“The Snow Maiden” is perhaps the least typical of all Alexander Ostrovsky’s plays, which stands out sharply among his other works for its lyricism, unusual themes (instead of social drama, the author paid attention to personal drama, identifying the theme of love as the central theme) and absolutely fantastic surroundings. The play tells the story of the Snow Maiden, who appears before us as a young girl desperately yearning for the only thing she never had - love. Remaining true to the main line, Ostrovsky simultaneously reveals several more: the structure of his half-epic, half-fairy-tale world, the morals and customs of the Berendeys, the theme of continuity and retribution, and the cyclical nature of life, noting, albeit in an allegorical form, that life and death always go hand in hand.
History of creation
The Russian literary world owed the birth of the play to a happy accident: at the very beginning of 1873, the Maly Theater building was closed for major renovations, and a group of actors temporarily moved to the Bolshoi. Having decided to take advantage of the opportunities of the new stage and attract spectators, it was decided to organize an extravaganza performance, unusual for those times, using the ballet, drama and opera components of the theater team at once.
It was with the proposal to write a play for this extravaganza that they turned to Ostrovsky, who, taking the opportunity to implement a literary experiment, agreed. The author changed his habit of looking for inspiration in the unsightly sides of real life, and in search of material for the play he turned to the creativity of the people. There he found a legend about the Snow Maiden girl, which became the basis for his magnificent work.
In the early spring of 1873, Ostrovsky worked hard to create the play. And not alone - since stage production is impossible without music, the playwright worked together with the then very young Pyotr Tchaikovsky. According to critics and writers, this is precisely one of the reasons for the amazing rhythm of “The Snow Maiden” - words and music were composed in a single impulse, in close interaction, and were imbued with each other’s rhythm, initially forming one whole.
It is symbolic that Ostrovsky put the last point in “The Snow Maiden” on the day of his fiftieth anniversary, March 31. And a little more than a month later, on May 11, the premiere performance took place. He received quite different reviews among critics, both positive and sharply negative, but already in the 20th century literary scholars firmly agreed that “The Snow Maiden” is the brightest milestone in the playwright’s work.
Analysis of the work
Description of the work
The plot is based on the life path of the Snow Maiden girl, born from the union of Frost and Spring-Red, her father and mother. The Snow Maiden lives in Berendey's kingdom, invented by Ostrovsky, but not with her relatives - she left her father Frost, who protected her from all possible troubles, - but in the family of Bobyl and Bobylikha. The Snow Maiden longs for love, but cannot fall in love - even her interest in Lelya is dictated by the desire to be one and only, the desire for the shepherd boy, who equally gives warmth and joy to all the girls, to be affectionate with her alone. But Bobyl and Bobylikha are not going to shower her with their love; they have a more important task: to cash in on the girl’s beauty by marrying her off. The Snow Maiden indifferently looks at the Berendey men who change their lives for her, reject brides and violate social norms; she is internally cold, she is alien to the Berendeys, who are full of life - and therefore attracts them. However, misfortune also befalls the Snow Maiden - when she sees Lel, who is favorable to another and rejects her, the girl rushes to her mother with a request to let her fall in love - or die.
It is at this moment that Ostrovsky clearly expresses the central idea of his work: life without love is meaningless. The Snow Maiden cannot and does not want to put up with the emptiness and coldness that exists in her heart, and Spring, which is the personification of love, allows her daughter to experience this feeling, despite the fact that she herself thinks it’s bad.
The mother turns out to be right: the beloved Snow Maiden melts under the first rays of the hot and clear sun, having, however, managed to discover a new world filled with meaning. And her lover, who had previously abandoned his bride and was expelled by Tsar Mizgir, gives up his life in the pond, striving to reunite with the water, which the Snow Maiden has become.
Main characters
(Scene from the ballet performance "The Snow Maiden")
The Snow Maiden is the central figure of the work. A girl of extraordinary beauty, desperately wanting to know love, but at the same time cold at heart. Pure, partly naive and completely alien to the Berendey people, she turns out to be ready to give everything, even her life, in exchange for knowledge of what love is and why everyone craves it so much.
Frost is the father of the Snow Maiden, formidable and strict, trying to protect his daughter from all kinds of troubles.
Vesna-Krasna is the mother of a girl who, despite a premonition of trouble, could not go against her nature and her daughter’s pleas and endowed her with the ability to love.
Lel is a windy and cheerful shepherd who was the first to awaken some feelings and emotions in the Snow Maiden. It was precisely because she was rejected by him that the girl rushed to Vesna.
Mizgir is a trade guest, or, in other words, a merchant who fell in love with the girl so much that he not only offered all his wealth for her, but also left Kupava, his failed bride, thereby violating the traditionally observed customs of the Berendey kingdom. In the end, he found reciprocity with the one he loved, but not for long - and after her death he himself lost his life.
It is worth noting that despite the large number of characters in the play, even the minor characters turned out to be bright and characteristic: Tsar Berendey, Bobyl and Bobylikha, Mizgir’s ex-bride Kupava - all of them are remembered by the reader and have their own distinctive features and characteristics.
“The Snow Maiden” is a complex and multifaceted work, including both compositionally and rhythmically. The play is written without rhyme, but thanks to the unique rhythm and melodiousness present in literally every line, it sounds smoothly, like any rhymed verse. “The Snow Maiden” is also decorated with the rich use of colloquial expressions - this is a completely logical and justified step by the playwright, who, when creating the work, relied on folk tales telling about a girl made of snow.
The same statement about versatility is also true in relation to the content: behind the outwardly simple story of the Snow Maiden (she went out into the real world - rejected people - received love - was imbued with the human world - died) lies not only the statement that life without love is meaningless, but also many other equally important aspects.
Thus, one of the central themes is the interrelation of opposites, without which the natural course of things is impossible. Frost and Yarilo, cold and light, winter and the warm season outwardly oppose each other, enter into irreconcilable contradiction, but at the same time, a red line through the text runs the idea that one does not exist without the other.
In addition to the lyricism and sacrifice of love, the social aspect of the play, displayed against the backdrop of fairy-tale foundations, is also of interest. The norms and customs of the Berendey kingdom are strictly observed; violation is punishable by expulsion, as happened with Mizgir. These norms are fair and to some extent reflect Ostrovsky’s idea of an ideal old Russian community, where loyalty and love for one’s neighbor, life in unity with nature are valued. The figure of Tsar Berendey, the “kind” Tsar, who, although forced to make harsh decisions, regards the fate of the Snow Maiden as tragic, sad, evokes definitely positive emotions; It is easy to sympathize with such a king.
At the same time, in Berendey’s kingdom, justice is observed in everything: even after the death of the Snow Maiden as a result of her acceptance of love, Yarila’s anger and dispute disappears, and the Berendeyites can again enjoy the sun and warmth. Harmony triumphs.
Lel or Lelya, Lelyo, Lyubich, in the mythology of the ancient Slavs, the god of love passion. The word “cherish” still reminds us of Lela, this cheerful, frivolous god of passion, that is, undead, love. He is the son of the goddess of beauty and love Lada, and beauty naturally gives birth to passion. This feeling flared up especially brightly in the spring and on Kupala night. Lel was depicted as a golden-haired, winged baby, like his mother: after all, love is free and elusive. Lel threw sparks from his hands: after all, passion is fiery, hot love! In Slavic mythology, Lel is the same god as the Greek Eros or Roman Cupid. Only the ancient gods hit the hearts of people with arrows, and Lel kindled them with his fierce flame.
The stork was considered his sacred bird. Another name for this bird in some Slavic languages is leleka. In connection with Lelem, both cranes and larks were revered - symbols of spring.
MAGIC PIPE
In time immemorial, there lived a silver-haired shepherd boy. His father and mother loved each other so much that they named their firstborn after the god of love passion - Lel. The boy played the pipe beautifully, and the heavenly Lel, enchanted by this game, gave the namesake a magic reed pipe. Even wild animals danced to the sounds of this pipe, trees and flowers danced in circles, and birds sang along with Lelya’s divine playing.
And then the beautiful shepherdess Svetana fell in love. But no matter how she tried to kindle passion in his heart, it was all in vain: Lel seemed forever carried away by his magical power over nature and did not pay any attention to Svetana. And then the angry beauty lay in wait for the moment when Lel, tired of the midday heat, dozed off in the birch forest, and unnoticed took the magic pipe away from him. She took her away, and in the evening she burned her at the stake - in the hope that the rebellious shepherd boy would now finally love her.
But Svetana was wrong. Not finding his pipe, Lel fell into deep sadness, became melancholy, and in the fall he completely died out, like a candle. They buried him on the river bank, and soon reeds grew around the grave. He sang sadly in the wind, and the birds of the sky sang along with him.
Since then, all the shepherds skillfully play reed pipes, but are rarely happy in love... 
Lelya
Lelya or Lyalya, in Slavic mythology, the goddess of spring, the daughter of the goddess of beauty, love and fertility Lada. According to myths, it was inextricably linked with the spring revival of nature and the beginning of field work. The goddess was imagined as a young, beautiful, slender and tall girl. B.A. Rybakov believes that the second goddess depicted on the Zbruch idol and holding a ring in her right bow is Lada. In folklore, Lada is often mentioned next to Lelya. The scientist compares this mother-daughter pair with Latona and Artemis and with Slavic women in labor. Rybakov correlates the two horsewomen on Russian embroideries, behind whose backs a plow is sometimes depicted, located on either side of Mokosh, with Lada and Lelya.
In the spring spell song there are the following words dedicated to Lela-Spring:
Eat Spring, eat.
On a golden horse
In the green sayan
Gray hair on the plow
Soak the earth with aruchi
Right hand soyuchi.
The cycle of spring rituals began on the day the larks arrived - March 9 (March 22, new style). People met birds, went out to the tops of the hills, lit fires, boys and girls danced in circles. There was also a special girl's holiday - Lyalnik - April 22 (May 5). The most beautiful girl, crowned with a wreath, sat on a turf bench and played the role of Lelya. Offerings (bread, milk, cheese, butter, sour cream) were placed on both sides of it. The girls danced around the solemnly seated Lelya. 
The existence of the goddess Lelya and the god Lelya is based solely on the chorus of wedding and other folk songs - and modern scholars have erased Lelya from the number of Slavic pagan gods. The chorus, in different forms - lelyu, lelyo, leli, lyuli - is found in Russian songs; in the Serbian "Kralitsky" (Trinity) songs of greatness related to marriage, it is found in the form of leljo, lele, in the Bulgarian velikodnaya and Lazar - in the form of lele. Thus the chorus goes back to ancient times.
Potebnya explains the ancient Polish refrain lelyum (if it really existed in this form with “m”) through the addition of lelyu with “m” from the dative case “mi”, as in the Little Russian “schom” (instead of “scho mi”). In the chorus "polelum" (if it is correctly conveyed by Polish historiographers) "by" can be a preposition; Wed Belarusian choruses: lyuli and o lyulushki" (Shane "Materials for studying the life and language of the Russian population of the North-Western Territory"). Considerations about the etymological meaning of the lelyu chorus were expressed by V. Miller ("Essays on Aryan mythology"). 
Among the Slavic runes there is also a rune dedicated to the goddess Lele:
This rune is associated with the element of water, and specifically - Living, flowing water in springs and streams. In magic, the Lelya rune is the rune of intuition, Knowledge beyond Reason, as well as spring awakening and fertility, flowering and joy.
http://godsbay.ru/slavs/lel.html
http://godsbay.ru/slavs/lela.html
http://dreamworlds.ru/intersnosti/11864-slavjanskie-runy.html
Lel - lord of songbirds
Lel (Lelya, Lelyo, Lyubich) - in the mythology of the ancient Slavs, the god of love passion.
The word “cherish” still reminds us of Lela, the cheerful, frivolous god of passion, that is, undead, love. He is the son of the goddess of beauty and love Lada, and beauty gives birth to passion. This feeling flared up especially brightly in the spring and on Kupala night. He was depicted as a golden-haired, winged baby, like his mother: after all, love is free and elusive. Lel threw sparks from his hands: after all, passion is fiery, hot love!
He is the same as the Greek Eros or the Roman Cupid, only they strike the hearts of people with arrows, and Lel kindled them with his fierce flame.
The stork was considered his sacred bird.
Another name for this bird in some Slavic languages is leleka.
In connection with Lelem, both cranes and larks were revered - symbols of spring.
B. Olshansky
Folk legend about Lela
MAGIC PIPE
In time immemorial, there lived a silver-haired shepherd boy.
His father and mother loved each other so much that they named their firstborn after the god of love passion - Lel.
The boy played the pipe beautifully, and the heavenly Lel, enchanted by this game, gave the namesake a magic reed pipe. Even wild animals danced to the sounds of this pipe, trees and flowers danced in circles, and birds sang along with Lelya’s divine playing.
And then the beautiful shepherdess Svetana fell in love. But no matter how she tried to kindle passion in his heart, it was all in vain: Lel seemed forever carried away by his magical power over nature and did not pay any attention to Svetana.
And then the angry beauty lay in wait for the moment when Lel, tired of the midday heat, dozed off in the birch forest, and unnoticed took the magic pipe away from him. She took her away, and in the evening she burned her at the stake - in the hope that the rebellious shepherd boy would now finally love her.
Mikhail Nesterov. Lel. Spring
But Svetana was wrong. Not finding his pipe, Lel fell into deep sadness, became melancholy, and in the fall he completely died out, like a candle.
They buried him on the river bank, and soon reeds grew around the grave. He sang sadly in the wind, and the birds of the sky sang along with him.
Since then, all the shepherds skillfully play reed pipes, but are rarely happy in love...
It’s not for nothing that a perky girl’s song has come to us from ancient times:
The word “cherish” still reminds us of Lela, this little god of passion, that is, undead, to love.
He is the son of the goddess of beauty Lada, and beauty naturally gives birth to passion.
He was depicted as a golden-haired, winged baby, like his mother: after all, love is free and elusive.
Nicholas Roerich Snow Maiden and Lel, 1921
Lel threw sparks from his hands: after all, passion is fiery, hot love!
He is the same as the Greek Eros or the Roman Cupid, only they strike the hearts of people with arrows, and Lel kindled them with his fierce flame.
The stork was considered his sacred bird. Another name for this bird in some Slavic languages is leleka. In connection with Lelem, both cranes and larks were revered - symbols of spring.
Based on materials:
"Russian legends and traditions" Grushko E.A., Medvedev Yu.M.
Goddess Lelya in the Slavic understanding - the eternally youthful, young, beautiful, cheerful and wonderful Goddess of Spring. By nature, the Slavic Goddess Lelya is cheerful, kind, cheerful, and playful. She is powerful in a special way - her power is to awaken sleeping plants, animals, space, time, people - the whole World. Where the Slavic Goddess Lelya is present, trees, spring flowers and herbs begin to bloom, spring birds sing and people smile in love.
Slavic Goddess Lelya is the daughter of the Heavenly Father, Svarog and the Heavenly Mother of the Virgin Mary, Lada. Lelya is the Goddess of Spring and shares power with her sister Morena, the Goddess of Winter and Death, and with Alive, the Goddess of Summer and Love. Lelya is also the sister of Perun Gromovnik - the God of War, Justice, Thunderstorm, Thunder and Lightning. Among other Gods and Goddesses, it is Goddess Lelya who stands out for her ease of communication, even carelessness. She is friendly to people, especially in matters of love, beauty and procreation. The concept of moderation is alien to her when she enters into her “games.”
Legends and myths about the Slavic Goddess Lela
There are many legends about Lela - the Goddess of Spring, Love and Beauty. Here, for example, is the legend about how Lelya cut off her hair to save the young enchanted guys of one settlement. They were bewitched by the insidious Morena to prematurely descend to the World of Navi. For a long time Zhiva and Lelya searched for a way to break the spell. Nothing could work as strongly as the decision of the Goddess of Spring and the way she found - to give away her long golden hair. They were supposed to be woven into magical fabric and wrapped around the guys.
That's it, I know! - all further actions lined up in my head.
A sigh of relief escaped everyone. And Lelya in one motion let down her wonderful hair and approached her father.
Father, cut every single hair!
Meaning: The time has come to love, new love is expected.
The reason for the appearance of Reza in the layout: a person is already in a state of harmony with the world around him, so the time has come for bold moves forward.
Challenge (what needs to be done and what quality to show): trust all the proposals of the Native Gods that will follow after Reza Lelya, remain in a state of fun, joy and lightness.
Caution (what you shouldn't and shouldn't do): the gifts of fate prepared for the Questioner may pass by if you continue to be stingy, joyless, suspicious or cowardly.
Note (mandatory): Changes for the benefit of the business should be completed in order to prepare for new ones.
Advice (optional): There is no need for haste now; it is best to listen to the voice of your inner person.
Consolation (what circumstance should be kept in mind): There are many chances in life - they flutter around like butterflies, but not all of them will land in the palm of your hand, but only a few. Only everything necessary and useful will come into the life of the Questioner.
The appearance of Reza Leli should always be seen as a renewal of life in all areas. These are expected and desired changes. They raise a person to a different, more pleasant and joyful level of life.
Goddess Lelya in the northern tradition of magic
Rituals for fulfilling aspirations:
- Getting good luck in your labors, career, affairs, work.
- Preservation of beauty and youthfulness.
- Maintaining health and well-being.
- Receiving respect, honor, recognition from people.
Lelya is the goddess of Spring, Beauty and Love. She has the power to illuminate not only hearts with love, but also the home and family hearth. She can protect from various misfortunes, troubles, misfortunes and make the house a real refuge, where you will always want to return. It must be remembered that aspirations in magic will come true only when Lelya is called for light and easy divination, like a game.
Nauz Lely “Love”
Beautiful and young, bright, young love, but even more beautiful is the one that was created for life, strengthened by long-term family ties. They contact Lela through a special science “Love” when they want:
- fall in love;
- find your soulmate;
- renew feelings in existing relationships;
- rekindle faded feelings after many years of living together.
Lelya will help existing loving hearts to feel all the brightness and freshness of their relationship. And for those who have not yet loved, she will reveal this secret and help them plunge into the streams of blissful feelings.
How can science help?
The knot magic of “Love” is very strong. It will help you again be able to see the beauty of relationships, appreciate the reciprocity of feelings, and also light up with light spring love.
How to proceed?
To weave a nauz, two red threads are taken. On one of them knots are tied according to the number of years of the chosen one of the heart. On another thread, knots are tied according to the number of years of the person who turns to the Goddess and will wear the nauz. Therefore, both ropes are tied together in such a way that one long one comes out.
The ends of the combined rope are taken and knots are tied - one on top of the other. Now you should tie as many knots as the number of years you intend to live with your chosen person. You can not count the knots at all and tie as many as you can tie, as long as the rope itself is enough. You need to do this until the rope itself turns into a single large knot. The finished nauz is burned on fire with a special love spell read.
Lelya - Patron Goddess
The Slavic goddess Lelya is the very embodiment of youth, beauty, tenderness and sincerity. With her arrival always comes prosperity, and the past is erased forever. As Spring comes, so comes the awakening from winter “hibernation” in life. One is always very much like such a divine Person. If your Patron is the Goddess Lelya, then this says a lot. People see you as a person:
- with a light character - making acquaintances simply and naturally;
- those who love are always in the center of attention;
- diplomatic - able to reconcile those who have quarreled;
- self-confident;
- sociable, sociable;
- enterprising;
- active;
- polite;
- charming.
All people who resemble Lelya, the Goddess of Spring and Beauty, are themselves aesthetes, love to dress tastefully, pay attention to their appearance, and take care of their health. Just as the Goddess Lelya is easy-going, so the people living under her protection are quick and easy on their feet. Therefore, if Lelya benefits you, then you love to travel and adore variety in life. A constant feeling of your originality and uniqueness. It’s easy to trust you and talk about intimate topics.
The story of Lelya and Kupava is so romantic that it has become a symbol of the purest, most sincere and honest love. It once existed in the form of a folk legend, but since the 19th century it has been better known for the author’s fairy tale by playwright Alexander Ostrovsky and N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera “The Snow Maiden” based on it.
The central place in this work is occupied by the Snow Maiden herself and her tragic story: the daughter of Frost and Spring, she dies as soon as her heart is warmed by love. Lel and Kupava find their happiness after experiencing their own dramas: Lelya is denied love by the Snow Maiden, and because of her, Mizgir leaves his fiancée Kupava.
In this “love quadrangle”, everyone has a specific role. Kupava embodies the living, earthly, human feminine principle. The character of the beautiful shepherd Lelya was borrowed from Slavic mythology: Ostrovsky’s contemporaries believed that in ancient times in Rus' this was the name of the divine patron of love and marriage, who could be compared to Cupid (modern researchers do not support this point of view). In the fairy tale, he has truly magical power over women’s hearts, to the point that he is simply not allowed to spend the night in houses where there are marriageable daughters. Both Lel and his beloved Kupava go a long way to find true love: Kupava refuses a “marriage of convenience,” and Lel is ready to overcome his frivolity and open his heart. And while Snegurochka and Mizgir are literally burning with passion, Kupava and Lel will experience the most real and living love.
The events of the fairy tale “The Snow Maiden” take place in pre-Christian times: the fictional kingdom of Berendey meets the arrival of spring and summer according to pagan customs. Alexander Ostrovsky handled the folk heritage very carefully when creating his own work, so plots and motifs borrowed from folklore culture are carefully woven into this story.
Master stone-cutters also sought to preserve this charm: the lyricism of the musician’s image is emphasized by the delicate range of stone used. The meticulous detail of the work was evident in the design of the clothing: embroidery on the shirt, variegated plaid fabric on the pants, and an abundant pattern on the boots. And the patterned carved malachite of the base and the equally whimsically crafted fairy-tale grass-ant from the opite unite the characters of one fairy tale in this series - Lelya and Kupava.
From A. Ostrovsky’s spring fairy tale “The Snow Maiden”
Kupava:
I found you by force, my darling,
Heart friend, blue-winged darling!
Not on the eyes, no, not on the cheeks, -
Lie at your feet, blue-winged darling,
Kupava should lie at your feet.
Lel:
Flies fly and cling to the honeycomb,
A leaf clings to the water, a bee clings to the flower -
To Kupava Lel.
Kupava:
Blue-winged darling!
My heart is warm, grateful
I will remain with you forever; you are shameful
From the burning needles of ridicule and subjugation
Kupave saved the girl's pride.
In front of all honest people with a kiss
He compared me, forgotten, with everyone.
Lel:
Didn't I know what kind of heart
I'll buy it for myself while kissing you. If
From a stupid shepherd boy
There is no reason, so the prophetic heart will find
He has a girlfriend.
Kupava:
Girlfriend? No, a dog.
Beckon me when you want to caress me,
Drive and hit if the caress gets boring.
I'll leave without a complaint, just with a glance
I'll tell you that I'm tearing up, that I, they say,
I'll come again when you beckon.
Lel:
My soul, Kupava, orphan
I had my fun and freedom.
The winning head has rocked
To dear hands, eyes filled with admiration
To the sweet eyes, the heart ached
To a warm shelter.
Kupava:
Lel is handsome,
I don’t know how long your love will last;
My love forever and ever
The last one, blue-winged darling!
Lel:
Let's go quickly! The shadows of the night are fading.
Look, the dawn is a barely visible stripe
Cut through the eastern sky,
It grows, clearer, wider. This
The day woke up and opened his eyelids
Shining eyes. Let's go to! The time has come
Meet the rising of Yaril the Sun. Proudly
Lel will show the Sun in front of the crowd
My beloved friend.
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