Why should you read “The Master and Margarita”? - Alex Gendler

Reviewer: Hafizh Alfarisi

The Devil has come to town.

Iblis tiba di kota,

But don’t worry – all he wants to do is stage a magic show.

tapi tak usah cemas.

Dia hanya ingin membuka pentas sulap.

This absurd premise forms the central plot

Premis absurd ini membentuk plot utama

of Mikhail Bulgakov’s masterpiece, "The Master and Margarita."

dari mahakarya Mikhail Bulgakov, “The Master and Margarita”.

Novel ini ditulis di Moskow, tahun 1930-an.

Written in Moscow during the 1930s,

this surreal blend of political satire, historical fiction,

Kisah khayal ini memadukan satire politik, fiksi sejarah,

and occult mysticism

dan mistisisme gaib

has earned a legacy as one of the 20th century’s greatest novels–

yang dianggap sebagai salah satu novel abad ke-20 terbesar

and one of its strangest.

serta salah satu yang teraneh.

Ceritanya diawali dengan pertemuan dua anggota elite sastra Moskow

The story begins when a meeting between two members

of Moscow’s literary elite

is interrupted by a strange gentleman named Woland,

yang diganggu oleh seorang pria aneh bernama Woland.

Dia mengaku sebagai cendekiawan asing

who presents himself as a foreign scholar

invited to give a presentation on black magic.

yang diundang untuk mempresentasikan sihir hitam.

Saat Woland tengah memperdebatkan filosofi dengan kedua rekan itu

As the stranger engages the two companions in a philosophical debate

and makes ominous predictions about their fates,

dan membuat ramalan buruk tentang nasib mereka,

pembaca tiba-tiba dipindahkan ke Yerusalem pada abad pertama.

the reader is suddenly transported to 1st century Jerusalem.

There a tormented Pontius Pilate

Di sana, tampak Pontius Pilate yang tersiksa

reluctantly sentences Jesus of Nazareth to death.

karena enggan menghukum mati Yesus dari Nazaret.

With the narrative shifting between the two settings,

Dengan narasi yang berpindah antara dua tempat ini,

Woland and his entourage– Azazello, Koroviev, Hella,

Woland dan rombongannya– Azazello, Koroviev, Hella,

serta seekor kucing raksasa bernama Behemoth–

and a giant cat named Behemoth–

are seen to have uncanny magical powers,

terlihat memiliki kekuatan sihir ganjil, yang digunakan dalam pertunjukan

which they use to stage their performance

while leaving a trail of havoc and confusion in their wake.

seraya meninggalkan jejak malapetaka dan kebingungan.

Kebanyakan humor hitam di novel ini tak hanya berasal dari kejahilan iblis,

Much of the novel’s dark humor comes not only from this demonic mischief,

but also the backdrop against which it occurs.

tapi juga latar belakang ceritanya.

Bulgakov’s story takes place in the same setting where it was written–

Kisah Bulgakov berlokasi di latar yang sama dengan tempatnya menulis,

the USSR at the height of the Stalinist period.

Uni Soviet di puncak periode Stalinisme.

Di sana, seniman dan penulis bekerja di bawah pengawasan ketat,

There, artists and authors worked under strict censorship,

subject to imprisonment, exile, or execution

ancaman penjara, pengasingan, atau eksekusi

if they were seen as undermining state ideology.

jika mereka ketahuan merusak ideologi negara.

Even when approved, their work–

Sekalipun disetujui, karya mereka

along with housing, travel, and everything else–

beserta rumah, perjalanan, dan lain sebagainya

was governed by a convoluted bureaucracy.

dikendalikan oleh birokrasi yang berbelit-belit.

Di novel, Woland memanipulasi sistem ini bersama dengan struktur realitasnya

In the novel,

Woland manipulates this system along with the fabric of reality,

to hilarious results.

menjadi hasil yang jenaka.

As heads are separated from bodies and money rains from the sky,

Saat kepala terpisah dari badannya dan hujan uang turun dari langit,

the citizens of Moscow react with petty-self interest,

warga Moskow bereaksi dengan egoisme tidak terkendali,

illustrating how Soviet society bred greed and cynicism

menggambarkan betapa tamak dan sinisnya masyarakat Soviet

despite its ideals.

terlepas dari prinsipnya.

Narasi sebenarnya sengaja membaurkan keanehan peristiwa supernatural

And the matter-of-fact narration

deliberately blends the strangeness of the supernatural events

with the everyday absurdity of Soviet life.

dengan absurdnya kehidupan di Soviet.

So how did Bulgakov manage to publish such a subversive novel

Bagaimana Bulgakov bisa menerbitkan novel subversif ini

under an oppressive regime?

di bawah rezim yang menindas?

Jawabannya ... bukunya tak diterbitkan.

Well… he didn’t.

Dia menulis “The Master and Margarita” lebih dari sepuluh tahun.

He worked on "The Master and Margarita" for over ten years.

But while Stalin’s personal favor

Walaupun bantuan pribadi Stalin telah menjauhkan Bulgakov dari persekusi berat,

may have kept Bulgakov safe from severe persecution,

many of his plays and writings were kept from production,

banyak pementasan dan tulisannya yang tidak diproduksi

leaving him safe but effectively silenced.

sehingga dia aman walaupun terbungkam.

Upon the author’s death in 1940,

Setelah kematiannya pada 1940, naskahnya masih tidak diterbitkan.

the manuscript remained unpublished.

Versi yang disensor akhirnya dicetak pada 1960-an,

A censored version was eventually printed in the 1960s,

while copies of the unabridged manuscript

sementara salinan naskah lengkapnya

continued to circulate among underground literary circles.

terus beredar di antara lingkaran sastra bawah tanah.

Naskah lengkapnya baru diterbitkan pada 1973,

The full text was only published in 1973,

over 30 years after its completion.

30 tahun setelah usai ditulis.

Bulgakov’s experiences with censorship and artistic frustration

Pengalaman Bulgakov dengan sensor dan frustrasi seninya

lend an autobiographical air to the second part of the novel,

memberi nuansa autobiografi di bagian kedua novelnya,

when we are finally introduced to its namesake.

saat kita diperkenalkan tokoh dari judul novelnya.

“Master” adalah penulis tak bernama yang bertahun-tahun menulis satu novel,

"The Master" is a nameless author who’s worked for years on a novel

but burned the manuscript after it was rejected by publishers–

tetapi membakar naskahnya setelah ditolak oleh penerbit,

seperti yang dilakukan Bulgakov dengan karyanya sendiri.

just as Bulgakov had done with his own work.

Yet the true protagonist is the Master’s mistress Margarita.

Namun, protagonis aslinya adalah Margarita, gundik si Master.

Baktinya pada mimpi yang dicampakkan sang kekasih

Her devotion to her lover’s abandoned dream

bears a strange connection to the diabolical company’s escapades–

menyimpan koneksi aneh terhadap petualangan bisnis jahat itu

dan membawa kisahnya ke klimaks yang janggal.

and carries the story to its surreal climax.

Despite its dark humor and complex structure,

Meskipun dihiasi humor hitam dan struktur yang kompleks,

“The Master and Margarita” pada intinya

"The Master and Margarita" is, at its heart,

a meditation on art, love, and redemption,

adalah meditasi atas seni, cinta, dan penebusan,

that never loses itself in cynicism.

yang tak pernah kehilangan jati dirinya dalam sinisme.

Publikasi yang telah lama tertunda dan keberhasilan bukunya melalui rintangan

And the book’s long overdue publication and survival against the odds

is a testament to what Woland tells the Master:

adalah pembenaran atas ucapan Woland kepada Master:

"Naskah tidak terbakar."

“Manuscripts don’t burn.”