Another Ivan in “The Tale of Vasilisa the Golden Braid” also saves all the people and his own from the terrible snake that captivated the beauties and his own sister. Ivan Gorokh is a strong and formidable hero, ready to deal with any evil, to protect native land and defend my sister's honor. But in the fairy tale “Ivan Tsarevich and gray wolf» more positive character a wolf appears, Ivan Tsarevich was only lucky to meet such a faithful and devoted friend. The same trend can be observed in the fairy tales “The Little Humpbacked Horse”, “Po pike command"and many others.
Russian people for the most part believed that “the grave will correct the hunchbacked one,” therefore, Russian fairy tales are not characterized by the transformation of the hero from negative character in positive.
The most positive female characters In Russian fairy tales, Vasilisa the Beautiful and the Wise appear. A Russian beauty is primarily distinguished by her intelligence and kindness; she helps her chosen one to defeat evil with cunning and ingenuity, get a magic object or guide him to the wise. Oddly enough, in some fairy tales even Baba Yaga can be positive, providing the traveler with parting words, ancient knowledge and providing material assistance in the form of magical objects: a scarf, a comb, a ball of thread or a mirror.
Positive heroes of foreign fairy tales
The heroes of European fairy tales are radically different from Russians; they are physically weak, intelligence and cunning are not glorified in them as in folklore. Such qualities as kindness, humility, and hard work come first. Snow White and Cinderella are downtrodden beauties, born for love and luxury, but, by will evil people, they are required to play the role of maids. They do not make any effort to change their fate, they are submissive to it and are freed from shackles only by chance. Moreover, the main idea of such fairy tales is the idea that for the triumph of justice, only virtue and hard work are necessary, and God or good fairies The heroine will be generously rewarded for all her hardships.Pinocchio is a fairy tale by an Italian writer about the transformation of a stupid, naughty and, at times, cruel wooden doll into a kind and caring boy. Pinocchio or Pinocchio are one of the most positive children's characters.
Warrior Heroes in foreign fairy tales are presented quite rarely; Cipollino is considered one of the few such characters, although this is in to a greater extent the image of a revolutionary fighting dictators against the bourgeoisie and slavery. Another one stands apart goodie- medieval revolutionary Robin Hood. The collective image of a noble robber-warrior is romanticized and spiritualized. He fights evil in the form of cruel feudal lords, lawlessness and injustice.
Eastern fairy tales are closer in their ideas to Russian ones, for example, Aladdin is an analogue of Ivan the Fool or Emelya. Eastern characters, like Russians, are often helped by cunning, dexterity and resourcefulness, the most popular hero- “Baghdad thief”, a criminal who managed to deceive dozens of moneybags and was never caught. In almost every Arabian tale there is also a guiding hand - as in the Russian tradition, this is a woman. The smart and cunning wife of Ali Baba, Sakine, Scheherazade, like Vasilisa in Russian fairy tales, personify such intelligence and ingenuity that is inherent only in women.
We invite you to familiarize yourself with the characteristics of fairy-tale characters who are actors fairy tales that are loved by your children, and maybe you too. They will help you more specifically choose certain fairy tales for your children for correctional purposes. Perhaps you will learn something new and interesting... Or perhaps you will disagree with something. But getting to know the characteristics of the characters will help you in choosing the hero of your own fairy tales for your baby, as well as for general awareness.
Cinderella lives in the kitchen near the stove and sleeps in a box of ash. Ash (ash) represents the essence of what has been burned. Fire is a symbol of destruction, purification and transformation. Cinderella lives next to fire, which imparts its power to her, and it in turn helps her survive adversity and suffering. Like fire that turns water into steam, Cinderella processes, burns through humiliation, resentment and pain, turning them into pure love. You must have a warm heart so as not to become embittered and hardened in soul when you are insulted, humiliated and hated.
Frog Princess
The amphibian frog and Vasilisa the Beautiful are one and the same creature: animal and earthly forces are fused together. Every person contains incredible and wonderful possibilities. Merging with the image of the beautiful Vasilisa, you feel omnipotent, harmonious and joyful. a frog that turns into a beauty realizes its potential, given from birth.
sleeping Beauty
During the time of Sleeping Beauty, people perceived and understood the world around them differently. Consciousness never stands still, it develops, and intuitive perception should have been replaced by logical thinking. The spindle is a symbol of spinning. And the processes of spinning and thinking are initially related. The expressions “I lost the thread of reasoning”, “I pulled the thread and remembered everything” still exist. “Spinning” in figurative language means to build thoughts, create a logical chain.
Princess who is cursed evil fairy pricks herself on the spindle and dies (falls asleep), is not ready to easily and quickly switch to a different type of thinking. And she goes into sleep to accept this process on an unconscious level.
Snow Queen
Woman made of ice... Ice is frozen crystallized water. The Ice Queen symbolizes frozen feelings and emotions, stopped movement. Admiring ice crystals, the correctness of lines, the geometry of space and time and not feeling the tenderness of a flower, the warmth of the sun, the soft touch of beloved hands means living with a cold, frozen heart. The Snow Queen and her ice castle represent, on a psychological level, detachment, insensibility, firmness, determination, icy calm, composure, and the ability to control oneself. Are these qualities really that bad? Aren't there situations in life when we need to be cool, balanced and calm? It’s just that everything in excess is harmful. And even the most beautiful thing in large quantities tires. And when the mind and feelings are in harmony, what could be better?
Image Snow Queen very useful for children (adults) who are weak and weak-willed, insecure and timid, vulnerable and soft: it will give them strength, firmness, self-confidence, and perseverance in the face of difficulties. The image of the Snow Queen will also help those who are overly excitable, temperamental and hot: it will cool down excessive ardor, balance and calm.
Little Mermaid
The Little Mermaid is a child of the element of water and symbolizes the emotional and sensory world. The Little Mermaid's passionate desire to experience earthly love and spending your life not in the expanses of water, but on solid land can be associated with the fact that the intangible and invisible strives to take shape. But life on earth is associated with great pain for the Little Mermaid. It is probably no coincidence that the heroine was never able to fulfill her dream of becoming the prince’s lover and wife. It would seem that the Little Mermaid deserved her happiness, but she did not receive it.
IN similar cases You can invite the children to compose your own fairy tale and change its ending. The technique of changing fairy tales allows you to look at the world around you more optimistically and joyfully. This is especially important for sad, indecisive, inhibited and weakened children.
Mistress of the Copper Mountain
This woman is incredibly beautiful, balanced and strong. The stone woman, however, is capable of crying, and is fair, and compassionate. So why even good people Doesn't she bring joy? Maybe the point is not in the Mistress of the Copper Mountain, but in the person himself, who goes out to fight with a stronger one, but is not able to withstand the fight? Precious stones are a symbol of wealth and power. How many are capable of possessing treasures and not having attachment to them, not falling into dependence? The image of the Mistress of the Copper Mountain allows you to feel strong and powerful in a good way, fair and at the same time ruthless, powerful and rich.
A light, airy creature endowed with magical powers. Messenger of fate, witch, sorceress - her other names. A fairy is a beautiful star creature, a kind of mediator between Space and Earth, the world of people. The fairy is inextricably linked with the light that penetrates any space. To feel like a fairy means to have indestructible faith in yourself, in the power of your thoughts; experience the state of a wizard for whom nothing is impossible.
It got its name from the verb “to know” - to know. Her other titles are sorceress, knowledgeable, knowledgeable, sorceress. A witch is, first of all, a healer, a sorceress. She easily commands the diverse forces of nature and any creatures. Unlike a fairy and a good sorceress, a witch uses powers to the detriment of a person or creature, demands a considerable fee for services, rejoices when she feels good, radiates anger, envy, tension and brute force (the force of a hurricane, whirlwind, earthquake).
One of the witches. The ancient Slavs in Rus' called her a hellish goddess, a terrible goddess who destroys the bodies and souls of people. Baba Yaga is a powerful sorceress, and her hut on chicken legs is something like a passageway, a kind of bridge between the world of the living and the kingdom of the dead. Only brave hero, able to overcome the fear of death, can resist Baba Yaga. To be embodied in Baba Yaga, to live her image means to feel power, crushing strength and the absence of fear of death.
Koschey the Immortal
Belongs to the world of the dead. Why is he called immortal? Koschey the Immortal consists of nothing but bones. bones are the hardest, strongest, toughest tissue in the human body, capable of withstanding enormous loads. Bones do not rot or decompose under certain conditions and are difficult to burn.
Koschey the Immortal symbolizes complete insensibility and lack of spirituality, rigidity, stereotyping, limitation and inertia. At the same time, the image of Koshchei the Immortal helps to gain fortitude, fearlessness, unshakable self-confidence, determination and strength.
Tsar (king)
Rules the state and is subordinate to him huge amount people. At the symbolic level, the king means a certain dominant higher psychic center. To be in a royal state is to experience the unification of all parts of the Self. To feel like a king means to control your thoughts, emotions, states, to feel responsible for everything that happens in your “kingdom”.
The highest regulatory center is responsible and governs. However, unlike the king, she symbolizes female emotions and feelings.
A wonderful sign of beauty and flourishing vitality. To more accurately understand the symbolism of a particular flower, describe it to yourself with 3-5 adjectives. These adjectives will mean the state of your soul that you see in the flower. If, for example, we take “The Scarlet Flower,” then I would like to describe it with the following adjectives: beautiful, burning, blazing, scarlet. Isn't it associated with the heart and love? The merchant's daughter's desire to find scarlet flower- this is the desire for love, passion, dedication, heartfelt affection.
Symbol of freedom. By living the state of a bird, you can get rid of heavy attachments to desires, feel a state of independence, lightness, airiness and flight.
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A simple and at the same time mysterious bird. Crows are endowed mystical power and the ability to penetrate supernatural worlds, including the afterlife. Crows are smart and wise birds. Having reincarnated as a raven, you have the opportunity to look at the world with different eyes, see the deep and mysterious areas of life, explore dark side your soul and touch your inner wisdom.
Martin
The beautiful, fast-winged bird is a symbol of spring and renewal, a symbol of new life. It is no coincidence that it was the swallow that carried Thumbelina to new world, in which the girl found a home, her prince and happiness. Caring for a swallow, as Thumbelina did, means preparing for change, for a state of spring, joy, and happiness.
The white swan symbolizes beautiful and pure thoughts. The swan is a sign of greatness, beauty and grace.
Eagle owl (owl)
A nocturnal bird of prey with excellent vision in the dark. It symbolizes the unknown and darkness. Unknown dark spaces are usually frightening, and therefore people are always afraid of the owl (owl). But it is not without reason that the owl (owl) is considered a symbol of wisdom. It is his fearless perception of the dark and mysterious side of life that provides depth and wisdom. Eagle owl (owl) is a symbol of transformation, the transition of negative dark states into a calm and harmonious perception of life.
A predatory beast, strong, smart and careful. Sometimes he is endowed with such traits as cruelty, ferocity, gluttony and greed. Wolves have a highly developed sense of family and pack. They are caring parents and partners who feel great about each other. In some fairy tales, the wolf is a bloodthirsty, ferocious and merciless monster, while in others, particularly in Mowgli, he is a caring, attentive and even noble parent. Therefore, a wolf can symbolize different states of the soul.
In Russian fairy tales, it usually appears as an independent, intelligent and resourceful creature, able to easily defend itself and repel any beast. Its needles symbolize caution, inaccessibility, closedness, fear of pain and the need for protection.
The hare is considered a symbol of fear, weakness, as well as boasting and unjustified self-confidence. And in many fairy tales he is indeed presented this way. However, the fairy tale “Koska the Hare and the Spring” shows other sides of the hare’s nature: curiosity, playfulness, patience and courage.
An ambiguous and deep image, they fear her, deceit and meanness are associated with her. Biblical motives characterize the serpent as a seducer and tempter. The snake has the ability to change its skin frequently, and in this way it symbolizes rebirth and renewal. Different snakes symbolize different things: a boa constrictor, for example, can symbolize enormous suffocating compressive power and strength, and a viper may symbolize cunning and meanness.
It belongs to the category of amphibians and feels equally at home in water and on land. She is subject to both the emotional and sensory world and the material and objective world. IN different fairy tales we see different images frogs. in the fairy tale “The Frog Traveler,” curiosity, the desire for change, boasting and pomposity come to the fore; in the fairy tale “The Frog Princess” - nobility hidden behind the apparent external ugliness.
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When interpreting the image of a bear, one should take into account its dual nature. On the one hand, the bear is considered a clumsy, clumsy, heavy creature, on the other hand, the bear is unusually dexterous and fast. The bear represents cruelty, rudeness, evil force, and at the same time its image is associated with good nature and protection. In the fairy tale "Mowgli" the bear is a symbol of teacher's wisdom, attention, nobility and protection.
Smart, courageous, fearless, cunning, possesses seductive grace and flexibility, noiselessness, patience, and sometimes ruthlessness. The image of a panther will help balance existing qualities and give strength, firmness, sobriety, determination and courage.
There are many different expressions associated with the image of a fish: to be silent like a fish, to fight like a fish on ice, like a fish in water... each of these expressions describes certain human actions. The image of a fish is often associated with the “emerging” of deep psychic unconscious information. We can also talk about character traits such as coldness and dispassion. Sometimes a fish symbolizes slipperiness, when the person with whom we are communicating deftly moves away from the desired topic, avoids sensitive moments or situations.
Known for its ability to shed its tail in times of danger and grow a new one over time. Therefore, it is considered a symbol of renewal, reincarnation, resourcefulness and vitality. Perhaps, thanks to Bazhov’s fairy tales, or perhaps for another reason, the habitats of lizards are associated with deposits of precious stones, gold or treasures. And that is why lizards are considered a symbol of wealth, material gain or reward.
We are talking about the main character's bride. Whether he is Ivan the Tsarevich or Ivan the Fool, he will certainly find Vasilisa the Wise or Vasilisa the Beautiful. The girl is supposed to be saved first, and then married - everything is honorable. But the girl is not easy. She can hide in the form of a frog, have some kind of witchcraft abilities, be able to speak with animals, the sun, wind and moon... In general, she is clearly a difficult girl. At the same time, it’s also kind of “secret”. Judge for yourself: it is much more difficult to find information about her than about any other fairy-tale character. In encyclopedias (both classic, paper, and new, online ones) you can easily find lengthy articles about Ilya Muromets and Dobrynya Nikitich, about Koshchei the Immortal and about Baba Yaga, about mermaids, goblin and merman, but there is almost nothing about Vasilisa . On the surface lies only a short article in the Bolshoi Soviet encyclopedia which reads:
"Vasilisa the Wise - a character of Russian folk fairy tales. In most of them, Vasilisa the Wise is the daughter of the sea king, endowed with wisdom and the ability to transform. Same female image acts under the name of Marya the Princess, Marya Morevna, Elena the Beautiful. Maxim Gorky called Vasilisa the Wise one of the most perfect images created by folk imagination. The destitute orphan, Vasilisa the Beautiful, in Afanasiev’s unique text, is different in nature.”
Let's start, perhaps, with Vasilisa the Elder, with the one whom Gorky identified with Marya the Princess, Marya Morevna and Elena the Beautiful. And there was every reason for that. All these characters are very similar, for example, in that nothing is really said about them in fairy tales. Like, a beautiful maiden, the likes of which the world has never seen - and that’s all. Neither detailed description appearance, or any character traits. Just a woman-function, without which a fairy tale would not work: after all, the hero must conquer the princess, and who she is is the tenth matter. Let there be Vasilisa.
The name, by the way, hints at high origin. The name "Vasilisa" can be translated from Greek as "royal". And this royal maiden (sometimes in fairy tales she is called the Tsar Maiden) begins to subject the hero to tests. That is, sometimes it is not she who does this, but some fairy-tale villain like Koshchei the Immortal or the Serpent Gorynych, who kidnapped the princess and is holding her captive (at best) or is going to devour her (at worst).
Sometimes the father of the potential bride plays the role of the villain. In the fairy tale, where Vasilisa appears as the daughter of the water king, the lord sea waters puts obstacles in the way of the hero to destroy him, but loses because the enemy suddenly turns out to be dear to his daughter’s heart, and no amount of witchcraft can defeat him. But here everything is more or less clear: there is some evil force (a dragon, a sorcerer, or the girl’s evil parents), and the hero must fight the enemy. In fact, this is how he becomes a hero. And a princess, princess or princess (it doesn’t matter) is a reward for the hero.
However, it also happens that Ivan the Fool or Ivan the Fool or some other central fairy-tale character is forced to undergo trials not because of dragons or sorcerers - he is tormented by the bride herself. Either the hero needs to jump on horseback to the windows of her little room and kiss the beauty on the sugar lips, then he needs to recognize the girl among twelve friends who look exactly like her, then he needs to catch the fugitive - or demonstrate enviable cunning in order to hide from the princess so that she didn’t find him. At worst, the hero is asked to solve riddles. But in one form or another, Vasilisa will test him.
It would seem that what is unusual about the tests? Testing a man is generally feminine character: is he good enough to connect his life with him or give birth to offspring, does he have the strength and intelligence to be a worthy husband and father? From a biological point of view, everything is absolutely correct. However, there is one small detail. If unfortunate Ivan does not complete the task, then death awaits him - and this is repeatedly emphasized in dozens of Russian fairy tales.
One wonders why beautiful princess demonstrates bloodthirstiness, which is more suitable for the Serpent Gorynych? Because in reality she doesn’t want to get married at all. Moreover, she is the enemy of the hero, believes the famous researcher of Russian folklore Vladimir Propp in his book “Historical Roots of a Fairy Tale”:
“The task is set as a test of the groom... But these tasks are also interesting to others. They contain a moment of threat: “If he doesn’t do it, he will have his head cut off for his offense.” This threat reveals another motivation. In the tasks and threats one can see not only the desire to have the best groom for the princess , but also a secret, hidden hope that such a groom will not exist at all.
The words “I guess I agree, just complete three tasks in advance” are full of deceit. The groom is sent to his death... In some cases this hostility is expressed quite clearly. It manifests itself outward when the task has already been completed and when more and more new and more dangerous tasks are asked.”
Why is Vasilisa, aka Marya Morevna, aka Elena the Beautiful, against marriage? Perhaps in fairy tales, where she constantly intrigues the main character, she simply does not need this marriage. She either rules the country herself - and she does not need a husband as a rival in power, or she is the daughter of a king who will be overthrown by her potential husband in order to seize the throne. Quite a logical version.
As the same Propp writes, the plot about the machinations that the future father-in-law perpetrates on the hero, together with his daughter or in defiance of her, could well have had a real basis. According to Propp, the struggle for the throne between the hero and the old king is a completely historical phenomenon. The tale here reflects the transfer of power from father-in-law to son-in-law through a woman, through a daughter. And this once again explains why fairy tales say so little about the appearance and character of the bride - this is a character-function: either a prize for the hero, or a means of achieving power. Sad story.
Meanwhile, in the Russian tradition there is a fairy tale that tells about Vasilisa’s childhood, adolescence and youth. It was Gorky who mentioned her, saying that she was not like the usual image of a princess whom the hero is trying to conquer. In this fairy tale, Vasilisa is an orphan girl. It's not a fact that this is the same character. However, this Vasilisa, unlike other fairy-tale namesakes, is an absolutely full-blooded heroine - with a biography, character, and so on.
I'll sketch it out in dotted lines. storyline. A merchant's wife dies, leaving him with a little daughter. The father decides to marry again. The stepmother has her own daughters, and this whole new company begins to tyrannize Vasilisa, loading her with backbreaking work. In general, it is very similar to the fairy tale about Cinderella. It seems, but not entirely, because Cinderella was helped by a fairy godmother, and Vasilisa was helped by a creepy witch from the forest.
This is how it turned out. The stepmother and her daughters said that there was no more fire in the house, and they sent Vasilisa into the forest to Baba Yaga, of course, hoping that she would not return. The girl obeyed. Her path through the dark forest was scary - and strange: she met three horsemen, one white, another red, and a third black, and they were all riding towards Yaga.
When Vasilisa reached her abode, she was greeted by a high fence made of stakes planted with human skulls. Yaga's house turned out to be no less creepy: for example, instead of servants, the witch had three pairs of hands that appeared out of nowhere and disappeared to God knows where. But the most terrible creature in this house was Baba Yaga.
The witch, however, received Vasilisa favorably and promised that she would give her fire if Vasilisa completed all her tasks. Completing difficult tasks is an indispensable path of the hero. Unlike the fairy tales mentioned above, in this one it is a woman who goes through it, and therefore her tasks are female, there are simply too many of them: to clean the yard, and sweep the hut, and wash the linen, and cook dinner, and sort the grains, and that’s it. - in one day. Of course, if the tasks were completed poorly, Baba Yaga promised to eat Vasilisa.
Vasilisa washed Yaga's clothes, cleaned her house, prepared food for her, then learned to separate healthy grains from infected ones, and poppy seeds from dirt. Afterwards, Yaga allowed Vasilisa to ask her a few questions. Vasilisa asked about the three mysterious horsemen - white, red and black. The witch replied that it was a clear day, a red sun and a black night, and all of them were her faithful servants. That is, Baba Yaga in this fairy tale is an extremely powerful sorceress.
Afterwards she asked Vasilisa why she didn’t ask further, about dead hands, for example, and Vasilisa replied that, if you know a lot, you will soon grow old. Yaga looked at her and, narrowing her eyes, said that the answer was correct: she doesn’t like people who are too curious and eats them. And then she asked how Vasilisa managed to answer her questions without errors and how she managed to do all the work correctly.
Vasilisa replied that her mother’s blessing helped her, and then the witch pushed her over the threshold: “I don’t need blessed ones here.” But in addition she gave the girl fire - she removed a skull from the fence, whose eye sockets were blazing with flame. And when Vasilisa returned home, the skull burned her tormentors.
A creepy tale. And its essence is that Vasilisa the Beautiful, while carrying out the tasks of Baba Yaga, learned a lot from her. For example, while washing Yaga’s clothes, Vasilisa literally saw what the old woman was made of, the famous fairy tale researcher Clarissa Estes writes in her book “Who Runs with the Wolves”:
"In the symbolism of the archetype, clothing corresponds to the persona, the first impression that we make on others. A persona is something like a camouflage that allows us to show others only what we ourselves want, and no more. But... a persona is not only a mask behind which you can hide, but there is a presence that eclipses the usual personality.
In this sense, the persona or mask is a sign of rank, dignity, character and power. This is an external indicator, an external manifestation of mastery. By washing Yaga’s clothes, the initiate will see with her own eyes what the person’s seams look like, how the dress is cut.”
And so - in everything. Vasilisa sees how and what Yaga eats, how she makes the world revolve around her, and makes the day, sun and night walk as her servants. And a terrible skull, blazing with fire, which the witch hands to the girl, in this case- a symbol of the special witchcraft knowledge that she received while being a novice with Yaga.
The sorceress, by the way, might have continued her studies if Vasilisa had not turned out to be a blessed daughter. But it didn’t work out. And Vasilisa, armed with strength and secret knowledge, set off back into the world. In this case, it is clear where Vasilisa got her magical skills, which are often mentioned in other fairy tales. It is also clear why she can be both good and evil.
She is still a blessed child, but Baba Yaga’s school is also here to stay. Therefore, Vasilisa ceased to be a meek orphan: her enemies died, and she herself married a prince and sat on the throne...
It is connected with the fact that anyone can become kind in them - a narrow-minded son, a spoiled prince, and even a gray wolf. One of the most popular positive fairy tale images is a hero who has remarkable physical strength, stamina, courage and good nature. Ilya Muromets, Dobrynya Nikitich and Alyosha Popovich are heroes who were not afraid of the three-headed Serpent Gorynych, Nightingale - and combine a brilliant mind, ingenuity and cunning.
Often in Russian fairy tales there are also kind animals - a horse, a wolf or a dog, which symbolize intelligence, cunning, devotion and fidelity.
Another well-known fairy tale hero is collective image a simple Russian guy Ivan. Ivan Tsarevich is always noble, brave and kind. He shows unprecedented heroism and kingdom from evil forces. Ivanushka the Fool is another favorite positive Russian folk tales- most often it is youngest son in the family, however, the most talented and unique. He knows how to understand animals, and they willingly help Ivanushka fight evil.
The kindest fairy tale hero
Answer the question “which hero of Russian fairy tales is the kindest?” It is possible only by specifying the purpose of good deeds. So, undoubtedly, Ivanushka can be called the kindest, who bravely goes into battle with dark forces, without thinking about his own well-being. True Good, first of all, is determined by selflessness, since a hero who performs noble deeds for profit turns into a simple mercenary.
Traditionally good heroes in fairy tales they help the world restore the natural balance of good and evil, preventing the antagonist from realizing his insidious plans.
Therefore the real good deed can be accomplished only when the hero is guided solely by the breadth of his soul. Such characters are Morozko, Grandfather Frost, Vasilisa the Beautiful, Cinderella's fairy godmother and other heroes who do good for the sake of good, without expecting any reward in return.
Thus, the title of the kindest fairy-tale hero can be awarded to each of these characters, since in the fight against evil it is not so much the skill as the intention that is important, and the intention of each of them is undoubtedly the most noble.
A fairy tale is not only entertainment for children. It contains instructive stories, which 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- most famous character 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. Required condition“heat the bathhouse” - ritual ablution, sharing a meal in one form or another - funeral feast, commemoration among the Slavs. And the indispensable dwelling - a hut on chicken legs - is precisely the place of transition to 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.
Serpent Gorynych- a fire-breathing dragon that can fly. In Slavic folklore, he guards the Kalinov Bridge - access to the afterlife, where to the common man the path is closed. 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.
Kashchei 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 ( underground kingdom, the afterlife among the Slavs).
Well, what would a fairy tale be without Ivan the Fool? This is a collective positive image for which a long path is destined, but he goes through it with valor and in the end receives a princess as his wife. So 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 our visible world, but the truth 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 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 assigned a kind of “cultural reserve” - an ethno-yard.
– comprehensive exhibition. It is formed by the building of the largest Russian stove in the world and nine huts different regions 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...
