What are some elements in a Russian folktale?

Answer 1

Russian folktales that have been passed down through the years are imbued with elements of Russian culture and history: the forest, snow, wooden huts, village dances, the tsar, boyars, fur hats, etc.

Functions

After the initial situation is depicted, the tale takes the following sequence of functions:


A member of a family leaves home (the hero is introduced);
An interdiction is addressed to the hero ('don't go there', 'go to this place');
The interdiction is violated (villain enters the tale);
The villain makes an attempt at reconnaissance (either villain tries to find the children/jewels etc; or intended victim questions the villain);
The villain gains information about the victim;
The villain attempts to deceive the victim to take possession of victim or victim's belongings (trickery; villain disguised, tries to win confidence of victim);
Victim taken in by deception, unwittingly helping the enemy;
Villain causes harm/injury to family member (by abduction, theft of magical agent, spoiling crops, plunders in other forms, causes a disappearance, expels someone, casts spell on someone, substitutes child etc, commits murder, imprisons/detains someone, threatens forced marriage, provides nightly torments); Alternatively, a member of family lacks something or desires something (magical potion etc);
Misfortune or lack is made known, (hero is dispatched, hears call for help etc/ alternative is that victimized hero is sent away, freed from imprisonment);
Seeker agrees to, or decides upon counter-action;
Hero leaves home;
Hero is tested, interrogated, attacked etc, preparing the way for his/her receiving magical agent or helper (donor);
Hero reacts to actions of future donor (withstands/fails the test, frees captive, reconciles disputants, performs service, uses adversary's powers against them);
Hero acquires use of a magical agent (directly transferred, located, purchased, prepared, spontaneously appears, eaten/drunk, help offered by other characters);
Hero is transferred, delivered or led to whereabouts of an object of the search;
Hero and villain join in direct combat;
Hero is branded (wounded/marked, receives ring or scarf);
Villain is defeated (killed in combat, defeated in contest, killed while asleep, banished);
Initial misfortune or lack is resolved (object of search distributed, spell broken, slain person revived, captive freed);
Hero returns;
Hero is pursued (pursuer tries to kill, eat, undermine the hero);
Hero is rescued from pursuit (obstacles delay pursuer, hero hides or is hidden, hero transforms recognizably, hero saved from attempt on his/her life);
Hero unrecognized, arrives home or in another country;
False hero presents unfounded claims;
Difficult task proposed to the hero (trial by ordeal, riddles, test of strength/endurance, other tasks);
Task is resolved;
Hero is recognized (by mark, brand, or thing given to him/her);
False hero or villain is exposed;
Hero is given a new appearance (is made whole, handsome, new garments etc);
Villain is punished;
Hero marries and ascends the throne (is rewarded/promoted).

Occasionally, some of these functions are inverted, as when the hero receives something while still at home, the function of a donor occurring early. More often, a function is negated twice, so that it must be repeated three times.

Characters

All the characters can be resolved into only 8 broad character types:

1. The villain (struggles against the hero)
2. The donor (prepares the hero or gives the hero some magical object)
3. The (magical) helper (helps the hero in the quest)
4. The princess (person the hero marries, often sought for during the narrative)
5. Her father;
6. The dispatcher (character who makes the lack known and sends the hero off)
7. The hero or victim/ seeker hero, reacts to the donor, weds the princess
8. False hero/anti-hero/usurper — (takes credit for the hero’s actions/ tries to marry the princess)

These roles could sometimes be distributed among various characters, as the hero kills the villain dragon, and the dragon's sisters take on the villainous role of chasing him. Conversely, one character could engage in acts as more than one role, as a father could send his son on the quest and give him a sword, acting as both dispatcher and donor.