Mikhail Bulgakov: Heart Of A Dog

Fantasizing about the future has been the spark behind many of the world’s greatest achievements and innovations. This sense of wonderment that every person has within them has been carried over into countless genres of literature, namely science fiction. As Hugo Gernsbeck put it, science fiction is a “charming romance intermingled with scientific fact and prophetic vision.” Mikhail Bulgakov certainly was not lacking in the visionary department when he put pen to paper and composed Heart of a Dog. He masterfully mixes playful satire and an element of “the fantastic” to create a work that explores the repercussions of wishful thinking gone awry, one that is surprisingly comparable to events in my own life. Midway through the book, Bulgakov is able to manipulate the reader’s emotions,
first creating sympathy for the abused and vagrant Sharik, then joy when he is taken in by the Professor. With unclear intentions, this part of the book takes on an ominous tone until it is made clear the vision the Professor has for Sharik’s future. The successful completion of the operation is a grand achievement for the Professor and his assistant Bormenthal who have been trying to complete it for some time. The resulting beast that had originated from Sharik was the culmination of all the Professor’s visions for a monumental scientific advancement, yet it was still nothing he could have expected. Sharik slowly becomes a man, an incredibly primitive one, yet a man nonetheless who shows signs of malleability enough to further the Professor’s inspirations. As we progress through the book, the Professor and Bormenthal attempt to civilize Sharik and make him a polished member of society. Still clinging to the visionary ideas they held pre-operation, the men believe there is still potential within Sharik to fulfill their dreams. As idealistic as they are though, the pair could not have predicted what was to come of Sharik. Any achievement or milestone he hit was superseded by the glaring faults that were ever so present. Sharik’s intelligence quickly improved, but with that he became more rebellious displayed when the Professor says “I believe that I have asked you twice not sleep on the bench in the kitchen…” (Bulgakov 68). Responding only with a deflecting remark, Sharik avoids taking blame, a trend set to continue. The aspirations for Sharik that were once so loftily held by the Professor begin to wane as he slowly realizes Sharik is nothing like he had anticipated. Eventually understanding that his creation either cannot change or is refusing to do so, the Professor and his associates become overwhelmed with Sharik. He has retained his canine hatred for cats, incessantly swears, and is in general a vile drunkard. Sharik has become so draining and toxic to the Professor and Bormenthal that the situation is best described as “…a nightmare…these last two weeks have worn me out more than the previous fourteen years” (Bulgakov 77-78). With such a negative impact and so few positives, the two doctors finally decide to revert the operation and return Sharik to his previous existence. The Professor’s forward thinking ideas seemed reasonably feasible on paper, but once realized, turned nightmarish. Investing so much energy into Sharik reaped miniscule rewards and quickly soured any lingering hopes about the future, not unlike my own experience. My own “Sharik” is a young woman who I will refer to as Jane.
When I met her she was a beautiful and ambitious individual who shared many of the same values and opinions I did, sparking my hopes for the future. Obviously, that’s not to say it was a perfect match, otherwise I wouldn’t be writing this. She went out more, I studied more. She was curt with people she disliked, I was more cordial. Minute differences in the way I handled situations irritated her, spurring petty arguments and damaging my relationships with my friends. Our relationship became burdensome and the energy I invested into it rewarded me with more negatives than positives. So, like the Professor and Bormenthal did, I “reversed the operation” and broke things off before my gilded vision of the future turned into something terrible. This comparison shouldn’t be taken as a direct one. Rather, the idea that the Professor found himself in over his head with Sharik is the same the one that I have experienced in my own life. Expectations rarely ever live up to their full potential and sometimes it is ok to call it quits, but the imagination that ignites those visions should never be allowed to dissipate within
oneself.