A review by doriastories
Russian Fairy Tales, by Alexander Afanasyev
4.0
Beautiful collection of Russian fairy tales, recounted in traditional style and adorned with evocative black and white illustrations. The narratives in this collection are almost entirely fairy tales, meaning that they mostly have to do with magic and fantasy, albeit in Russian style: travel to magical kingdoms to fight dragons, the rescue of princesses, colloquies with talking fish and impossible tasks set by Baba Yaga.
Women often suffer at the hands of men in these stories, particularly the women who rebel against the spouses assigned to them. Princesses are often clever, but rarely able to effect their own individual agency; when they do, they are usually ruthlessly punished. There is no proto-feminist ethos to be found among these pages. The tales are drawn as if from a vault from the past, untouched by contemporary values or imagery. There is a raw, rough quality in evidence, despite the elevated tone and language which many of them affect.
There is a fair amount of stylistic and motivic repetition from tale to tale, as honored formulas are passed down and scrupulously - or ritually - respected. It is in the dialogue portion of the stories where the distinctively Russian character of the narratives is made to shine. There is an acerbic, almost clipped quality to most of the exchanges, despite the obligatory use of repeated phrases, all subtly underscored by a sort of wry, mocking humor. When a hapless or witless hero is assigned an impossible task, he generally resorts to drink, tears and prayer - not always in that order. His mother or wife or companion (there is always one of these) next assures our Ivan (the stock name for Russian heroes) that things will improve in the morning, and this is invariably found to be the case.
The response to adversity is often a shrug, followed by a swig of vodka. Things generally work out for Ivan, but usually only after a great deal of long travel and repetitive tasks; whereupon the unnamed narrator reminds the listener that it's been a while since his last drink. The formula is set, yet the style is satisfying.
Women often suffer at the hands of men in these stories, particularly the women who rebel against the spouses assigned to them. Princesses are often clever, but rarely able to effect their own individual agency; when they do, they are usually ruthlessly punished. There is no proto-feminist ethos to be found among these pages. The tales are drawn as if from a vault from the past, untouched by contemporary values or imagery. There is a raw, rough quality in evidence, despite the elevated tone and language which many of them affect.
There is a fair amount of stylistic and motivic repetition from tale to tale, as honored formulas are passed down and scrupulously - or ritually - respected. It is in the dialogue portion of the stories where the distinctively Russian character of the narratives is made to shine. There is an acerbic, almost clipped quality to most of the exchanges, despite the obligatory use of repeated phrases, all subtly underscored by a sort of wry, mocking humor. When a hapless or witless hero is assigned an impossible task, he generally resorts to drink, tears and prayer - not always in that order. His mother or wife or companion (there is always one of these) next assures our Ivan (the stock name for Russian heroes) that things will improve in the morning, and this is invariably found to be the case.
The response to adversity is often a shrug, followed by a swig of vodka. Things generally work out for Ivan, but usually only after a great deal of long travel and repetitive tasks; whereupon the unnamed narrator reminds the listener that it's been a while since his last drink. The formula is set, yet the style is satisfying.