The Master and Margarita, Chapter 20: Azazello's Cream quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. What happens to the ache in Margarita's temple, felt all evening since the meeting in the Alexandrovsky Garden?

   • Correct answer: It subsides once she rubs the cream on her body
   • It grows sharper until she nearly faints away
   • It spreads down into her arms and her legs
   • It returns the moment the telephone rings

   As she rubs the cream into her body, the ache subsides as if a needle had been snatched from her brain.

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2. 2

   Question 2. What does Margarita warn Natasha not to take from the bedroom?

   • The leftover cream, because it is dangerous
   • Correct answer: Any valuables, or she may be accused of theft
   • The dresses, because they are needed tonight
   • The perfume, because it belongs to her husband

   Margarita tells Natasha to take the rags and perfume but no valuables, since she would be accused of stealing.

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3. 3

   Question 3. Where does Nikolai Ivanovich live?

   • In the apartment just across the lane
   • In a dacha on the edge of the city
   • On the floor directly above Margarita
   • Correct answer: On the bottom floor of the same house

   The narrator says Nikolai Ivanovich lives on the bottom floor of the same house as Margarita.

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4. 4

   Question 4. After flying over the city a little, which way does Azazello tell Margarita to head?

   • West, over the rooftops to Patriarch's Ponds
   • North, past the city, toward a dark forest
   • Correct answer: South, out of the city, straight for the river
   • East, along the railway line to the station

   Azazello says to fly over the city to get used to it, then head south, out of the city, straight for the river.

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5. 5

   Question 5. How does the broom arrive in Margarita's bedroom?

   • Natasha carries it in from the front hall
   • It slides in through the open bay window
   • Correct answer: It flies dancing in from the next room
   • It drops down through the bedroom chimney

   Something in the next room beats on the door, and when Margarita opens it, the broom flies dancing into the bedroom.

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6. 6

   Question 6. What is Margarita doing just before the telephone rings?

   • Pulling the black evening dress down off the chair
   • Pouring the last of the cream into Natasha's palm
   • Writing a second, longer note addressed to the master
   • Correct answer: Telling Nikolai Ivanovich to go to the devil's dam

   She has just told Nikolai Ivanovich she is sick of them all and to go to the devil's dam when the telephone explodes behind her.

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7. 7

   Question 7. Why does Margarita stop to write a note before she flies away?

   • Correct answer: She feels she owes her old life one last duty
   • Azazello has ordered her to explain her absence
   • She wants her husband to follow her to the river
   • She hopes the note will keep Natasha from blame

   The narrator says a thought split off from her former life about fulfilling just one last duty before something new began.

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8. 8

   Question 8. What is the last thing Margarita sees as she takes off from the house?

   • The full moon reflected in the cracked watch face
   • Correct answer: Natasha's face, distorted with amazement, in the window
   • Her husband running out through the garden gate
   • Azazello waiting in a black car beside the gate

   Turning for a last look at the house where she suffered so long, she sees Natasha's amazed face in the blazing window.

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9. 9

   Question 9. Which of these events happen while Margarita uses the cream?

   • She drops the box on her watch and cracks its crystal.

     Happened

     Glancing into the mirror, Margarita drops the box right on her watch crystal, which becomes covered with cracks.

   • Her hair turns blonde and perfectly straight.

     Didn't happen

     Her hair does not turn blonde or straight: the mirror shows a naturally curly, black-haired woman of about twenty.

   • She rises into the air just above the rug.

     Happened

     Once the cream makes her body weightless, she springs up and hangs in the air just above the rug, then slowly descends.

   • She sees her new face and screams in fright.

     Didn't happen

     She does not scream: after glancing into the mirror a second time, she bursts into stormy laughter.

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10. 10

    Question 10. Which of these events happen as Margarita prepares to leave?

    • Natasha brings in a dress on a wooden hanger.

      Happened

      Natasha runs in loaded down with things, among them a wooden hanger with a dress, and they all spill on the floor.

    • Margarita signs her farewell note simply "Margarita."

      Happened

      The note she pencils at her husband's desk ends with her name alone, Margarita, on a line of its own.

    • Nikolai Ivanovich takes off his hat and bows politely.

      Didn't happen

      He does not take off his hat: instead he waves his briefcase to the side and bends his knees as if about to dance.

    • Azazello appears in person at the bedroom door.

      Didn't happen

      Azazello does not come in person; he speaks to her over the telephone and tells her it is time to take off.

    • Margarita flies out waving a light blue shift like a banner.

      Happened

      She grabs a light blue shift from the bed and flies out the window waving it like a banner.

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11. 11

    Question 11. What does 'boorish' mean as used in: "It's boorish not to reply when someone is talking to you."?

    • Dull and uninteresting
    • Clumsy and awkward
    • Shy and easily flustered
    • Correct answer: Rude and ill-mannered

    Boorish means rough and lacking manners; Margarita scolds Nikolai Ivanovich for the rudeness of not answering her.

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12. 12

    Question 12. What does 'fracas' mean as used in: "amidst all this fracas she had forgotten to get dressed"?

    • A sudden silence
    • A careful routine
    • Correct answer: A noisy commotion
    • A secret ritual

    A fracas is a noisy disturbance, matching the shouting, crashing and dancing broom in the bedroom.

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13. 13

    Question 13. What does 'presentiment' mean as used in: "what her presentiment had been telling her in the morning"?

    • Correct answer: A sense of what is coming
    • A painful memory of loss
    • A formal written warning
    • A rumor heard in the city

    A presentiment is a feeling that something is about to happen; the morning's feeling is now coming true.

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