Characters from fairy tales of old Rus'. Heroes of Russian folk tales - detailed description: collective images and individual characteristics Describe the hero of a Russian folk tale
Rashitova Gulnaz Samatovna
5th year student, faculty foreign languages MarSU, Russian Federation, Yoshkar-Ola
Astankova Tatyana Petrovna
scientific supervisor, Ph.D. philologist. Sciences, Associate Professor MarSU, Russian Federation, Yoshkar-Ola
In linguistics, interest in folk and literary works, in particular, to fairy tales, from the point of view of a gender approach as an opportunity for a comprehensive study of the reflection in language of the role of a person, the realities of society and interpersonal relationships. Many researchers (G.G. Slyshkin, M.L. Boloneva and others) studied the representation of the concepts “man” and “woman” in literary and folklore works Russian and foreign literature. In their works, they note that most fairy tales were written down at a time when the patriarchal approach dominated society, culture and the literary canon, so the image of women was invisible, and the works emphasized her dependent position. Only in fairy tales of the 20th century, with the growth of the feminist movement, determined and brave heroines began to appear who took on the role of a man in saving the rest of the characters. Research shows that the image of women in literature has now changed: the stereotype that leadership belongs to a man is now applied to a woman, which is confirmed by the “expansion of the relatively stable canons of fairy tales.”
Fairy tales are a reflection of reality, therefore, through the analysis of fairy tales, you can get a picture of the world through the eyes of the inhabitants of that time, learn about their way of life, ideas and rules of behavior that prevailed in society. Fairy tales give us the opportunity to more clearly imagine the images of men and women, emphasizing their main features and character traits. When getting to know a work and its characters, the reader is guided by the stereotypes he has developed, therefore, when the main characters are called a man or a woman, he has already formulated an external image and a certain model of behavior for them.
We carried out comparative analysis images of men and women in fairy tales of the British Isles. 35 fairy tales were analyzed.
Here is a list of nominees that designate men and women in the analyzed fairy tales.
Nominees for men: “a man”, “a fellow”, “a boy”, “a friend”, “a lad””, “a gentleman”, “a marn” (dialect pronunciation of the word “a man”), “ a mate”, “a chap”, “a chep” (dialect pronunciation of the word “a chap”), “a feller” (dialect pronunciation of the word “a fellow”), “a youth”, “a gaffer” (colloquial word, meaning “old man”), “a roisterer” (a word that gives a negative characteristic of a character; meaning “reveler”). The heroes of fairy tales can also be magical creatures, so one of the nominees was the word “a merryman” (“merman”).
Nominees for women: “a woman”, “a gentlewoman”, “a maid” (“maiden”), “a maidy” (found in colloquial style, formed from the word “a maid” using the diminutive suffix “y” ), “a maiden”, “a female”, “a dame”, “a lass”, “a girl”, “Aunt”, “a lady”, “a gal” (dialect pronunciation of the word “a girl”), “a witch.” The heroines of fairy tales can be magical creatures, so there are such designations for mermaids as “a merrymaid”, “a creature”, “a sea-woman”.
It is worth pointing out that the fairy tales we analyzed were written at a time when the basis of society was a patriarchal system, therefore the main characters in most cases were men, and women either played minor role, or were not mentioned at all in the fairy tale.
However, the variety in the means of appeal to both men and women is the same. Men are characterized by the words “a friend”, “a chap”, “a fellow”, which emphasize their simplicity and friendly attitude towards each other. A man appears in a negative image less often than in a positive one, but in some cases he is presented in the image of a rogue (“a roisterer”) who loves to drink, or a stupid peasant who is easy to outwit (the fairy tale “The Mare’s Egg”).
The woman is depicted as a simple peasant woman whose main concern is her family. Men often address young girls affectionately, using certain lexemes (“a lass”, “a maid”) and adding diminutive suffixes (“a maidy”) to words. Respect for age and love of others can be emphasized by calling “Aunt” (“auntie”).
Since fairy tales reflect the realities of a certain time and record the way of life and customs, they constantly emphasize the importance of such a value orientation as family. Almost all fairy tale characters, both men and women, are married and have two or three children. Sometimes fairy tales are about lonely old women (the tale “The Tulip Pixies”) or about women who have lost their husbands and continue to care for their children (as in the tales “The Lady of Llyn and Fan Fach”, “The Boogies an' the Salt-box” ). Young men are also represented in fairy tales as married: if initially they live with their parents, at the end of the fairy tale they meet a girl whom they later marry (the fairy tale “A Pottle o’ Brains”). This, however, is not always typical for a young girl: she can remain alone even after meeting her lover (the fairy tale “Cherry of Zennor”).
In the analyzed fairy tales, the role of women as keepers of the hearth is repeatedly emphasized, so the occupation and abilities they possess come down to the ability to care for the family and run a household: they garden, and their diligence and love of work are emphasized (“She tendered the garden with special care” - about an elderly woman in the fairy tale “The Tulip Pixies”), work as housewives (fairy tales “Jan Coo”, “Cherry of Tennor”), nannies for the children of the owners (fairy tale “The Sweating Fairies”) or serve in their homes as a maid or housekeeper (fairy tales “Cherry of Zennor”, “Cap o'Rushes”, “The Lancashire Witches”). Fairy tales mention the special magical abilities that witches possess (“knew a charm to make de fairisees come”, “dealt in potions an’ herbs an’ spells an’ things”). They can use them for good, help people with advice, or act as a doctor.
Men provide for their families, mostly by farming (shepherding) or fishing. Less frequently mentioned are the professions of shoemaker, forester, miller, priest, doctor, merchant, cook, and military man. The professional abilities of men are manifested in their ability to manage a household: they are characterized as “skillful” and “a wonder with the sheep.”
Men of all ages become heroes of fairy tales, and everyone age period corresponds to a certain characteristic: young (“young”, “youthful”), adults (age is indicated: “thirty years of old”) and elderly (“old”; sometimes extreme old age is emphasized by the epithets “ancient”, “out-and-out old” "). Boys and young men, as a rule, have an attractive appearance (“handsome”, “powerful”, “with brilliant and piercing eyes”, “eyes are bright”). The appearance of older people emphasizes their wisdom and years (“white-haired”, “bald”, “his face was shrunk like a long-kept apple and covered with small wrinkles that ran together like cracks in rock”). The appearance of magical creatures (elves, gnomes) is also described in fairy tales: their main characteristic is small stature (“little”, “tiniest wee specimen of humanity imaginable”).
The age of the women ranges from young (“young”) to old (“old”). Most girls have ordinary appearance. The description of these characters emphasizes their youth and strength (“lusty” meaning “strong,” “strong,” “healthy”). In rare cases, a girl appears in the form of a beauty (“handsome”, “as sweet as a rose” in the fairy tale “Cherry of Zennor”). Only magical creatures have true beauty: mermaids (“fair”, “golden-coloured hair that shines like sunbeams”, “eyes shine like the brightest of stars on a gloomy night”, “the most beautiful creature that mortal eyes could behold”) , ghosts (“lovely”, 'pretty”), witches (“beautiful”). Despite their beauty, girls appear to men in a sad way (“full of woe unutterable”), because they are unhappy in marriage (the fairy tale “Lutey and the Merrymaid”) or were abandoned by their lovers (the fairy tale “The Boggart of Hellen Pot”). The beauty possessed by magical creatures, especially mermaids, often causes trouble for fishermen and peasants who fall in love with them and decide to either follow them (the tale of Lutey and the Merrymaid) or marry them (the tale of The Lady of Llyn y Fan Fach”), but their lives are tragic. When describing older women, their age is emphasized and adjectives with negative connotations (“dry-boned”, “ugly-looking”) are used.
The main character traits of men correspond to the canonical ideas of a patriarchal society: they are brave and strong, able to withstand adversity (“hedger”, “bold as a lion”, “did not fear man nor devil”). Peasant men are endowed with positive characteristics: kindness, compassion, willingness to help and love for their family, honesty (“kind”, “friendly”, “loving”, “tender-hearted”, “didn’t like anyone to be in trouble” , “honest”, “willingly gave aid free to those too poor”, “nursed the twins with great care and tenderness”). They oppose magical creatures that have negative characteristics (“sly”, “cunning”) and constantly interfere in life ordinary people. Peasants are contrasted with people with high social status, and they are often presented as domineering and cruel (“cruel and wicked”, “tyrant”, as in the fairy tale “The Sunken City of Llyn Bala”), which emphasizes the severity of the problem of social inequality for that time. Elderly people are depicted as stern, distrustful people whose opinions are difficult to change (“stern”, “stubborn”, “disbelieving”).
Almost all men have high intelligence and are able to outsmart female magical creatures (“knowledgeable”, “wise”, “as wise as owls”, “particularly clever”). Sometimes men are described as the smartest people in the world and yet find themselves in a difficult situation and cannot solve it. In this case, a satirical effect is created, since they are not spoken of as stupid people, but, on the contrary, emphasize their wisdom and intelligence (the fairy tale “The Mare’s Egg”). Young people can also be characterized as dependent on their mothers (“foolish”, “no more fit to look after thysel’ than an’ unborn babby” in the fairy tale “A Pottle o’ Brains”).
The young girls are described as cheerful, loved by family and society. Fairy tales emphasize their youth, carefreeness and curiosity (“full of frolic and mischief”, “curious”, “nice”, “courageous”). Married women are characterized as loving and caring mothers, dependent on their husbands (“good”, “nursed the twins with great care and tenderness”, “did not like to leave her children by themselves in their cradle, even for a minute”). Sometimes female characters are not meek, but brave and cunning women. In the fairy tale “Mary Who Were Afraid O’Nothing” main character spends the night in a crypt, meets a ghost and deceives him and the owner of the house, gaining the owners' wealth. She is spoken of as the bravest in the settlement (“afraid o’ nothin’ that’s alive nor dead”), although her husband perceives her as a weak woman. While young girls and women are characterized positively, older heroines are portrayed as ill-tempered (“ill-tempered”).
Female characters, unlike male ones, rarely have high intelligence. Girls are portrayed as naive, and women have to turn to the sage for help (the fairy tale “Egg-shell Pottage”). Older women and witches may be endowed with wisdom and knowledge, which they use for personal gain by deceiving men (A Pottle o' Brains) or beings with supernatural powers (How Oud Polly Gorst Cum Agin).
Since the tales of the British Isles that we analyzed are classic, they describe the way of life of ordinary people who were engaged in farming, raising livestock, fishing and had no education, therefore the speech of the heroes is unique and corresponds to the level of education of people living at that time. The characters' speech is characterized by abbreviations, omissions of words and functional particles, and grammatical errors. It should also be noted the peculiarities in the pronunciation of the characters due to their origin.
The speech of men of all ages is characterized by the use of a large number of interjections (“pah”, “ess”, “wall”, “wela”, “wbwb”, “dare me”, “o lorks”, “weel”). In male speech there are colloquialisms and vulgarisms that are not found in female speech (“you ugly brute”, “ye druffen rascal”, “thou cock-eyed raggamaffin”). Phonetic features of male speech include the loss of vowels and consonants at the beginning and end of words (“doan ’ ee know ’ tis mortal unlucky”, “what dis here ol’ fellow's got under ’ is arm", " ’ er must ’ a bin mistook”) and incorrect pronunciation of the ending “ing” in verb forms (“there’s someone calli n’ ”).
It is worth noting some dialectal features of the speech of characters in fairy tales: for the western part (dialectal pronunciation of words (“a mistook”), special forms of Participle I endings, as in the sentence “I should be with marrimaids drinkan rum or huntan sharks”), for southeastern (replacement of sounds (for example, [ð] goes into [d] in “did you hear dat"), more open pronunciation of the vowel (as in the interjection “yes” - “ yahs"), disappearance of the nasal sound (for example, in “good marnin’ ”)), for the central part (special pronunciation of the pronoun “one”, disappearance of the nasal sound (as in the phrase “ unclickin toad”), special pronunciation of the interjection “no” - “ nay"), for East Anglia (more closed vowel sound in the verb "to have" (as in "she likes to hev"), for Yorkshire and Lincolnshire (loss of sounds (for example: “as this ma’ es me t’ scrat"). From this point of view, there are no differences in the speech of men and women. Dialectisms are found in the speech of all fairy tale heroes.
However, when comparing the speech of men and women, it becomes noticeable that men have a larger number of speech errors, especially in grammar: incorrect use of a linking verb (“I aim’ t the least bit frightened”, “if them ’ m ready to learn”), irregular shape pronouns (“ us had better let’n bide”), double negative (“dere aren't’ tno fairisees”, “all de staff in your shop can’ t do me no good”), errors in conditional sentences (“I am, if you willdirect me”), incorrect verb form (“I havebroke my peel’”). Also, the speech of men is characterized by the use of elliptical sentences (“Dat so?”). The speech of kings and priests is correct, there are no abbreviations, omissions, or colloquial words often found in the speech of uneducated people (the fairy tales “Cherry of Zennor” and “A cure for a Fairy”).
In the speech of men, obsolete forms of the verbs “to be”, “to have” and the pronouns “you” (“ef” are used thee art my old woman, thee hast had a narrow escape, I can tell thee, of being left as bad as a widow”), which are not found in women’s speech. The speech of older people is characterized by syntactic features such as inversion. It is usually used in the speech of kings (“ Sobeit. I shall not oppose you”). This adds solemnity and emphasizes the significance of what is happening.
When comparing the speech of men and women, a more frequent use of stylistic devices is noted in the speech of men: comparisons are often found in it (“he'd lick 'em up like a toad licking flies off a stone”, “I shall grant you as dowry as many cows” , sheep, goats, pigs and horses as she can count in a single breath”), epithets (“a whippie Tam”) and phraseological units (“as sure as a gun”, “I’m sick as a toad of it”, “As bold as brass”).
In the speech of women, stylistic devices are practically not found. The exception is the speech of women with high social status, for example, princesses (the use of comparison to express love: “I love you as fresh meat loves salt” in the fairy tale “Cap o’ Rushes”). Women's speech differs from men's in the smaller use of interjections, most often found in the speech of older women (“ess”, “ah”, “aye”, “lor”, “lork”, “laws, no”) and the absence of vulgarisms. The pronunciation of women, like the pronunciation of men, has dialectal features, and is characterized by the loss of sounds, vowels and consonants, at the beginning of a word (“I’ll ate ’ um”) and in endings (“They be lulli n’ their babies to sleep. If the l i'l dears b 'a int a-kissi n' their babies 'f ore they pick 'n up"). Dialectal pronunciation features are found in the speech of adult women (voicing of sounds, special pronunciation of the pronoun “one”, replacement of sounds, as, for example, in “I run vor salt-box and drowed a handvul at un», « noo agin", "so I tuk it”) and in the speech of most older women (dropout of the sound [l] in “she was not the owdest widdy”, special pronunciation of pronouns and non-standard forms modal verbs(For example: " yew musent bring a light"), voicing of consonants, lengthening of vowels, a special form of the verb in Participle II, as in “what sooart ov a nest-egg I'd getten”).
Women, unlike men, have more grammatically correct speech, so mistakes are rare: for example, the wrong form of a pronoun (“leave” they kegs”), errors in the formation of the superlative adjective (“the beautifullest lady"), incorrect form auxiliary verb(“that don’ t signify"). Such errors are more common in the speech of older people.
Thus, in the tales of the British Isles, the most common hero is a male peasant, engaged in cattle breeding, farming or fishing. His main task is to provide for his family. From time to time he finds himself in a difficult situation, but his courage, kindness and strength help him find a solution. A man, unlike a woman, seems to be an intelligent, knowledgeable person, while only older women or witches can be wise women. Not much attention is paid to describing the appearance of men, while female beauty, especially magical creatures, are constantly marked by men, often using stylistic devices.
In fairy tales, images of characters are created by describing their appearance, but by the speech of the characters one can also judge the character, origin, degree of education, social status and age of the characters. In the speech of men, colloquialisms, grammatical errors, and dialect pronunciation are more common. This is not observed in people with high social status. The speech of women, compared to the speech of men, is more literate, there are no vulgarisms in it, and mistakes are mainly found among people of the older generation.
Women are less likely to become heroines of fairy tales, and the most common image is that of a peasant woman acting as the keeper of the family hearth. The description of the woman’s image emphasizes her role as a mother. A woman’s activities are also related to housekeeping, and outside the home she usually works as a nanny, housekeeper or maid. Women more often than men turn out to be mystical creatures who use their powers to harm people.
Our research allows us to conclude that the analyzed fairy tales trace the ideas of the patriarchal way of life in a society where the leading role was assigned to the man, and the woman was in a dependent position. In accordance with the ideas of society, the images of men and women were created in the fairy tales of the British Isles.
Bibliography:
- Boloneva M.L. Concepts of woman and man in the discourse of a fairy tale // Bulletin of the Irkutsk State Technical University. - 2014. - No. 2. - P. 41-48.
- Folk tales of the British Isles: collection / comp. J. Riordan. M.: Raduga, 1987. - 368 p.
- Slyshkin G.G. Gender concept sphere of modern Russian anecdote // Gender as an intrigue of knowledge. Almanac. Pilot episode. - 2002. - P. 66-72.
Often the most readable and relevant children's literature during the first years of a person's life and, of course, forming the basis of literary education during childhood, are fairy tales - author's and, to a greater extent, folk tales.At the same time, today the statement can be considered axiomatic that the spontaneous, unreflective behavior of individual individuals, transactions between them in a group and holistic methods and strategies of behavior of countries and peoples are subject to certain cultural stereotypes, the carriers and transmitters of which can be and often are fairy tales . And it is in this axiom that numerous studies of fairy tale plots and motifs find their roots - after all, fairy tales, firstly, by their own form, encourage a moralizing ethical interpretation of them, and secondly, they are a striking example of multidimensional plot and behavioral structures, familiar to almost every representative of a particular world. culture, which creates the illusion of good knowledge and understanding of the plots, and, finally, thirdly, they demonstrate a set of guiding instructions that determine the individual’s further worldview and impose models of behavior on him [Lyusin 2000: 88-89].
The role of fairy tales in the development of personality is also emphasized by E. Bern, pointing out that it is in them that the child comprehends those values, norms, roles and life meanings that will subsequently determine him life path[Bern 2008: 142-145]. From the age of 5-7, a child begins to look for a suitable plot and hero in a fairy tale - thus, the “skeleton” of a unique life scenario is formed, which includes the following elements:
1) a hero whom the child wants to be like;
2) a villain who can become an example if the child finds an excuse for him;
3) plot as a model of events, making it possible to switch from one figure to another;
4) a list of characters motivating the adventure;
5) a set of ethical standards that dictate when one should be angry, offended, feel guilty, feel right, or triumph [Bern 1997: 243].
Already in preschool age the child has mechanisms of identification with the character, which allow him not only to accept the position and point of view of the hero, to evaluate the situation, looking at it through his eyes, but also to act in imaginary circumstances. Thus, literature acts as one of the main reference points in identification processes, providing the child with the basis for acquiring subjectivity [Bezdidko 2004]. Therefore, an important task is to analyze the gender images of fairy-tale heroes, based on the assumption that these heroes can serve as a kind of role model and have a certain influence on the formation of gender identity - after all, most of the images of heroes in traditional folk tales are schematic and stereotypical, and the differences between “ male” and “female” appear very clearly. It is also logical to assume, as mentioned above, that information about gender norms and standards accepted in a certain culture is reflected in children’s literature, conveying in encrypted, encoded form gender stereotypes that underlie the process of constructing differences between the sexes, and contributing to them deep assimilation, which is also confirmed by the research of M. Kimmel, according to whom representations of book plots become a significant factor in the child’s construction of his own ideas about gender [Kimmel 2006].<...>
We have put forward a hypothesis that gender stereotypes of behavior in Russian culture are undergoing such a slow process of change, despite active influences from society and the desire to unify gender roles, that the archetypes of masculinity and femininity presented in the plots of works leading among books for children's reading can be with a high degree of probability be considered the basic basis of all existing and operating in modern society gender stereotypes.<...>
During the study conducted by S.V. Zaev based on a sample of about 70 both magical and everyday fairy tales from the collection of A.N. Afanasyev’s “Russian Folk Tales”, as well as epics and common folklore stories and author’s stylizations, 4 male and 4 female images were formulated. These images included stereotypical characters from Russian fairy tales, most often found in folklore texts. The criteria for describing the image were the name of the character, a list of the main positive and negative qualities and his brief description. Zoomorphic images of S.V. Zaev was not considered. Based on the survey results, general conclusions were made about the most common positive and encouraged in the fairy tale, as well as the most condemned, shown as undesirable, male and female qualities. A certain generalized portrait was formed, representing the male and female roles characteristic of the fairy tale.
According to the results of the described study, a man in a Russian fairy tale is, as a rule, active and is a plot-forming force. More often encouraged in all endeavors. The most valued male qualities are: strength, courage, luck, ingenuity, generosity and justice. But there are also disadvantages: cruelty, rudeness, optionality, and sometimes some immaturity.
A woman in a Russian fairy tale is often passive, acts as a victim of circumstances, or helps a man with advice, raises children, runs a household, waits for her husband to return from a campaign or journey, and can act as a reward. But there are also active, independent characters who act relatively independently. As a rule, the most active are Princesses (usually encouraged in fairy tales) and Witches (usually condemned in fairy tales). Women are more often blamed in fairy tales for various offenses and deviations from established behavioral norms than men.
E. Zdravomyslova proposes a classification of fairy tales according to the type of subject in order to find out who - a man or a woman - is the subject of the action, what functions they perform, how the trials that heroes of different genders differ in, what power relations they are involved in, how gender relations are built , in which areas of activity men and women participate [Zdravomyslova 1998]. Russian folk tales, according to this classification, can be divided into the following gender-specific categories: a fairy tale with a subject-heroine and a fairy tale with a subject-hero.
The result of the study was the conclusion that the majority of Russian folk tales demonstrate a basic patriarchal stereotype, which is a specific construction of psychological traits and behavioral models and implies a clear separation of male and female spheres of activity.
Thus, in most fairy tales for women - positive heroines - typical activities related to housekeeping are stated, and for men - activities outside the home, in the public sphere. This gender stereotype assumes as positive images a morally and physically strong dominant man and a weak, dependent, passive woman. The authoritarianism of the mistress of the house and the weakness of the man are condemned in every possible way. Thus, the main positive male images are Defender, Provider, Warrior. A woman must certainly have beauty, kindness, the ability to make sacrifices in the name of love, compassion, and the ability to manage a household. Let us metaphorically designate the main stereotypes of positive feminine behavior: Guardian of the Hearth, Craftswoman, Beauty.<...>
To clarify the basic gender configuration, it is important to also consider the interpretation of power in the relationship between the sexes, reproduced in popular fairy tales. A study by E. Zdravomyslova showed that people of the older generation, regardless of gender, have great power in the fairy-tale world. Thus, the father’s word is the law, a guide to action for children. Respect and respect for older people is prescribed. Heroes are punished for disobeying their elders. Often old men and women act as assistants to heroes and givers of magical remedies. They are the embodiment of wisdom and knowledge of life.
It is also necessary to dwell on such significant characters of Russian fairy tales as Baba Yaga and Koschey the Immortal. They are found in fairy tales with different plots and basic gender configurations. A characteristic attribute of these characters is the possession of magical power. They also have the attribute of gender, so it is worth briefly dwelling on their description.
Baba Yaga can be evil and good, depending largely on the manner in which heroes and heroines treat her. Correct treatment - “The girl bowed to her lowly, told her everything modestly” (Peryshko Finista Yasna Sokola 1978: 13) - is rewarded with help in trials. The heroes need Baba Yaga's help to kill the monster and find or free the bride. She supplies the hero with magical objects from the feminine sphere: a mirror, a ring, a ball of thread. Baba Yaga is the patroness of birds, animals, plants, she determines the fate of the heroes. According to J. Hubbs, Baba Yaga personifies the embodiment of a woman’s completed life cycle; she is the Great Goddess of Nature, combining death and life: “She knew everything: virginity, motherhood and old age.”
The canonical male character in fairy tales with superpower is Koschey. Unlike the ambivalent Baba Yaga, Koschey is always presented as the embodiment of evil. He never takes pity on heroes and heroines or helps them. At the end of the tale he is always killed, which confirms the idea of the victory of good over evil. The image of Koshchei falls more under the traditional definition of masculinity: he is aggressive and treacherous, he is characterized by a spirit of competition and competitiveness, he boldly encroaches on other people’s wives and brides, forcing them into forced marriage. This character demonstrates adherence to the evolutionary principle of strength - “the strongest wins.” He challenges the heroes of fairy tales. Koschey is also a tempter, he provokes the manifestation of masculine qualities in the heroes, the skills of a warrior and defender.
In the fairy-tale narrative, two representatives of power - Koschey and Baba Yaga - enter into an indirect struggle, if Baba Yaga is presented as a positive character helping the hero. This is a struggle between the social hierarchy, headed by Koschey, and natural unity, defended by Baba Yaga. At the same time, Baba Yaga always acts not directly, but through the Hero, whom she helps with advice or magical attributes that can help in the fight against Koshchei. The standard fairy tale ending is the victory of good over evil, that is, Baba Yaga and the Hero over Koshchei. Thus, we see another demonstration of women’s cunning and ability to strategically fight “with the wrong hands.” The victory, albeit indirect, of a woman over a man demonstrates another gender stereotype - about female cunning and the presence of hidden power.
Finally, V.N. In his research, Lyusin proposes dividing all fairy tales into three groups: fairy tales with a leading male character, fairy tales with a leading male character female heroine, tales about mediator competitions. At the same time, he pays the greatest attention to fairy tales with a female main character, arguing that “in no other area do fairy tale plots demonstrate greater similarity” [Lyusin 2000: 95], and divides them, in turn, into two independent types: Amazon ( active scenario), traditional femininity (passive scenario). It is obvious that each of the scenarios corresponds to its own specific type of behavior and time of occurrence, and also that historically, at a certain point, the passive scenario began to displace the active one, preaching a new form of being and rethinking the sacredness of the female character. In most of these stories, typical of a patriarchal society, according to V.N. Lyusina, there are simultaneously trends towards the infantilization of the female character and towards his oppression - an illustration of both points can be the image of the stepdaughter as the most a bright representative this type of plot in the folklore and literature of peoples with a more than extensive geography of residence.
Thus, the archetype of a woman in fairy tales of this type is divided into two symmetrical, complementary parts - the “bad” woman (stepmother) rules, but loses, the “good” woman (stepdaughter) is oppressed, but wins. At the same time, it is often the main thing - and the only one! - the opponent of the positive, oppressed heroine is precisely another, “bad” woman.
Particular emphasis in his research V.N. Lyusin also makes the point that a female character, even in a passive scenario, almost always compares favorably with a male character in terms of intelligence (even the classic epithet of Vasilisa the Wise emphasizes this fact). Most adventures in fairy tales with a subject-hero begin after mistakes he has made, unreasonable actions (the theft of the Firebird, rejuvenating apples), while female characters, as a rule, do not make mistakes - Ivan Tsarevich burns the skin of a frog, and Ivanushka drinks from a puddle , even though the wise sister discouraged me from doing this. But then the heroines themselves have to pay for the unreasonableness and carelessness of their brother or betrothed, or for their own cunning and curiosity. It was cunning, in the positive meaning of the word, that V.N. Lucin calls that undeniable advantage that a female character can counter - and often win with it! - male physical strength.
Speaking about the active scenario, V.N. Lyusin notes that, despite its oppression by the passive script, it is still quite clearly represented in the folklore of many countries - and in particular in Russian. The scheme of fairy tales with a heroine-heroine (let us remember the classification of E. Zdravomyslova, where she calls such a fairy-tale canon, although sparingly presented, but originally Russian) V.N. Lyusin also presents as a transformation (if we are scrupulously pedantic, then, rather, a forerunner) of travesty plots, which are vaguely correlated with the structure of mediator fairy tales. The heroine, dressing up as a man or initially leading a male lifestyle, defeats the opposite sex by concentrating the positive traits of both genders - she is physically strong, smart, cunning, and fearless.
Karkishchenko Elizaveta Aleksandrovna
From the dissertation "Gender stereotypes: discursive means of formation and representation in communicative behavior teenagers"
Even in mature age people don't forget about fairy tales. Military personnel and officials, businessmen and managers, lawyers and bartenders, builders and auction participants who need free online coin appraisal– everyone wants a little magic. These stories formed the thinking and worldview of many generations. The actions of the main characters showed how to distinguish between good and evil, taught them to be brave and fair.
Usually an elderly woman who knows magic. In most stories this is a negative character. She kidnaps small children and young men to kill and eat. However, in exceptional cases it helps.
In modern ideas, she is the mistress of the forest and the guardian of the borders of “another dimension” (the distant kingdom). That's why she has a bone leg - to stand in the world of the dead. It is worth noting that this heroine is also found in Slovak, Czech, Bulgarian and Serbian legends.
Dragon
It's basically a dragon that breathes fire. Always the personification of evil. Most often kidnapped beautiful girls and keeps them captive (or eats them). In Slavic mythology it is found as “zmok”, “smok” or “serpent”. It is interesting that in some ancient languages the meanings of the words “mountain” and “forest” do not differ, so the hero’s name is Gorynych, that is, “forest”.
Ivan the Fool
Perhaps the most popular fairy tale hero. This Vanya always gets into trouble, but for any problem he has his own original solution. Besides, he is always lucky. It is often possible to obtain wealth and even marry a princess. Some researchers believe that Ivan is called a fool only because he is the third son, who is not entitled to a share of the parental inheritance (hence the ability to think outside the box and find a way out of difficult situations).
Vasilisa the Beautiful (Wise)
The same female image acts under the name of Marya the Princess, Marya Morevna, Elena the Beautiful. The very name “Vasilisa” can be translated from Greek as “royal” (which is why she is sometimes the Tsar Maiden). This girl shows the reader what she's all about main character, namely, experiences it. According to Russian folklore researcher Vladimir Propp, her actions reflect the transfer of power from father-in-law to son-in-law through a woman (daughter). Thus, the struggle for the throne between a young guy and an old king is a historical phenomenon. This is why fairy tales say so little about the character of the bride.
In general terms, a powerful forest spirit. However, it is difficult to assemble a complete image. Either he appears in the form of a living tree, or he turns into an animal, or even an indeterminate anthropomorphic creature. According to legends, the goblin can change his height, voice and appearance. In addition, he can turn invisible and has great physical strength.
Almost always its appearance is accompanied by wind. The attitude towards this character has always been ambivalent. On the one hand, he was considered an evil spirit, and on the other, he was called the owner of the forest, who always acts fairly.
Koschey
A powerful sorcerer, which allows us to call him the prototype of priests. Always angry and rich, languishing over gold with goldadvert.com. Koschey (from the word “bone”) is actually a living skeleton that is almost impossible to kill. Thus, his death is hidden in several magical animals and objects nested within each other.
Boyan is an epic poet and singer in East Slavic mythology.
Brownie
They say that the brownie still lives in every village hut, but not everyone knows about it. They call him grandfather, master, neighbor, housekeeper, demon-housekeeper, but this is all he - the keeper of the hearth, the invisible assistant of the owners.
The brownie sees every little thing, tirelessly cares and worries so that everything is in order and ready: he will help the hard worker, correct his mistake; he enjoys the offspring of domestic animals and birds; he does not tolerate unnecessary expenses and is angry with them - in a word, the brownie is inclined to work, thrifty and prudent. If he likes the housing, then he serves this family, as if he went into bondage to her.
For this loyalty, in other places they call him that: he has killed him.
But he willingly helps the lazy and careless to run their households, torments people to the point that he crushes them almost to death at night or throws them out of their beds. However, it is not difficult to make peace with an angry brownie: you just have to put snuff under the stove, which he is a big fan of, or give him any gift: a multi-colored rag, a crust of bread... If the owners love their neighbor, if they live in harmony with him, then they will never want to part with it, even when moving to a new house: they will scratch under the threshold, collect the garbage in a dustpan - and sprinkle it in the new hut, without noticing how the “owner” is moving with this garbage to a new place of residence. Just remember to bring him a pot of porridge for his housewarming and say with all possible respect: “Grandfather Brownie, come home. Come live with us!”
Rare man can boast that he saw a brownie. To do this, you need to put on a horse collar on Easter night, cover yourself with a harrow, the teeth on yourself, and sit between the horses the whole night. If you're lucky, you'll see an old man - small, like a stump, all covered with gray hair (even his palms are hairy), gray with age and dust. Sometimes, in order to divert prying eyes from himself, he will take on the appearance of the owner of the house - well, he’s the spitting image! In general, the brownie loves to wear the owner’s clothes, but always manages to put them back in place as soon as the person needs things.
Before the plague, fire and war, the brownies leave the village and howl in the pastures. If there is a big unexpected disaster, the grandfather notifies about its approach, ordering the dogs to dig holes in the yard and howl at the whole village...
Kikimora
Kikimora, shishimora - in East Slavic mythology, the evil spirit of the house, a small woman - invisible (sometimes considered the wife of a brownie). At night, she disturbs small children, confuses the yarn (she herself likes to spin or weave lace - the sounds of K. spinning in the house portend trouble): the owners may escape from the house; hostile to men. May harm domestic animals, particularly chickens. In its main attributes (connection with yarn, damp places, darkness) Kikimora is similar to mokusha, an evil spirit that continues the image of the Slavic goddess Mokoshi. The name “Kikimora” is a difficult word. the second part of which is ancient name female character mara, mora.
Kikimora is a character best known mainly in the Russian North. Appears in the form of a small, hunched, ugly old woman, dressed in rags, sloppy and eccentric. Her appearance in a house or in outbuildings (on a threshing floor, barn or bathhouse) was considered an evil omen. It was believed that she settled in houses. built on an “unclean” place (on the boundary or where the suicide was buried). There is a well-known tale that in a newly built house there was a Kikimora, which none of the residents saw, but a voice was constantly heard demanding that the household members who sat down to dinner clear the table: she threw pillows at the disobedient ones and frightened them at night until then. until the whole family left the house (Vyatka province).
Bannik
Bannik, bainik, baennik, bainushko, etc., Belarusian. laznik - among Russians and Belarusians the spirit is the inhabitant of the bathhouse. Lives behind the heater or under the shelf. It can be invisible (according to some beliefs, it has an invisible cap) or appears in the form of a man with long hair, a naked old man covered with dirt and leaves from brooms, a dog, a cat, a white hare, etc. There is a belief that BANNIK first appears in a bathhouse after the woman in labor has been there. It is believed that BANNIK washes himself in the bathhouse and he should be left with water, soap and a broom, otherwise he will splash boiling water, throw hot stones, and cause fumes. When entering the bathhouse, it was customary to say: “Baptized on the shelf, unbaptized from the shelf” (Smolensk province).
Anchutka
Anchutka is one of the most ancient names for the devil, the demon. Anchutkas come in bathhouses and field ones. Like any evil spirits, they instantly respond to the mention of their name. It’s better to keep quiet about them, otherwise this heelless, fingerless man will be right there. The heelless one is anchoot because one day a wolf chased him and bit off his heel.
Bath anchutkas are shaggy, bald, scare people with their moans, and darken their minds. But they are very good at changing their appearance - just like the rest of the undead. Field sprouts are very tiny and more peaceful. They live in every plant and are called according to their habitat: potato, hemp, flax, oatmeal, wheat, roznik, etc.
However, they say that the water also has its own anchutka - an assistant to the waterman or swamper. He is unusually ferocious and nasty. If a swimmer suddenly has a cramp, he should know that it is a water anchutka who has grabbed his leg and wants to drag him to the bottom. That is why, since ancient times, every swimmer has been advised to have a pin with him: after all, devilry I'm deathly afraid of iron.
Goblin
Leshy, forester, leshak, forester, forester, forester - the spirit of the forest in Slavic mythology. The goblin lives in every forest, especially loves spruce trees. Dressed like a man - a red sash, the left side of the caftan is usually wrapped behind the right side, and not vice versa, as everyone wears. The shoes are mixed up: the right shoe is on the left foot, the left shoe is on the right. The goblin's eyes are green and burn like coals.
No matter how carefully he hides his unclean origin, he fails to do this: if you look at him through the horse’s right ear, the goblin has a bluish tint, because his blood is blue. His eyebrows and eyelashes are not visible, he has corny ears (no right ear), and the hair on his head is combed to the left.
A goblin can become a stump and a hummock, turn into an animal and a bird, he turns into a bear and a grouse, a hare, and anyone, even a plant, because he is not only the spirit of the forest, but also its essence: he is overgrown with moss, sniffles as if the forest is noisy, It not only shows itself as spruce, but also spreads like moss and grass. The goblin differs from other spirits by special properties inherent to him alone: if he walks through the forest, he is as tall as the tallest trees. But at the same time, going out for walks, fun and jokes on the forest edges, he walks there like a small blade of grass, below the grass, freely hiding under any berry leaf. But, in fact, he rarely goes out to the meadows, strictly observing the rights of his neighbor, called the field worker, or field worker. The goblin also does not enter villages, so as not to quarrel with brownies and buffaloes, especially in those villages where completely black roosters crow, “two-eyed” dogs (with spots above the eyes in the form of second eyes) and three-haired cats live near the huts.
But in the forest, the goblin is a full-fledged and unlimited master: all animals and birds are under his jurisdiction and obey him unrequitedly. Hares are especially subordinate to him. He has them as complete serfs, at least he even has the power to lose them at cards to the neighboring goblin. Squirrel herds are not exempt from the same dependence, and if they, migrating in countless hordes and forgetting all fear of man, run into big cities, and jump across rooftops, fall into chimneys and even jump out of windows, then the matter is clear: that means , the goblin led a whole artel gambling and the defeated side drove the loss into the possessions of the happy opponent.
Swamp kikimora
Kikimora - Evil, swamp spirit in Slavic mythology. A close friend of the goblin is the swamp kikimora. Lives in a swamp. He likes to dress up in furs made from mosses and weaves forest and swamp plants into his hair. But she rarely appears to people, because she prefers to be invisible and only shouts from the swamp in a loud voice. A little woman steals small children, drags unwary travelers into a quagmire, where she can torture them to death.
Mermaid
In Slavic mythology, mermaids are a type of mischievous evil spirits. They were drowned women, girls who died near a pond, or people swimming at inopportune times. Mermaids were sometimes identified with “mavkas” - from the Old Slavonic “nav”, dead man) - children who died without baptism or by strangled mothers.
The eyes of such mermaids glow with green fire. By their nature, they are nasty and evil creatures, they grab bathing people by the legs, pull them under the water, or lure them from the shore, wrap their arms around them and drown them. There was a belief that a mermaid's laughter could cause death (this makes them look like Irish banshees).
Some beliefs called mermaids the lower spirits of nature (for example, good “beregins”), who have nothing in common with drowned people and willingly save drowning people.
Swampwomen
Bolotnitsa (omutnitsa, shovel) is a drowned maiden living in a swamp. Her black hair is spread over her bare shoulders and decorated with sedge and forget-me-nots. Disheveled and unkempt, pale-faced with green eyes, always naked and ready to lure people to her only in order to tickle them to death without any particular guilt and drown them in the quagmire. Swampwomen can send crushing storms, torrential rains, and destructive hail to the fields; steal threads, canvases and linens from women who have fallen asleep without prayer.
Brodnitsa
Maidens - Beauties with long hair, guardians of fords. They live with beavers in quiet pools, mend and guard fords paved with brushwood. Before an enemy attack, wanderers imperceptibly destroy the ford, directing the enemy into a swamp or pool.
Dashingly one-eyed
Spirit of evil, failure, symbol of grief. There is no certainty about Likh’s appearance - he is either a one-eyed giant or a tall, thin woman with one eye in the middle of his forehead. Dashing is often compared to the Cyclopes, although apart from one eye and tall stature, they have nothing in common.
The saying has reached our time: “Don’t wake up Dashing while it’s quiet.” In a literal and allegorical sense, Likho meant trouble - it became attached to a person, sat on his neck (in some legends, the unfortunate person tried to drown Likho by throwing himself into the water, and drowned himself) and prevented him from living.
Likh, however, could be gotten rid of - deceived, driven away by force of will, or, as is occasionally mentioned, given to another person along with some gift. According to very dark superstitions, Likho could come and devour you.
Ghoul
Ghouls are lower spirits, demonological creatures. The “Tale of Idols” talks about the ancient veneration of ghouls by the Slavs. In popular belief, these are evil, harmful spirits. Ghouls (like vampires) suck blood from people and animals. They were identified with the dead, emerging from their graves at night, lying in wait and killing people and livestock. author of the encyclopedia Alexandrova Anastasia
According to popular beliefs, ghouls became people who died an “unnatural death” - violently killed, drunkards, suicides, etc., as well as sorcerers. It was believed that the earth does not accept such dead people and therefore they are forced to wander around the world and cause harm to the living. Such dead people were buried outside the cemetery and away from housing. Such a grave was considered a dangerous and unclean place; it should be avoided, and if you had to pass by, you should throw some object on it: a chip, a stick, a stone, or just a handful of earth. In order for the ghoul not to leave the grave, he had to be “calmed” - the corpse had to be dug out of the grave and pierced with an aspen stake.
And so that the deceased, who did not live out his “life,” did not turn into a ghoul, his knee tendons were cut so that he could not walk. Sometimes coals were sprinkled on the grave of a supposed ghoul or a pot of burning coals was placed.
Semik was considered a special day of obedience to the dead among the Eastern Slavs. On this day, they also commemorated all untimely deceased relatives: unbaptized children, girls who died before marriage. In addition, in Semik they took special measures against pawned dead people who, according to legend, were capable of causing harm to a person. Aspen stakes or sharp metal objects were driven into their graves.
In Semik, burials were held for those who, for one reason or another, remained unburied. A common grave was dug for them and buried with a prayer service and funeral service. It was believed that otherwise the pawned dead could take revenge on the living, sending various disasters to them: drought, storm, thunderstorm or crop failure
Baba Yaga
Baba Yaga (Yaga-Yaginishna, Yagibikha, Yagishna) is the oldest character in Slavic mythology.
Baba Yaga is a more dangerous creature, possessing much greater power than some witch. Most often, she lives in a dense forest, which has long instilled fear in people, since it was perceived as the border between the world of the dead and the living. It’s not for nothing that her hut is surrounded by a palisade of human bones and skulls, and in many fairy tales Baba Yaga feeds on human flesh, and she herself is called the “bone leg.”
Just like Koschey the Immortal (koshch - bone), she belongs to two worlds at once: the world of the living and the world of the dead. Hence its almost limitless possibilities.
IN fairy tales it operates in three incarnations. Yaga the hero possesses a treasure sword and fights with the heroes on equal terms. The abductor yaga steals children, sometimes throwing them, already dead, onto the roof of their home, but most often taking them to her hut on chicken legs, or into an open field, or underground. From this strange hut, children, and adults too, escape by outwitting Yagibishna. And finally, Yaga the Giver warmly greets the hero or heroine, treats him deliciously, soars in the bathhouse, gives useful tips, presents a horse or rich gifts, for example, a magic ball leading to a wonderful goal, etc.
This old sorceress does not walk, but travels around the world in an iron mortar (that is, a scooter chariot), and when she walks, she forces the mortar to run faster, striking it with an iron club or pestle. And so that, for reasons known to her, no traces are visible, they are swept behind her by special ones, attached to the mortar with a broom and broom. She is served by frogs, black cats, including Cat Bayun, crows and snakes: all creatures in which both threat and wisdom coexist
Koschey the Immortal (Kashchei)
One of the well-known Old Slavonic negative characters, usually represented as a thin, skeletal old man with a repulsive appearance. Aggressive, vengeful, greedy and stingy. It is difficult to say whether he was a personification of the external enemies of the Slavs, an evil spirit, a powerful wizard, or a unique variety of undead.
It is indisputable that Koschey possessed very strong magic, avoided people and often engaged in the favorite activity of all villains in the world - kidnapping girls.
Dragon
Serpent Gorynych - in Russian epics and fairy tales, a representative of the evil principle, a dragon with 3, 6, 9 or 12 heads. Associated with fire and water, flies across the sky, but at the same time correlates with the bottom - with a river, a hole, a cave, where he has hidden wealth, a kidnapped princess
Indrik is a beast
Indrik the Beast - in Russian legends “the father of all animals”, a character in the Dove Book. Indrik is a distorted name of the god Indra (the variants “foreigner”, “inrok” can cause an association with a unicorn, but INDRIK is described with two, not one horn). INDRIK was attributed the properties of other fantastic images of the medieval book tradition - the king of the waters, the opponents of the snake and crocodile - “onudr” (otter) and ichneumon, the fabulous fish “endrop”.
According to Russian folklore, Indrik is an underground beast, “walks through the underground like the sun in the sky”; he is endowed with the traits of the owner of the water element, sources and treasures. I. acts as an opponent of the serpent.
Alkonost
Alkonost is a wonderful bird, a resident of Iria - the Slavic paradise.
Her face is feminine, her body is birdlike, and her voice is sweet, like love itself. Hearing Alkonost's singing with delight can forget everything in the world, but there is no harm from her to people, unlike her friend the bird Sirin. Alkonost lays eggs “at the edge of the sea”, but does not hatch them, but immerses them in the depths of the sea. At this time, there is no wind for seven days until the chicks hatch.
Iriy, irye, vyriy, vyrey - a mythical country located on the warm sea in the west or southwest of the earth, where birds and snakes winter.
Gamayun
The bird Gamayun is the messenger of the Slavic gods, their herald. She sings divine hymns to people and proclaims the future to those who agree to listen to the secret.
In the ancient “Book, verb Kosmography,” the map depicts a round plain of earth, washed on all sides by a river-ocean. On the eastern side is marked “the island of Macarius, the first under the very east of the sun, near the blessed paradise; That’s why it’s so popular that the birds of paradise Gamayun and Phoenix fly into this island and smell wonderful.” When Gamayun flies, a deadly storm emanates from the solar east.
Gamayun knows everything in the world about the origin of earth and sky, gods and heroes, people and monsters, animals and birds. According to ancient belief, the cry of the bird Gamayun foretells happiness.
A. Remizov. Gamayun
One hunter tracked down a strange bird with the head of a beautiful maiden on the shore of a lake. She sat on a branch and held a scroll with writing in her claws. It read: “You will go through the whole world by untruth, but you will not turn back!”
The hunter crept closer and was about to pull the bowstring when the bird maiden turned her head and said:
How dare you, pathetic mortal, raise weapons against me, the prophetic bird Gamayun!
She looked into the hunter's eyes, and he immediately fell asleep. And in a dream he dreamed that he saved two sisters - Truth and Untruth - from an angry boar. When asked what he wanted as a reward, the hunter answered:
I want to see the whole wide world. From edge to edge.
“This is impossible,” said Pravda. - The light is immense. In foreign lands, sooner or later you will be killed or enslaved. Your wish is impossible.
“It’s possible,” her sister objected. - But for this you must become my slave. And henceforth live a lie: lie, deceive, deceive.
The hunter agreed. Many years later. Having seen the whole world, he returned to his native land. But no one recognized him or recognized him: it turns out that his entire native village fell into the open ground, and in this place a deep lake appeared.
The hunter walked for a long time along the shore of this lake, grieving over his losses. And suddenly I noticed on a branch that same scroll with ancient writings. It read: “You will go through the whole world by untruth, but you will not turn back!”
This is how the prophecy of the things of the bird Gamayun came true.
Sirin
Sirin is one of the birds of paradise, even its very name is consonant with the name of paradise: Iriy.
However, these are by no means the bright Alkonost and Gamayun.
Sirin is a dark bird, a dark force, a messenger of the ruler of the underworld. From head to waist Sirin is a woman of incomparable beauty, and from the waist she is a bird. Whoever listens to her voice forgets about everything in the world, but is soon doomed to troubles and misfortunes, or even dies, and there is no strength to force him not to listen to Sirin’s voice. And this voice is true bliss!
Firebird
Firebird - in Slavic mythology, a fiery bird the size of a peacock. Her feathers glow blue, and her armpits glow crimson. author of the encyclopedia Alexandrova Anastasia
You can easily get burned on its plumage. The fallen feather retains the properties of the Firebird plumage for a long time. It glows and gives warmth. And when the feather goes out, it turns into gold. The Firebird guards a fern flower.
A fairy tale is not only entertainment for children. It contains instructive stories that reflect the beliefs of an entire people. The heroes are endowed with rather conventional hyperbolic characters; their motives and actions are a reflection of ancient Slavic rituals.
Baba Yaga- the most famous character of Russian folklore. Meanwhile, this is not just a collective image of an ugly old woman with a quarrelsome character and ferocious deeds. Baba Yaga is essentially a guide. The forest in which she lives is a conditional border between worlds. She needs the bone leg so that the spirits will consider it theirs. The obligatory condition for “heating the bathhouse” is ritual ablution, a joint meal in one form or another - a funeral feast, a memorial among the Slavs. And the indispensable dwelling - a hut on chicken legs - is precisely the place of transition to the afterlife. By the way, chicken legs have nothing to do with the hut. “Smoke” means “to fumigate” - to pour smoke into a person’s new shelter “without windows, without doors.” And Baba Yaga did not actually put children in the oven - this is again an image of the initiation of children among the Slavs, during which the child was placed in the oven to protect him from evil spirits.
Water- an unpleasant-looking water spirit that lives in whirlpools and watermills. His wives are drowned girls, and his servants are fish. The merman will not miss the chance to pull an unlucky diver to the muddy bottom. So that he would not act outrageously, they brought him gifts; the spirit of water was especially happy with the delicious goose. The merman is always ready to defend his home, as soon as a fisherman recklessly encroaches on his domain.
Firebird- an analogue of the Phoenix reborn from fire and ashes. As a rule, she (or her pen) is the goal of the main characters’ searches and wanderings. It is believed that she personifies light and warmth, so she dies every autumn and appears again in the spring. Also found in fairy tales Sirin- half woman, half bird. She has heavenly beauty and an angelic voice, but everyone who hears it is doomed to trouble and suffering.
Dragon- a fire-breathing dragon that can fly. In Slavic folklore, he guards the Kalinov Bridge - access to the afterlife, where the path to the common man is prohibited. The number of his heads is always a multiple of three (the sacred number of the Slavs), which indicates his vitality; you cannot defeat him at once.
Goblin- Forest spirit. He is sometimes huge and powerful, sometimes small and absurd, sometimes clumsy, sometimes dexterous. They try to avoid him, because Leshy has a harmful character and can lead him into the thicket of the forest - then get out of there. You can escape if you wear your clothes inside out - this way he won’t recognize his victim. At the same time, they appease him by leaving gifts at the edge of the forest, because he is the Master of the forest, without whom human life is impossible.
- a good keeper of the house. He is born an old man and dies a baby. He is happy to help around the house if you don’t offend him and feed him milk, but he can misbehave and hide the necessary things. The complete opposite is Kikimora- the evil spirit of the deceased, tormenting the family. However, she does nasty things to those who do not keep their home in order, so she is quite fair. Another home prankster - Bannik. He is capable of scaring a person who comes to take a steam bath by throwing hot stones at him or scalding him with boiling water.
Koschei the Immortal- an evil sorcerer who kidnaps brides. This is a prototype of the powerful priest Koshchei Chernobogovich, the son of Chernobog. He owned the kingdom of Navi (the underworld, the afterlife among the Slavs).
Well, what would a fairy tale be without Ivan the Fool? This is a collective positive image, who has a long path ahead of him, but he goes through it with valor and in the end receives a princess as his wife. So the Fool is not a curse, but a kind of amulet against the evil eye. Ivan solves the problems posed by life thanks to his own ingenuity and unconventional approach.
Listening to stories from heroes of Russian folk tales, children from childhood learned to be persistent in spirit, fair, courageous, honoring and recognizing the power of good (after all, it always wins). The Slavs believed that any fairy tale is a lie only for ours, visible world, but the truth is for the world of spirits. And no one will argue that it contains a lesson that everyone has yet to learn during their lives.
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ETNOMIR, Kaluga region, Borovsky district, Petrovo village
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ETNOMIR is the largest ethnographic park-museum in Russia, a colorful interactive model of the real world. Here, on an area of 140 hectares, architecture, national cuisine, crafts, traditions and life of almost all countries are presented. Each country is allocated a kind of “cultural reserve” - an ethno-yard.
– comprehensive exhibition. It is formed by the building of the world's largest Russian stove and nine huts from different regions of the European part of Russia.
In its layout, the architectural ensemble recreates the structure of ancient Slavic settlements, when residential buildings surrounded the central square.
The main exhibitions of the Museum are located in the huts - these are stoves of different structures, shapes, designs, and household items of the 19th-20th centuries, and an exhibition of irons, and a collection of traditional Russian patchwork dolls, and various wooden toys...
