Favorite fairy-tale characters and the character of a woman. Female fairy tale characters in life Female fairy tale characters

The mermaid is one of the most controversial images. Information about him differs significantly in the complex of beliefs of the Russian North (as well as the Urals and Siberia) in comparison with the data of the Ukrainian-Belarusian and South Russian demonological systems.

The first of these complexes is characterized by the following features: firstly, the scarcity of stories about a female character called a mermaid; secondly, the rapprochement of this image with the more popular characters for the northern Russian tradition, defined by the terms vodynikha, joker, leshachikha, devil, etc.; thirdly, a noticeably accentuated connection between the “mermaid” and the water element.

In the Northern Russian materials, the fact of a single (and not a group) appearance of mermaids is noted; predominantly a terrible appearance, the appearance of a naked woman with saggy breasts or a long-haired, shaggy woman (less often - women in white). Here there are stories about their appearance in the winter in the hole, or that a mermaid in the form of a naked woman is chasing the sleigh of a peasant who was driving through the forest in winter.

In this tradition, bylichki about the cohabitation of a mermaid with a man represent the development of a plot about an “imaginary wife”: a werewolf woman visits a hunter in a forest hut under the guise of his wife, gives birth to a child from him, and when the hunter recognizes evil spirits in the werewolf, the mythical “wife” tears her child in two and throws him into the water (the same plot is typical for the images of the goblin, the devil, the forest girl).

The situation is different with the "mermaid" complex of beliefs characteristic of the Ukrainian-Belarusian and South Russian demonology. In many places, the appearance of mermaids is described inconsistently either as young beauties, or as a neutral female image, or as old, terrible-looking women.

Mermaids became: dead unbaptized children; brides who did not live to see their wedding; children and girls who died as a result of violent death. When asked about the appearance of mermaids, one often heard that they walked the earth in the same form in which unmarried dead girls are usually buried: in a wedding dress, with loose hair and a wreath on their heads. This is how, according to folk custom, the dead girls were dressed up, as if arranging a symbolic wedding for them. It was believed that the souls of people who died before marriage could not finally go to the "other world" and from time to time invade the world of the living.

The second most important feature of the "mermaid" image should be recognized as the seasonality of stay on earth. It is widely believed that Rusal Week is a “mermaid holiday”; it was then that they allegedly appeared from the afterlife and frolicked all week in the fields, forests, in places near the water (sometimes they penetrated into the houses of their relatives). At the end of this period, the mermaids returned "to their places" (went into the water, into the graves, to the "other world").

According to East Slavic beliefs, mermaids appear in a cereal field during the flowering of rye; among the southern Slavs, it was believed that mermaids, mermaids reside in places of abundant flowering of the plant "rosen". Apparently, it is this circle of beliefs that clarifies the etymology of the “flower” name of the mermaid (associated with the name of the flower “rose”), since it is known that the ancient holiday rosalia, dies rosae was timed to coincide with the period of rose bloom and was a funeral rite in honor of the untimely deceased young people.

Attention should be paid to the significant differences between the folklore mermaid and the literary image of the same name. A list of all the "mermaid" images created in fiction would make a very long list. All of them are depicted as drowned women and inhabitants of the waters, endowed with the traits of insidious beauty maidens, women with a fish tail, luring their victims into the water, looking for the love of earthly youths, taking revenge on unfaithful lovers, etc. Such a standard image has become firmly established not only in fiction, but also in everyday consciousness, and in many scientific dictionaries and encyclopedias. Its source turned out to be not so much authentic data of folk demonology as similar characters of ancient and European mythology (nymphs, sirens, naiads, undines, melusines and other water and forest mythical maidens) that have become popular in the book tradition.

© flickr.com/photos/sofi01

Folklorist Varvara Dobrovolskaya about two types of fairy-tale heroines, the ideal of a woman and the origin of Baba Yaga.

All female characters of Russian fairy tales are divided into two large groups: characters of this world, that is, the world of a fairy tale hero, and characters of another world, that world where the fairy tale hero goes, where there are wonderful curiosities, where enemies live, where the Serpent takes the beautiful royal daughters .

Varvara Dobrovolskaya- Candidate of Philology, Head of the Folklore and Ethnographic Department of the Center for Russian Folklore, doctoral student at the Institute of World Literature named after A.I. A.M. Gorky, Scientific Secretary of the State Republican Center of Russian Folklore.

Typology of female images in Russian fairy tales

In the world of the hero, women are innocent, oppressed by all heroines - these are stepdaughters who are offended by stepmothers; wives who are slandered by the husband's relatives; women being turned into animals by witches, and so on. The other group is made up of beloved royal daughters, clever and beauties, whom loving fathers protect from the harmful influence of the world. This excessive guardianship leads to the fact that sooner or later the king has to announce a competition for the hand of his daughter and come up with difficult tasks for potential suitors, the most famous of which is a horse jump to the window of the princess. In another case, the girl turns out to be completely unprepared for the vicissitudes of fate, and she is kidnapped right from under the care of mothers and nannies by a large and terrible Serpent.

Of course, there are other, smaller varieties of women of this world, but they are all distinguished by their beauty and absolute unsuitability for life. The exception is devoted wives who go in search of their husbands, as, for example, the heroine of the fairy tale "Finist - the Clear Falcon", or with their all-consuming love revive the deceased lover, as in the fairy tale "The Scarlet Flower". Finally, there are heroines who marry an alien creature and then, after his murder by relatives, turn into birds that mourn their beloved all their lives, as in the fairy tale "Cancer Husband".

The characters of the other world are significantly richer. They operate in the hero's world, but in fact they are creatures of another world. These are witches and sorceresses who somehow come into contact with the hero or heroine. This is a stepmother who is actually endowed with magical abilities and is even a relative of otherworldly creatures in a number of fairy tales. These are all sorts of wonderful virgins that somehow appear in the life of a hero. The king-maiden, who sails to the seashore, where the hero sleeps; this is a beautiful princess, whose existence the hero learns from a portrait brought from overseas countries, or from the words of a friend who, in combination, turns out to be the brother of such a girl.

The hero can find a wife at the border of the worlds, where she resides in animal form. So, the hero finds a frog in a swamp, which at night turns into Vasilisa the Wise, carrying out all the instructions of the hero's father with the help of her wonderful helpers. Another lucky man finds his wife in the forest, where she sits on a birch in the form of a dove. Taking the bird home, the hero receives not only three hot meals a day, but also a good adviser and assistant in the fight against the tsarist regime. Finally, Ivan the merchant's son, having shown a certain ingenuity, steals the duck girl's dress and agrees to exchange it only for a wedding ring, and with her help he not only deceives the sea king, but also safely returns to his kingdom-state.

But more often, the hero is simply told about girls from another world. Usually such heroines are the subject of a hero's search. He follows them to the thirtieth kingdom, descends into the underworld, descends to the bottom of the sea-ocean. These can be completely independent and wealthy heroines who have not only their own kingdom-state, but also a garden with wonderful rejuvenating apples and a well with living and dead water.

It should be noted that in fairy tales there is a small group of characters who live on the border between the worlds. First of all, this is Baba Yaga, a wonderful old woman, and all those various assistants to the hero, all sorts of old women who appear on the road and help him with advice.

The image of a girl in Russian fairy tales

In a Russian fairy tale, the age of the hero is often indeterminate. Speaking about the fact that the hero is a boy and the heroine is a girl, the storyteller will not necessarily talk about children. So, everyone is used to the fact that a girl acts in the fairy tale “Little-Havroshechka”, but at the end of the fairy tale she marries the king’s son, that is, we are not dealing with a child, but with a marriageable girl. A similar story is with my sister Alyonushka, who also, despite her goat brother, is happily getting married.

Most likely, the girl heroine appears in a small number of fairy tales. The child hero is a rather rare type for Russian fairy tales, most often it is a boy. The girl can be found in several fairy tales: this is the Snow Maiden - a girl fashioned from snow and melted under the rays of the sun or from the heat of a fire. Probably, as a girl, one can consider the heroine from the tales of the reed on the grave, in which friends or sisters kill the youngest girl because of a jug of berries. Finally, most likely, the heroine of the fairy tale "Geese-Swans" can be considered as a child.

The girl is very rarely found in Russian fairy tales, which is understandable, because a child cannot be a hero as such. He can either be distinguished by a miraculous birth, and then the fairy tale is worried about the problem of what will happen next when he grows up and begins to perform feats, or this miraculous birth becomes the main one - the Snow Maiden melts.

The ideal of a woman in Russian fairy tales

The Russian fairy tale does not give detailed descriptions, this is not typical for the genre, respectively, and there is no ideal woman in the fairy tale. In fairy tales, a certain conditional portrait is given, that is, we can guess what kind of woman could be. Whatever you like at the moment, this is how she appears in the fairy tale. We don't even know her hair color. She is simply beautiful and, of course, smart - both Elena the Beautiful and Elena the Wise. This does not mean that one is beautiful and the other is smart. She is beautiful and smart at the same time, just depending on what the hero needs more at this particular moment: for the wife to be smart or for the wife to be beautiful - depending on the needs of the fairy tale plot, it is precisely this image of a woman that will be realized in a fairy tale.

Sometimes there are some wonderful elements of the portrait of the heroine, such as, for example, "she is so beautiful that her cerebellum shimmers from bone to bone." We can assume that her skin is so thin that we can see all her insides. It's hard to say if it's beautiful or not. But to the storyteller at the time of telling the tale, this seems to be an indicator of extraordinary beauty. If Western princesses are usually golden-haired, then our fairy-tale heroines can be dark-haired. But even such a detail as hair color is rarely mentioned in a fairy tale.

The origin and features of the image of Baba Yaga

This is a mythological character who got into a fairy tale already during the destruction of the mythological system. It is associated with the image of a priestess in initial and funeral rites. Its origin is usually associated with the chthonic characters of the underworld, the world of the dead, most often with snakes.

We can talk about it based on her name. The root "-yag-" in a number of dialects was used to designate snakes. One can speak about the snake origin of the yaga by some features of her appearance, preserved in fairy tales. For example, Baba Yaga never walks - she jumps. She has a bone leg. Most likely, this is the only leg of the character, and she does not have a second leg. If we understand in more detail, referring to the mythological origins of this image, it becomes clear that the only leg of the yaga is not a leg, but a snake's tail. Baba Yaga refers to the so-called snake deities who are the masters of the forest and the world of the dead. In some fairy tales, Baba Yaga is dominated by animals and birds.

Illustration by Ivan Bilibin (1876–1942)

She can be depicted as a corpse, she is in a hut, which in itself resembles a coffin, she "lies from corner to corner", "her nose has grown into the ceiling." In some tales, pieces of rotten flesh may stick out of her body. That is, she is a half-decomposed corpse. Being closest to the world of death, she acts as the first dead, the character who first passed through death, who knows how to get through the world of the dead. That is why she helps the hero-seeker to overcome the difficulties of another world, to obtain secret knowledge and treasures that are there.

But, as you know, they do not return from the world of the dead, and the hero arrives safely home. The reason for this is that the tale is associated not only with ideas about funeral practices, but also with rituals of an initial nature, in which the participant goes through death in order to receive a new life and new social qualities. This is most clearly seen in the tales of the boy and Baba Yaga, when the hero, with the help of cunning, avoids falling into the furnace. The tale in this case involved the motif of the hero's rebirth through rebirth, since the stove in mythology is synonymous with the female womb. Baba Yaga helps the hero to be reborn in a new quality, to acquire new knowledge, that is, she, as it were, performs the rite of initiation.

Russian fairy tale

How was the fairy tale genre formed? What is the audience for a fairy tale? What are the origins of the image of Baba Yaga? And what myth underlies the image of the fabulous Serpent? Varvara Dobrovolskaya, candidate of philological sciences, tells about this.

The characters invented in Russia are symbols of the childhood of each of us, while in different countries of the world they are perceived in a completely different way. For example, if in Russian mythology Baba Yaga is evil spirits, then among the Scandinavians a similar character is the goddess of the kingdom of the dead, Hel.

Female images: "my light, mirror, tell me ..."

Vasilisa the Wise, Elena the Beautiful, Mary the Artisan, the Frog Princess, the Snow Maiden, Alyonushka are female images that possessed not only stunning female logic, but also kindness, wisdom, beauty, sincerity. The brightest of them are:

1 Fragile, little girl, helper of Santa Claus - a favorite New Year's guest, an example to follow for naughty children. From the middle of the 19th century, the image of a little granddaughter was replaced by a young beauty, with an obligatory kokoshnik or a fur hat, the preferred headwear of Russian women.

No country in the world can boast such a magical and romantic biography as the Russian Snegurka. In Italy, this is the fairy Befana, an old woman with a hooked nose, who flies to the kids on a broomstick, giving gifts. A kind of "Santa Claus" in a skirt. The Mongols call their Snow Maiden Zazan Ohin, the girl Snow. The heroine, by tradition, makes riddles and gives gifts only after she hears the answer. In the USA, Santa has only deer from his assistants, but there is no Snow Maiden.

It is curious that if you try to translate the word Snow Maiden into English using the Google translator service, the result will always be different. Yesterday, the Snow Maiden was translated as "Snow - boy" (literally - a snow boy). Today, the Snegurochka in the database of the service is translated as Snow-maiden (Made of snow).

2 Masha, a restless companion of the Bear, a naughty character of a 3D cartoon breaking all records.

The green-eyed fidget is fluent in hand-to-hand combat, loves to be capricious and hooligan, asks questions that are difficult to answer. The prototype of the animated series was the folklore heroine of the Russian folk tale. Director O. Kuznetsov borrowed character traits from the hero of O. Henry's story "The Leader of the Redskins". The team of creators of the series does not adapt native Russian characters for broadcast in various countries.

3 baba yaga- a witch, the heroine of Slavic mythology, endowed with magical powers. A negative character lures good fellows into his hut on chicken legs, without fail gives the heroes a fairy-tale horse and a magical navigator of those times - a ball of thread. The Russian witch is not always friendly, but if you are gifted with eloquence, she can help.

4 Firebird, a fabulous bird that heals the sick and restores sight to the blind, is the sister of the Western European bird Phoenix, which knew how to revive from the ashes. The father of the two fiery heroines, most likely, was Peacock.

Each heroine is an individual, embodying good or evil, her actions and deeds are directly related to her character and mission.

Male images: “the heroes have not yet died out on the Russian land!”

The top of positive male images is no less colorful, vividly conveying the spirit of a Russian person. The main images are always antagonistic: in contrast to the beautiful, there is sure to be a bad one. Without which male images Russian fairy tales are inconceivable:

1 Father Frost.

In the Russian version - Morozko, Studenets, the mighty lord of the winter blizzard. The character, adored by the children, rides on a troika of horses, fetters reservoirs and rivers with the sound of a staff, sweeps cities and villages with cold breath. In the New Year, together with the Snow Maiden, she gives gifts. During Soviet times, Grandfather was dressed in a red coat, the color of the country's flag. The image of the popular Grandfather, who "wanders through the forests and meadows" is played in different ways in different countries: Santa Claus, Joulupuki, Jouluvana.

It is interesting:

According to the most conservative estimates of scientists, Santa Claus is already more than 2000 years old. For two thousand years, Santa Claus has repeatedly appeared in different images. First - in the guise of the pagan god Zimnik: an old man of small stature, with white hair and a long gray beard, with an uncovered head, in warm white clothes and with an iron mace in his hands. And in the fourth century, Santa Claus was reminiscent of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, who lived in Asia Minor in the city of Patara.

Grandfather began to come to the house with gifts with the beginning of the celebration of the New Year in Russia. Previously, he gave gifts to the obedient and intelligent, and he beat the mischievous with a stick. But the years made Santa Claus more compassionate: he replaced the stick with a magic staff.

By the way, Santa Claus first appeared on the pages of books in 1840, when Vladimir Odoevsky's "Children's Tales of Grandpa Iriney" were published. In the book, the name and patronymic of the winter wizard, Moroz Ivanovich, became known.

In the twentieth century, Santa Claus almost disappeared. After the revolution, it was considered that celebrating Christmas is harmful for the people, because this is a real “priestly” holiday. However, in 1935, the disgrace was finally removed, and soon Father Frost and the Snow Maiden for the first time appeared together for the Christmas tree festival in the Moscow House of Unions.

2 Three heroes. Strong, courageous, cheerful heroes have long become a symbol of Russia, thanks to a series of full-length adventures by Alyosha Popovich, Dobrynya Nikitich and Ilya Muromets. In fact, the brave fellows never met in life, according to epics, they even lived in different centuries.

It is interesting:

In 2015, the 6th part of the saga, “Three Heroes: The Knight’s Move”, which was released on the screens, collected 962,961,596 rubles. Almost 1 billion rubles! Thus, the picture became the highest grossing animated film of the year. Although it all started modestly: the box office of the first part - "Alyosha Popovich and Tugarin the Serpent" (2004) - amounted to 48,376,440 rubles. Since then, fees have steadily increased.

3 Ivan the Fool(third son) - a character who embodies a special "magic strategy": the hero acts contrary to common sense and always succeeds! The fool perfectly solves riddles, defeats evil spirits and valiantly saves the main character.

Pinocchio, Crocodile Gena, Dr. Aibolit, Barmaley, Winnie the Pooh, Leopold the Cat and Matroskin the Cat are also among the most popular and beloved heroes of Russian cinema, who rightfully occupy high positions in the rating of fairy-tale characters.

Undead: guardians of forests, swamps and houses

The largest group of Russian folk epic is made up of mythical creatures. Vodyanoy, Kikimora, Goblin, mermaids, Brownie, Baba Yaga are magical images that appeared along with inexplicable forces of nature. By their actions and character, these are more negative characters, but at the same time, they are charming and charismatic in modern films and cartoons, these include:

1 Koschei the Deathless. A character with supernatural powers. According to legend, this is an insidious old man who kills pets. The sorcerer often kidnaps the protagonist's bride in the hope of "mutual love".

It is interesting:

In Soviet cinema, Koshey was brilliantly played by actor Georgy Millyar. Basically, he played all sorts of evil spirits and had to put on complex makeup. But for the role of Koshchei the Immortal, makeup was practically not needed, since the actor himself resembled a living skeleton (after suffering from malaria, the actor's weight was only 45 kg).

Koschey the Immortal - Georgy Millyar

• Article

Fairy tales are a storehouse of folk wisdom! From seemingly simple stories, you can learn a lot of useful information: how to marry a prince, how to deceive Koshchei, or how to turn from a frog into a princess.

Now fairy tales are read only to children, but it is never too late to learn female wisdom! So, what can the heroines of fairy tales teach adult girls and women?

Princess Frog

What does it teach: the ability to behave in any situation and the ability to make a king out of an ordinary man.

The Frog Princess was not shy about her appearance, as she perceived herself exactly as she was. She understood that beauty is not the main thing, but the main thing is the ability to present oneself correctly. It was this skill that she showed at the reception of the king, when, with a wave of her hand, a lake and swans appeared from her sleeves. And thanks to her ingenuity and wisdom, she was able to make a successful man out of the loser Ivan Tsarevich.

Princess on the Pea

What does it teach: healthy sleep is important for a woman, and no peas should prevent this!

In a fairy tale, the Prince finds his Princess. It would seem that everything will end well, but it was not there! They decided to check the girl for the authenticity of her blue blood and put a pea under her many mattresses and featherbeds. In the life of a modern woman, there are many "peas" that interfere with sleep - work, children, problems, household chores, travel, etc. But you should always remember that healthy sleep not only gives you the opportunity to relax, but also helps to preserve beauty.

Vasilisa the Beautiful

What does it teach: follow your intuition.

One of the strengths of a woman is her intuition. But sometimes women simply do not trust her, and want to do everything logically, like men. Vasilisa received a doll from her mother. It is she who helps her in the future to overcome difficulties. The doll gave advice and helped in everything. This doll can just be compared with intuition.

Nastenka from Morozko

What does it teach: be a woman to the bone! To put yourself in such a way that a man feels his need, so that he wants to protect and take care of you.

The humble, patient, modest girl Nastenka finds her happiness thanks to her kind, sympathetic character. The man next to her understands that such a fragile girl needs to be taken care of and does it without any questions.

Cinderella

What does it teach: meet by clothes, see off by mind.

Not for nothing did Marilyn Monroe say: “Give a woman a pair of good shoes and she will conquer the whole world!”. The heroine Cinderella teaches neatness, beauty and harmonious appearance. What can we say - men like beautiful, well-groomed and stylishly dressed girls. Of course, the Prince fell in love with Cinderella not for her appearance, but for her kindness, talent and sincerity, but at first she made an effect with her dress, shoes and hairstyle!

Baba Yaga

What does it teach: hospitality and economy.

Despite the fact that Baba Yaga is a negative character, you can also learn a lot from her. Remember how this grandmother met good fellows? And she drowned the bathhouse, and treated her to tea, and put her to bed. And only after that she asked about the affairs.

Alyonushka from the fairy tale "Geese-Swans"

What does it teach: do good and it will surely come back to you.

When a brother was stolen from Alyonushka, Alyonushka went in search of him. On the way, she met various characters who asked for help, but the girl did not help. When she herself needed help, those who met on her path also refused to help her. And only when Alyonushka herself began to help others, she also came to the rescue.

The Snow Queen

What does it teach: never hold a grudge in yourself, otherwise your heart will become cold as an ice floe.

Apparently, the Snow Queen had a hard time in her life, since she imprisoned herself in an ice castle and stole the innocent boy Kai. The callous, evil and cold heart of the Snow Queen does not accept the joy of those around her, neither love nor mercy. And all from resentment against the whole world, which eventually ruined her.

Live in reality, but do not forget about good fairy tales - take from them all the brightest and best that is lacking in the modern world. And remember that all fairy tales end with a happy ending! Good luck and don't forget to press the buttons and