About the Author

Alexandra Nicewicz Carroll is a Professorial Lecturer of Religion at the George Washington University in Washington DC, where she teaches courses in Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution. In 2012, she received her Ph.D. in Theology and Religious Studies from The Catholic University of America where she studied religion and culture, with a specialization in religion and literature. Her research investigates illustrations of evil and the monstrous in popular culture, and the manner we use literature to cope with suffering. She is working on a book about Soviet playwright and author Mikhail Bulgakov (1891-1940) and his final novel The Master and Margarita (1927-1940), as a psychological and spiritual response to persecution suffered under the Stalinist Soviet Union. Rarely found without a novel in her bag, Alexandra is an avid baker and crocheter, and loves horror movies.

About this Blog

The purpose of this blog is the share Alexandra’s research on The Master and Margarita, a novel she loves and hold as one of the most intriguing pieces of literature from the 20th century. If you have not yet read the novel, this blog encourages you to do so. The literary analysis of the novel is divided according to chapter, so that you can read along with the novel and the blog posts at a comfortable pace if you would like. Alexandra first encountered The Master and Margarita in college, and wrote her senior thesis on the novel’s symbolism. Her love for the story and the psychological/spiritual themes within the narrative stayed with her and became the subject for her 2012 dissertation. The posts on this blog are based on her dissertation, and are written as she prepares her manuscript for publication. Alexandra welcomes constructive feedback about the subject matter found on this blog, and hopes to restart a conversation on The Master and Margarita for fans of the novel or those who are encountering it for the first time.

Thank you for visiting!

A Word on My Words:

© Alexandra Nicewicz Carroll and Chasing Woland, 2013-2014, all rights reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission Alexandra Nicewicz Carroll is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Alexandra Nicewicz Carroll and Chasing Woland with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.