For this week\u2019s blog post, I would like to pay close attention to the strong sense of subservience between animal towards man in various selections of poetry by Nikolai Zabolotsky, three anonymous fairytales, and the literary artwork of Ivan Bilibin. To begin, both of Zabolotsky\u2019s poems \u201cIn This Birch Wood\u201d and \u201cThe Forest Lodge\u201d feature extensive characterization regarding animals, or \u201ccreature[s],\u201d in regard to their human superiors. While \u201cIn This Birch Wood\u201d speaks mostly on the interactions of men at war, and their environment, there is an instance where Zabolotsky directly intersects the narratives of man and animal: he states that in early morning, orioles sit outside their \u201chuman[s\u2019] door[s],\u201d and \u201csing matins virtuous and poor.\u201d (\u201cIn This Birch Wood\u201d 13-14). In response, \u201csoldiers and men [are] still,\u201d almost unamused by the very birds that provide them morning songs (15). Yet, when an \u201catomic explosion\u201d echoes through this war-scene, man inquires why the bird goes quiet, as if there exists an expectation for the birds to serve man unconditionally (16,21). To continue, a similar expectation of servitude is communicated in Zabolotsky\u2019s \u201cForest-Lodge\u201d when a \u201cshaggy creature\u201d creeps up to an old man\u2019s door in the middle of a rainstorm (\u201cForest-Lodge\u201d 16). In response to site of the old man, the inhuman form becomes startled and \u201cflees\u201d\u2014which is \u201cjust as any other might have done,\u201d according to Zabolotsky (17). In both poems, there is an unspoken superiority occupied by man when confronted by animal. In \u201c\u2026Birch Wood,\u201d the orioles are expected to sing routinely, and are interrogated when failing to perform, whereas in \u201cForest-Lodge,\u201d the creature is expected to flee. Note this sense of expectation that exists for animal towards man, and how it distinctly characterizes animal versus man.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, if we look at the fairy-tales \u201cPrince Ivan and the Grey Wolf\u201d and \u201cVasilisa the Beautiful,\u201d we similarly witness the subservient relationship between animal and man, yet through longer and more developed discourses. First, the Grey Wolf completely ravages Ivan\u2019s horse in \u201cPrince Ivan and the Grey Wolf,\u201d leaving \u201cnothing but bones, picked clean\u201d (\u201cPrince Ivan and the Grey Wolf\u201d 22). In response to Ivan\u2019s dismay, the Grey Wolf graciously offers to right his wrongs, and thus assist Ivan in finding and retrieving the Fire-Bird. Even when Ivan continuously ignores the suggestions of the Grey Wolf, such as to leave the golden cage and bejeweled bridle, the Grey Wolf remains steadfast in his promise to find Ivan the Fire-Bird. In fact, there are various instances when the Grey Wolf sacrifices his own safety, simply to safeguard Ivan\u2019s desires to keep both the Golden Mane and Yelena the Fair. For example, Grey Wolf \u201cturn[s] a somersault, and [is] at once changed into Yelena the Fair\u201d in order to disguise himself as sacrifice for Tsar Kusman (27). Later, the Grey Wolf again \u201cturn[s] a somersault\u201d and transforms into the Golden Mane to appease Tsar Afron, as well (28). As readers, we get this image of the Grey Wolf jumping head-over-heels (i.e. a somersault) in attempts to please Ivan (man). Note, however, that this is not the only fairy-tale that features this uncontested desire to please man: the small doll inherited by Vasilisa from her mother in \u201cVasilisa the Beautiful\u201d ultimately channels a commandeering energy in order to save Vasilisa from Baba-Yaga. This doll invokes the help of \u201cflocks and flocks\u201d of birds to come and \u201cpick over millet seed by seed\u201d until dawn, in order to protect Vasilisa from the wrath of her capturer (\u201cVasilisa the Beautiful\u201d 12). Note that gratitude for the birds and their assistance is never expressed; the birds and their services are simply expected. Similarly, this sense of expectation is likewise suggested in the artwork of Ivan Bilibin\u2014 in his pieces entitled \u201cThe Black Horseman\u201d and \u201cThe Red Horseman,\u201d he utilizes strong facial features and bright colors on and around the horses, which could perhaps communicate an exuberance to serve the men who ride them. Clearly, expectation is present in the fairy-tales\u2014 its presence so strong that as viewers, we trace and deduce similar sentiments from related artworks!<\/p>\n
Please let me know if any of you also noticed themes of unquestioned subservience between animal and man within these pieces. I would love to hear your feedback!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
For this week\u2019s blog post, I would like to pay close attention to the strong sense of subservience between animal towards man in various selections of poetry by Nikolai Zabolotsky, three anonymous fairytales, and the literary artwork of Ivan Bilibin. To begin, both of Zabolotsky\u2019s poems \u201cIn This Birch Wood\u201d and \u201cThe Forest Lodge\u201d feature […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":400,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-primeval-russian-forest"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/russian-2447-fall-2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/russian-2447-fall-2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/russian-2447-fall-2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/russian-2447-fall-2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/400"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/russian-2447-fall-2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=249"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/russian-2447-fall-2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/russian-2447-fall-2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=249"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/russian-2447-fall-2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=249"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/russian-2447-fall-2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=249"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}