Oldal 281 [281]
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE GENRE OF THE INITIATION NOVEL...
the locus of the mental institution that Ivan is “split into two” and, asa result,
goes through the second stage, intuitively moving towards the Truth. In his
dreams in the mental asylum, he sees the events of Golgotha, and the self¬
identification of the master is clarified. This is achieved by means of flower
symbolism in the Master’s narrative when he recounts to Ivanushka the first
time he met Margarita.
Roses versus mimosas. Everybody will remember the scene in which,
in answer to Margarita’s question, “Do you like the flowers in my hands?”
the Master says “No,” supplying a comment without naming the mimosas,
as this would refer only to the situation in which these yellow flowers appear
(in Moscow in the spring). However, thanks to the fact that the mimosas
are unnamed, the reader gets involved in the act of recollecting the name of
these flowers. (The names of the mimosas only appear in the text after a few
pages, and it is these flowers that the Master contrasts with roses.) This might
sound banal at first (is there anyone who does not love roses?), but when the
name of the yellow flowers is uttered—mimosa—the meaning of the contrast
between flowers liked and disliked will in a moment transpose the problem
to an “esoteric plane,” since the mimosa (that is, acacia vera) represents
a symbol-emblem of Freemasonry, whereas the rose is an equally well-known
permanent symbol of Rosicrucianism, as was said before. So through the
structure of his novel (and through its set of motifs, and by introducing this
language of flowers in its banalized and esoteric forms), Bulgakov succeeds in
accentuating the similarities and differences between the stages of initiation
in Freemasonry and Rosicrucianism, because it is with the explicit contrast
of the mimosas and roses that the transition begins from the first part of
the novel (in chapter 13, entitled “Enter the Hero”), with its pre-initiation
motif of Freemasonry, to the second part of the novel, which specifies
the details of Rosicrucian initiation.
In chapter 19 of the second section of the novel, which is entitled “Margarita,”
the accentuated role of the feminine principle becomes prevalent in the text.
The feminine principle has appeared in different ages and different cultures,
and it has been given expression in different ways. It has borne numerous
names, including Mother-Goddess, anima mundi, the Eternal Feminine,
Sophia (meaning wisdom in Hellenistic philosophy and religion, and coming
to be understood as “Holy Wisdom” in the Christian tradition), but the
Russian Symbolist concept of the Eternal Feminine comes nearest to this
motif in Bulgakov’s novel, which also serves as the most obvious indication of
the Rosicrucian type of initiation.
The idea of the Eternal Feminine is brought forward in the feminine
personae of the second part of the novel, which opens with the significant
name of the female protagonist Margarita (not Sophia or Sofja) together with
the shadowy alter ego, Natasha.
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