One of the pillars of fairy tales is their recurring themes and character archetypes. It’s even common to see names used over and over again (Jack, Hans, even Snow-White is used in several unrelated stories). But it’s rare to see the same character appear in multiple fairy and folk tales, like we see in the many appearances of the hag in the woods, Baba Yaga.
Baba Yaga is staple of Slavic lore. She can be found in stories across several countries as a specific character, not just an archetype. What I find most interesting about her is that she is portrayed, almost equally, as a villain and a benefactor.
Recognizing Baba Yaga
Aside from her unique name, how does a fairy tale character recognize Baba Yaga? Luckily, she has a large number of distinct characteristics. Like many witches in the woods, she’s described as an old crone with a hunched back and a large nose. She lives in a hut in the woods: it stands on two giant chicken legs and can move around at her command. The fence around the hut (which I don’t think moves with it, but I’m not entirely sure) is topped with human skulls and the locked gate in the fence has sharp teeth. The hut isn’t her only way of getting around: she could often be spotted flying around in a giant mortar and pestle.
The skinny, bony crone can often be found at the stove, cooking some sort of concoction (or child). She’s also known to be surrounded by a flock of black geese that often do her bidding.
A Contrary Nature
What’s most interesting to me about Baba Yaga is her almost contradictory actions. In stories like Vasilisa the Beautiful, she rewards the Cinderella-like character’s hard work. In other stories she appears as more of a trickster, like in Maria Morevna, where she makes a deal to help Prince Ivan find his bride, only to sabotage his effort to keep his end of the bargain, which would have resulted in his death. And in still other stories, Baba Yaga is nothing but a villain, like in The Black Geese, where her only goal is to capture and eat children.
The only real constant in the portrayal of her character is that, regardless of her actions, Baba Yaga is not kind. Even her ‘kind’ actions stem from bargains and deals, which benefit her as much as, if not more than, the other person.
What other recurring characters can you think of from fairy tales and folklore? Leave them in the comments below, and I might cover them in the future!
Until next time, word nerds!
Kate G. Jameson 