# Never-Wash explained — Russian Folktales

> Chapter companion for Russian Folktales by A. N. Afanasyev.

## What happens

A retired soldier, having served three campaigns with nothing to show for it, makes a pact with a little devil: for fifteen years he must not shave, cut his hair, blow his nose, or change his clothes, in exchange for wealth and a tsar's daughter in marriage. The soldier grows rich by helping the poor, and when the tsar's treasury runs dry, he lends money in return for a bride. The two elder daughters refuse, saying they would rather marry the devil, and their souls are claimed. The youngest agrees, and after the soldier is magically restored to youth, they marry. The little devil is initially punished for failing to corrupt the soldier but is forgiven when he reveals he has gained the souls of the two elder sisters.

## Themes in this chapter

### Trickery and Cunning

The soldier outwits the devil by faithfully serving the terms and gaining wealth and a bride, while the devil cunningly claims the souls of the two elder daughters who spoke rashly.

### Fate and Divine Justice

The youngest daughter accepts her fate and marries the soldier, while the elder daughters' refusal leads to their souls being taken by the devil, illustrating a moral consequence.

## Character check-ins

### The Soldier

A retired soldier who makes a pact with a devil, serving fifteen years without washing or grooming, and eventually marries the youngest tsarévna.

### The Devil

The little devil who contracts the soldier and later claims the souls of the two elder daughters who refused the soldier.

### The Tsar

The ruler who, in financial need, agrees to give his daughter in marriage to the soldier in exchange for money.

### The Tsarévna

The three daughters of the tsar; the two elder refuse the soldier and are claimed by the devil, while the youngest accepts and marries him.

## Key lines

> Then the soldier made use of his devil: 'There are twelve carts; pile them all high at once with gold.' So the devil ran into the lake and the unholy ones set to work.

The soldier commanded the devil to fill twelve carts with gold, and the devil summoned other demons from the lake to bring up sacks of gold.

_The soldier leverages his pact to demand immediate wealth from the devil._

> So the devil cut him up into little bits, threw them into a cauldron, and began to brew him—brewed him, washed him and collected all his bones, one by one, in the proper way... then he sprinkled them with the water of life, and the soldier arose, such a fine young man as no tale can tell and no pen can write.

The devil dismembered the soldier, boiled him, reassembled his bones, and revived him with the water of life, transforming him into a handsome youth.

_The devil fulfills his promise to restore the soldier to youth after the fifteen-year service._

> The two elder daughters both declined and said they would rather marry a devil than the soldier. So there they are, and they belong to us.

The two older princesses refused to marry the soldier, saying they would prefer the devil, and thus their souls became the devil's property.

_The little devil justifies his actions by claiming the souls of the two sisters who rejected the soldier._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/never-wash
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters