Characteristics of the mistress of the Copper Mountain. “Copper Mountain Mistress” - a tale by P.P. Bazhov

Bazhov's tale "Copper Mountain Mistress" was first published in 1936. For Soviet in general and Russian literature in particular, a similar genre was an extremely unusual work. Not a fairy tale, not a legend, not an epic. Tale. The thing is too realistic and gloomy to be perceived as a children's fairy tale, and too mythological to not claim the role of “serious literature”. Perhaps this was one of the first examples of Russian fantasy - just then no one knew the word. But “The Chronicles of Narnia” were written much later!

Nonsense fairy tale

Be that as it may, yet officially the work of Bazhov is a fairy tale. The mistress of the Copper Mountain, alas, is not Aslan, although in terms of brightness, originality and originality, she is not inferior to "foreign analogues."

This work traditionally belongs to the category of “literature for children”, therefore the attitude towards it is appropriate. The maximum that an inquisitive reader can count on is a small list of footnotes and explanations at the end of the book, Bazhov's thesis biography, and, as an annotation, a brief summary. “Copper Mountain Mistress”, meanwhile, deserves the attention of no less than, for example, “Alice in Wonderland” by Carroll. A lot has been said about the English literary fairy tale, its text is practically decomposed into molecules and atoms. But in fact the tales in "Alice in Wonderland" are disproportionately more than in the rather gloomy tales of Bazhov.

Genesis Ural Bazhov

The Ural tales of Bazhov, in fact, are not too rich in magic and other magic. It is enough to recall a brief summary. “Copper Mountain Mistress”, like other works of this cycle, is a very accurate and scrupulous description of the life, customs and traditions of the inhabitants of the pre-revolutionary Urals. Reading this work, one can learn a lot about mining, about the extraction of malachite and gems, about the life of serf workers and landlords, about the organization of work ... But there are few about the myths and beliefs of those places.

The tale "Mistress of the Copper Mountain" in this respect is quite specific. Because the Mistress herself, like other mythical creatures, appears not so often. She is a passing character, which sometimes appears in the text in order to accomplish something very important and plot-defining, but very short-term. This is, in fact, Annushka, who spilled oil, thereby determining the fate of other characters.

Ural tales and Mansi mythology

The description of the “Mistress of the Copper Mountain” will be incomplete without mentioning the fact that Gumeshki is the mine where most of the events of the book take place - a real place. This is one of the most ancient Ural copper workings. Copper mining operations were carried out there in the Iron Age. This mine is located on the territory of modern Sverdlovsk region - in the region of the traditional habitat of the Mansi tribes.

Russian workers who came to the Urals brought with them their faith and their usual everyday mythology. But, as always happens when two different cultures clash, the interpenetration of beliefs was inevitable. The usual list, including brownies and goblins, was replenished with purely local characters, previously not seen by characters. Yes, they assimilated, dressed in sundresses, kokoshniks or embroidered shirts - but this did not cease to be what they were originally. Namely - the characters of a foreign mythology different from Slavic. And the characteristic of the Mistress of the Copper Mountain clearly demonstrates this.

Great ancestress

Often, relying on the functional characteristics of the character, the Mistress is considered a female version of Shubin, a spirit living in mines and patronizing miners. Well, or, conversely, punishing them if the owner of the underground was angered by something. In a certain sense, it is so - but this is only half the truth. Because in fact, the characteristic of the Mistress of the Copper Mountain speaks of the duality of the origin of the character. Yes, there is much in common with Shubin. But not only.

Kaltas-Ekva is a character in Mansi mythology. This is the goddess of the earth, the supreme female deity. Her hair shines, they descend from heaven to earth, and on one of the braids sable rises, on the other a beaver descends. According to them, the characters of Mansi mythology could travel between worlds. By the way, endless golden hair ... There was such a character in one of the tales - the daughter of the Golden Snake. This is practically a description of her hair, golden and radiant.

Such hair is not just a desire to make the goddess beautiful. This is the connecting line between earth, sky and the underworld. Functionally, it is an analogue of Yggdrasil, the world tree. According to it, the protein constantly warps, realizing the connection of the upper, lower and middle worlds. The difference between squirrel and sable or beaver is not that great. In the crown of Yggdrasil, an eagle lived, and in the roots, in a hole, a dragon. The incarnations of Kaltas-Ekva are a swan and a hare living in the roots of trees.

Mountain woman

The fact is that Kaltas-Ekva is not just the supreme female goddess, the mother of all things. She, as is characteristic of many ancient feminine deities, is a triune. Girl, woman and old woman. Birth, life and death. If the Scandinavians needed the image of the World Tree, then the Mansi embodied the unity of all three worlds in the image of the supreme goddess. She gave birth to the world, she herself is the world, and she is the end of the world.

One myth says that after a quarrel, the husband of Kaltas-Ekva, the supreme god Num-Torum, cast down his wife from heaven. She settled ... of course, in grief. And the Mountain Woman began to be called.

Thus, even the superficial characteristic of the Mistress of the Copper Mountain surprisingly reminds this mythical ancestress of the world. Yes, this image was superimposed on traditional Slavic beliefs, it was refracted in consciousness, overgrown with new details, but the essence remained unchanged. An ancient powerful patroness, combining in herself the image of a young beautiful girl, and a loving but strict mother, and the one who cuts off her life when the time comes.

The dark incarnation of the goddess

Any characteristic of the Mistress of the Copper Mountain notes that this character is quite cruel. And not only in relation to negative characters. Yes, it can help and protect, but it’s better not to encounter it. Even those whom the Mistress blessed were rarely subsequently happy. Touching it is like an invisible seal that forever changes a person’s life. And even her goodwill can bring many troubles.

The fact is that the "underground" hypostasis of such goddesses is always the only and exclusively dark beginning. Not birth and not life, but death. By the way, traditionally the pagan gods-sovereigns of the kingdoms of the dead were lords of underground wealth. Both Hades and Koschey were associated with gold and precious stones - because they also come from underground. Therefore, jewelry has a “bad reputation" in mythology, and not because they arouse greed and envy in people.

Here is such a mythological background for such a familiar image as the Copper Mountain Mistress. The characterization of Stepan, taking into account all of the above, should begin with the word "unlucky". To visit a character in the underground kingdom, which, in essence, is the embodiment of death ... It is unlikely that life will be long and happy. And it’s not a stone flower.