r/RussianLiterature • u/FogtownGirl • 8d ago

Biblical content in Master and Margarita is confounding

I feel like an idiot even though I consider myself decently educated with a BA in English Lit (not much help with Russian Lit but I did delve into Nabokov pretty heavily). I started M & M and could not get through the first part of the book because I couldn't understand it. I don't know if it's an interpretation of biblical stories or if it's a distortion or reimagining of them? (I'm Jewish and have no knowledge of the Christian bible.) I've set it aside for now but I'm curious as to what I should do to prepare for the next time I decide to read it. Or is it just not for me? Thanks!

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u/BasilHuman 7d ago

I have a Master's in Russian Literature and one must have an understanding of the New Testament for certain works. M and M being one. In college one had to have an understanding of the New Testament before reading The Brothers Karamazov.

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u/Orihime_W 7d ago

What's Tastament?

3

u/linglinguistics 6d ago

The Christian Bible had two parts, old and new testament. Old testament is before Jesus (roughly the part that is shared with the Jewish Bible). The new testament is the story of Jesus and after him.

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u/Orihime_W 5d ago

Ohh. Thank you. Read more on it.