Master and Margarita

Why does Woland come to Moscow? Why does he give a public performance at the Variety Theater?

Why is Woland the instrument of Margarita’s kindness toward Frieda and the master?

When Woland sees Margarita’s compassion for Pilate, why does he tell her, “Everything will turn out right, the world is built on that”? (p. 382)

Why has the master earned peace, but not light?

Why does Pilate dream that he is involved in an “interesting and endless” argument with Yeshua, “this philosopher, who had thought up such an incredibly absurd thing as that all men are good,” and that Yeshua’s execution never took place? (p. 319)

Why must Margarita become a witch and host Woland’s ball in order to rescue and be reunited with the master?

Why does Margarita become devoted to the master’s novel?

Why is the story of Pontius Pilate presented as not only written by the master, but also told by Woland, dreamed by Ivan, and read by Margarita?

When Woland asks what she wants, why does Margarita choose to free Frieda from her punishment?

Why must the master and Margarita leave the material world at the end of the novel?

Why does Woland insist, against the beliefs of Berlioz and Ivan, that Jesus really existed?

When Nikanor Ivanovich dreams that he is being interrogated, why does interrogation take the form of a number in a stage production?

Why is the master’s real name never revealed?

To what extent do individuals control their own fate?

Would acts of goodness have the same meaning in the absence of acts of evil?

What are the similarities between religious and aesthetic experience?