The Master and Margarita Summary By Chapter | Mikhail Bulgakov
Introduction to The Master and Margarita (Chapter-by-Chapter Summary)
What if the devil showed up in Moscow one spring afternoon, disguised as a mysterious foreign professor, and started turning the city upside down?
The story unfolds in three interwoven threads: Satan’s visit to 1930s Moscow, where he and his demonic retinue wreak hilarious and terrifying havoc upon the literary elite; the retelling of the trial and execution of Jesus Christ in ancient Yershalaim; and the tragic romance between a writer known only as “the master” and his devoted mistress, Margarita.
The novel opens at the Patriarch’s Ponds, where the editor Berlioz and the poet Ivan Homeless encounter a strange foreigner who correctly predicts Berlioz’s gruesome death.
Book Structure Overview
| Part | Chapter Range | Total Chapters | Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Book One | Chapters 1–18 | 18 | Moscow satire and introduction to Pilate story |
| Book Two | Chapters 19–32 | 14 | Focus on Margarita, the Ball, and the resolution |
| Ending | Epilogue | 1 | Follow-up on Moscow citizens and Ivan Ponyrev |
Book Table of Contents
Book One
Chapter 1: Never Talk with Strangers
Chapter 2: Pontius Pilate
Chapter 3: The Seventh Proof
Chapter 4: The Chase
Chapter 5: There were Doings at Griboedov’s
Chapter 6: Schizophrenia, as was Said
Chapter 7: A Naughty Apartment
Chapter 8: The Combat between the Professor and the Poet
Chapter 9: Koroviev’s Stunts
Chapter 10: News From Yalta
Chapter 11: Ivan Splits in Two
Chapter 12: Black Magic and Its Exposure
Chapter 13: The Hero Enters
Chapter 14: Glory to the Cock!
Chapter 15: Nikanor Ivanovich’s Dream
Chapter 16: The Execution
Chapter 17: An Unquiet Day
Chapter 18: Hapless Visitors
Book Two
Chapter 19: Margarita
Chapter 20: Azazello’s Cream
Chapter 21: Flight
Chapter 22: By Candlelight
Chapter 23: The Great Ball at Satan’s
Chapter 24: The Extraction of the Master
Chapter 25: How the Procurator Tried to Save Judas of Kiriath
Chapter 26: The Burial
Chapter 27: The End of Apartment No. 50
Chapter 28: The Last Adventures of Koroviev and Behemoth
Chapter 29: The Fate of the Master and Margarita is Decided
Chapter 30: It’s Time! It’s Time!
Chapter 31: On Sparrow Hills
Chapter 32: Forgiveness and Eternal Refuge
Epilogue
The Master and Margarita Summary Chapter by Chapter
Spoiler Warning
Book One
Chapter 1: Never Talk with Strangers
At the Patriarch’s Ponds, the editor Berlioz and the poet Ivan Homeless discuss Ivan’s anti-religious poem about Jesus. A mysterious foreigner, Woland, interrupts them, claiming to have been present at the trial of Pontius Pilate.
Berlioz and Ivan are skeptics, viewing Jesus as a mythological figure, while Woland asserts his historical existence. Woland displays supernatural knowledge, correctly guessing Berlioz’s plans.
He proceeds to tell a vivid story of Pilate that feels more like an eyewitness account than a legend. As the sun sets, an eerie atmosphere settles over the empty ponds.
Berlioz begins to feel an inexplicable, mounting dread. Woland predicts that Berlioz will have his head cut off by a Russian woman because Annushka has already bought the sunflower oil.
Key Moment: Woland predicts that Berlioz will have his head cut off by a Russian woman because Annushka has already bought the sunflower oil.
Chapter 2: Pontius Pilate
The scene shifts to ancient Yershalaim, where the procurator Pontius Pilate is suffering from a massive headache. The prisoner Yeshua Ha-Nozri is brought before him, accused of inciting the destruction of the temple.
Despite the beating he received, Yeshua remains calm and insists all people are fundamentally good. Pilate is intrigued by Yeshua’s ability to read his pain and cure his hemicrania through words.
However, Yeshua’s admission that he spoke against the authority of the Caesar makes him a dangerous political criminal. Pilate attempts to find a way to release Yeshua, but the High Priest Kaifa insists on executing him.
To Pilate’s fury, the Sanhedrin chooses to release the murderer Bar-Rabban instead. Pilate realizes he is committing an act of cowardice that will haunt him forever.
Key Moment: Pilate realizes that by confirming the death sentence, he is committing an act of cowardice that will haunt him forever.
Chapter 3: The Seventh Proof
Woland concludes his narrative back in Moscow, leaving Ivan and Berlioz stunned but still skeptical. Woland insists he was personally present at the events in Yershalaim.
Berlioz, convinced the foreigner is a mad German, decides to call the authorities. As Berlioz hurries toward the turnstile, he encounters a transparent, checkered figure.
He slips on the cobblestones just as a tram-car driven by a woman approaches. The tram-car fails to stop, and Berlioz is thrown onto the rails.
The prophecy is fulfilled as Berlioz’s head is severed and rolls across the pavement.
Key Moment: Berlioz is decapitated by a tram-car exactly as Woland predicted.
Chapter 4: The Chase
Ivan Homeless is paralyzed with shock after witnessing Berlioz’s gruesome death. He hears a woman mention that Annushka spilled oil at the turnstile.
Realizing the consultant orchestrated the event, Ivan rushes back to find Woland still at the Ponds. Woland now pretends he does not understand Russian, aided by the mocking checkered Koroviev.
A huge black cat joins them, walking on its hind legs. Ivan pursues the trio across Moscow with supernatural speed.
During the chase, Ivan ends up swimming in the Moscow River and has his clothes stolen, leaving him in only striped drawers.
Key Moment: Ivan chases the demonic trio through the city in his underwear, carrying a paper icon and a candle.
Chapter 5: There were Doings at Griboedov’s
The Moscow literary elite at the House of Griboedov waits impatiently for Berlioz to open a meeting. The members of Massolit are more concerned with their restaurant’s menu than literature.
News of Berlioz’s death finally arrives, momentarily silencing the jazz band and the revelry. However, the writers quickly return to their food and drink.
Suddenly, Ivan Homeless bursts onto the veranda, barefoot and dressed in drawers with an icon pinned to his chest. He frantically tells the crowd that a foreign consultant killed Berlioz.
The writers assume Ivan has had a nervous breakdown. Ivan is forcibly tied up with napkins and sent to a psychiatric clinic.
Key Moment: Ivan is forcibly tied up with napkins and sent to a psychiatric clinic.
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Chapter 6: Schizophrenia, as was Said
Ivan is delivered to Professor Stravinsky’s clinic in a state of high agitation. He tries to convince the doctor that Woland is a dangerous spy who was present at Pilate’s trial.
The more Ivan speaks about the talking cat and the severed head, the more convinced the doctors are of his insanity. The poet Riukhin reflects on the vanity of his own poetry.
Ivan’s initial fury turns to exhaustion as he is given a sedative. He is placed in room 117 and told he will be kept for observation.
Stravinsky officially diagnoses him with schizophrenia. Ivan realizes no one will believe his supernatural story.
Key Moment: Ivan realizes that no one will believe his supernatural story and begins to split into two selves.
Chapter 7: A Naughty Apartment
Styopa Likhodeev, director of the Variety Theatre, wakes up with a massive hangover in the apartment he shared with Berlioz. He discovers Woland sitting in his bedroom, claiming they signed a contract for black magic performances.
Styopa has no memory of this, but Woland shows him the signed document. Koroviev and the giant cat Behemoth appear, terrifying Styopa with their insolence.
They inform him that his presence in the naughty apartment is no longer required. A short, red-haired demon named Azazello appears and chucks Styopa out of Moscow.
Styopa suddenly finds himself on a jetty in Yalta, nearly a thousand miles away.
Key Moment: Styopa suddenly finds himself on a jetty in Yalta, nearly a thousand miles from Moscow.
Chapter 8: The Combat between the Professor and the Poet
Ivan wakes up in the clinic feeling much calmer and is subjected to various medical tests. He meets Professor Stravinsky, whom he initially compares to Pontius Pilate.
Stravinsky uses logic to show Ivan that his actions were not those of a rational person. He convinces Ivan to stay in the clinic and write down his testimony.
Ivan is given paper and a pencil but finds it impossible to construct a coherent report. He begins to feel the clinic’s peace is actually quite pleasant.
Ivan agrees to remain in the hospital and surrenders his will to Stravinsky’s care.
Key Moment: Ivan agrees to remain in the hospital and surrenders his will to Stravinsky’s care.
Chapter 9: Koroviev’s Stunts
Nikanor Ivanovich Bosoy, chairman of the tenants’ association, is besieged by people wanting Berlioz’s room. He visits Apartment No. 50 and finds Koroviev, who claims to be Woland’s interpreter.
Koroviev bribes Bosoy with a thick wad of bills to register Woland for a week. After Bosoy leaves, Koroviev calls the authorities to report that Bosoy is speculating in foreign currency.
The police arrive at Bosoy’s home and find four hundred dollars hidden in his ventilation duct. Bosoy frantically claims it is magic and that a devil gave him the money.
The bribe money supernaturally transforms from Soviet roubles into foreign currency, leading to Bosoy’s immediate arrest.
Key Moment: The bribe money transforms from Soviet roubles into foreign currency, leading to Bosoy’s arrest.
Chapter 10: News From Yalta
In the Variety Theatre, the financial director Rimsky and administrator Varenukha are baffled by Styopa’s absence. They receive telegrams from Yalta signed by Likhodeev, claiming he was thrown there by Woland.
Rimsky suspects a prank, while Varenukha tries to verify the handwriting. A mysterious voice warns Varenukha not to take the telegrams to the police.
Varenukha ignores the warning and is ambushed in a public toilet by a fat, cat-like man and a red-haired thug. They drag him to Apartment No. 50.
Varenukha is confronted by the naked, red-haired Hella, whose icy kiss causes him to faint.
Key Moment: Varenukha is confronted by the naked Hella, whose icy kiss causes him to faint.
Chapter 11: Ivan Splits in Two
A heavy storm breaks over the clinic while Ivan struggles with his written statement. He realizes his thoughts are fragmented and that he no longer cares about Berlioz’s death.
Ivan holds an internal dialogue between his old self and his new, calmer self. He decides that the consultant is actually the most interesting person he has ever encountered.
The doctor gives him another injection, bringing a sense of sweet languor. He begins to dream of the execution on Bald Mountain.
A mysterious stranger from the neighboring room climbs over the balcony and enters Ivan’s room.
Key Moment: A mysterious stranger from the neighboring room climbs over the balcony and enters Ivan’s room.
Chapter 12: Black Magic and Its Exposure
The séance of black magic begins at the Variety Theatre with Woland and his retinue. Woland observes the audience, commenting on how Moscow has changed only externally.
Koroviev makes ten-rouble bills rain from the ceiling, causing a frantic scramble among spectators. When the master of ceremonies tries to claim it is mass hypnosis, the audience demands he be punished.
Behemoth the cat jumps on Bengalsky and tears his head off his shoulders. At the crowd’s plea for mercy, the cat puts the head back on.
The show ends with a ladies’ shop appearing on stage, where women trade old clothes for Parisian fashion, which later vanish.
Key Moment: Behemoth tears off Bengalsky’s head, then puts it back on at the crowd’s plea for mercy.
Chapter 13: The Hero Enters
The visitor in Ivan’s room reveals he is a master who was also institutionalized because of Pontius Pilate. He tells Ivan his life story: he was a historian who won money and spent it writing a novel.
He describes his secret wife, a woman he met while she was carrying repulsive, alarming yellow flowers. They lived happily until his novel was rejected by vicious critics.
Driven to madness by critical attacks, he burned his manuscript and ended up in the clinic. He expresses deep regret for the pain he caused his beloved.
The master confirms to Ivan that the stranger at the Ponds was indeed Satan.
Key Moment: The master confirms to Ivan that the stranger at the Ponds was indeed Satan.
Chapter 14: Glory to the Cock!
Rimsky is left alone in the theatre after the séance, terrified by the supernatural events. He is trapped in his office when Varenukha returns, looking deathly pale and casting no shadow.
Varenukha tries to bite Rimsky, revealing himself to be a vampire. Simultaneously, the naked Hella tries to break in through the window.
Rimsky is saved at the last second by the crowing of a cock, which forces the vampires to flee. Rimsky escapes and boards a train for Leningrad, his hair turned white from terror.
Rimsky survives the vampire attack only because the rising dawn repels Woland’s servants.
Key Moment: Rimsky survives the vampire attack only because the crowing cock repels Woland’s servants.
Chapter 15: Nikanor Ivanovich’s Dream
Nikanor Bosoy is brought to Stravinsky’s clinic in a state of religious delirium. He has a vivid dream of being in a theatre where currency dealers are forced to turn over their hidden gold.
In the dream, the master of ceremonies shames a man for hiding wealth while his country is in need. An actor performs excerpts from Pushkin’s The Covetous Knight.
Bosoy wakes up screaming that he has no currency and that Pushkin should pay the rent. The clinic orderlies give him a sedative.
Bosoy’s dream reflects the Soviet state’s crackdown on illegal currency.
Key Moment: Bosoy’s dream reflects the Soviet state’s crackdown on illegal currency.
Chapter 16: The Execution
The narrative returns to Yershalaim on the day of the execution. Three men, including Yeshua, are hung on posts on Bald Mountain under a scorching sun.
Matthew Levi, Yeshua’s disciple, watches from a distance in agony, cursing God. A terrible storm gathers, darkening the sky as Yeshua dies.
An executioner pricks Yeshua in the heart to end his life quickly at Pilate’s secret order. Levi Matthew steals Yeshua’s body under cover of the deluge.
Yeshua’s final words acknowledge Pilate’s attempt to lessen his pain.
Key Moment: Yeshua dies on the cross, acknowledging Pilate’s attempt to lessen his pain.
Chapter 17: An Unquiet Day
The morning after the séance, the Variety Theatre staff are in total disarray. Investigators arrive with a famous dog to search for the missing directors.
In the Spectacles Commission, a secretary finds an empty suit sitting at her boss’s desk, signing papers while the boss has vanished. An entire department is gripped by a spell forcing them to sing against their will.
The bookkeeper Lastochkin is arrested when he tries to deposit the theatre’s receipts, which have turned into foreign currency.
Supernatural chaos paralyzes Moscow’s bureaucracy as Woland’s retinue mocks the city’s institutions.
Key Moment: Supernatural chaos paralyzes Moscow’s bureaucracy as Woland’s retinue mocks the city.
Chapter 18: Hapless Visitors
Maximilian Poplavsky, Berlioz’s uncle, arrives from Kiev hoping to inherit his nephew’s Moscow apartment. He is met at Apartment No. 50 by Koroviev and Behemoth, who demand his passport.
Azazello beats him with a roasted chicken and throws him out, telling him to return to Kiev. Following him is the barman of the Variety, Sokov, who wants to complain that his money turned into labels.
Woland predicts Sokov will die of liver cancer in nine months. The terrified barman visits a doctor who is also visited by a magical sparrow.
Behemoth transforms into a cat-human hybrid and officially cancels the uncle’s funeral visit.
Key Moment: Behemoth transforms into a cat-human hybrid and cancels the uncle’s funeral visit.
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Book Two
Chapter 19: Margarita
Margarita Nikolaevna, the master’s beloved, wakes up with a presentiment that her suffering is ending. She has a prophetic dream of the master in a desolate landscape.
While sitting in the Alexandrovsky Garden, she meets Azazello, who knows her secret thoughts. He offers her an invitation from a distinguished foreigner and a small golden box of cream.
Azazello hints that this meeting may lead her to find the master again. Margarita, driven by love, agrees to follow his instructions.
She decides to pawn her soul to the devil to learn if the master is still alive.
Key Moment: Margarita decides to pawn her soul to the devil to learn if the master is still alive.
Chapter 20: Azazello’s Cream
At 9:30 PM, Margarita rubs the cream into her skin and undergoes a magical transformation. She becomes younger, more beautiful, and physically weightless.
She feels a surge of wild joy and freedom, realizing she is leaving her former life forever. She writes a farewell note to her husband, explaining she has become a witch.
Her maid Natasha is awestruck by the transformation and uses the cream herself. Margarita taunts her boring neighbor from the window before departing.
She jumps astride a broom and flies out of her bedroom window, screaming “Invisible!”
Key Moment: Margarita jumps astride a broom and flies out of her bedroom window, screaming “Invisible!”
Chapter 21: Flight
Margarita flies over Moscow, reveling in her invisibility and power. She discovers Dramlit House and locates the apartment of Latunsky, the critic who ruined the master.
She wreaks havoc in his home, smashing his piano and flooding the rooms. After comforting a frightened child, she flies out into the countryside.
She is joined by Natasha, who is riding Nikolai Ivanovich, transformed into a hog. They arrive at a river for a witch’s swim in the moonlight.
Margarita vents her rage by destroying the environment of the man who destroyed the master’s soul.
Key Moment: Margarita vents her rage by destroying the environment of the man who destroyed the master’s soul.
Chapter 22: By Candlelight
Margarita is brought back to Moscow in a car driven by a rook and enters Apartment No. 50. The apartment has expanded into a vast, dark palace.
Koroviev explains that she has been chosen to hostess Satan’s Great Ball because of her royal blood. She meets Woland in his bedroom, playing chess with Behemoth.
Woland suffers from a leg injury and allows Margarita to rub it with ointment. He shows her a living globe where she can see the horrors of war.
Woland presents his retinue, preparing her for the midnight full moon festive night.
Key Moment: Woland presents his retinue to Margarita, preparing her for the midnight full moon festive night.
Chapter 23: The Great Ball at Satan’s
Margarita undergoes a painful ritual preparation, being washed in blood and rose oil. She stands at the top of a grand staircase, greeting a never-ending line of resurrected villains.
She meets figures like Madame Tofana, the poisoner, and Frieda, who smothered her baby. Despite exhaustion, she must smile and show no preference.
The ball is a sensory explosion of jazz, tropical forests, and fountains of champagne. At the climax, the head of Berlioz is brought in, and Woland drinks from his skull.
Woland kills the spy Baron Meigel and uses his fresh blood to toast to being.
Key Moment: Woland kills Baron Meigel and uses his fresh blood to toast to being.
Chapter 24: The Extraction of the Master
After the ball, Woland offers Margarita a reward for her service. To everyone’s surprise, she first asks for mercy for Frieda, so she will no longer be tormented.
Woland tells her she must grant this herself, which she does. He then offers a second wish, and she demands the return of the master.
The master appears in the room, still in his hospital robe, reunited with Margarita. Woland produces the burned manuscript, stating that manuscripts don’t burn.
They are returned to their basement apartment, and their enemies are punished. Woland grants the lovers their wish to return to their former life.
Key Moment: Woland produces the burned manuscript, stating that manuscripts don’t burn.
Chapter 25: How the Procurator Tried to Save Judas of Kiriath
Back in Yershalaim, a massive storm covers the city following the execution. Pilate meets with Aphranius, head of his secret service, to discuss the aftermath.
Pilate is deeply troubled by Yeshua’s death and expresses regret. He gives a veiled order that the traitor Judas might be killed tonight.
Aphranius understands the command perfectly despite its indirect phrasing. Pilate tries to convince himself he is taking a stand against evil.
Pilate orchestrates the assassination of Judas to appease his own conscience.
Key Moment: Pilate orchestrates the assassination of Judas to appease his own conscience.
Chapter 26: The Burial
Judas of Kiriath is lured out of the city by a woman named Niza and stabbed to death in Gethsemane. The thirty pieces of silver are thrown over the fence of the High Priest’s palace.
Aphranius reports back to Pilate, confirming the death and the secret burial. Pilate meets Matthew Levi, who is full of hatred and intended to kill Judas himself.
Pilate reveals he has already had Judas killed. He keeps Yeshua’s parchment, which mentions cowardice as the greatest vice.
Pilate attempts to find solace but remains haunted by the moon.
Key Moment: Pilate attempts to find solace but remains haunted by the moon.
Chapter 27: The End of Apartment No. 50
Margarita finishes reading the master’s novel as Saturday morning dawns. In Moscow, authorities conduct a massive investigation into Woland’s activities.
They find Likhodeev in Yalta and Varenukha in Moscow, but Woland remains elusive. The police eventually siege Apartment No. 50, but find only Behemoth the cat.
A chaotic gunfight ensues where no one is hurt despite hundreds of shots. The cat sets the apartment on fire with his primus stove and escapes.
The demonic gang burns down the naughty apartment and flies out of Moscow.
Key Moment: The demonic gang burns down the naughty apartment and flies out of Moscow.
Chapter 28: The Last Adventures of Koroviev and Behemoth
Koroviev and Behemoth visit a currency store, where Behemoth eats mandarins and herring without paying. They cause a riot by inciting the public against a foreigner.
Behemoth sets the store on fire before they vanish. They proceed to Griboedov House, bluff their way in, and have a final luxurious meal.
When police arrive and open fire, the pair burns the writers’ headquarters to the ground. The demonic duo destroys the symbols of Moscow’s greed and corruption.
The demonic duo destroys the symbols of Moscow’s greed and literary corruption.
Key Moment: The demonic duo destroys the symbols of Moscow’s greed and literary corruption.
Chapter 29: The Fate of the Master and Margarita is Decided
Woland and Azazello sit on a high terrace overlooking Moscow at sunset. Matthew Levi appears, sent by Yeshua, who has read the master’s novel.
Levi reports that the master does not deserve the light, he deserves peace. He asks Woland to take the lovers with him.
Woland agrees and sends Azazello to arrange it all. Koroviev and Behemoth return from their fires, soot-covered and triumphant.
The ultimate fate of the master is settled by negotiation between Light and Darkness.
Key Moment: The ultimate fate of the master is settled by negotiation between Light and Darkness.
Chapter 30: It’s Time! It’s Time!
Azazello visits the lovers in their basement and brings a gift from Woland: Falernian wine. This is the same wine the procurator of Judea once drank.
Margarita and the master drink the wine and immediately drop dead. Azazello resurrects their spirits in a new, immortal form.
They set fire to the basement and ride off on black horses. The master says a final goodbye to Ivan Homeless at the clinic.
The master and Margarita die in the physical world to begin their eternal journey.
Key Moment: The master and Margarita die in the physical world to begin their eternal journey with Woland.
Chapter 31: On Sparrow Hills
The cavalcade stops on Sparrow Hills to take a last look at Moscow. The city is bathed in the light of a rainbow following the storm.
The master experiences sadness and haughty indifference as he bids farewell to his former life. Behemoth and Koroviev perform one final, earth-shaking whistle.
Woland gives the signal to depart, and the group gallops into the air. The city disappears into mist and smoke behind them.
The master definitively severs his ties with the world that rejected him.
Key Moment: The master definitively severs his ties with the world that rejected him.
Chapter 32: Forgiveness and Eternal Refuge
As they fly through the night, the true forms of the demonic retinue are revealed. Koroviev becomes a dark-violet knight, Behemoth a slim demon-page.
They reach a high, stony platform where Pontius Pilate has sat for two thousand years. The master is told he may finish his novel with one phrase.
He cries out “You’re free!”, allowing Pilate to walk the moonbeam path to Yeshua. Woland leads the lovers to their eternal refuge—a peaceful house with cherry trees.
The master achieves creative and spiritual closure by granting his hero peace.
Key Moment: The master achieves creative and spiritual closure by granting his hero the peace he himself has found.
Epilogue
The Soviet authorities, unable to acknowledge the supernatural, attribute the chaos to a gang of hypnotists. Hundreds of black cats are exterminated by a paranoid public.
Citizens with names similar to Woland’s crew are briefly detained. Most characters revert to mundane lives, though forever changed.
Bengalsky retires in fear, and Styopa becomes a taciturn manager in Rostov. The master’s disciple, Ivan Homeless, becomes historian Professor Ponyrev.
He remains a victim of the moon, experiencing anxiety every spring full moon. He dreams of the execution and of the Master and Margarita walking into the moonlight.
Key Moment: Ivan remains a victim of the moon, dreaming of the Master and Margarita walking into the moonlight.
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