The Russian hag Baba Yaga is pretty much identical to the witch in Hansel and Gretel, except that she has a more novel means of transportation and a more interesting house. Oh, and she has iron teeth--like the guy in Moonraker--with which she eats the little children she catches. Scary bitch, but she's really a necessary villain, as you can see from this wonderful version of the Baba Yaga tale. I won't speculate on the Freudian implications of the happy ending. It's interesting that, unlike the innocents in Hansel and Gretel, the nameless little girl in the Baba Yaga story is a superb witch herself.
Baba Yaga, Viktor Vasnetsov, 1917. Image from Wikimedia Commons.
I always liked Baba yaga stories, partially because of her awesome log cabin that runs around on chicken feet and does all kinds of neat things:)
ReplyDeleteNika
One of my favorite characters!
ReplyDeleteAnother favorite of mine.
ReplyDeleteI love those 'strange girls'
[ yes, Mary !]who problem-solve so brilliantly...
Ladies, if you haven't already-
Seek out Teri Windling's " The Armless Maiden".