Woland
Woland () is a fictional character in the 1937 novel "The Master and Margarita" by the Russian (Soviet) author Mikhail Bulgakov. Woland is the mysterious foreigner and professor whose visit to Moscow sets the plot rolling and turns the world upside-down. His demonic retinue, which includes witches, vampires, and a gigantic talking cat, his role in the plot, and the fact that "Voland" is a (now outdated) German word for a devil or evil spirit, all imply that he is, in fact, the Devil. More controversial interpretations see him as the Apostle Peter (based on Jesus’ remark to Peter , "Get thee behind me, Satan") or even the Second Coming of Christ. Edward Ericson argues that Woland is essentially "the Satan of orthodox (specifically Russian Orthodox) Christian theology [...] He is both a tempter of men and an unwitting instrument of divine justice, a being who owes his existence and power to the very one he opposes." In conceiving of Woland, Bulgakov draws heavily from the figure of Mephistopheles in Goethe's "Faust", a connection made explicit by the use of an epigraph from the poem at the beginning of the novel. Additionally, the name Woland itself is derived from a  name by which Mephistopheles refers to himself during the Walpurgisnacht scene: squire Voland (). Other allusions to Goethe's Mephistopheles include Woland's cane with the head of a poodle and his limp. Another influence on Woland is Charles Gounod's opera "Faust". References. Notes