From early childhood, we all read a variety of legends, were, fiction, epics. Folk art is an important integral part of our culture. What is the meaning of Russian fairy tales, not everyone thinks, but it is embedded in every work. Often the meaning is deep enough, it is impossible for a child to understand it - but for adults it can be very interesting. Let's try to dive into the world of magical stories and understand what they really tell.
Relevance of the issue
As a child, almost any person lives in a magical world where miracles and incredible events are possible, fantastic creatures and wizards live. The meaning of Russian fairy tales was to teach a person from a very early age to distinguish where is good and where is bad, what can be called evil and what should not be a place in our lives. However, as many believe, fairy tales that have come down to our days from ancient times are interpreted incorrectly today. Some are sure that a detailed study of the texts will certainly allowfind something new, discover hitherto unknown and secret information.
To find the meaning of folk tales for themselves, many begin to re-read them already in adulthood, when you can analyze the text, having considerable worldly experience behind you. Some admit that in this context, legends and epics are often terrifying, other stories give you goosebumps, and the actions of the characters are such that they can cause nightmares. As many say, cruelty reigns in fairy tales, which is completely inappropriate in raising children. Indeed, some are being eaten, others are being killed, others are being threatened with being baked alive. And Ivan in fairy tales is always a fool, and evil is almost invincible and omnipotent. Yes, but not everything is so obvious.
How it all begins
For the first time, a child meets fairy tales with meaning at the most tender age - in the first years of life. Traditionally, the first stories told to the child are "Turnip" and "Kolobok". The first is quite easy, there are almost no cruel moments in it, but the legend about Kolobok gives rise to ambiguous sensations in many adults. The tale tells, if we exaggerate the plot, about a traveling bun that everyone strives to eat, and the Fox succeeds in this. But the original version of the tale is somewhat different. In ancient times, our ancestors told their kids a story in the evenings, in which everyone they met plucked a small piece from Kolobok, only a crust reached the Fox, which was eaten by her.
Not everyone knows what this story means, but almost any modern person will agree that the plotvery cruel. As the researchers say, the meaning of the fairy tale about Kolobok is not very clear to us, because the analogies with which the characters were associated have sunk into oblivion. Both the turnip and the bun in legends are symbols of the moon. The gingerbread man, from which they pinched off a piece over and over again, showed how the Moon is decreasing - after all, it also disappears completely, like the main character after meeting with the Fox.
On the other side
The legend about the turnip is no less interesting and symbolic. In the old days, this plant was associated with the moon, and the tale itself told about the movement of a celestial body and its transformations during the lunar month. All the heroes help to pull the turnip out of the ground, and it moves slowly and very little by little - just like a celestial body. We can safely say that the story about the turnip, as well as the story about the journey of Kolobok, are astrological tales with meaning. They were invented in ancient times to make it easier to explain to a child why and how the moon moves across the sky. The explanation for a modern person is not the most obvious and understandable, but in many respects this can be associated with a change in the logical chains that people form when reasoning - apparently, in ancient times they were somewhat different.
No less interesting is the fairy tale that tells about the hare hut - it is also considered astrological. The roots of the story about the Golden Comb are similar. The rooster was the symbol of the sun. According to the plot, the fox comes to the window to call the sun. Researchers of folk art say that for a variety of creations of that period, an abundance ofcalls to the sun - in many ways, people's lives depended on it. The fox grabs the rooster and takes it to distant lands. If we analyze the text from the point of view of a modern educated person, it seems that the path that the characters are making is too far, completely unjustified. It reflects the journey of the luminary across the sky. The fox symbolizes the night that steals the source of light, and the cat reflects the morning, with which the warmth returns.
But the legend about the hut of a hare, according to scientists who have studied folk art, was created to convey to children how the seasons change. The fox symbolizes winter, while the hare is a summer image. The rooster-sun helps the hare to triumph over the winter-fox, because the sun is stronger than the cold.
Yesterday, today, tomorrow
As experts say, in order to understand and perceive the meaning of Russian folk tales, you need to be able to abstract from the world we are used to. It is easier to understand what the legends are about if you can look at the structure of the planet from the point of view of a person who lived in the old days - after all, it was then that fairy tales appeared that captured the features of everyday life. They were created to make it easier to explain to children how to interpret what is happening around. Some believe that in recent centuries, folk art is deliberately distorted, so it is very difficult to correctly perceive well-known works.
Even one fairy tale was sometimes enough to convey to the child how the world works around. The stories were meant to simplify explanation and learning. If we draw parallels with modernrepresentation, we can say that fairy tales are such archived data packets, the passwords for which are known only to a select few. The importance of legends cannot be underestimated, since these epics transmit images from generation to generation. According to many linguists, the Russian language is very, very figurative, not just a set of letters and their combinations. Originally, the language was formed as a system of images, the interpretation of which depended on the context. This is very clearly seen in fairy tales: there are a lot of options for assessing the meaning of one legend.
And if by example?
Let's turn to the tale about the turnip already mentioned above. In addition to the described version, there is another meaning of this legend, and it is completely different from the one given earlier. As can be learned from some sources, there were more characters in this story before: the father and mother were also present. Presumably, they disappeared because the world began to be perceived according to the septenary system, although earlier the base number for the Slavs was nine. The hidden meaning of the fairy tale, as some modern researchers say, is to show the child the relationship between generations. The legend about the turnip allows us to understand how life forms, time and variants of existence interact with each other. Each of the participants is an image loaded with meaning. The grandfather symbolizes the wisdom of centuries, and his wife symbolizes housekeeping and household rituals. A father is a symbol of protection, and his wife is a symbol of love. The girl shows the importance and inalienability of children in a person’s life, and the dog is a symbol of prosperity, since they only bring her up ifif there is something to protect. The cat reflects a good internal environment and harmony, and the mouse - family well-being. As you know, since ancient times they say that mice are not found where there is nothing to eat.
And more
Another version of the interpretation of the legend about the turnip is astral. What meaning of the tale is meant, many researchers of ideas about the supernatural can tell. Presumably, the legend reflected how the soul reaches a new level of development. A turnip leaving the ground is a person breaking out of the previous environment. The combination of characters is a set of conditions, the fulfillment of which guarantees the success of evolution. It is assumed that the legend tells how you can complete the planetary evolutionary stage, move on to the galactic one. To do this, according to interpreters, it is necessary to develop six essences indicated in the legend.
With this variant of meaning assessment, the acting heroes are the bodies of one being, which is actually a combined object of something real and spiritual. The number of souls depends on the level of evolution at which a person has stopped. There are similar theories regarding matryoshkas, where is the inner one. The smallest is the same turnip that symbolizes the physical essence of a person. The essences seem to be stacked into one another and do not intersect, as they were formed by different mothers. If you manage to earn them, you can step forward in evolutionary terms.
Fairy tales: for what and about what?
Surely many who read the legends of the Slavs and other peoples noticed one significant difference. If in foreign fairy talesthe hero usually goes on a journey with the specific goal of finding a profession or discovering a great treasure, Slavic characters often go in search of something unknown, someone strange; in fact, the main impulse that moves the character is the desire for self-knowledge. On his way, he often deviates from the main straight line, helping others. Good nature, compassion to the detriment of striving for a certain goal is a cultural national attitude that determines the context of legends.
As researchers say, the main meaning of fairy tales is to explain to a person that the survival of a person cannot be called a priority, the most important thing is the life of society, the clan. It is for this reason that the hero on his way seeks to help everyone and everyone. By the way, not just like that: later these characters come to his rescue. Legends tell that success can only be achieved if people are ready to unite.
About whom and for whom?
To understand the meaning of a fairy tale, you need to be able to correctly interpret the hero. Often in the legends the main character is called a fool, but this word is not chosen at all to denote the mental qualities of a person. The word has long become a household word, folk. In general, it can be considered equal to the often used other name for the protagonist - a man. Distinctive features of those who are called fools in fairy tales are the tendency to take risks, due to insufficiently attentive attitude towards oneself. Tales often tell about how brothers go to the rescue of others, at a crossroads they are forcedto choose something, and the smart ones prefer to go where they can find something for themselves, but only in the end their fate often ends badly. The fool, however, does not consider himself smarter than the others, does not claim a better share, so at a crossroads he can choose the worst option - and turn out to be the winner in the story.
If we turn to the meaning of the fairy tales "The Frog Princess" and others that tell about the adventures of the common household Ivan, you will notice that almost always the hero on the way happens to meet someone wise and old, whose advice the character heeds. This is also an important meaning of the story as a whole - it is designed to teach the younger generation to listen to the elders. But the heroes, confident that they themselves know everything, can die without heeding the prompt of the wise. Knowledge, power are different qualities, and in the legends, attention is focused on this. The wisdom accumulated in the princess, the old man, and other characters is often distinguished by inaction, but is readily given to a fool. But what initially seemed like the mind, in the course of the story turns into true stupidity.
Strong, brave, cunning
To understand the meaning of fairy tales correctly, you need to be able to interpret the features of the characters. For example, the heroes, about whom legends so often tell, are actually all typical fools, because they are simple-hearted, because there is no and cannot be cunning in strength. The classic plot tells how the hero defeats the enemy, and the cunning enemy appropriates all the merit. In the legends of the Slavs, strength and cunning cannot go the same way, and exploits are available only to those who do notcunning. Therefore, the fool is lucky that he does not have such a character and a tendency to deceive.
The calculations of people who study the meaning of fairy tales regarding the typical image of the king are rather curious. In most legends, such a one is either sick, or old, or has some other shortcomings. It is assumed that the image is aimed at increasing the understanding of the importance of independent behavior. The one who can make his own decisions is considered good, but the king, who is dependent on others, is the object of constant deception. Being stupid, he is like a capricious child who constantly does wrong things. A fool who is tested by such a king successfully withstands all tests, because he is hardened by difficulties, but the tester himself is not ready for this - and suffers through his own fault. Admittedly, they do not like infantile characters in Slavic legends - they are not good.
The Tale of the Hen
One of the most beloved children's fairy tales tells about the hen that laid the golden egg. As researchers of folklore say, we can safely say that this is a fairy tale to all fairy tales, which was invented in ancient times. The story is very short and simple, yet it lives in people's memory and is passed down between generations. This is due to the images encrypted in it. As you can find out by referring to research papers devoted to the search for the meaning of the fairy tale "Ryaba Hen", an egg laid by a bird is a gift of higher powers to man, our life. The chicken symbolizes these very forces that give a person the opportunity to live,and give it to everyone only once. The one who succumbs to the evil will not be able to save his life and correct it - you need to be able to take care of what you got. Parents, telling the story to their children, thereby allow them to understand through images that there is nothing more valuable than life, and it must be protected by all means.
In many ways, understanding the meaning of the fairy tale about the hen comes if you remember that the characters are trying to break the testicle, but only now they fail - until the mouse runs past. Only a wave of the tail - and everything crumbled to dust. Such is our life - there are external forces seeking to harm, and people initially do not take care of what they have. Time after time, grandma and grandpa fail to break a testicle, and finally a third source of strength is found to complete what they started.
For kids and more
The deep meaning of the fairy tale about the chicken, according to some, is not even for children at all, and they cannot even understand it. The main characters of the story are the prototype of a person who is trying to destroy himself with his own forces. Some underestimate themselves, scold for no reason. Spoons with which they try to break an egg are anxieties and problems, insecurity and irritability that disturb a person. Such negative feelings sooner or later arise in the life of any person. At the same time, the egg, as a gift of life, symbolizes the need to be able to enjoy what is and strive to do good. All negative emotions are the food of the very mouse, whose tail will be fatal to the egg.
To understand the meaning of the fairy tale, it is worth taking a closer look at the image of the mouse. This animallives underground, in the dark, where the negative force nests. It is she who destroys human life if a person ceases to appreciate it. One has only to think that it is possible to break an egg, and this same mouse immediately comes. She easily does what people could not, and now the characters are crying. In the context of this tale, the event means that a person saves his life, but there is no more light and happiness in it, it becomes ordinary.
From different sides
The meaning of the name of the tale is also curious, immediately making it clear who exactly is the central object of the tale. As interpreters say, the chicken symbolizes higher powers, the creator and creator, the supreme deity. She gives everyone as much as they need. A person may not cope with what is given to him, and he has to live habitually, like everyone else, while others even feel empty. To prevent this from happening, you need to appreciate and protect the golden egg.
Both geese and swans
The meaning of the fairy tale "Geese-Swans" is no less curious. The legend tells about a girl who did not spot her brother, stolen by birds. The plot of events is the need to return under the wing of the parents. The fairy tale was invented to explain to children the importance of obedience, compliance with the prohibitions established by elders. Researchers of former times know that the Slavs believed in the existence of a physical and spiritual world. In ancient times, they honored their ancestors, believed in the sacred world order and the need to overcome trials before entering adult independent life. It is them that the plot of this legend shows, thereforein it, the child is carried away by geese-swans - white birds, symbolizing a new start in life and insight. These birds seem to be on the border between life and death - as it was seen in antiquity. The swan, as can be learned from sources that have survived to this day, was perceived by the Slavs as a symbol of flowing water.
