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theophaniaTo those that know me, it comes as no surprise that I decided to pick up and read a copy of yet another fairy/folk tale collection. I love fairy tales and I especially treasure them when I am within the target audience and can appreciate them more. When you consider the history of the fairy tale, originally they were never meant to be read or enjoyed by children, and were instead created for and read to an adult audience in literary groups across Europe.
Which is why it baffles me when I see parents pick up these fairy tale collections for their children only for them to rate and review them poorly. I do have my opinions in regards to that issue and maybe when I have the time to sit down and speak my mind about it, I will do so. However, this is neither the time nor the place for me to go on my rants about something I am passionate about.
However, despite my love for the genre, I have never read any of the Slavic folk or fairy tales and do not own a physical copy of any collection. I have heard of some of the more famous tales, for example, in other books that are largely inspired by the Russian or Polish tales. Yet, I never added any of these collections to my physical library.
I do have books on many western European fairy and folktales. I adored the Rainbow Fairy Books which were fairy tales from all over the world that were collected by Andrew Lang, but a new favourite came up when I discovered Joseph Jacobs collection of English Fairy Tales. I have the French fairy tales written by many different authors, English, Scottish, Irish, and Celtic fairy tales- and some Spanish, German, and Italian fairy tale collections as well. I also have the Scandinavian tales that I hold really dear to my heart. Yet, I never thought to add any of the Slavic tales to my library thinking that in time it was possible that I'll find physical copies.
Obviously thanks to COVID, this never happened- but then something wonderful happened. I discovered a copy of the Russian Fairy Tales by Aleksandr Afanasyef on Gutenberg.
I usually do not read books off of Gutenberg unless I cannot find physical copies of the books I want to read, or if I am not certain I want to purchase so I will try to read them for free online and if they are of interest, then I will buy a copy for my library. Unfortunately, reading them online has proven difficult for me. There are no pages on Gutenberg- no way to track where you are in the book. You cannot highlight the passages or take notes- but most of all, reading a book online feels weird to me sometimes even though it shouldn't.
Yet, the only way to read this specific collection is through Gutenberg right now, which means I am going to have to suck it up and just deal with it. Maybe one day, I will be able to find a physical copy of the book and add it to my personal collection.
All that out of the way, I have heard amazing things about Afanasyef as a writer. I heard that he documented and published hundreds of Russian folk and fairy tales in his lifetime, and that he was very respectful to the original source material. Outside of his literary life, I know nothing about the man, but I am looking forward to reading the collection that I found on Gutenberg.
For reference, I am reading the collection that had been published in English in 1916 and was translated by Leonard A. Magnus. This is what the translator has to say in his introduction of the work:
'The principal source for Russian folk-tales is the great collection of Afanáśev, a coeval of Rybnikov, Kirěyevski, Sakharov, Bezsonov, and others who all from about 1850 to 1870 laboriously took down from the lips of the peasants of all parts of Russia what they could of the endless store of traditional song, ballad, and folk-tale. These great collectors were actuated only by the desire for accuracy; they appended laboriously erudite notes; but they were not literary men and did not sophisticate, or improve on their material.'
He goes on to explain some of the Russian history, especially in terms of the Christian takeover of Russia. I have no idea what this is as Russian history isn't of interest to me until Napoleon Bonaparte attempted his invasion, but it makes me interested in learning more as this history is of actual interest to me personally. However, my knowledge in the history of eastern European nations is extremely lacking, which I hope is not going to present an issue with these tales.
For the sake of keeping things easier on myself, I am going to copy the translator's notes on Russian pronunciation. I love listening to the Russian language even though I cannot make out any individual words or make out what is being said, and reading Russian names or place names has also proven to be extremely difficult for me unless I can listen to Russian videos saying how to pronounce the names, the places, Russian words that are left in the original text, etc.
Which is why it baffles me when I see parents pick up these fairy tale collections for their children only for them to rate and review them poorly. I do have my opinions in regards to that issue and maybe when I have the time to sit down and speak my mind about it, I will do so. However, this is neither the time nor the place for me to go on my rants about something I am passionate about.
However, despite my love for the genre, I have never read any of the Slavic folk or fairy tales and do not own a physical copy of any collection. I have heard of some of the more famous tales, for example, in other books that are largely inspired by the Russian or Polish tales. Yet, I never added any of these collections to my physical library.
I do have books on many western European fairy and folktales. I adored the Rainbow Fairy Books which were fairy tales from all over the world that were collected by Andrew Lang, but a new favourite came up when I discovered Joseph Jacobs collection of English Fairy Tales. I have the French fairy tales written by many different authors, English, Scottish, Irish, and Celtic fairy tales- and some Spanish, German, and Italian fairy tale collections as well. I also have the Scandinavian tales that I hold really dear to my heart. Yet, I never thought to add any of the Slavic tales to my library thinking that in time it was possible that I'll find physical copies.
Obviously thanks to COVID, this never happened- but then something wonderful happened. I discovered a copy of the Russian Fairy Tales by Aleksandr Afanasyef on Gutenberg.
I usually do not read books off of Gutenberg unless I cannot find physical copies of the books I want to read, or if I am not certain I want to purchase so I will try to read them for free online and if they are of interest, then I will buy a copy for my library. Unfortunately, reading them online has proven difficult for me. There are no pages on Gutenberg- no way to track where you are in the book. You cannot highlight the passages or take notes- but most of all, reading a book online feels weird to me sometimes even though it shouldn't.
Yet, the only way to read this specific collection is through Gutenberg right now, which means I am going to have to suck it up and just deal with it. Maybe one day, I will be able to find a physical copy of the book and add it to my personal collection.
All that out of the way, I have heard amazing things about Afanasyef as a writer. I heard that he documented and published hundreds of Russian folk and fairy tales in his lifetime, and that he was very respectful to the original source material. Outside of his literary life, I know nothing about the man, but I am looking forward to reading the collection that I found on Gutenberg.
For reference, I am reading the collection that had been published in English in 1916 and was translated by Leonard A. Magnus. This is what the translator has to say in his introduction of the work:
'The principal source for Russian folk-tales is the great collection of Afanáśev, a coeval of Rybnikov, Kirěyevski, Sakharov, Bezsonov, and others who all from about 1850 to 1870 laboriously took down from the lips of the peasants of all parts of Russia what they could of the endless store of traditional song, ballad, and folk-tale. These great collectors were actuated only by the desire for accuracy; they appended laboriously erudite notes; but they were not literary men and did not sophisticate, or improve on their material.'
He goes on to explain some of the Russian history, especially in terms of the Christian takeover of Russia. I have no idea what this is as Russian history isn't of interest to me until Napoleon Bonaparte attempted his invasion, but it makes me interested in learning more as this history is of actual interest to me personally. However, my knowledge in the history of eastern European nations is extremely lacking, which I hope is not going to present an issue with these tales.
For the sake of keeping things easier on myself, I am going to copy the translator's notes on Russian pronunciation. I love listening to the Russian language even though I cannot make out any individual words or make out what is being said, and reading Russian names or place names has also proven to be extremely difficult for me unless I can listen to Russian videos saying how to pronounce the names, the places, Russian words that are left in the original text, etc.
Every Russian word has one strongly accented syllable, which is marked with an acute accent. The vowels are to be sounded as in Italian.
Ch to be sounded as in English.
G always hard, as in ‘give,’ ‘got’: never as in ‘gem.’
J always as in English.
Kh like German ch, or Scotch ch in ‘loch.’
L when hard (e.g. before a, o, u) something like ll in ‘pull’; when soft (e.g. before e, i) like l in French ‘vil.’
S always hard, as in ‘so.’
V as in English: at the end of words as ‘f.’
Y consonantally, as in English ‘yet’; as a vowel like ‘i’ in ‘will.’
Z always as in English.
Zh like ‘s’ in leisure, or French ‘j.’
Upon inspection of the tales from the Table of Contents, I can see some stories that I have heard of- which has caused me to be pleasantly surprised. Obviously, I know of the origins of St. Nicholas and have heard references to Bába Yagá, but I do not know these tales as well as somebody who is Russian or who has read extensively into Russian folklore. It's also nice that whoever posted the story to the archives of Gutenberg has listed page numbers. This is going to be easy for reference and to keep track of where I am in the book.
Upon inspection of the tales from the Table of Contents, I can see some stories that I have heard of- which has caused me to be pleasantly surprised. Obviously, I know of the origins of St. Nicholas and have heard references to Bába Yagá, but I do not know these tales as well as somebody who is Russian or who has read extensively into Russian folklore. It's also nice that whoever posted the story to the archives of Gutenberg has listed page numbers. This is going to be easy for reference and to keep track of where I am in the book.