Master and Margarita by M. Bulgakov is the most mysterious work in Russian literature of the 20th century. Each of the characters deserve close attention. You can re-read the novel endlessly, finding something new in it each time. Of particular interest is Ivan Bezdomny. Critics put forward various versions as to who served as the prototype for this hero.
Mediocre poet
Who is Ivan Homeless? In the first chapter, this character does not appear in the eyes of the reader in the best possible way. As a member of MASSOLIT, on the ill-fated day, he meets at the Patriarch's Ponds with the chairman of the cherished organization, Berlioz. In a conversation with this man, Ivan reveals his boundless ignorance. And with the advent of Woland, he behaves very stupidly, which ultimately leads him to the Stravinsky clinic with a diagnosis of schizophrenia.
Another Ivan
Throughout the novel, Ivan Bezdomny gradually transforms. The main reason for the changes in hisviews - a meeting with the main character, which took place in a clinic for the mentally ill. The Master and Ivan Bezdomny spend long hours talking about the cowardice of Pontius Pilate, the criminal execution of Yeshua Ha-Notsri, and the love affair between the hero and Margarita. And most importantly - a mysterious neighbor tells Ivan about his misadventures associated with an attempt to publish a novel.
Master's Enemies
Members of MASSOLIT - representatives of the literary elite - Ivan's new acquaintance does not really like. And he has reasons for that. Due to their fault, the novel was not published. Because of them, he burned the work that he had been creating for so long. And it is they who are guilty of the fact that the Master is in a clinic for the mentally ill. After vain attempts to publish the novel, he had nothing left: no name, no surname, no future. Ivan Bezdomny in The Master and Margarita is a typical representative of the elite literary world. And this world is hated not only by the hero of the novel, but also by the author himself.
Alexander Bezymensky
In the early 1920s, one of the best Moscow theaters hosted a production of the play "Days of the Turbins", which was a resounding success. But the author had many detractors. One of them is Alexander Bezymensky, an active Komsomol activist and poet. A scandal once broke out between him and Vladimir Mayakovsky, which was later satirically depicted by Bulgakov in the novel The Master and Margarita. The homeless man scolded Sasha Ryukhin and called him mediocrity. According to this version, the prototype of Ryukhin is Mayakovsky, Ivan Bezdomny - Bezymensky.
Stenton
On the Patriarch's Ponds, Woland predicted madness to the poet. A parallel can be drawn between this fragment and Maturin's Melmoth the Wanderer. One of the characters in the work of the English writer meets with a man who sold his soul to the devil. He, like Woland, foreshadows his stay in a psychiatric hospital, while naming the exact time of this event. The hero of this name is Stanton, and he is one of the alleged prototypes of Ivan Bezdomny.
Student
Much of the philosophical drama of Johann Goethe was borrowed by Bulgakov when creating the novel The Master and Margarita. Ivan Bezdomny, by the way, has features that point to the Student - a character in the work of a German poet. The main similarity is self-confidence. The Goethe Student disregards the opinion of his teacher, Mephistopheles, for which he suffers severely. Ivan Bezdomny has the imprudence to tell Woland about his own non-existence. In addition, he is rude, rude and generally behaves in the most inappropriate way. The devil shouldn't be treated like that. And therefore, as punishment, Ivan goes to the clinic, “to ask the professor what schizophrenia is.”
Other versions
The prototype of Ivan Homeless, or one of them, is also considered Ivan Pribludny. This poet belonged to the environment of Sergei Yesenin. He was a well-known personality in Moscow literary circles, and had a reputation as a joker and a merry fellow. His popularity was not brought about by merit inliterature, but friendship with the great poet and participation in the brawls that the famous "obscene and brawler" arranged. In favor of this version, perhaps, only fights in a restaurant speak. Bezdomny arranged something similar after Berlioz's death in Griboedov.
Some representatives of the literary Moscow of the twenties are considered to be the prototypes of Bulgakov's hero. The most common version says that the author of the cult novel created the image of a mediocre poet under the impression of the personality of Demyan Bedny.
The most improbable thing is that Sergei Yesenin himself is the prototype of Homeless. It is based only on the stay in the hospital of Bulgakov's hero. The great Russian poet, as you know, visited such institutions more than once. However, this is where the similarities that Ivan Bezdomny may have with Yesenin end. The characteristic of this character indicates, first of all, the absence of a poetic gift. This man appeared in literature by accident. He writes to order and does it mediocrely. The Homeless One admits this to the Master during their nightly conversations. This image has nothing to do with the great Russian poet, who, in addition to his unique talent, also possessed an extremely painful pride. By the way, some Bulgakov scholars consider Sergei Yesenin the prototype of the Master himself.
It is possible to decipher Bulgakov's novel endlessly, which is what researchers have been diligently doing for more than half a century. But the writer's work is primarily a reflection of his life experience. Therefore, the eventspeople known to him in life cannot fail to appear in whole or in part on the pages of his immortal work.
