Feigned and True Disability in the Russian Fairy Tale in the Context of Folklore Tradition

Abstract

The article deals with disability in the Russian fairy tale. The national outlook related to handicapped persons has a dual character. Physical handicap can be a kind of sign of election, and may, on the contrary, indicate that the person presents a danger to others and is a wrong-doer. In most of folklore genres disability is always real, sometimes it can be cured, it can bring a person to faith, cause his death, physical and spiritual suffering. In fairy tales, disability is not only real but also imaginary. With the help of pretended illness, the fairy-tale characters hide their true status and help their relatives, etc. Feigned disease may act as a kind of test for a character. The need for simulation disability ceases when the character reaches a desired result. The real disease can be the result of “ordinary life” of heroes of fairy tales (blindness of the king), but more often the result of action of their antagonists. Disability in fairy tales is always cured with a magic way through various magic means (water, apple, dew, etc.). Moreover, in fairy tales, in contrast to the Christian legends, the help of God and the saints is quite rare.