In Search of the Archetype: From the Mother Archetype to the Archetype of Baba Yaga

Abstract

Archetypes express themselves in various forms and sources, but many of them can be traced in folk tales. This article describes the most significant symbols and images that reveal the deepest meaning and significance of the Mother archetype in Russian folk culture.

“life/death” binary opposition in folk prose narratives

“…In the mythology of the ancient Romans two-faced Janus, who possessed the dual nature of the living and the dead. He also had a female personality named Jan (Diane) (Guseva et al, 2019). In addition, there are similarities between Baba Yaga and the characters of German mythology such as Frau Holle (Golda, mistress of the kingdom of the dead), which is also characterised by an ugly leg, and Stampfen, whose name is translated from German as to pound or walk heavily.…”

“…Utaker (1974), considered linguistic binary opposition to be a criterion for distinguishing different phenomena. Rosengren (2018); Alwi et al (2019); Vinogradova (2005); Yarmolenko (2015); Guseva et al (2019); Dunaievska (2009); Oliinyk (2009); Kyryliuk (2005); Naumovska (2009); Yakovleva (2014), conducted a study of folk prose narratives and the role of the image of Baba Yaga in a "life/death" binary opposition. Phindane (2019), applied binary opposition to analyse the meaning of folk fairy tales.…”

“…A few of her works analysed the nature of some Russian fairy tale characters and revealed their true meaning. Guseva et al (2019), have also devoted her research to the character of Baba Yaga in Russian folklore and its counterparts in other cultures. In her book "Baba Yaga: The Wild Witch of the East in Russian Fairy Tales" S. Forrester has analysed Baba Yaga's stupa as an attribute and suggested that the pistil, which is also an integral attribute of this old woman, appeared much earlier than the stupa (Forrester, 2013).…”