Date of Award

Spring 2019

Access Restriction

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Department

Theology

School or College

Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts

First Advisor

Brett C. Hoover

Abstract

This thesis examines how the devil is depcicted and characterized in Nikolai Gogol's Dead Souls, Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita, and Revelation 12-13. By exploring their respective historical situations, I connect how all three depictions are linked to satire; however, I reflect upon the differences between the literary and religious, most notably the grotesque physical portrayals and allusory nature of Revelation. The three texts are given their own sections, each divided into three parts: historical situation, textual analysis, and literary commentary. From this analysis, it is shown that the devil carries with them a history of sins within great societies and within individual humans. It is through understanding the literary devil that the power of these sins can be understood, and by studying the literature, there is hope that we can recognize and be ready for when the devil returns to society.

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