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Abstract: The article deals with the characteristics of supernatural attribution models in M. A. Bulgakov’s novel “The Master and Margarita.” The aim of the study is to identify the models of causal attribution of the supernatural in the worldview of the characters of “The Master and Margarita” and to determine the role of these models in revealing the philosophical problems raised in the novel. The theoretical and methodological basis of the study is made up of the postulates of the cognitive literary studies (A. Palmer, L. Zunschein, D. Herman) in combination with the attribution theory (F. Heider, B. Weiner, R. Nisbett). According to this approach, the reader not only recognizes motifs but also completes mental processes, forming cause-and-effect relationships between the inner states and actions of the characters. The literary text is considered primarily as a representation of the mental life of the characters. Causal attributions in the consciousness of the characters are considered a key factor in constructing the narrative that structures the plot more powerfully than external events. Thus, narrative comprehension is viewed upon as reconstruction of causality, distribution of motifs, and construction of mental models. The research methodology is based on the description of four attribution model parameters: locus of causality (inner and outer), stability (stable or unstable cause), controllability (controllable or uncontrollable cause), and truth (true or false attribution). The unit of analysis is represented by a separate utterance of the subject of attribution, which contains an explanation of the cause of an event / behavior (including indirect explanations in remarks, inner speech, and authorial remarks if they serve an attributional function in the character's worldview). The study has identified six main models of causal attribution of the supernatural in Bulgakov’s novel: “Overwork”, “Mental Disorder (Hallucination)”, “Espionage (Machinations of Enemies)”, “Accidental Coincidence”, “Hypnosis (Trick)”, and “Influence of Otherworldly Forces”. Contrasting these models of causal attribution based on their key parameters is a crucial means of exploring the novel’s philosophical themes, which are based on a complex system of cause-and-effect relationships encompassing moral, religious, existential, and psychological themes: confrontation between good and evil, search for the truth, creative self-realization, and issues of ethical choice and retribution.

About the author(s) :

Eduard V. Budaev

Ural State Pedagogical University (Ekaterinburg, Russia)

ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2137-1364

Publication Timeline:

Date of receipt: 17.12.2025; date of publication: 29.12.2025

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