# Vasilísa the Fair explained — Russian Folktales

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

## What happens

After her mother's death, Vasilísa is given a magical doll that helps her endure the cruelty of her stepmother and stepsisters. Sent into the forest to fetch fire from Bába Yagá, she completes impossible tasks with the doll's aid and escapes with a skull whose eyes burn her tormentors to ashes. She then weaves fine linen, sews shirts for the Tsar, and marries him, living happily ever after.

## Themes in this chapter

### Good vs. Evil

Vasilísa's goodness and humility contrast with the stepmother's cruelty and envy, culminating in the stepmother's destruction by the skull's fiery eyes.

### Magic and Transformation

The magical doll aids Vasilísa in her tasks, and the skull with burning eyes serves as a transformative tool of justice.

### Family and Betrayal

The stepmother betrays Vasilísa after her father's departure, sending her into danger, while the mother's blessing and doll remain loyal.

## Character check-ins

### Vasilísa the Fair

The protagonist, a kind and beautiful maiden who is mistreated by her stepmother but protected by her mother's blessing and a magical doll.

### Bába Yagá

The fearsome witch living in the forest who sets Vasilísa impossible tasks but is unable to harm her due to her mother's blessing.

### The Stepmother

The cruel stepmother who envies Vasilísa's beauty and sends her into the forest to be destroyed by Bába Yagá.

### The Tsar

The ruler who marries Vasilísa after admiring her fine linen and her beauty.

### The Old Woman

A kind woman who takes Vasilísa in after her stepmother's death and helps her sell the linen to the Tsar.

## Key lines

> Keep this doll always by you, but show it to nobody, and no misfortune can befall you. Give it food and ask it for advice. After it has eaten, it will tell you how to avoid your evil.

Always keep the doll hidden and feed it; it will guide you through any trouble.

_The mother's dying instructions establish the doll as Vasilísa's secret protector._

> Ah, then, get off with you as fast as you can, blessed daughter; no one blessed may stay with me!

Leave quickly, blessed one; I cannot keep anyone who carries a blessing.

_Bába Yagá's reaction shows that Vasilísa's mother's blessing protects her from harm._

> Do not throw me away. Bring me up to your stepmother's house.

Keep the skull and take it to your stepmother's home.

_The skull speaks, guiding Vasilísa to deliver justice to her tormentors._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/vasil-sa-the-fair
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters