The archetypal plot of "descent into hell" in the novels of M. A. Bulgakov

The purpose of the study is to identify and describe the features of the transformation of the archetypal story "descent into hell" in the framework of studying the archetypal basis of the novels of M. A. Bulgakov. This research task, conditioned by the need to search for the primary elements, schemes, images, plots, motifs underlying world culture, sets a new perspective for studying the artistic works of M. A. Bulgakov, allows us to identify the writer's relationship with world culture and identify the dominant features of the author's consciousness. This article examines the specific features of the embodiment of the archetypal plot "descent into hell", the presence of which in the novels of M. A. Bulgakov "The White Guard" and "The Master and Margarita" is due to the reflection of the writer's eschatological worldview. The scientific novelty of the research consists in the fact that for the first time, based on the material of M. A. Bulgakov's novels "The White Guard" and "The Master and Margarita", the peculiarities of the transformation of the archetypal plot "descent into hell" in the conditions of the apocalyptic era were revealed. As a result of the study, the invariant and variable parts of the archetypal plot "descent into hell" in the novels of M. A. Bulgakov "The White Guard" and "The Master and Margarita" are highlighted in comparison with the classical version of this plot. The peculiarities of the embodiment of the archetypal plot reflect the specific worldview of the writer, who depicted reality in an eschatological perspective.