Another Ivan in “The Tale of Vasilisa the Golden Braid” also saves all the people and his own from the terrible snake that captivated the beauties and him. sister. Ivan Gorokh is a strong and formidable hero, ready to deal with any evil, defend his native land and defend the honor of his sister. But in the fairy tale “Ivan Tsarevich and the Gray Wolf” the wolf is a more positive character; Ivan Tsarevich was only lucky to meet such a faithful and devoted friend. The same trend can be observed in the fairy tales “The Little Humpbacked Horse”, “At the Order of the Pike” and many others.

Russian people for the most part believed that “the grave will correct the hunchbacked one,” therefore, the transformation of the hero from a negative character into a positive one is not typical for Russian fairy tales.

The most positive female characters in Russian fairy tales are Vasilisa the Beautiful and the Wise. A Russian beauty is primarily distinguished by her intelligence and kindness; she helps her chosen one to defeat evil with cunning and ingenuity, get a magic object or guide him to the wise. Oddly enough, in some fairy tales even Baba Yaga can be positive, providing the traveler with parting words, ancient knowledge and providing material assistance in the form of magical objects: a scarf, a comb, a ball of thread or a mirror.

Positive heroes of foreign fairy tales

Pinocchio is a fairy tale by an Italian writer about the transformation of a stupid, naughty and, at times, cruel wooden doll into a kind and caring boy. Pinocchio or Pinocchio are one of the most positive children's characters.

Heroes-warriors are presented quite rarely in foreign fairy tales; Cipollino is considered one of the few such characters, although this is more an image of a revolutionary fighting dictators against the bourgeoisie and slavery. Another positive hero stands apart - the medieval revolutionary Robin Hood. The collective image of a noble robber-warrior is romanticized and spiritualized. He fights evil in the form of cruel feudal lords, lawlessness and injustice.

Eastern fairy tales are closer in their ideas to Russian ones, for example, Aladdin is an analogue of Ivan the Fool or Emelya. Eastern characters, like Russians, are often helped by cunning, dexterity and resourcefulness; the most popular hero is the “Baghdad thief,” a criminal who managed to deceive dozens of moneybags and was never caught. In almost every Arabic fairy tale there is also a guiding hand - as in the Russian tradition, this is a woman. The smart and cunning wife of Ali Baba, Sakine, Scheherazade, like Vasilisa in Russian fairy tales, personify such intelligence and ingenuity that is inherent only in women.

The heroes of Russian folk tales create the mythical and sometimes even mystical reality of Russian folk tales, because these heroes are a separate part of the life of our ancestors. All those magical powers that they possessed and in which the ancient inhabitants believed have come down to us, although they are described more modern language, but at the same time not losing each of their uniqueness and type.

They are familiar to us all, as are their heroes, characters, and destinies. Let's see if you know all the heroes and if they are all familiar to your children. We will give pictures of heroes of Russian folk tales to make it easier for you to remember and imagine them. Maybe you can even decide who your favorite Russian folk tale hero is.

Ivan Tsarevich, who is also Ivan is a fool and Ivan is a peasant son. His main qualities are always described as kindness and nobility. In all fairy tales, Ivan Tsarevich helps other people and, in the end, lives happily. The character of Russian folk tales, Ivan the Fool, teaches us to listen to our hearts and listen to our intuition, to go through all difficulties with honor and not to lose heart. Often in such fairy tales we meet a gray wolf or a horse loyal to Ivan. The wolf usually symbolizes intelligence and cunning, and the horse, for example, Sivka-Burka, symbolizes devotion and fidelity, helping the hero in all his adventures.

The next familiar character from Russian folk tales is Snow Maiden. This heroine is a symbol of female tenderness and vulnerability, a bright soul and purity. Tales about her show that a person can create whatever he wants, that his potential is limitless, but what he creates has no heart and therefore sooner or later disappears, goes into oblivion.

You can find one of the most beautiful versions of the fairy tale with the Snow Maiden in the section. And the Snow Maiden is like a white snowflake, with eyes like blue beads, a brown braid down to her waist...

Not only kind and positive heroes occupy our children. They also like negative heroes fairy tales, for example, Baba Yaga or sometimes Yaga-Yaginishna. This character in Russian folk tales is the oldest and most multifaceted. She lives in a big scary forest, which you need to avoid and God forbid you get into her hut on chicken legs. Baba Yaga is a Russian mythical creature, she can cast magic and bewitch, and more often harms the heroes of fairy tales than helps. Baba Yaga is most often depicted with a big nose, in a mortar and with a broom. This is how we all remember her.

A folk tale is a message from our ancestors, passed down from time immemorial. Through magical stories, sacred information about morality and spirituality, traditions and culture is conveyed to us. The heroes of Russian folk tales are very colorful. They live in peace full of wonders and dangers. There is a battle between light and dark forces, as a result of which good and justice always win.

Ivan the Fool

The main character of Russian fairy tales is a seeker. He goes to hard way to get a magic item or a bride, to deal with the monster. In this case, the character may initially occupy a low social position. As a rule, this is a peasant son, the most youngest child in family.

By the way, the word “fool” in ancient times did not have a negative meaning. Since the 14th century, it has served as a talismanic name, often given to the youngest son. He did not receive any inheritance from his parents. Older brothers in fairy tales are successful and practical. Ivan spends time on the stove, since he is not interested in living conditions. He does not seek money or fame, and patiently endures the ridicule of others.

However, it is Ivan the Fool who is ultimately lucky. He is unpredictable, capable of solving non-standard riddles, and defeats the enemy with cunning. The hero is characterized by mercy and kindness. He helps out those in trouble, releases the pike, for which he is awarded magical help. Having overcome all obstacles, Ivan the Fool marries the Tsar's daughter and becomes rich. Behind unsightly clothes hides the image of a sage serving good and wary of falsehood.

Bogatyr

This hero was borrowed from epics. He is handsome, brave, noble. It often grows “by leaps and bounds.” He has enormous strength and is able to saddle a heroic horse. There are many stories where a character fights a monster, dies, and then is resurrected.

The names of the heroes of Russian fairy tales can be different. We meet Ilya Muromets, Bova Korolevich, Alyosha Popovich, Nikita Kozhemyaka and other characters. Ivan Tsarevich can also be classified in this category. He enters into battle with the Serpent Gorynych or Koshchei, saddles Sivka-Burka, protects the weak, and rescues the princess.

It is significant that the hero sometimes makes mistakes (responds rudely to the grandmother he meets, burns the skin of a frog). Subsequently, he has to repent of this, ask for forgiveness, and correct the situation. By the end of the tale, he gains wisdom, finds the princess and receives half the kingdom as a reward for his exploits.

Wonder Bride

By the end of the story, an intelligent and beautiful girl becomes the wife of a fairy-tale hero. In Russian folk tales we meet Vasilisa the Wise, Marya Morevna, and Elena the Beautiful. They embody the popular idea of ​​a woman standing guard over her family.

The heroines are distinguished by their resourcefulness and intelligence. Thanks to their help, the hero solves ingenious riddles and defeats the enemy. Often a beautiful princess is subject to the forces of nature; she is able to turn into an animal (swan, frog) and create real miracles. The heroine uses powerful forces for the benefit of her lover.

There is also an image of a meek stepdaughter in fairy tales, who achieves success thanks to her hard work and kindness. Common qualities for all positive female images are loyalty, purity of aspirations and readiness to help.

Which hero of Russian fairy tales is the most beloved and popular among children and adults? The first place rightfully belongs to Baba Yaga. This is a very controversial character with a terrifying appearance, a hooked nose and a bone leg. In ancient times, “Baba” was the name given to the mother, the eldest woman in the family. "Yaga" may be related to the Old Russian words "yagat" ("to shout loudly, swear") or "yagaya" ("sick, angry").

An old witch lives in the forest, on the border between our world and the other world. Her hut on chicken legs is surrounded by a fence made of human bones. Grandmother flies on a mortar, makes friends with evil spirits, kidnaps children and keeps many magical objects from uninvited guests. According to scientists, it is associated with the kingdom of the dead. This is indicated by the loose hair that was unbraided for women before burial, the bone leg, and also the house. The Slavs made wooden huts for the dead, which they placed on stumps in the forest.

In Rus' they always respected their ancestors and turned to them for advice. That’s why good fellows come to Baba Yaga, and she tests them. To those who pass the test, the witch gives a hint, points the way to Koshchei, gives a magic ball, as well as a towel, comb and other wonders. Baba Yaga doesn’t eat children either, but she puts them in the oven and performs the ancient ritual of “over-baking.” In Rus' it was believed that in this way a child could be healed of an illness.

Koschey

The name of this fairy-tale hero of Russian fairy tales could come from the Turkic “koschey”, which translates as “slave”. The character was chained and kept prisoner for three hundred years. He himself also likes to kidnap beautiful girls and hide them in prison. According to another version, the name comes from the Slavic “kostit” (to scold, to harm) or “bone”. Koschey is often depicted as a skinny old man, more like a skeleton.

He is a very powerful sorcerer, lives far from other people and owns countless treasures. The death of the hero is in a needle, which is securely hidden in objects and animals nested inside each other like a nesting doll. The prototype of Koshchei may be the winter deity Karachun, who was born from a golden egg. It covered the earth with ice and brought death with it, forcing our ancestors to move to warmer areas. In other myths, Koshchei was the name of the son of Chernobog. The latter could control time and command the army the afterlife.

This is one of the most ancient images. The hero of Russian fairy tales differs from foreign dragons by having several heads. Usually their number is a multiple of three. The creature can fly, breathes fire and abducts people. It lives in caves, where it hides captives and treasures. Often appears in front of a positive hero after emerging from the water. The nickname “Gorynych” is associated either with the character’s habitat (mountain) or with the verb “to burn.”

The image of the terrible Serpent is borrowed from ancient myths about the dragon who guards the entrance to the underworld. To become a man, a teenager had to defeat him, i.e. accomplish a feat and then enter world of the dead and come back as an adult. According to another version, Zmey Gorynych - collective image steppe nomads who attacked Rus' in huge hordes. At the same time, they used fire shells that burned wooden cities.

Forces of nature

In ancient times, people personified the Sun, Wind, Moon, Thunder, Rain and other phenomena on which their lives depended. They often became heroes of Russian fairy tales, married princesses, and helped good heroes. There are also anthropomorphic rulers of certain elements: Moroz Ivanovich, goblin, water one. They can play the role of both positive and negative characters.

Nature is depicted as spiritual. The well-being of people largely depends on her actions. Thus, Morozko rewards the meek, hardworking daughter of an old man, whom her stepmother ordered to abandon in the forest, with gold and a fur coat. At the same time, her selfish stepsister dies from his spell. The Slavs worshiped the forces of nature and at the same time were wary of them, tried to appease them with the help of sacrifices, and made requests.

Grateful animals

In fairy tales we meet a talking wolf, a magical horse and a cow, goldfish, a wish-fulfilling pike. And also a bear, hare, hedgehog, raven, eagle, etc. They all understand human speech and have unusual abilities. The hero helps them out of trouble, gives them life, and in return they help defeat the enemy.

Traces of totemism are clearly visible here. The Slavs believed that each genus descended from a specific animal. After death, the soul of a person moves into the beast and vice versa. For example, in the fairy tale "Burenushka" the soul of a deceased mother is reborn in the form of a cow to help her orphaned daughter. Such an animal could not be killed, because it became a relative and protected from harm. Sometimes the heroes of a fairy tale can themselves turn into an animal or a bird.

Firebird

Many positive heroes of fairy tales try to take possession of it. The wonderful bird dazzles the eyes like the golden sun and lives behind a stone wall in rich lands. Freely floating in the sky, it is a symbol of the heavenly body, which bestows luck, abundance, and creative power. This is a representative of another world, who often turns into a kidnapper. The firebird steals rejuvenating apples that bestow beauty and immortality.

Only those who are pure in soul, believe in the dream and are closely connected with their deceased ancestors can catch it. Usually this younger son, who had to care for his old parents and spent a lot of time near the family hearth.

Thus, the heroes of Russian fairy tales teach us to respect our ancestors, listen to our hearts, overcome fear, pursue our dreams despite mistakes, and always help those asking for help. And then the divine radiance of the magical firebird will fall on a person, transforming him and bestowing happiness.

Description of the presentation by individual slides:

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Cheerful, kind, brave, resourceful, greedy, curious, evil, harmful, simple-minded, sympathetic, courageous, fearless, courageous, mystical... The male character in the fairy tale is the teacher of GBOU Secondary School No. 1637 Nikitushkina G.V.

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Leshy The goblin is also called a forester, a forester, a leshak, a forester, a woodsman. The place of residence of the goblin is a remote forest slum, but sometimes also a wasteland. However, this spirit lives in the forest only in the warm season. At the beginning of October, he falls through the ground and spends the winter somewhere in the underworld, and in the spring he jumps out of the ground again and settles in his old lair. Before wintering, the goblin usually goes berserk, raises a storm, breaks trees, and drives animals into holes and lairs. According to Polish belief, the goblin loves old dry trees, especially willows; he often sits on these trees, taking on the appearance of an owl. Poles-villagers avoid cutting down such trees, so as not to incur some kind of trouble on themselves by angering the devil. According to Russian belief, the goblin also loves old trees, but prefers to turn gray in their hollows. We have a saying: “Out of an empty hollow is either an owl, an owl, or Satan himself.”

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Vodyanoy Vodyanoy (Vodyanik, Vodovik) – an ancient character Slavic mythology, lord of reservoirs and lord of the water element. The merman, like other higher elemental spirits (Leshy, Brownie), is not an isolated character. Our ancestors believed that each body of water, be it a river, lake or stream, has its own guardian, or Vodyany, who performs a purely administrative function - monitoring the balance and harmony of the ecosystem entrusted to him. However, in emergency situations, Vodyanoy can act as the head of the power structures of a reservoir, that is, for example, when trying to capture a forest lake by dark forces (swamping), Vodyanoy gathers mermaids and other water spirits around him and leads them into battle. Vodyanoy does not live in swamps, so our ancestors considered swamps to be extremely negative places

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Brownie January 28 - Kudesy - day of treating the brownie. Brownie - baker, joker, cricket protector. The name of the holiday - kudesy (tambourines) - indicates that our ancestors communicated with the brownie or simply had fun, delighting the ears with music: Grandfather-next-door! Eat the porridge and take care of our hut! The brownie is none other than one of the children of the god Veles, the original protector of the Slavs. And his children settled closer to people in order to help them in everything. Those who lived behind the stove were called brownies, those who went into the forest were called goblins, the good spirits of rivers and lakes were called water spirits, and those who were ready to help a person in the field were field workers. According to one legend, this spirit came from among the rebellious celestials thrown to earth. Having settled down close to people, he acquired good nature and a penchant for jokes, which, frankly speaking, were distinguished by a fair amount of originality.

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Damn Damn, Devil (Russian “devil”, “devil”, Ukrainian, Belarusian, devil, Slovenian crt, Czech, Slovakian cert, Polish czart, probably from Proto-Slavic *cьrt, “cursed” ), in Slavic mythology an evil spirit. The image of Ch. is of pre-Christian origin, but Christian ideas about the devil had a decisive influence on his later appearance: in folklore and folk pictures, Ch. are anthropomorphic creatures covered with black fur, with horns, tails and hooves. “The devil is drawn, and so scary: black, with horns, a tail and hooves” - this is how this representative of evil spirits is described in one of the Russian fairy tales. Its hooves can be those of a goat, a cow or a horse - the character and malignancy of the devil’s offspring do not depend on this. All Slavic peoples know devils. They were called differently everywhere, especially since it was never recommended to directly remember the devil - he would appear in an instant! Usually they used substitute nicknames and euphemisms: undead, enemy, evil one, unclean, unwashed, gamer, cursed.

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Koschey the Immortal The naming of this character deserves attention. Storytellers called him “Kashchey”, “Kashch”, “Kashcha”. In Ukrainian fairy tales, the name Koschey has such vowels as “Kostey” and is especially consonant with the word “bones,” which, probably, along with the obvious connection of this character with the idea of ​​death, served as the basis for later depictions of this character, for example, in film adaptations of fairy tales, in the form of a thin, skeletal-like man. It is also significant that in Russian folk dialects the word “Koshchey” means “a thin, skinny person, a walking skeleton.” However, most likely, it is of foreign language origin. In the monuments of ancient Russian writing, the word “koschey” is found with the meaning “adolescent, boy”, “prisoner, slave”

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Petrushka Oddly enough, Petrushka is not a native Russian character puppet theater. Its prototypes can be found in different countries. In Italy - this is Pulcinella, in Germany - Kasper, or Gansvut, in France - Polichinelle, in England - Mr. Punch, Turkey - Karagöz, Hungary - the knight Laszlo, India - Vidushaka. That’s why Petrushka’s clothes are foreign: a red cap with a tassel, the same red shirt, a cloak and canvas pants. And the appearance of the doll cannot be called Slavic. It is believed that it was from the Italian Pulicinella (translated as “cockerel”) that she received such an unusual appearance: large almond-shaped eyes, a huge hooked nose, an exaggerated big hands and head, hump on the back. Even the face itself was dark, and the eyes were black. A wide-open mouth is by no means a smile, it’s a real grin, because Petrushka was not initially a positive hero. In addition, he had only four fingers on his hands, which perhaps hinted at a dark essence.

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jester Jester 1. A wit and joker, specially kept at a palace or at a rich manor house to entertain gentlemen and guests with funny antics. Court sh. Barsky sh, 2. Comic character in farce shows, clown. 3. transfer The one who makes jokes makes faces for the amusement of others (colloquial disapproved).. Jesters and fools were “constant, fixed in ordinary (i.e., not carnival) life, bearers of the carnival principle.” They completely got used to their comedic “mask”; the role and existence of the buffoon coincided. The type of jester contains universal comedy, extending to the asociality and intemperance of the trickster himself (self-parody), to his fooled victims, high rituals, etc.

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The image of Ivan the Tsarevich Ivan the Tsarevich is the hero of Russian fairy tales. Main actor in many fairy tales (for example, “The Frog Princess”, “Ivan the Tsarevich and Gray wolf", "Rejuvenating Apples", "Finist - the Clear Falcon", "Dead Princess", "One-Eyed, Two-Eyed and Three-Eyed"). Many researchers consider Ivan the Tsarevich to be an ideal fairy-tale hero. Indeed, in fairy tales Ivan the Tsarevich is always portrayed as young , a handsome, active and brave hero. N. V. Novikov believes that the image of Ivan the Tsarevich was formed under the influence of the heroic epic. Traces of such influence are manifested in such motives as the acquisition of heroic strength, fights with monsters, the return to life of a deceased hero. V. J. Propp correlated the image of Ivan the prince with the most ancient mythological characters who die and are resurrected annually, starting a new life (Osiris, Yarila).

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Image Ivanushka the Fool Ivanushka the Fool is a character in byvalshchinas and everyday tales of the late tradition of folk tales. The emergence of this image is associated, first of all, with lexical associations: vyunosh, vyunets, bindweed, vansha, vanyok “young man, youth, yunak, well done”; vanka "doll, blockhead"; vanzha, vanzya, vanka "fool, stupid", "simpleton, simpleton." The latest meanings of the word vanka appear relatively recently - at the final stage of the transition processes social development in Rus' in a phase of sustainable degeneration of the traditional foundations of the primordial civilization.

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The image of a soldier A Russian soldier can be loved or hated, he can be captured and even defeated in battle, but the enemy will never be able to find out the mystery of the soul of a Russian warrior. The most popular hero of Russian fairy tales, along with forest animals and the kolobok. As a rule, in the plot of a fairy tale, the soldier is either demobilized or AWOL. He is distinguished by his wisdom and ingenuity, as well as his cooking abilities: one porridge from an ax is worth something.

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The image of an old man In almost every fairy tale there is an old man who suddenly appears in front of the main character and gives him helpful advice and also suddenly disappears. In the fairy tale “The Frog Princess” he is also there: “: He was walking, whether close, or far, or briefly, an old old man came across him: We read in the fairy tale “Two Ivans - Soldiers’ Sons”: “They walk along the road, but towards they are a gray-haired old man; They forgot that their mother was punishing them and walked past without saying hello...<...>There is nothing to be done, the good fellows went home and hung their heads; They are walking along the road, and they meet that old man again." The Myths say who this old man is: ": They (heavenly warriors Evening with Midnight) suddenly met on their way a little old man with a gray beard. And that old man began to beckon them to follow him - he would lure them in one direction, then lead them in another, then turn back: And the old man disappeared, as if he had never been. This is the kind of power this old man possessed, and all because he was Time itself: “That is why the old man knows everything about Vasilisa the Wise: “Vasilisa the Wise was born more cunning, wiser than her father; That’s why he got angry with her and ordered her to be a frog for three years,” and about where Tsarevich Ivan should go to find her: “Here’s a ball for you, where it will roll - follow it.”

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Internet resources: http://www.gp.dn.ua/?p=16313 http://www.liveinternet.ru/use... http://elvenpath.epot.biz/view... http://vdnews. ru/news/2831 http://komkultura.ru/?p=6538 Http://www.ruskid.ru/audioskaz… http://pryahi.indeep.ru/histor… http://my-dictionary.ru /word/38682/shut/ http://mp3sort.biz/viewtn.php? http://moeimja.kz/tolkovanie-s... http://tsivin.narod.ru/content... http://procanvas.ru/shop/repro... http://russian7.ru/2012/02/7- http://felbert.livejournal.com/825553.html http://photo.qip.ru/users/dank http://www.sayanogorsk.info/attach/id/24673/skazki_russkogo_lesa.jpg

Rashitova Gulnaz Samatovna

5th year student, faculty foreign languages MarSU, Russian Federation, Yoshkar-Ola

Astankova Tatyana Petrovna

scientific supervisor, Ph.D. philologist. Sciences, Associate Professor MarSU, Russian Federation, Yoshkar-Ola

In linguistics, interest in folk and literary works, in particular, to fairy tales, from the point of view of a gender approach as an opportunity for a comprehensive study of the reflection in language of the role of a person, the realities of society and interpersonal relationships. Many researchers (G.G. Slyshkin, M.L. Boloneva and others) studied the representation of the concepts “man” and “woman” in literary and folklore works Russian and foreign literature. In their works, they note that most fairy tales were written down at a time when the patriarchal approach dominated society, culture and the literary canon, so the image of women was invisible, and the works emphasized her dependent position. Only in fairy tales of the 20th century, with the growth of the feminist movement, determined and brave heroines began to appear who took on the role of a man in saving the rest of the characters. Research shows that the image of women in literature has now changed: the stereotype that leadership belongs to a man is now applied to a woman, which is confirmed by the “expansion of the relatively stable canons of fairy tales.”

Fairy tales are a reflection of reality, therefore, through the analysis of fairy tales, you can get a picture of the world through the eyes of the inhabitants of that time, learn about their way of life, ideas and rules of behavior that prevailed in society. Fairy tales give us the opportunity to more clearly imagine the images of men and women, emphasizing their main features and character traits. When getting to know a work and its characters, the reader is guided by the stereotypes he has developed, therefore, when the main characters are called a man or a woman, he has already formulated an external image and a certain model of behavior for them.

We carried out a comparative analysis of the images of men and women in fairy tales of the British Isles. 35 fairy tales were analyzed.

Here is a list of nominees that designate men and women in the analyzed fairy tales.

Nominees for men: “a man”, “a fellow”, “a boy”, “a friend”, “a lad””, “a gentleman”, “a marn” (dialect pronunciation of the word “a man”), “ a mate”, “a chap”, “a chep” (dialect pronunciation of the word “a chap”), “a feller” (dialect pronunciation of the word “a fellow”), “a youth”, “a gaffer” (colloquial word, meaning “old man”), “a roisterer” (a word that gives a negative characteristic of a character; meaning “reveler”). The heroes of fairy tales can also be magical creatures, so one of the nominees was the word “a merryman” (“merman”).

Nominees for women: “a woman”, “a gentlewoman”, “a maid” (“maiden”), “a maidy” (found in colloquial style, formed from the word “a maid” using the diminutive suffix “y” ), “a maiden”, “a female”, “a dame”, “a lass”, “a girl”, “Aunt”, “a lady”, “a gal” (dialect pronunciation of the word “a girl”), “a witch.” The heroines of fairy tales can be magical creatures, so there are such designations for mermaids as “a merrymaid”, “a creature”, “a sea-woman”.

It is worth pointing out that the fairy tales we analyzed were written at a time when the basis of society was a patriarchal system, therefore the main characters in most cases were men, and women either played a secondary role or were not mentioned at all in the fairy tale.

However, the variety in the means of appeal to both men and women is the same. Men are characterized by the words “a friend”, “a chap”, “a fellow”, which emphasize their simplicity and friendly attitude towards each other. A man appears in a negative image less often than in a positive one, but in some cases he is presented in the image of a rogue (“a roisterer”) who loves to drink, or a stupid peasant who is easy to outwit (the fairy tale “The Mare’s Egg”).

The woman is depicted as a simple peasant woman whose main concern is her family. Men often address young girls affectionately, using certain lexemes (“a lass”, “a maid”) and adding diminutive suffixes (“a maidy”) to words. Respect for age and love of others can be emphasized by calling “Aunt” (“auntie”).

Since fairy tales reflect the realities of a certain time and record the way of life and customs, they constantly emphasize the importance of such value orientation, how is the family. Almost all fairy tale characters, both men and women, are married and have two or three children. Sometimes fairy tales are about lonely old women (the tale “The Tulip Pixies”) or about women who have lost their husbands and continue to care for their children (as in the tales “The Lady of Llyn and Fan Fach”, “The Boogies an' the Salt-box” ). Young men are also represented in fairy tales as married: if initially they live with their parents, at the end of the fairy tale they meet a girl whom they later marry (the fairy tale “A Pottle o’ Brains”). This, however, is not always typical for a young girl: she can remain alone even after meeting her lover (the fairy tale “Cherry of Zennor”).

In the analyzed fairy tales, the role of women as keepers of the hearth is repeatedly emphasized, so the occupation and abilities they possess come down to the ability to care for the family and run a household: they garden, and their diligence and love of work are emphasized (“She tendered the garden with special care” - about an elderly woman in the fairy tale “The Tulip Pixies”), work as housewives (fairy tales “Jan Coo”, “Cherry of Tennor”), nannies for the children of the owners (fairy tale “The Sweating Fairies”) or serve in their homes as a maid or housekeeper (fairy tales “Cherry of Zennor”, ​​“Cap o'Rushes”, “The Lancashire Witches”). Fairy tales mention the special magical abilities that witches possess (“knew a charm to make de fairisees come”, “dealt in potions an’ herbs an’ spells an’ things”). They can use them for good, help people with advice, or act as a doctor.

Men provide for their families, mostly by farming (shepherding) or fishing. Less frequently mentioned are the professions of shoemaker, forester, miller, priest, doctor, merchant, cook, and military man. The professional abilities of men are manifested in their ability to manage a household: they are characterized as “skillful” and “a wonder with the sheep.”

The heroes of fairy tales are men of all ages, and each age period corresponds to a certain characteristic: young (“young”, “youthful”), adults (age is indicated: “thirty years of old”) and elderly (“old”; sometimes extreme old age is emphasized by epithets “ancient”, “out-and-out old”). Boys and young men, as a rule, have an attractive appearance (“handsome”, “powerful”, “with brilliant and piercing eyes”, “eyes are bright”). Appearance older people emphasize their wisdom and years (“white-haired”, “bald”, “his face was shrunk like a long-kept apple and covered with small wrinkles that ran together like cracks in rock”). The appearance of magical creatures (elves, gnomes) is also described in fairy tales: their main characteristic is small stature (“little”, “tiniest wee specimen of humanity imaginable”).

The age of the women ranges from young (“young”) to old (“old”). Most girls have ordinary appearance. The description of these characters emphasizes their youth and strength (“lusty” meaning “strong,” “strong,” “healthy”). In rare cases, a girl appears in the form of a beauty (“handsome”, “as sweet as a rose” in the fairy tale “Cherry of Zennor”). Only magical creatures have true beauty: mermaids (“fair”, “golden-coloured hair that shines like sunbeams”, “eyes shine like the brightest of stars on a gloomy night”, “the most beautiful creature that mortal eyes could behold”) , ghosts (“lovely”, 'pretty”), witches (“beautiful”). Despite their beauty, girls appear to men in a sad way (“full of woe unutterable”), because they are unhappy in marriage (the fairy tale “Lutey and the Merrymaid”) or were abandoned by their lovers (the fairy tale “The Boggart of Hellen Pot”). The beauty possessed by magical creatures, especially mermaids, often causes trouble for fishermen and peasants who fall in love with them and decide to either follow them (the tale of Lutey and the Merrymaid) or marry them (the tale of The Lady of Llyn y Fan Fach”), but their lives are tragic. When describing older women, their age is emphasized and adjectives with negative connotations (“dry-boned”, “ugly-looking”) are used.

The main character traits of men correspond to the canonical ideas of a patriarchal society: they are brave and strong, able to withstand adversity (“hedger”, “bold as a lion”, “did not fear man nor devil”). Male peasants are endowed positive characteristics: kindness, compassion, willingness to help and love for your family, honesty (“kind”, “friendly”, “loving”, “tender-hearted”, “didn’t like anyone to be in trouble”, “honest”, “ willingly gave aid free to those too poor”, “nursed the twins with great care and tenderness”). They oppose magical creatures that have negative characteristics (“sly”, “cunning”) and constantly interfere in life ordinary people. Peasants are contrasted with people of high social status, and they are often presented as domineering and cruel (“cruel and wicked”, “tyrant”, as in the fairy tale “The Sunken City of Llyn Bala”), which emphasizes the severity of the problem of social inequality for that time. Elderly people are depicted as stern, distrustful people whose opinions are difficult to change (“stern”, “stubborn”, “disbelieving”).

Almost all men have high intelligence and are able to outsmart female magical creatures (“knowledgeable”, “wise”, “as wise as owls”, “particularly clever”). Sometimes men are described as the smartest people in the world and yet find themselves in a difficult situation and cannot solve it. In this case, a satirical effect is created, since they are not spoken of as stupid people, but, on the contrary, their wisdom and intelligence are emphasized (the fairy tale “The Mare’s Egg”). Young people can also be characterized as dependent on their mothers (“foolish”, “no more fit to look after thysel’ than an’ unborn babby” in the fairy tale “A Pottle o’ Brains”).

The young girls are described as cheerful, loved by family and society. Fairy tales emphasize their youth, carefreeness and curiosity (“full of frolic and mischief”, “curious”, “nice”, “courageous”). Married women are characterized as loving and caring mothers, dependent on their husbands (“good”, “nursed the twins with great care and tenderness”, “did not like to leave her children by themselves in their cradle, even for a minute”). Sometimes female characters are not meek, but brave and cunning women. In the fairy tale “Mary Who Were Afraid O’Nothing” main character spends the night in a crypt, meets a ghost and deceives him and the owner of the house, gaining the owners' wealth. She is spoken of as the bravest in the settlement (“afraid o’ nothin’ that’s alive nor dead”), although her husband perceives her as a weak woman. While young girls and women are characterized positively, older heroines are portrayed as ill-tempered (“ill-tempered”).

Female characters, unlike male ones, rarely have high intelligence. Girls are portrayed as naive, and women have to turn to the sage for help (the fairy tale “Egg-shell Pottage”). Older women and witches may be endowed with wisdom and knowledge, which they use for personal gain by deceiving men (A Pottle o' Brains) or beings with supernatural powers (How Oud Polly Gorst Cum Agin).

Since the tales of the British Isles that we analyzed are classic, they describe the way of life ordinary people who were engaged in agriculture, livestock breeding, fishing and had no education, therefore the speech of the heroes is unique and corresponds to the level of education of people living at that time. The characters' speech is characterized by abbreviations, omissions of words and functional particles, and grammatical errors. It should also be noted the peculiarities in the pronunciation of the characters due to their origin.

The speech of men of all ages is characterized by the use of a large number of interjections (“pah”, “ess”, “wall”, “wela”, “wbwb”, “dare me”, “o lorks”, “weel”). In male speech there are colloquialisms and vulgarisms that are not found in female speech (“you ugly brute”, “ye druffen rascal”, “thou cock-eyed raggamaffin”). Phonetic features of male speech include the loss of vowels and consonants at the beginning and end of words (“doan ’ ee know ’ tis mortal unlucky”, “what dis here ol’ fellow's got under ’ is arm", " ’ er must ’ a bin mistook”) and incorrect pronunciation of the ending “ing” in verb forms (“there’s someone calli n’ ”).

It is worth noting some dialectal features of the speech of characters in fairy tales: for the western part (dialectal pronunciation of words (“a mistook”), special forms of Participle I endings, as in the sentence “I should be with marrimaids drinkan rum or huntan sharks”), for southeastern (replacement of sounds (for example, [ð] goes into [d] in “did you hear dat"), more open pronunciation of the vowel (as in the interjection “yes” - “ yahs"), disappearance of the nasal sound (for example, in “good marnin’ ”)), for the central part (special pronunciation of the pronoun “one”, disappearance of the nasal sound (as in the phrase “ unclickin toad”), special pronunciation of the interjection “no” - “ nay"), for East Anglia (more closed vowel sound in the verb "to have" (as in "she likes to hev"), for Yorkshire and Lincolnshire (loss of sounds (for example: “as this ma’ es me t’ scrat"). From this point of view, there are no differences in the speech of men and women. Dialectisms are found in the speech of all fairy tale heroes.

However, when comparing the speech of men and women, it becomes noticeable that there are more speech errors in men, especially in grammar: incorrect use of linking verbs (“I aim’ t the least bit frightened”, “if them ’ m ready to learn”), irregular shape pronouns (“ us had better let’n bide”), double negative (“dere aren't’ tno fairisees”, “all de staff in your shop can’ t do me no good"), errors in conditional sentences(“I am, if you willdirect me”), incorrect verb form (“I havebroke my peel’”). Also, the speech of men is characterized by the use of elliptical sentences (“Dat so?”). The speech of kings and priests is correct, there are no abbreviations, omissions, or colloquial words often found in the speech of uneducated people (the fairy tales “Cherry of Zennor” and “A cure for a Fairy”).

In the speech of men, obsolete forms of the verbs “to be”, “to have” and the pronouns “you” (“ef” are used thee art my old woman, thee hast had a narrow escape, I can tell thee, of being left as bad as a widow”), which are not found in women’s speech. The speech of older people is characterized by syntactic features such as inversion. It is usually used in the speech of kings (“ Sobeit. I shall not oppose you”). This adds solemnity and emphasizes the significance of what is happening.

When comparing the speech of men and women, a more frequent use of stylistic devices is noted in the speech of men: comparisons are often found in it (“he'd lick 'em up like a toad licking flies off a stone”, “I shall grant you as dowry as many cows” , sheep, goats, pigs and horses as she can count in a single breath”), epithets (“a whippie Tam”) and phraseological units (“as sure as a gun”, “I’m sick as a toad of it”, “As bold as brass”).

In the speech of women, stylistic devices are practically not found. The exception is the speech of women with high social status, such as princesses (using comparison to express love: “I love you as fresh meat loves salt” in the fairy tale “Cap o’ Rushes”). Women's speech differs from men's in the smaller use of interjections, most often found in the speech of older women (“ess”, “ah”, “aye”, “lor”, “lork”, “laws, no”) and the absence of vulgarisms. The pronunciation of women, like the pronunciation of men, has dialectal features, and is characterized by the loss of sounds, vowels and consonants, at the beginning of a word (“I’ll ate ’ um”) and in endings (“They be lulli n’ their babies to sleep. If the l i'l dears b 'a int a-kissi n' their babies 'f ore they pick 'n up"). Dialectal pronunciation features are found in the speech of adult women (voicing of sounds, special pronunciation of the pronoun “one”, replacement of sounds, as, for example, in “I run vor salt-box and drowed a handvul at un», « noo agin", "so I tuk it”) and in the speech of most older women (dropout of the sound [l] in “she was not the owdest widdy”, special pronunciation of pronouns and non-standard forms of modal verbs (for example: “ yew musent bring a light”), voicing of consonants, lengthening of vowels, special shape verb in Participle II, as in “what sooart ov a nest-egg I'd getten”).

Women, unlike men, have more grammatically correct speech, so mistakes are rare: for example, the wrong form of a pronoun (“leave” they kegs”), errors in education superlatives adjective (“the beautifullest lady”), incorrect form of auxiliary verb (“that don’ t signify"). Such errors are more common in the speech of older people.

Thus, in the tales of the British Isles, the most common hero is a male peasant, engaged in cattle breeding, farming or fishing. His main task is to provide for his family. From time to time he finds himself in a difficult situation, but his courage, kindness and strength help him find a solution. A man, unlike a woman, seems to be an intelligent, knowledgeable person, while only older women or witches can be wise women. Not much attention is paid to describing the appearance of men, while female beauty, especially magical creatures, is constantly noted by men, often using stylistic means.

In fairy tales, images of characters are created by describing their appearance, but by the speech of the characters one can also judge the character, origin, degree of education, social status and age of the characters. In the speech of men, colloquialisms, grammatical errors, and dialect pronunciation are more common. This is not observed in people with high social status. The speech of women, compared to the speech of men, is more literate, there are no vulgarisms in it, and mistakes are mainly found among people of the older generation.

Women are less likely to become heroines of fairy tales, and the most common image is that of a peasant woman acting as the keeper of the family hearth. The description of the woman’s image emphasizes her role as a mother. A woman’s activities are also related to housekeeping, and outside the home she usually works as a nanny, housekeeper or maid. Women more often than men turn out to be mystical creatures who use their powers to harm people.

Our research allows us to conclude that the analyzed fairy tales trace the ideas of the patriarchal way of life in a society where the leading role was assigned to the man, and the woman was in a dependent position. In accordance with the ideas of society, the images of men and women were created in the fairy tales of the British Isles.

Bibliography:

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