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DO NOT WEEP. FEAR NOTHING. THE MORNING IS WISER THAN THE EVENING. vasilisa, of russian folklore. written by izzie. established 5.15.16. #skazok

[infernalmessiah-blog]

                 THANK YOU FOR CALLING ANTICHRISTS ANONYMOUS. FOR RELIGIOUS GUIDANCE,              PRESS 1. FOR A CRASH COURSE IN THE PHILOSOPHY OF FREE WILL, PRESS 2. FOR              THE END OF DAYS, PRESS 3.    TO HEAR THESE OPTIONS AGAIN, PRESS 4.

[meetmebylexingtonandpark]

I am not a little girl anymore, dazzled by your magic. It is my magic, now, too.

Catherynne M. Valente, Deathless

[skazok-blog1]

02. on the power of narrative.

   in terms of how being a self-aware folklore character affects vasilisa, the most noticeable consequence is probably that she views the world in terms of a narrative, with motifs, tropes, and archetypes. i can break this down into basically three aspects:

optimism / fatalism.  vasilisa’s attitude toward life is fairly fatalistic, but she doesn’t see that as bleak or upsetting. yes, we are all ultimately powerless against the whims of the narrative (or the universe, as it may be) but don’t worry, you’ll be fine. she firmly believes that things will work out for her somehow--- which, when combined with her functional immortality as a literary construct, gives her a really weird and alarming indifference to danger.

noticing patterns.  she is an absolute pro at picking out the story, so to speak. (there are only so many plots in this world when you boil every story down to its most central motifs.) she basically sees events through a folklorist’s eyes and is liable to talk like one, make comments about someone “inverting a trope,” etc.

stock characters.  which archetypal character from russian fairy tales do you resemble most? because that’s how vasilisa is going to read you on some primal level, even if she recognizes that you’re not really the same. (for example, she’s respectful but cautious of witches, and she’s predisposed to like the youngest of a set of brothers.)

   in summary: you’re dealing with someone whose world operates on a different and much stricter logic than ours does, and that’s going to show.

[cloviashaw]

Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the Beautiful diptych, by MiloNeuman on DA. Charcoal on paper, paper is 8 feet tall. 

[skazok-blog1]

01. on “good” and “bad” femininity as reflected in the vasilisa mythos, and how she breaks the dichotomy.

   i’ve mentioned before that one of the things i find most interesting in “vasilisa the beautiful” is the general lack of male characters. but something else i find really interesting is that vasilisa herself, despite being in many ways the classic fairy tale heroine, also displays several traits that i rarely see associated with “good women” in these stories.

   the emphasis on housework and the presence of vasilisa’s mother’s blessed doll are solidly within the bounds of “good” femininity, and yet i think it’s worth noting that her abusive stepmother and stepsisters are also associated with weaving, lace-making, etc. meanwhile there’s baba yaga, the “wild feminine” archetypal witch who would be the antagonist in most stories of this kind. but here (as in various other russian folktales) she also plays the role of the donor. and that donation is not, say, an enchanted key, or a beautiful dress--- no, it’s a skull with flaming eyes that causes the gruesome death-by-fire of vasilisa’s entire stepfamily.

   and things get even more complex when you factor in other vasilisa stories. in “the frog tsarevna,” vasilisa’s potential marriage to ivan tsarevich is at the center of the story; the obstacle is the fact that she’s been turned into a frog for three years. (possibly because she got in a fight with koschei the immortal. possibly for some other reason. these stories have a lot of variants.) in one variant of this tale, vasilisa pulls a striking “tam lin”-style maneuver and transforms into a frog, a lizard, and a snake to force ivan to let go of her.

   (yeah, i don’t think i need to tell y’all that actively turning oneself into various creepy-crawlies is not a standard fairy princess trait.)

   in “the sea king and vasilisa the wise,” she seems to have even more powerful magic, at one point literally turning herself into a church somehow. in “vasilisa the priest’s daughter,” the tale i pulled her patronymic from, she rides horses, drinks vodka, knows how to shoot, and wears “men’s clothing,” to the point where the tsar actually believes she’s a man. also, even when she personally tells him that she’s a woman, nobody even raises the question of marriage. 

   in summary, one of the most compelling things about vasilisa as a stock character is that she is constantly fusing accepted feminine traits (e.g. housework) with denigrated feminine traits (e.g. sorcery, association with unattractive animals) and even with traditionally masculine traits--- and most importantly, she isn’t punished for this in the narrative.

[skazok-blog1]

this is a very old story. in fact, you may know it already. and like all stories, it changes every time it’s told— but there’s always a girl, a witch, and a deep, dark forest. ┋ ind. vasilisa the beautiful. written by izzie. ┋ art credit.

[childoftheancientforest]

[skazok-blog1]

bloodiedwolf.

    ‘ what about this one? ’

     arya’s fingers skim the edges of another unfamiliar flower, white with a dark blue patch around the middle of each petal ; bright, inquisitive gaze lifting up to vasilisa’s face. ( there’s the sense of something odd about her, different, but it changes little in how arya addresses her. in any case, they’re both different, so what does it matter? )

                  ‘ what’s this one called? ’

         ❛ this one is columbine. ❜

   vasilisa vasilyevna knows plants like she knows the backs of her eyelids: the herbs her mother ground into pastes, the weeds in baba yaga’s garden, and these. she smiles --- a small one, but genuine.   ( she’s always had a soft spot for those who would be kind to her when she isn’t a tsarevna adorned with jewels, only a strange girl in the taiga. )   

   there’s a whimsical shine in her eyes when she adds,   ❛ when the petals fall off, some people say they look like little slippers. ❜

[januariat]

vasilisa

[ifveniceissinking-blog]

Only (softly, fiercely) the stars shining. Here, in the room, the bedroom. Saying I was brave, I resisted, I set myself on fire.

Louise Glück, Stars (The Seven Ages)

[rcmanholiday]

“It’s not real. I’m sleeping.”

[skazok-blog1]

"What'd you expect fairies to do?"

labyrinth.

   when you put it that way, vasilisa supposes that vermin-related curses are exactly the sort of thing one should expect of fairies. they don’t feature nearly so prominently in the russian stories as they are in western europe, but there are creatures similar enough that the dealings of the fair folk are not entirely foreign to her. certainly, she’s familiar with the quick temper and flair for the dramatic that seems to characterize magical beings.

    still, cursing passers-by strikes her as a disproportionate reaction. she gives a hum of acknowledgment and peers thoughtfully down at the small, greenish-brown toad croaking on her wooden table.

         ❛ i don’t mind the frogs. ❜

   it’s meant partly as reassurance; vasilisa is loath to make a guest feel uncomfortable. but that doesn’t mean it isn’t true.   ❛ i was one, once— a frog. for three years. ❜

[natalieweepoetry]

Some people have a softness that draws water from the earth. Call it dream. Call it flight. The opening & closing of your eyelids, like sparrow wings beckoning the trees. The music of your bones, startling spring from the earth, the dazzle of your smile squeezing honey from the bees. You are kinder than the cruelest thing that’s ever been done to you. You are so good, bad people are ready to break every cruel word over their knee. You are so good, lazy people line up to be the coffee-mug at your mouth.  The religious talk about the second coming & you talk your shadow into starlight. If you asked the clouds for shade the sky would split itself like apple. If you asked me to cut out my heart I would do it with my own knife.

“That Kind of Good”, Natalie Wee  (for Caitlyn Siehl)  (via wondersmithinc)

[bitchontheprairie]

so often i worry that i will lose my softness for there is so much in this world that fills me with rage

[lafemme-rouge-blog]

ＬＡＢＹＲＩＮＴＨ → the sentence meme

Below you will find quotes taken directly or paraphrased from the movie 'Labyrinth'. You know, the one starring David Bowie's bulge. Send in one of the following to see how my muse reacts:

❝ I ask for so little. ❞

❝ Just let me rule you, and you can have everything that you want. ❞

❝ Just fear me, love me - do as I say and I will be your slave.❞

❝ You remind me of the babe. ❞

❝ That’s not fair! ❞

❝ Give me the child. ❞

❝ You say that so often, I wonder what your basis for comparison is? ❞

❝ I have been generous up ‘til now; I can be cruel. ❞

❝ You cowered before me, I was frightening. ❞

❝ I have reordered time; I have turned this world upside down, and I have done it all for you! ❞

❝ I am exhausted from living up to your expectations. ❞

❝ Isn’t that generous? ❞

❝ Your mother is a fraggin’ aardvark! ❞

❝ Everything I’ve done, I’ve done for you. ❞

❝ I move the stars for no one. ❞

❝ Your eyes can be so cruel. ❞

❝ If she ever kisses you, I’ll turn you into a prince. ❞

❝ If he ever kisses you, I’ll turn you into a princess. ❞

❝ You’re him, aren’t you? ❞

❝ You’re her, aren’t you? ❞

❝ My will is as strong as yours, and my kingdom as great. ❞

❝ You have no power over me. ❞

❝ How you turn my world, you precious thing. ❞

❝ Well then, come on, which way? ❞

❝ Which way do you want to go, hm? ❞

❝ Was that wrong? ❞

❝ I’ve brought you a gift. ❞

❝ But if you turn it this way and look into it, it will show you your dreams. ❞

❝ In nine hours and twenty-three minutes…you’ll be mine. ❞

❝ Where you goin’ with a head like that? ❞

❝ No, I said ‘allo’, but that’s close enough. ❞

❝ It’s only forever, not long at all. ❞

❝ All right then, throw down your weapons, and I’ll see that you’re well-treated. ❞

❝ Don’t tell me truth hurts, because it hurts like hell. ❞

❝ No one can blame you for walking away. ❞

❝ I don’t know why, but every now and again in my life - for no reason at all - I need you. ❞

❝ The way forward is sometimes the way back. ❞

❝ It’s very rude to stare! ❞

❝ What did you have to go and do a thing like that for? ❞

❝ What’d you expect fairies to do? ❞

❝ What’s the matter, my dear, don’t like your toys? ❞

❝ There’s such a sad love, deep in your eyes. ❞

❝ I’ll place the sky within your eyes. ❞

❝ What kind of magic spell to use? ❞

❝ I’ll paint you mornings of gold. ❞

❝ I’ll spin you Valentine evenings. ❞

❝ I’ll be there for you as the world falls down. ❞

❝ We’re choosing the path between the stars. ❞

❝ I’ll leave my love between the stars. ❞

❝ How you turned my world, you precious thing. ❞

❝ You starve and near exhaust me. ❞

❝ I do believe in you. ❞

❝ I live without the sunlight. ❞

❝ I love without your heartbeat. ❞

❝ I can’t live within you. ❞

[glorfindels-deactivated20180408]

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She is of the Heavens - Dario Marianelli

[dragmetochurch]