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
1592 Views
Things you liked
- 15/07/2010 08:37:57 AM
997 Views
The Passion interludes and Margarita's witchification and night flight.
- 23/07/2010 11:19:59 PM
1181 Views
Things you didn't like
- 15/07/2010 08:38:20 AM
905 Views
Things that didn't make sense to you
- 15/07/2010 08:38:54 AM
952 Views
The murder of Judas.
- 23/07/2010 11:13:58 PM
915 Views
Does it make more sense if Aphranius is seen as...
- 26/07/2010 12:39:46 AM
865 Views
See, that seemed obvious to me.
- 28/07/2010 02:55:02 AM
1007 Views
Oh, so that was them making up a story to tell anyone else if needed? *NM*
- 28/07/2010 08:29:10 AM
528 Views
The walls have ears. Nobody would know that better than Aphranius and Pilate.
- 31/07/2010 07:32:09 PM
1047 Views
Also, who was Koroviev supposed to be?
- 23/07/2010 11:44:28 PM
931 Views
Characters (ordinary)
- 15/07/2010 08:39:53 AM
974 Views
Characters (supernatural)
- 15/07/2010 08:40:36 AM
910 Views
Behemoth was hilarious. I love the idea of him being a large mischievous cat.
- 23/07/2010 11:22:01 PM
832 Views
I'm reserving a spot for my comments but not posting them just yet.
- 15/07/2010 03:46:34 PM
989 Views
*NM*
I had a very interesting conversation about the novel yesterday.
- 16/07/2010 02:44:53 PM
1066 Views
Re: I had a very interesting conversation about the novel yesterday.
- 21/07/2010 12:22:28 PM
960 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
1070 Views
My thoughts
- 20/07/2010 04:50:06 AM
1143 Views
Does this story translate well?
- 20/07/2010 06:27:50 PM
964 Views
About evil in this book.
- 21/07/2010 07:14:59 PM
876 Views
There is a Russian author who believes Margarita was Gorky's girlfriend.
- 22/07/2010 03:15:13 AM
1040 Views
Aha. There's the question I was going to ask:
- 31/07/2010 10:32:17 PM
856 Views
To the devil with this. I don't care if I am showing my ignorance.
- 31/07/2010 10:52:54 PM
1232 Views
Any time you have a dual story, the invitation to draw parallels exists.
- 10/08/2010 05:56:23 PM
969 Views
For all the expressed interest, this book club discussion is languishing. *NM*
- 21/07/2010 02:07:23 AM
494 Views
An anniversary, a birthday, and a successful job interview do tend to slow me down somewhat 
- 21/07/2010 02:08:10 PM
913 Views
- 21/07/2010 02:08:10 PM
913 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
497 Views
Give me a day or two to catch up on things and finish the book. *NM*
- 24/07/2010 11:14:17 PM
477 Views
Names.
- 21/07/2010 07:16:23 PM
1002 Views
They're not common.
- 22/07/2010 03:08:55 AM
993 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
961 Views
Why do you think Bulgakov chose to wait so long before introducing us to Margarita?
- 24/07/2010 12:05:59 AM
883 Views
Have any of you heard of The Whisperers: Private Life in Stalin's Russia?
- 25/07/2010 09:01:30 PM
1025 Views
Unfortunately do to my eye surgery I could not participate.
- 28/07/2010 12:36:28 AM
1036 Views
I "read" it in audiobook form, in the car and on the move.
- 29/07/2010 02:55:50 PM
1028 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
814 Views
I've finished.
- 28/07/2010 02:39:57 AM
980 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
842 Views
Civil Rights? You do realize that Russia never imported slaves, right?
- 28/07/2010 01:52:12 PM
1092 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
979 Views