New Characters
Black Cat (also known as “Behemoth”): A cat who boards the tram-car; he is to be revealed as a member of Woland’s retinue.

Summary
The professor has concluded his narrative, and evening has come to the Patriarch’s Ponds. He declares that he was present for the entire story he has related to Berlioz and Ivan. Berlioz patronizes the professor, whom he takes for a mad German, but the professor predicts that he will be living in Berlioz’s apartment shortly. The three men talk about the existence of the devil before Berlioz heads to the tram-car station at Bronnaya to report the professor to the foreigners’ bureau. Before reaching the turnstile at the station, he sees the same citizen he had seen before, only now the citizen wears checkered trousers. A tram-car comes along, Berlioz loses his footing on the cobbles by the turnstile, and his head is severed by the tram-car when he falls on the rails.

Ivan rushes to the turnstile in response to the accident and hears a woman say that Annushka broke a liter-bottle of sunflower oil on the turnstile. Remembering the professor’s prophecy, he rushes back to find him and sees the professor, along with the citizen Berlioz had seen, who is now called “the choirmaster” and wears a pince-nez with a cracked lens. The professor tells an angry Ivan he doesn’t speak Russian, and the choirmaster blocks Ivan, then vanishes. Ivan looks into the distance to see the professor, the choirmaster, and a huge whiskered black cat by the exit to Patriarch’s Lane. Ivan chases after the trio, but they split up and slip away. Once Ivan realizes he won’t be able to catch any of them, he also realizes how little time the chase took. Concluding that he can find the professor in house 13, apartment 47, which is located on a lane near Arbat Square, he goes there and is let into the apartment by a silent little girl. Ivan goes into the bathroom to catch the professor but instead encounters a naked woman in the bathtub. He retreats to the kitchen, where he sees a dozen small primus stoves, two candles, and two icons. Ivan takes a candle and the icon that is made of paper and goes out into the lane. He concludes the professor is at the Moscow River and, upon reaching the river, he begins swimming in it. Not finding the professor there either, he comes out to find his clothes have been stolen by the man he asked to guard them. His Massolit identification card is also gone, and Ivan dresses in a torn Tolstoy blouse and a pair of striped drawers left by the thief. Ivan decides to run to Griboedov’s, where he will surely find the professor.

Analysis
The professor’s story entrances Ivan and Berlioz despite their avowal that Jesus’s existence is made up. Although Berlioz continues to patronize the professor, his bewilderment before having his head cut off by the tram-car again shows that there is something about the professor that cannot be dismissed. The fruition of his prophecy confirms that the novel’s characters should not take this man lightly. The checkered man, now called a choirmaster, is also in on the nefarious deed. Although the cat causes Ivan astonishment, the fantastic speed of his chase and assumption that he will find the professor in apartment 47 or Griboedov’s are also astonishing. The novel has firmly established its bizarre, surreal atmosphere. Meanwhile, the earlier talk of religion, together with the prophecy’s fruition, the Pilate story, and Ivan’s inexplicable decision to take the paper icon, hint at a deeper message and an allegorical meaning to this novel.