Reading Notes: Russian Folk Tales Unit, Part A

(Leshy (1906) by Н. Н. Брут, Magazine taken from Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain Tag))

The Dead Mother sets up mystery through a seemingly contradictory set of events, culminating in a supernatural reveal at the end with the titular dead mother. This kind of mystery could be applied to other occult phenomena, like possession or sudden memory loss.

The Bad Wife introduces and interesting antagonistic force: a wife who only interprets the opposite of what her husband says to and asks of her. With such devotion to this personality, one has to wonder if it's all an act.

However, if true, I wonder if a relationship could ever bloom under such a relationship?

The imp in this story demonstrates powers of possession, causing people to act outside of accepted norms and beyond their personalities. How much of this is the imp's work is not totally clear; if he's drawing out inhibitions or imprinting his own personality.

Frugality and greed seem to be common themes in this half of the unit, especially apparent in The Treasure, The Three Copecks, and The Miser.

What is the world like below the lake in The Water Snake? Is it a mirror image of ours? Just where everyone else is different in form?

The Leshy is an interesting being: it apparently leads travelers astray, capable of taking any form in order to accomplish this. Not only that, but apparently those he abducts lose their memories in the time they spend next to the Leshy.

Does the Leshy even remember why it is the way it is?

According to The Metamorphosis of the Dnieper, the Volga, and the Dvina, apparently becoming a river was an acceptable career choice in the old days. Did any other natural forces start this way?

What if a figure like the pike in Emilian the Fool offered something greater than good luck in exchange for sparing his life?

Bibliography


Mythology & Foklore Russian Folk Tales Unit, stories taken from Russian Fairy Tales: A Choice Collection of Muscovite Folk-lore by W. R. S. Ralston