"date":"2010-07-04T10:00:31","date_gmt":"2010-07-04T10:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/?p=1057"},"modified":"2014-07-17T13:20:48","modified_gmt":"2014-07-17T13:20:48","slug":"reading-master-and-margarita-chapter-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/reading-master-and-margarita-chapter-5\/","title":{"rendered":"Reading: Master and Margarita – Chapter 5"},"content":{"rendered":"

Don\u2019t know about you, but with all the summer fun and travel I find it hard to find time to sit down and read even a few pages of the Master and Margarita<\/em>. But a few paragraphs here, a page there and next thing you know you\u2019re in Chapter 5 already.<\/p>\n

It just so happens, Chapter 5 \u00ab<\/strong>\u0411\u044b<\/span>\u043b\u043e <\/strong>\u0434\u0435<\/span>\u043b\u043e <\/strong>\u0432 <\/strong>\u0413\u0440\u0438\u0431\u043e\u0435<\/span>\u0434\u043e\u0432\u0435\u00bb<\/strong> [The Incident at Griboyedov] is one of my most favorite chapters. Why? It\u2019s mostly because of all the food mentioned in it. Growing up amidst continuous shortages, first of foodstuff and then – of money, and having no access to the amply-illustrated Soviet-era \u00ab<\/strong>\u041a\u043d\u0438<\/span>\u0433\u0430 <\/strong>\u043e <\/strong>\u0432\u043a\u0443<\/span>\u0441\u043d\u043e\u0439 <\/strong>\u0438 <\/strong>\u0437\u0434\u043e\u0440\u043e<\/span>\u0432\u043e\u0439 <\/strong>\u043f\u0438<\/span>\u0449\u0435\u00bb<\/strong> [Recipes for\u00a0Delicious and Healthful Food], I tried really hard to imagine what \u00ab<\/strong>\u0441\u0443\u0434\u0430\u0447\u043a\u0438<\/span> <\/strong>\u0430 <\/strong>\u043d\u0430\u0442\u044e\u0440\u0435<\/span>\u043b\u044c\u00bb<\/strong> [perch au naturel<\/em>] would even look like.<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u041d\u043e \u0434\u043e\u0432\u043e<\/span>\u043b\u044c\u043d\u043e, \u0442\u044b \u043e\u0442\u0432\u043b\u0435\u043a\u0430<\/span>\u0435\u0448\u044c\u0441\u044f, \u0447\u0438\u0442\u0430<\/span>\u0442\u0435\u043b\u044c!\u00bb<\/strong> [But enough, you, dear reader, are becoming distracted] to borrow the phrase from this same Chapter 5. Plus I\u2019m getting a bit ahead of myself here. There are, after all, a couple of issues that need to be discussed first.<\/p>\n

For example, don\u2019t you think it\u2019s about time to find out what the acronym \u00ab<\/strong>\u041c\u0410\u0421\u0421\u041e\u041b\u0418<\/span>\u0422\u00bb <\/strong>stands for? \u00ab<\/strong>\u041c\u0410\u0421\u0421\u041e\u041b\u0418<\/span>\u0422\u00bb<\/strong> is first introduced on the very first page of Chapter 1 as \u00ab<\/strong>\u043e\u0434\u043d\u0430<\/span> <\/strong>\u0438\u0437 <\/strong>\u043a\u0440\u0443\u043f\u043d\u0435<\/span>\u0439\u0448\u0438\u0445 <\/strong>\u043c\u043e\u0441\u043a\u043e<\/span>\u0432\u0441\u043a\u0438\u0445 <\/strong>\u043b\u0438\u0442\u0435\u0440\u0430\u0442\u0443<\/span>\u0440\u043d\u044b\u0445 <\/strong>\u0430\u0441\u0441\u043e\u0446\u0438\u0430<\/span>\u0446\u0438\u0439\u00bb<\/strong> [one of Moscow\u2019s largest literary associations].<\/p>\n

Nowhere in the novel does Bulgakov divulge what the mysterious acronym means. Since the entire novel is centered on \u00ab<\/strong>\u043b\u0438\u0442\u0435\u0440\u0430\u0442\u0443<\/span>\u0440\u0430 <\/strong>\u0438 <\/strong>\u043b\u0438\u0442\u0435\u0440\u0430<\/span>\u0442\u043e\u0440\u044b\u00bb<\/strong> [literature and writers] it would be logical to suggest that \u00ab<\/strong>\u041b\u0418\u0422\u00bb<\/strong> stands for either one of these. \u00ab<\/strong>\u0421\u041e\u00bb,<\/strong> of course, can stand for \u00ab<\/strong>\u0441\u043e\u0432\u0435<\/span>\u0442\u0441\u043a\u0438\u0439\u00bb<\/strong> [soviet] or \u00ab<\/strong>\u0441\u043e\u0446\u0438\u0430\u043b\u0438\u0441\u0442\u0438<\/span>\u0447\u0435\u0441\u043a\u0438\u0439\u00bb<\/strong> [socialist]. And \u00ab<\/strong>\u041c\u0410\u0421\u00bb<\/strong> can be either \u00ab<\/strong>\u043c\u0430<\/span>\u0441\u0441\u043e\u0432\u044b\u0439\u00bb<\/strong> [mainstream] or \u00ab<\/strong>\u043c\u0430<\/span>\u0441\u0442\u0435\u0440\u00bb<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

And so \u00ab<\/strong>\u041c\u0410\u0421\u0421\u041e\u041b\u0418<\/span>\u0422\u00bb<\/strong> can be any one of these:<\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/strong>\u041c\u0410<\/span>\u0421\u0421\u041e\u0432\u0430\u044f <\/strong>\u041b\u0418\u0422\u0435\u0440\u0430\u0442\u0443<\/span>\u0440\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> [mainstream literature]<\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/strong>\u041c\u0410<\/span>\u0421\u0441\u043e\u0432\u0430\u044f <\/strong>\u0421\u041e\u0432\u0435<\/span>\u0442\u0441\u043a\u0430\u044f <\/strong>\u041b\u0418\u0422\u0435\u0440\u0430\u0442\u0443<\/span>\u0440\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> [mainstream soviet literature]<\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/strong>\u041c\u043e\u0441\u043a\u043e<\/span>\u0432\u0441\u043a\u0430\u044f <\/strong>\u0410\u0421\u0441\u043e\u0446\u0438\u0430<\/span>\u0446\u0438\u044f <\/strong>\u0421\u041e\u0446\u0438\u0430\u043b\u0438\u0441\u0442\u0438<\/span>\u0447\u0435\u0441\u043a\u0438\u0445 <\/strong>\u041b\u0418\u0422\u0435\u0440\u0430<\/span>\u0442\u043e\u0440\u043e\u0432\u00bb<\/strong> [Moscow association of socialist writers]<\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/strong>\u041c\u0410\u0421\u0442\u0435\u0440\u0430<\/span> <\/strong>\u0421\u041e\u0432\u0435<\/span>\u0442\u0441\u043a\u043e\u0439 <\/strong>\u041b\u0418\u0422\u0435\u0440\u0430\u0442\u0443<\/span>\u0440\u044b\u00bb <\/strong>[masters of Russian literature]<\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/strong>\u041c\u0410\u0421\u0442\u0435\u0440\u0430<\/span> <\/strong>\u0421\u041e\u0446\u0438\u0430\u043b\u0438\u0441\u0442\u0438<\/span>\u0447\u0435\u0441\u043a\u043e\u0439 <\/strong>\u041b\u0418\u0422\u0435\u0440\u0430\u0442\u0443<\/span>\u0440\u044b\u00bb<\/strong> [masters of socialist literature]<\/p>\n

or any other permutation.<\/p>\n

The word \u00ab<\/strong>\u043c\u0430<\/span>\u0441\u0441\u043e\u0432\u044b\u0439\u00bb<\/strong>, by the way, can have several connotations. Mainstream is the most obviously fitting in this case. But consider Bulgakov\u2019s \u00ab<\/strong>\u043d\u0435\u043f\u0440\u0438\u044f<\/span>\u0437\u043d\u044c\u00bb<\/strong> [dislike] to the then-popular acronyms as well as to the organizations hiding behind them. \u00ab<\/strong>\u041c\u0430<\/span>\u0441\u0441\u043e\u0432\u044b\u0439\u00bb<\/strong> might very well mean high-volume (as in \u00ab<\/strong>\u043c\u0430<\/span>\u0441\u0441\u043e\u0432\u043e\u0435 <\/strong>\u043f\u0440\u043e\u0438\u0437\u0432\u043e<\/span>\u0434\u0441\u0442\u0432\u043e\u00bb<\/strong> [high-volume production]) or wholesale (as in \u00ab<\/strong>\u043c\u0430<\/span>\u0441\u0441\u043e\u0432\u0430\u044f <\/strong>\u043f\u0440\u043e\u0434\u0430<\/span>\u0436\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> [bulk sales]).<\/p>\n

Then, as I did some online research I came across something<\/a> even more intriguing. \u00ab<\/strong>\u041b\u0418\u0422\u00bb<\/strong> might not refer to literature or writers at all. Instead, it can be derived from the Greek word \u201clithos\u201d – stone, as in Russian words \u00ab<\/strong>\u043c\u043e\u043d\u043e\u043b\u0438<\/span>\u0442\u00bb<\/strong> [monolith] and \u00ab<\/strong>\u043f\u0430\u043b\u0435\u043e\u043b\u0438<\/span>\u0442\u00bb<\/strong> [Paleolith]. It seems that implied meaning would be something immovable and lifeless, something with no capacity to react to one\u2019s pain or passion.<\/p>\n

Was there a specific literary association Bulgakov was mocking? Well, yes, scores of them. Most likely it was \u00ab<\/strong>\u0420\u0410\u041f\u041f\u00bb<\/strong> or \u00ab<\/strong>\u0420\u043e\u0441\u0441\u0438<\/span>\u0439\u0441\u043a\u0430\u044f <\/strong>\u0430\u0441\u0441\u043e\u0446\u0438\u0430<\/span>\u0446\u0438\u044f <\/strong>\u043f\u0440\u043e\u043b\u0435\u0442\u0430<\/span>\u0440\u0441\u043a\u0438\u0445 <\/strong>\u043f\u0438\u0441\u0430<\/span>\u0442\u0435\u043b\u0435\u0439\u00bb<\/strong> [Russian association of proletarian writers]. It was well-known for \u00ab<\/strong>\u043d\u0430\u043f\u0430<\/span>\u0434\u043a\u0438\u00bb<\/strong> [bashing] of \u201cnon-conforming writers\u201d, including Bulgakov.<\/p>\n

Bulgakov suffered from criticism and rejection on the grounds of being \u201canti-soviet\u201d and \u201canti-proletarian\u201d coming from writers whose work was nothing but \u00ab<\/strong>\u0445\u0430\u043b\u0442\u0443<\/span>\u0440\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> [sloppy, shoddy work] done to rise through the ranks and get coveted benefits.<\/p>\n

No wonder his description of \u00ab<\/strong>\u041c\u0410\u0421\u0421\u041e\u041b\u0418<\/span>\u0422\u00bb<\/strong> is so bitter and sarcastic as when he mockingly asserts that \u00ab<\/strong>\u0431\u0435\u0437 <\/strong>\u043b\u0438\u0442\u0435\u0440\u0430\u0442\u0443<\/span>\u0440\u043d\u043e\u0433\u043e <\/strong>\u0442\u0430\u043b\u0430<\/span>\u043d\u0442\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> [without literary talent] it wasn\u2019t possible to become the card-carrying member of the organization. Or take the names of the writers – \u00ab<\/strong>\u0411\u043e\u0433\u043e\u0445\u0443<\/span>\u043b\u044c\u0441\u043a\u0438\u0439\u00bb<\/strong> [Blasphemer]; \u00ab<\/strong>\u041f\u0430\u0432\u0438\u0430<\/span>\u043d\u043e\u0432\u00bb<\/strong> from \u00ab<\/strong>\u043f\u0430\u0432\u0438\u0430<\/span>\u043d\u00bb<\/strong> [baboon]; \u00ab<\/strong>\u0420\u044e<\/span>\u0445\u0438\u043d\u00bb<\/strong> from \u00ab<\/strong>\u0440\u044e<\/span>\u0445\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> [chock, small wooden cylinder], etc. Add to that the comparison of the entire Griboyedov establishment to hell, first – implied (when the jazz band starts to play) and then – direct, \u00ab<\/strong>\u0421\u043b\u043e<\/span>\u0432\u043e\u043c, <\/strong>\u0430\u0434\u00bb<\/strong> [In a word, hell].<\/p>\n

But what of the mysterious dishes served at the restaurant? Turns out, perch au naturel<\/em><\/a> is just perch braised with aromatics and herbs. As for \u00ab<\/strong>\u044f<\/span><\/strong>\u0439\u0446\u0430-<\/strong>\u043a\u043e\u043a\u043e<\/span>\u0442\u0442 <\/strong>\u0432 <\/strong>\u0448\u0430\u043c\u043f\u0438\u043d\u044c\u043e<\/span>\u043d\u043e\u0432\u044b\u043c <\/strong>\u043f\u044e\u0440\u0435<\/span>\u00bb<\/strong> [eggs en cocotte<\/a> with mushroom puree], these are saut\u00e9ed mushrooms with eggs broken over them all baked in single-serving bakeware. Finally, \u00ab<\/strong>\u0441\u0443\u043f-<\/strong>\u043f\u0440\u0435\u043d\u0442\u0430\u043d\u044c\u0435<\/span>\u0440\u00bb<\/strong> is made<\/a> with beef stock poured over some boiled veggies.<\/p>\n

As a matter of fact, it all looks so doable that I\u2019m considering cooking a M&M-themed dinner. Except, ironically, I\u2019ve never seen perch in stores in the US.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

Don\u2019t know about you, but with all the summer fun and travel I find it hard to find time to sit down and read even a few pages of the Master and Margarita. But a few paragraphs here, a page there and next thing you know you\u2019re in Chapter 5 already. It just so happens…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":39,"featured_media":1058,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3,995],"tags":[1018,9273,9247,385636,1250,9271,8286,9897,9898],"class_list":["post-1057","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-soviet-union","tag-bulgakov","tag-doing-things-together","tag-master-and-margarita","tag-russian-food","tag-russian-literature","tag-russian-reading-summer-of-2010","tag-ussr","tag-9897","tag-9898"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t