Behemoth (Master and Margarita)

In the novel

• Behemoth is part of Woland's entourage, depicted as a huge black cat. In the Bible, Behemoth is an example of an incomprehensible godly creation and one of the traditional names for a demon, Satan's sidekick.
• Behemoth is a werecat. He can be "an enormous black cat with cavalry moustache, that walks on two legs" or a "fat shorty in a torn cap" with a cat–like face. As a human, he starts a row at the Performance Committee, sets Torgsin and Griboyedov's House on fire, and beats up Varenukha at a public toilet, but most of the time he appears as cat and shocks people with his human-like behavior.
• Bulgakov's Behemoth comically combines philosophical ponderings and manners with roguishness and aggressiveness. He first appears in the scene where Ivan Bezdomny chases Woland and escapes by hopping onto a tram; he then appears in front of a severely hungover Stepan Likhodeyev drinking vodka and chasing it with pickled mushroom; he then, together with Azazello, beats up Varenukha.
• Behemoth is close with Korovyev, another member of Woland's entourage. In Chapter 28, "The Last Adventures of Koroviev and Behemoth," the gruesome twosome wreaks havoc around town, sowing confusion at Smolensky marketplace and starting a fire at Griboedov's, a restaurant and meeting house for Russia's literary elite.

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