On the name and character of Woland in Bulgakov’s novel »The Master and Margarita«

Abstract

The character ol Bulgakov’s novel The Master and Margarita is studied as a sign, whose signifier is a proper name (Woland), whereas all the other elements of the characterization represent the signified. The purpose is to show how Bulgakov violates the signifier — signified correlation of the character. The analysis can show that the name, i. e. signifier Woland, which for denotative purposes has a characterization in the text besides its name, arouses additional connotations belonging to the sphere of natural language and to a panchronic cultural tradition. In that way additional denotations of the name/ signifier are produced, which are often incompatible or even directly contrasted to the denotative element, J. e. the characterization as given in the text. Numerous intertextual signals, such as decontextured quotations, show that even on the level of the signified the author conducts a dialogue with a very wide cultural subtext. As far as the signifiersignifed correlation of the named, »Woland«, is concerned one can conclude that: 1. the character has more signifiers and denotations both complementing and contesting one another; 2. it is impossible to define »the proper« signifier and signified of this character; 3. the character is discreet only partially in the relation to the other charac- ters in the novel, since it has a mutual cross-section on the level of the signifier and/or signified with a series of other characters.