So, Pilate told Aphranius that Judas was going to be killed, which Aphranius said was news to him, and told Aphranius to make sure nothing happened to Judas. Aphranius then goes and kills Judas, comes back to Pilate, and says he's unfortunately failed in his task, makes up an elaborate story about what happened, and volunteers to stand trial for his failure (which Pilate refuses). So far so good, except that we don't know what Aphranius' motive is. Then, Pilate tells Matthew Levi that he had Judas killed.
I get that "Make sure nothing happens to him" might have meant "Take care of him for me, will you Aphranius? (Nudge-nudge wink-wink)", but then what on earth was the point of that elaborate story Aphranius made up and the long conversation he had with Pilate, ostensibly trying to piece together what must have happened? Wouldn't he have just smiled wrily and said something like "Alas, I was too late. I hope the procurator is not too disappointed?", rather than embarking on that long dialogue of deduction in which he contradicted Pilate multiple times? It sounded very like a genuine attempt to make it look as though he was interested in catching the killer, into which he'd put a lot of effort. If that wasn't for the purpose of fooling Pilate, what was it for and who was he trying to fool? Spies? Pilate's own conscience?
I get that "Make sure nothing happens to him" might have meant "Take care of him for me, will you Aphranius? (Nudge-nudge wink-wink)", but then what on earth was the point of that elaborate story Aphranius made up and the long conversation he had with Pilate, ostensibly trying to piece together what must have happened? Wouldn't he have just smiled wrily and said something like "Alas, I was too late. I hope the procurator is not too disappointed?", rather than embarking on that long dialogue of deduction in which he contradicted Pilate multiple times? It sounded very like a genuine attempt to make it look as though he was interested in catching the killer, into which he'd put a lot of effort. If that wasn't for the purpose of fooling Pilate, what was it for and who was he trying to fool? Spies? Pilate's own conscience?
Vigilantibus non dormientibus jura subveniunt.
—Nous disons en allemand : le guerre, le mort, le lune, alors que 'soleil' et 'amour' sont du sexe féminin : la soleil, la amour. La vie est neutre.
—La vie ? Neutre ? C'est très joli, et surtout très logique.
—Nous disons en allemand : le guerre, le mort, le lune, alors que 'soleil' et 'amour' sont du sexe féminin : la soleil, la amour. La vie est neutre.
—La vie ? Neutre ? C'est très joli, et surtout très logique.
The Joint Book Club: Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita
15/07/2010 08:36:47 AM
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Things you liked
15/07/2010 08:37:57 AM
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The Passion interludes and Margarita's witchification and night flight.
23/07/2010 11:19:59 PM
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Things you didn't like
15/07/2010 08:38:20 AM
- 835 Views
Things that didn't make sense to you
15/07/2010 08:38:54 AM
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The murder of Judas.
23/07/2010 11:13:58 PM
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Does it make more sense if Aphranius is seen as...
26/07/2010 12:39:46 AM
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See, that seemed obvious to me.
28/07/2010 02:55:02 AM
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Oh, so that was them making up a story to tell anyone else if needed? *NM*
28/07/2010 08:29:10 AM
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The walls have ears. Nobody would know that better than Aphranius and Pilate.
31/07/2010 07:32:09 PM
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Also, who was Koroviev supposed to be?
23/07/2010 11:44:28 PM
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Characters (ordinary)
15/07/2010 08:39:53 AM
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Characters (supernatural)
15/07/2010 08:40:36 AM
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Behemoth was hilarious. I love the idea of him being a large mischievous cat.
23/07/2010 11:22:01 PM
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I'm reserving a spot for my comments but not posting them just yet.
15/07/2010 03:46:34 PM
- 921 Views
I had a very interesting conversation about the novel yesterday.
16/07/2010 02:44:53 PM
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Re: I had a very interesting conversation about the novel yesterday.
21/07/2010 12:22:28 PM
- 903 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
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My thoughts
20/07/2010 04:50:06 AM
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Does this story translate well?
20/07/2010 06:27:50 PM
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About evil in this book.
21/07/2010 07:14:59 PM
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There is a Russian author who believes Margarita was Gorky's girlfriend.
22/07/2010 03:15:13 AM
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Aha. There's the question I was going to ask:
31/07/2010 10:32:17 PM
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To the devil with this. I don't care if I am showing my ignorance.
31/07/2010 10:52:54 PM
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Any time you have a dual story, the invitation to draw parallels exists.
10/08/2010 05:56:23 PM
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For all the expressed interest, this book club discussion is languishing. *NM*
21/07/2010 02:07:23 AM
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An anniversary, a birthday, and a successful job interview do tend to slow me down somewhat
21/07/2010 02:08:10 PM
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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
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Give me a day or two to catch up on things and finish the book. *NM*
24/07/2010 11:14:17 PM
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Names.
21/07/2010 07:16:23 PM
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They're not common.
22/07/2010 03:08:55 AM
- 924 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
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Why do you think Bulgakov chose to wait so long before introducing us to Margarita?
24/07/2010 12:05:59 AM
- 812 Views
Have any of you heard of The Whisperers: Private Life in Stalin's Russia?
25/07/2010 09:01:30 PM
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Unfortunately do to my eye surgery I could not participate.
28/07/2010 12:36:28 AM
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I "read" it in audiobook form, in the car and on the move.
29/07/2010 02:55:50 PM
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I wonder if having the words in front would have helped Ivanovich's dream make (more) sense.
29/07/2010 10:37:27 PM
- 750 Views
I've finished.
28/07/2010 02:39:57 AM
- 913 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
- 778 Views
Civil Rights? You do realize that Russia never imported slaves, right?
28/07/2010 01:52:12 PM
- 1016 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
- 941 Views