Typology of Servants in the Works of M. A. Bulgakov

This article analyzes the portrayals of Soviet domestic workers in the literary works of Mikhail Bulgakov. The study aims to systematize the typological features of these characters within the context of both the European literary tradition and the social realities of the Soviet Union during the 1920s—1930s. The methodological framework of the article is based on historical-literary and comparative-typological approaches. The article studies such works as "Spiritistic Session", "The White Guard", "Heart of a Dog" and "The Master and Margarita". It is argued that servants in Bulgakov's depiction can be divided into two types: domestic helpers who help protect and harmonize the inner microcosm; and harmful servants, who represent the hostile external space and are directly connected to it through their desire to destroy the harmony of the "true home". Particular attention is paid to such traits as informing, superstition, laziness and theft, which are linked to the social realities of the 1920s–1930s. The writer frequently demonstrates that Soviet domestic servants, who were predominantly peasant women, inherited rural rudeness, laziness and superstition. Furthermore, under the conditions of increasingly severe state despotism, it was the servants who were responsible for informing. The study not only systematizes Bulgakov's maidservants as an independent character type but also traces their connection to the European literary tradition. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the fact that, for the first time, the images of domestic workers in Bulgakov's works are examined as an independent character type requiring systematic analysis. In contrast to previous studies, where servants were examined among secondary characters in general, this article draws a clear distinction between two functional varieties: "domestic helpers" who contribute to the harmony of the inner space, and "harmful servants" associated with the external hostile world. It is shown that many negative traits of Soviet domestic servants (rudeness, laziness, superstition, informing, theft) were inherited from the rural environment and exacerbated by state despotism. It is demonstrated that through the figure of the maidservant, the author with a satirical undertone exposes the general moral decline that followed the Revolution and the Russian Civil War. The study also establishes the continuity of Bulgakov's images in relation to the European literary tradition (from Molière's Dorine to Chekhov's Firs). The findings of this study can be used in literature classes devoted to the works of M. A. Bulgakov, as well as in further research on the archetypes of "little people" and female characters in Russian literature.