Guides True or False: From Gogol to Tarkovsky Público

Abstract

This thesis examines the artistic legacy of Nikolai Gogol's "The Portrait" 

(1835) through its influence on Mikhail Bulgakov's "The Master and Margarita" 

(1928-1940) and Andrei Tarkovsky's film "Stalker" (1979). By analyzing how these 

three Russian artists engage with the motifs of imitation and transformation, this 

study reveals their shared exploration of the tension between material reality 

and spiritual truth during different periods of Russian history. Gogol's initial 

framework—portraying how artistic integrity can be corrupted by fame and 

material wealth—evolves in Bulgakov's work into an examination of fear under 

state authority and the possibility of redemption. Tarkovsky further transforms 

these themes through his cinematic meditation on the artist's quest for meaning 

in a spiritually barren landscape. The research demonstrates how all three 

artists operate within a liminal space between material and spiritual reality, 

suggesting that true artistic transformation requires confronting uncertainty and 

discomfort rather than seeking harmony and fame. Additionally, this thesis 

explores how these artists employ meta-textual and self-critical approaches to 

reflect on the trials faced creative individuals navigating political pressures while 

pursuing spiritual and artistic truth.

Table of Contents

Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Chapter 1:

Gogol's Portrait: The Iconography of Evil. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

- Introduction: Russia's Soul and Identity Crisis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

- Chartkov's Dilemma: Talent versus Temptation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

- The Religious Dimension: Portraiture and Russian Iconography. . . . . . . . . . .9

- The Portrait as Icon: Warning and Judgment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

- The Tension Between Tradition and Western Influence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

- The Dual Nature of the Icon: Blessing and Curse. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

- The Critical Response: Belinsky's Challenge to Gogol. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

- Berdyaev's Defense: Gogol as Artist of Evil. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

- Conclusion: The Persistence of Evil. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Chapter 2:

The Master and Margarita: On the Question of Loyal Followers and the Rebels.18

- Introduction: Truth and Betrayal in Russian Literature. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

- Followers of Truth: Obedience Is Not Loyalty. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

- Truth Versus the State: Moscow's Blind Followers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

- Characters and Transformation: The Obedient Followers and Converts. . . .21

- The Master: True Believer from the Beginning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

- Ivan Bezdomny: From Atheist to Convert. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

- Margarita: Love, Sacrifice, and Transformation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

- The Manuscript as Ultimate Truth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

- Beyond Logic: Love and Faith as Guides. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26

- The Rebellious Followers of Truth: Woland Versus Pontius Pilate. . . . . . . . . .27

- Pontius Pilate: Guilt and Redemption. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

- Woland: The Devil as Agent of Justice. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28

- Satan's Ball: Testing and Transformation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

- Reconceptualizing the Devil. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

- Woland as Divine Tester. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

- Conclusion: The Eternal Nature of Truth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

Chapter 3:

Stalker: The Journey and the Loss of Orientation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

- Introduction: The Sacred Zone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34

- The Pilgrim and the Visitor: Character Dynamics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35

- The Stalker: Guide and Seeker. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

- The Writer: Skeptic and Observer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37

- The Irony of Transformation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

- The Metaphysical Structure of the Zone: The Room of Desire

and Its Revelations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

- The Symbolic Language of Water and Reflection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

- Apocalyptic Frameworks and Revelation: Tarkovsky's Spiritual Vision. . . . . . 42

- Parallels with Bulgakov's Woland. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

- Baptism Through Filth: Testing the Pilgrims. The Meat-Grinder as Trial. . . .46

- The Writer's True Vision. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47

- Conclusion: The Trinity of Humanity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Work Cited. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

About this Honors Thesis

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School	Emory College
Department	Russian and East European Studies
Degree	B.A.
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Literature, Slavic and East European
Palavra-chave	Stalker Andrei Tarkovsky Mikhail Bulgakov Cultural and artistic integrity The Portrait Nikolai Gogol The Master and Margarita
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Elena Glazov-Corrigan, Emory University
Committee Members	Raymond De Luca, Emory University Kevin Corrigan, Emory University

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