In this paper I will explore the ideas presented in Mikhael Bakhtin’s Discourse in the Novel and Mikhael Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita to argue that while Bakhtin was a theorist and Bulgakov a novelist, both authors found the Soviet application of Marxism problematic and expressed this dissatisfaction through their writing. At a time when the regime supported socialist realism as the ideal form of artistic expression, one that portrayed socialist society in a clearly positive and optimistic manner, the works of these authors are considerably more complex. In Discourse in the Novel Bakhtin outlines his distaste for the monologic discourse, the importance of heteroglossia, and the integral processing involved between the speaker and the listener. I will argue that while Bakhtin’s Discourse in the Novel does have pro-socialist elements, such as his theory of heteroglossia, these also by definition function against the presence of a rigid regime and that an authoritarian government in general is counter to Bakhtin’s idea of an active interaction between the speaker and the listener. I will further illustrate that in his novel The Master and Margarita Bulgakov applies these same concepts, utilizing parody and satire to argue against the monologic and poke fun at socialist realism.
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