Saint Petersburg State University
Faculty of Philology
Program "Linguistics and intercultural communication»
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Russian heroes folk tales about animals and their role in the development national character
St. Petersburg
Introduction
For many centuries, in the process of the formation of the current images of animals in Russian folk tales, literature was created that explored and described the folklore features of the heroes of fairy tales from various regions, countries, etc.
In such works, V.Ya. Proppa like " Historical roots fairy tale”, “Russian Fairy Tale” and “Morphology of a Fairy Tale”, E.V. Pomerantseva "The Fate of a Russian Fairy Tale", V.P. Anikin "Russian folk tale" gives an idea of the structure of a fairy tale, its types, a large number of different types of heroes of a fairy tale. Books by O.M. Ivanova-Kazas "Mythological zoology (dictionary)" and E. A. Kostyukhina "Types and forms of the animal epic" help to consider in detail the most famous heroes fairy tales about animals and create them collective image based on a comparative analysis of these heroes and their actions.
The heroes of fairy tales very often become animals, personifying people with different characters. Enough attention is paid to the consideration of such characters, but there is not enough literature explaining the role of their existence in fairy tales about animals, which is due to the relevance of the topic of the course work.
Purpose: To describe the heroes of Russian folk tales about animals.
Study of Russian Folk everyday fairy tale and her animal characters.
Creation of a comparative analysis of the data of heroes and their actions.
To prove the educational role of a fairy tale through the necessity of the existence of animal characters.
Subject of study.
Object of study.
Heroes-animals of Russian folk tales.
Analysis method
Poll/questionnaire method
Comparative method
Research material.
Russian folk tales about animals.
The choice of this literature is due to the fact that in Russian folk tales about animals, the characters of animal heroes and their features are especially pronounced. And such books as A.N. Afanasyeva "Russian Folk Tales: a complete edition in one volume", "Tales about animals", "Tales about hares", "Tales about a fox" give a complete picture of the heroes of fairy tales about animals, describe their character traits, appearance and deeds.
Tales about animals, their features and varieties
In fairy tales about animals, certain characters can be traced in different time frames. Therefore, one of the most important issues is the problem of differentiation of fairy tales about animals and fairy tales of other genres in which animals take part.
The key to solving this problem is the definition of fairy tales about animals proposed by V.Ya. Propp: Tales about animals will be understood as such fairy tales in which the animal is the main object or subject of the narrative. On this basis, fairy tales about animals can be distinguished from others, where animals play only an auxiliary role and are not heroes of the story. .
Tales about animals, of course, include fairy tales where only animals act ( Fox and crane , Fox, hare and rooster , midwife fox , fox and thrush , fool wolf etc.). Of the tales about the relationship between man and animals, this genre should include those in which animals are the main characters, and people are the objects of their action and the narration in which is conducted from the point of view of animals, and not a person ( Wolf at the hole , dog and wolf , Man, bear and fox etc.). Tales about animals bear little resemblance to stories from the life of animals. Animals in fairy tales only to some extent act in accordance with their nature, and to a much greater extent act as carriers of this or that character and producers of these or those actions, which should be attributed primarily to man. Therefore, the world of animals in fairy tales is complemented by human imagination, it is a form of expression of thoughts and feelings of a person, his views on life. Animals that talk, reason and behave like people are just a poetic convention: “The adventures of animals are projected onto human life - and human sense they are interesting." Hence the main themes of Russian fairy tales about animals - human characters, virtues and vices of people, types of human relationships in everyday life, in society, sometimes these images even look satirical. Most researchers note the problem of classification of fairy tales about animals due to their diversity. V.Ya. Propp, noting the following varieties: fairy tales about animals that exist in a cumulative form ( Teremok , Kolobok , Cockerel and bean seed etc.); fairy tales about animals, close in structure to fairy tales ( The wolf and the seven Young goats , cat, rooster and fox and etc.); fairy tales about animals, close in their structure to the fable ( wolf and fox ); tales of animals approaching literary works and in the form of a political pamphlet ( The Tale of Ersh Ershovich ).
Developing a classification of Russian fairy tales about animals based on texts collected by A.N. Afanasiev, V.Ya. Propp distinguishes the following groups: Tales about wild animals ( Animals in the pit , Fox and wolf , midwife fox , Fox and crane , Fox Confessor and etc.); Tales of wild and domestic animals dog and wolf , The wolf and the seven Young goats , cat, fox and rooster and etc.); Tales of man and wild animals Fox and her tail , man and bear , Old bread and salt is forgotten , Bear - fake foot , Fox with a rolling pin and etc.); Pet Tales ( goat shelled , Horse and dog and etc.); Tales of Birds and Fishes Crane and heron , Cockerel and bean seed , Hen Ryaba and etc.); Tales about other animals, plants, mushrooms and elements ( fox and cancer , Teremok , Kolobok , Sun, frost and wind , mushroom war and etc.). The characters of the Russian folk tale about animals are usually represented by images of wild and domestic animals. The images of wild animals clearly prevail over the images of domestic animals: these are the fox, wolf, bear, hare, birds - crane, heron, thrush, woodpecker, sparrow, raven, etc. Domestic animals are much less common, and they do not appear as independent or leading characters, but only in conjunction with the forest: a dog, a cat, a goat, a ram, a horse, a pig, a bull, from domestic birds - a goose, a duck and a rooster. There are no fairy tales only about domestic animals in Russian folklore. Each of the characters is an image of a very specific animal or bird, behind which there is one or another human character, and therefore the characteristic actors based on observation of the habits, demeanor of the beast, its appearance. The difference in characters is especially clearly and definitely expressed in the images of wild animals: for example, the fox is drawn primarily as a flattering, cunning liar, charming robber; wolf - how greedy and slow-witted gray fool , always getting into a mess; bear - like a stupid ruler, forest oppression who uses his strength not according to reason; a hare, a frog, a mouse, forest birds - like weak, harmless creatures, always serving on parcels. The ambiguity of assessments is also preserved in the description of domestic animals: for example, a dog is depicted as an intelligent animal devoted to man; a paradoxical combination of courage with laziness is noted in the cat; the rooster is noisy, self-confident and curious. To understand the meaning of Russian folk tales about animals, it is necessary to work on their plot organization and composition. The plot of animalistic tales is characterized by clarity, clarity and simplicity: “Fairy tales about animals are built on elementary actions that underlie the narrative, representing a more or less expected or unexpected end, prepared in a certain way. These simplest actions are phenomena of a psychological order ... ". Animal fairy tales are distinguished by their small volume, persistence of the plot scheme and conciseness. artistic means expressions. The composition of Russian fairy tales about animals is also distinguished by simplicity and transparency. Often they are one-episode (“The Fox and the Crane”, “The Crane and the Heron”, etc.). In this case, they are characterized by hyperbolization of the main properties and traits of the character, which determines the unusual, fantastic nature of their actions. However, fairy tales with plots based on the sequential linking of single-theme plot links-motifs are much more common. The events in them are connected by similar actions of through characters: for example, in the fairy tale "The Fox and the Wolf" there are three plot motifs - "The fox steals fish from the sleigh", "The wolf at the ice-hole", "The beaten unbeaten one is lucky". The multi-episode nature, as a rule, does not complicate the compositions, since we are usually talking about the same type of actions of characters performed in different plot situations. In this work, we will study two negative heroes of Russian folk tales about animals - the fox and the wolf. This choice is due not only to their popularity, but also to the fact that, using the example of these heroes, one can clearly see what vices are ridiculed and condemned in fairy tales, thereby influencing the formation of the national character of readers. Both characters are found both in different fairy tales separately, and in one together. And despite the fact that both the wolf and the fox are negative characters, and it seems that they have a lot in common: they live in the same forests, attack the same animals, are also afraid of the same opponents, in fairy tales they endowed with different human qualities, which is quite interesting. Also interesting is the fact that one negative male character and, it turns out, he is endowed with masculine negative traits character, and the other hero is female, endowed with feminine traits, respectively, which is why the ways to achieve their goals are different, despite the fact that these goals are the same. Thus, based on the analyzes of various Russian folk tales about animals, one can consider these heroes from the same positions: their appearance, features, actions, determine which of them is smarter, smarter or more cunning, and who is stupid and naive. Comparative analysis wolf and fox will also help to identify the main human vices ridiculed in society and find out how the presence of these heroes in Russian folk tales affects the formation of a national character, which is the purpose of this work. Fox in fairy tales about animals
One of the most famous fox tales is the Tale of the Fox and the Wolf. In Russian folk tales about animals, the fox often acts as an opponent of the wolf. This "gossip-dove" often arouses our sympathy for its dexterity, courage and resourcefulness in fooling the wolf. And in the tale presented above, the fiction and resourcefulness of the fox has no boundaries. For the sake of its own benefit, the fox deceives the wolf, the peasant, and, most likely, would be ready to deceive and substitute anyone for the sake of its own goal - food and warm housing. And, therefore, despite all the sympathy for her, it would still be a mistake to talk about her as a positive character. Cunning and ingenuity coexist with the fox with unbridled arrogance, hypocrisy and betrayal. Among the tales about animals there are also those in which not only human, but also social vices are condemned, although there are not many of them. For example, the fairy tale "The Fox and Kotofey Ivanovich." Reverence and bribery are depicted in it with inimitable brilliance. The cat, expelled from the house, thanks to the quirky fox who allegedly marries him, becomes Kotofey Ivanych - the "boss" over all forest animals, because the fox, by deceit, gives him to everyone as a terrible beast. Even the strongest inhabitants of the forest - the bear and the wolf are forced to serve him, and the cat freely robs and presses everyone. In Russian folk tales about animals, the fox also appears before us in the form of a sweet-voiced red-haired beauty who can speak to anyone. So, in the fairy tale "The Fox Confessor", before eating a rooster, she convinces him to confess his sins; at the same time, the hypocrisy of the clergy is wittily ridiculed. The fox addresses the rooster: “Oh, my dear child, the rooster!” She tells him a biblical parable about the publican and the Pharisee, and then eats him. Another fairy tale, the plot of which is known to everyone - Kolobok. The tale is a chain of homogeneous episodes depicting Kolobok's meetings with various talking animals intending to eat him, but Kolobok leaves everyone except the fox. With each animal, the bun enters into a discussion, in which each time he explains his departure: "I left my grandmother, I left my grandfather, and I will leave you, bear (wolf, hare)." The fox, as usual, with the help of deceit, pretending to be partially deaf, catches Kolobok on vanity and, taking advantage of his kindness, which is expressed in the readiness to repeat the song closer to the ear and mouth of the fox, eats him. The stupidity of the fox is described in the fairy tale The Fox and the Thrush. The thrush built a nest and brought out the chicks. The fox found out about this and began to frighten the thrush by destroying its nest. First, the fox asked the thrush to feed her. The thrush fed the fox with pies and honey. The fox then asked the thrush to give her water. The thrush made the fox drink beer. Again the fox came to the thrush and demanded to make her laugh. The thrush made the fox laugh. Again the fox came to the thrush and demanded to scare her. So the blackbird brought the fox to the pack of dogs. The fox got scared, rushed to run away from the dogs, climbed into the hole, and started talking to herself. She quarreled with the tail, stuck it out of the hole. So the dogs grabbed her by the tail and ate her. So stupidity and greed are always punished in Russian folk tales about animals. Having considered several fairy tales with the participation of a fox, we can conclude that in most cases the fox is a negative hero, personifying cunning, deceit, deceit, cunning and selfishness. But you can also notice that if she, together with other animals, opposes the wolf, she receives a positive assessment, and if she harms others, she gets a negative one. It is quite common to see tales of the cunning fox and the stupid wolf in which the fox deceives the wolf for his own benefit. But the fox is just as predatory as the wolf. She drives the bunny out of his hut, eats thrush chicks, deceives other animals, for example, a bear, or even people, she also always wants to eat a rooster, a black grouse, a bun, a hare. And she pays dearly for her actions. After all, cunning, bordering on betrayal, cannot be justified. Even the appearance of a fox is deceiving: it is usually described as very attractive, red, with eyes that speak of its cunning. Wolf in fairy tales about animals fairy tale animal moral teaching The wolf is a fairly popular character in Russian folk tales, but in the minds of Russian people, his image is endowed with mostly negative characteristics. Most often, in Russian folk tales, a wolf is a silly and rustic beast, which everyone constantly deceives and substitutes (Sister Chanterelle and Wolf, Wolf and Goat, Fool Wolf, Wintering of animals). But it should be noted that even when the wolf in fairy tales is represented as a fool, he is never vile and low, unlike a fox. It has already been said earlier that fairy tales about animals were created not only for the edification of the little ones. Many of them, with the help of funny fiction, jokes, make fun of vices. And, for example, the embodiment of stupidity in fairy tales is often a wolf. His stupidity is the stupidity of a cruel and greedy beast. Storytellers seem to deliberately put the wolf in conditions that justify his actions, which should cause the listener to feel pity for him, but this does not happen, because there is no place in life for stupidity, cruelty and greed - this is the main thesis of fairy tales. One of the most famous tales about the wolf is the tale of the Wolf and the seven kids. The mother goat, leaving the house, warns her kids to beware of the wolf that roams nearby. Meanwhile, the wolf, taking advantage of a good moment, knocks on the goats and declares that he is their mother. And the kids say in response that their mother's voice is soft, while his voice is rough. To soften his voice, the wolf eats a piece of honey, but the goats still do not let it in, because their mother's paws are white, not black, like those of a wolf. Then he goes to the mill and soils his paws in flour. The kids let the wolf in, who immediately eats them all, except for the smallest one, who hid in the stove. Returning home, the mother goat sees the devastation that the wolf arranged and the smallest goat that escaped, who tells her about what happened. She goes after the wolf and finds him sleeping with a full stomach, in which something is stirring. The mother goat rips open the belly of the wolf, and six kids come out alive. Instead of kids, their mother fills the belly of the wolf with stones. The next morning, the goat met the wolf and invited him to compete in jumping over the fire, the goat jumped over, the wolf also jumped, but the stones pulled him down. So the wolf burned down. Another version of the ending - the wolf, waking up with stones in his stomach, wanted to drink, went to the stream, slipped, fell into the water and drowned from the weight. In this tale, the wolf is cruel and merciless; for the sake of his prey, he is able to deceive the little goats who were left alone at home. By deception (he speaks in the voice of a mother-goat), he tells the kids that he is their mother and asks to let him go home. And when they let him in, the wolf eats all the goats except for one, which he did not notice. It is thanks to the little goat in this tale that evil, greed and ruthlessness are punished. In the Tale of the Wolf and the Fox, the wolf appears to readers in a slightly different way - a stupid and naive beast that is easy to deceive. The fox in his house manipulates and controls the wolf, deftly talking to him. At the very beginning of the tale, it is said that the fox lived in an ice hut, and the wolf lived in a brushwood one, and when spring came, the fox's hut melted, and she began to ask the wolf to live in the house. The wolf took pity on her and foolishly let her in. Every day the fox managed to deceive the wolf: she said that guests were coming to her and went out to them to eat his sour cream, butter, slowly changed her sleeping place so that it was closer to the stove. So, the fox moved to sleep on the stove, and the wolf moved under the stove. The tale ended with the fact that, continuing to deceive the wolf, the fox remained to live in his house forever, becoming the mistress there, and making the wolf a servant. The stupidity of the wolf is also described in the fairy tale How the fox sewed a fur coat for the wolf. The stupid wolf asked the cunning fox to sew a fur coat for him. The fox received sheep from the wolf: she ate meat and sold wool. And when the wolf ran out of patience, and he asked for his fur coat, the fox ruined him by deceit. So, from the tales discussed above, we can conclude that the wolf is often stupid, but this is not its main feature: it is cruel, ferocious, angry, greedy - these are its main qualities. He eats the poor old man's horse, breaks into the winter quarters of the animals and disturbs their peaceful life, wants to eat the goats, deceiving them with a song. But such qualities are never encouraged in fairy tales, so the wolf always gets what he deserves. The role of fairy tales about animals in the formation of a national character
Russian folk tales about animals show what the people condemned in society, their enemies, and even in themselves. Cruelty, boasting, flattery, venality and much more were ridiculed. And, often, therefore, in fairy tales, it is precisely due to the presence of animals, in simple content, that ideas are hidden that make up the essence of moral code people. Those plots that unfold in fairy tales about animals are a kind of staging of real life situations. It is not for nothing that such tales have a moral and instructive role, because their heroes personify certain human qualities, and that is why they call a cunning person a fox, a cowardly hare, a stupid wolf. Tales about animals are parables that show the reader what is held in high esteem and what is not. The character of each person is made up of emotional, strong-willed and moral traits, the foundations of which are laid in early childhood. Parents read fairy tales to their children, with the help of which they learn about the world. Therefore, it is fairy tales that have an educational role, because a fairy tale is a centuries-old folk wisdom. Through it, the child learns the world and his place in this world, receives the first ideas about good and evil, friendship and betrayal, courage and cowardice. These representations appear precisely through the images of the heroes of fairy tales, including animals, because sometimes animals at the end of a fairy tale become more moral, passing through certain moral tests, and sometimes it is animals who are those “moral teachers” in a fairy tale, with the help of which morality is determined. . In Russian folk tales, there are many similar characters, the consideration of which led to very interesting results. The identification of similar features in animals and humans (speech - cry, behavior - habits) served as the basis for combining their qualities in animal images with human qualities: animals speak and behave like people. This combination led to the typification of the characters of animals, which became the embodiment of certain qualities: the fox - cunning, the wolf - stupidity and greed, the bear - gullibility, and the hare - cowardice. So fairy tales acquired an allegorical meaning: animals began to mean people of certain characters. Images of animals became a means of moral teaching, and then social satire, which led to the development of a national character, because in fairy tales about animals, not only negative qualities (stupidity, laziness, talkativeness) are ridiculed, but oppression of the weak, greed, deceit for profit are also condemned. . Bibliography
1.Afanasiev A.N. "Folk Russian fairy tales: a complete edition in one volume", M., 2010. .Vedernikova N.M. Russian folktale. M., 1975. .Ivanova-Kazas O.M. Mythological zoology (dictionary), St. Petersburg, Faculty of Philology, 2004. .Kostyukhin E. A. Types and forms of the animal epic. Moscow, 1987 .Nikiforov A.I. Folk children's fairy tale of dramatic genre. L., 1928. .Propp V.Ya. The historical roots of fairy tales.<#"justify">8.Propp V.Ya. Morphology of a fairy tale. M., 98. .Propp V.Ya. Russian fairy tale. L., 1984. .Pomerantseva E.V. The fate of the Russian fairy tale, M., 1965. .Tales about animals, Tula, 2000. .Tales about hares, Tyumen, 1959. .Tales about the fox, retold by O. Kapitsa and A. Tolstoy for children preschool age, L., 1970. .Fundamental digital library. Russian literature and folklore. http://feb-web.ru/feb/feb/atindex/atindx01.htm#Afanasiev Similar works to - Heroes of Russian folk tales about animals and their role in the formation of a national character
Studying Russian folk tales about animals, one can notice that main character of many tales is the fox. Why did the Russian people devote so many fairy tales to this beast?
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Where and how does the fox live in nature? Why did the fox become the main character of many Russian folk tales? Where does the fox have a strange patronymic - Patrikeevna?
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Learn to analyze stories. Describe the main characters of the story. To find useful information. Learn to draw conclusions.
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Data from Encyclopedia of Animals (volume I). Russian folk tales about animals "The Fox and the Black Grouse", "The Fox and the Crane", "The Cat and the Fox", etc. 3. Materials about the fox in Russian folklore 4. Materials of Internet sites
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Foxes live all over the globe, the most common being red foxes. The fox lives in different parts of the forest, but avoids dense plantings, prefers meadow areas where there are many mice, voles and rabbits. The fox does not disdain and even eats berries with grasshoppers. The long fluffy tail gives the impression of a large beast. Actually it is not. The body length of the fox is 60-90 cm, the tail is 40-60 cm, the weight of males reaches 6-10 kg, and females - 5-6 kg. The fox is a close relative of the domestic dog. This nocturnal predator is increasingly appearing near cities and villages.
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A fox walked along the bridge, Carried a bundle of brushwood. She heated the bathhouse, Bathed Vanka, She put him in a corner, She gave him a sweet pie. The duck was walking along, Led her children: Big and small, middle, last. Two fox cubs crept up, dragged a duckling into the forest ...
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Zayushkina's hut Gingerbread man Chanterelle with a rolling pin Fox and wolf Fox and thrush Cat, thrush and rooster Fox and crane Cat and fox
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The fox is a predatory animal with a sharp muzzle and a long fluffy tail. Why is she called a fox, and in fairy tales still Patrikeevna? The word fox is derived from fox-. Until now, in some places we have the expression fox (yellowish, red), turn yellow (turn yellow). Consequently, the fox of the beast was nicknamed for the red (yellow) hair. Patrikey - an old name, comes from the Latin patrician, that is, an aristocrat. This name was given only to children of a princely family. A long time ago, 700 years ago, there lived the Novgorod prince Patrikey Narumtvovich. And so he became famous for his resourcefulness, cunning, that the name Patrickey became a household name, equivalent to a sly one. And the cunning, clever fox, as the faithful heiress of the "cunning" prince, received the middle name PATRIKEEVNA.
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At all times, people valued wild animals, because it is not without reason that people endowed each beast with their own quality: BUT! The most charming and attractive is the FOX. A fox - a cunning Wolf - an evil Hare - a cowardly Bear - a good Fox will circle anyone around the finger. In many ways, the character of the fox is similar to the character of the envious and lying people. The fox is indeed a cunning and treacherous animal. One must be very careful with it. She easily deceived not only weak animals (hare), but also strong ones (wolf, bear), as well as humans.
Project "Characters-animals in Russian
folk tales"
Target: get acquainted with animal characters in Russian folk tales.
Tasks: learn the features of the fairy tale about animals, the history and reasons for the appearance of fairy tales with the main characters-animals, identify the animals most often found in Russian folk tales.
While working on the project, we came to the conclusion that fairy tales about animals- the oldest group of fairy tales, which are based on unusual characters. These fairy tales are connected with outdated worlds in which animal characters stood at the origins of the creation of the world. The story shows that earlier people tried to explain the phenomena occurring in nature, and experienced awe of animals. This is how animal characters appeared in Russian folk tales. In a fairy tale, as in life positive and negative characters. Each character has its own individual character and unique traits. The characteristics of animals in the fairy tale include several pronounced characters, personifying weakness, awkwardness, stupidity, cunning, cowardice, anger, strength. Russian folk tales we remember with early childhood, parents told us when we were 1.2 years old, they remained in our memory. After reading, remembering Russian folk tales, we came to the conclusion that out of a large number of animal characters, six of them are most common.
A fox.
This is a stable image, which is dominated by cunning, a tendency to deceit and tricks. The fox will do anything to get her own - she will pretend to be weak and helpless, use all her charm and eloquence.
Bear.
The bear in fairy tales is the embodiment of brute force. Sometimes he is fierce, sometimes he is naive and kind. Being the owner of the forest, he has power over other animals, but, nevertheless, his character is rustic. The presence of physical strength in this animal character practically excludes the mind - the bear in fairy tales is stupid and turns out to be fooled by weak animals.
The cat in fairy tales openly demonstrates its playful disposition, in many stories it turns out to be a robber or even a thief. But at the same time, the cat is distinguished by justice and a lively dodgy mind. Thanks to his eloquence, he gets out of any difficult situations, helps the offended, protects his friends.
Hare.
Hare- the hero is weak, but cunning. He often acts as the personification of cowardice, however, thanks to his dexterity and resourcefulness, he easily gets out of difficult situations. He can even outwit a wolf and save his friends.
Rooster.
Rooster in fairy tales appears before us in two forms. In many fairy tales, the rooster is portrayed as frivolous and very self-confident. Sometimes he shows disobedience, violates any prohibition. And sometimes in fairy tales he acts as a wise assistant to his friends. He manifests himself as a truly fearless and strong positive character in Russian fairy tales.
Wolf.
The wolf in fairy tales traditionally personifies greed and malice. He is often portrayed as stupid, so he is often fooled by characters in fairy tales more cunning, such as the Fox. The opposition of these two strong animal characters is found in many fairy tales, and in almost all the wolf, being slow-witted and short-sighted, again and again allows itself to be deceived. However, in ancient cultures, the image of the wolf was associated with death, so in fairy tales this animal character often eats someone, or wants to eat.
Findings:
Some fairy-tale heroes cause us antipathy.
We define such heroes by their negative qualities and actions.
We dislike the appearance of such heroes.
No need to try to be like such heroes.
Fairy tales are passed down from generation to generation.
At their core - moral values which are relevant at all times: kindness, mercy, compassion, mutual assistance. The epigraph from the fairy tale "The Raven King" reads:
Evil lives not only in a fairy tale -
Walks in life without fear.
But good is still alive -
The old story is not false.
Therefore, our life is impossible without fairy tales!
Animals in fairy tales are certain human types: a cunning fox, a kind and defenseless hare, a strong but stupid bear. The relationship between these characters is human relations, a person as such in this world is “superfluous”, and people, as a rule, do not appear in such fairy tales.
On the other hand, animals that behave like humans (talk, make decisions, give advice, etc.) often appear in fairy tales about humans. They seem to become intermediaries between two fabulous "universes" - the world of animals and the world of people. Most often, either a horse or a wolf acts as such an “intermediary”. In fairy tales entirely devoted to animals, the wolf appears much more often than the horse.
It is noteworthy that the interpretation of the image of the wolf in Russian fairy tales practically does not differ from its embodiment in the folklore of other peoples, which indicates the antiquity of the plots associated with it. Therefore, speaking about the image of a wolf in Russian fairy tales, one cannot close oneself within the limits of Russian folklore proper.
The wolf as a negative character
In fairy tales about animals, the wolf most often appears as an aggressive, dangerous creature - a real robber who should be feared. One of the most famous examples of this kind is the fairy tale "Wolf and", known not only in the Russian tradition. Meeting with such a character does not bode well even for a person. It is no coincidence that in the story about Little Red Riding Hood, also taken by Charles Perrault from European folklore, it is the wolf that becomes the enemy of the main character.
If the wolf can be defeated, then this is done not by force, but by cunning. Most often this is done by the fox, to which this quality is traditionally attributed. Thus, it is argued that it is impossible to defeat force by force, aggression by aggression.
This perception of the wolf is not surprising. Fear of these animals arose long before the advent of cattle breeding, for which they became "enemies No. 1". There was nothing irrational in this guard: the wolf is a predator, quite capable of biting a person.
The fear was exacerbated by the nocturnal lifestyle of the wolves. The night has always scared people. In the dark, vision does not work well - the main human "supplier of information", a person becomes defenseless. Nocturnal animals, well oriented in an alien and dangerous environment for humans, have never inspired confidence in people. This was especially true of dangerous predators, which at night had an advantage over humans.
The demonization of the wolf was aggravated by the binary opposition "friend or foe". Before the advent of animal husbandry, any animal was, from the point of view of man, “alien”. But if the deer, for example, was to a certain extent "one's own" because it can be eaten, then the wolf was not a source of food. Ancient people did not know that they were the orderlies of the forest, and they did not immediately guess that the wolf cub can be tamed, raised and used for hunting. No practical use they did not see from the wolves, so the wolves in their eyes were absolutely alien to the human world. Alien means enemy.
But, paradoxically, the wolf does not always appear in fairy tales. negative character. And even such plots familiar from childhood as "The Wolf and the Kids" and "Little Red Riding Hood" are not as unambiguous as they might seem.
The duality of the wolf
If in fairy tales about animals the image of a wolf is more or less unambiguous - a cruel but not intelligent robber, then in fairy tales about people the wolf often acts as a magical helper. It is about such a fabulous wolf that A.S. Pushkin mentions in the poem "Ruslan and Lyudmila":
“In the dungeon there the princess is grieving,
And the brown wolf serves her faithfully.”
In the fairy tale "Ivan Tsarevich and Gray wolf"It is the wolf who comes to the aid of the hero, and here he can no longer be called a negative character.
The duality of the folklore image of the wolf becomes even more obvious if we go beyond the tale itself and look at the image in a broader mythological context.
Noteworthy in this regard is the famous notebook of Novgorod Onfim, which opened the veil of secrecy over inner world child from medieval Russia. The drawings in this notebook embody the usual boyish dreams of exploits and military glory. But one drawing is bewildering: a four-legged creature, in which a wolf is guessed, and next to it is the inscription - "I am a beast." If the boy identified himself with the werewolf, then this character was not negative in his eyes.
The Tale of Igor's Campaign mentions Vseslav, Prince of Polotsk, who "roamed like a wolf in the night." It is unlikely that this is a figurative literary expression: the chronicles mention that this prince “mother gave birth to sorcery”, and the author of the “Word ...” could well attribute werewolf to such a person.
A werewolf is a creature that belongs both to the world of people and the world of wildlife, which for ancient man identified with the other world. The wolf, as already mentioned, due to its special “alienity” to man, is the ideal expression of this world. It is his appearance that must be taken in order to become involved in the other world. Therefore, werewolf (originally a kind of magical practice) is associated with the appearance of a wolf.
So the wolf turns into an intermediary between the world of people and the other world. Such an intermediary is necessary for a person going to " other world for the rite of passage. Many fairy-tale motifs originate from this rite, including the motif of “difficult tasks”. In this light, the origin of the fabulous wolf-magic assistant becomes clear.
The story of a wolf swallowing the heroes of a fairy tale can also go back to the rite of passage. As you know, the kids swallowed by the wolf in the final safely return to their mother goat. And this is not at all a fake "happy ending" glued to a fairy tale so that children do not cry. Teenagers who went to realm of the dead” for the rite of passage, also in most cases happily returned to the village. Among many primitive peoples, ethnographers observed huts where a ritual took place, built in the form of an animal head. This animal, as it were, "swallowed" the initiates. Probably, similar customs existed among the Proto-Slavic peoples. A wolf swallowing and then releasing the heroes of a fairy tale is a distant echo of such customs.
The wolf in Russian fairy tales and in Russian folklore in general is a dual character, which cannot be unambiguously called either positive or negative. This duality is connected with the antiquity of the image, rooted in pagan times.
The fox in Russian folk tales has become the personification of an evil mind. She is beautiful, seductive, eloquent, can easily pretend to be defenseless and weak, manipulating others for her own benefit. To achieve what she wants, the red-haired beast is ready to use all her trump cards - deceit, deceit, fraud, seduction. In fairy tales, the fox acts as a negative character who, trying to outwit goodie, he himself becomes a victim, paying for his meanness and hypocrisy.
Fox in Russian folk tales
Why is a fox credited with a sharp mind and resourcefulness?
The cunning fox, as a character in fairy tales, appeared as a result of observations of this animal by the common people. Basically, these are the stories of hunters who personally saw the tricks of the red cheat. More than once she pretended to be dead in order to catch game. As a prisoner, she behaves similarly in order to lower the hunter's guard and escape. It can fall when a weapon is fired, as if wounded, but when it is thrown to the rest of the prey, it will slip away at any convenient moment. Even with serious injuries, the foxes managed to get out of the bag and escape back into the forest. Since she is not endowed with special powers, she has to resort to cunning in order to survive.
And they often hunt for her, either because of her beautiful fur, or because of her robbery activities. She herself is a good hunter - dexterous, cunning, silent. Its victims are hares, grasshoppers, mice, butterflies, fish, Maybug, young roe deer, as well as poultry and eggs hatched by it. Due to the fact that she often climbs chicken coops, the owners of poultry did not like her. That is why, among the people, the fox acquired the image of a clever villain-thief.
Fox nicknames in fairy tales
In fairy tales, the fox is depicted as a real beauty because of her luxurious red fur coat. And, despite the negativity of the character, they are often affectionately called “Gossip” or “Sister”. Similar family ties she has with another anti-hero of fairy tales - the wolf and other animals, whom she can fool anyway. There is another premise for this nickname - crafty female image which was met by the people. A cunning and sharp-tongued gossip or a neighbor who was in every village, able to sweeten the interlocutor and achieve her own selfish goals.
In one of the Russian fairy tales, the fox is even given a name - Patrikeevna. But it is not in honor of a woman, but in honor of the governor of Novgorod, Prince Patrikey Narimantovich. He became famous among the people as a cunning and unscrupulous ruler, manipulating people and profiting in a dishonest way.
The image of a fox from folk tales
In each of the tales, specific features of the fox are highlighted. Rarely is she the victim. Basically it is a skillful deceiver and swindler:
- "Fox and Crane" displays duplicity - outward benevolence and hospitality, hiding indifference to other people's needs and calculation;
- "Sister Fox and the Wolf" shows the adventurism of the villainess, her penchant for mischief and ridicule, hypocrisy even with her fellows;
- "Fox - Confessor"- the image of the red-haired heroine personifies deceit and vindictiveness;
- "Cockerel is a golden comb" and "Kolobok"- the heroine deceives naive good-natured characters for the sake of her own selfish goals;
- "Fox with a rock"- reveals the image of a swindler fox, greedy and dishonorable;
- "The Fox and the Grouse" shows the main features of the character - flattery and deceit, hypocrisy;
- "Snow Maiden and Fox"- one of the few fairy tales where the animal character is positive. Here she shows kindness and altruism, helping Snegurushka.
The people in fairy tales showed a negative attitude not to the animal itself, but to the qualities that it symbolizes.