The image of the forest and the cultural model of initiation in the novel “Olga, the Forest Princess” by E. Dvoretskaya

This article examines the transformation features of the archaic motif of sending the main character into the forest and its connection with the cultural model of initiation in E. Dvoretskaya’s novel “Olga, the Forest Princess”. The choice of this work is connected with the author’s personality, as E. Dvoretskaya is considered to be one of the founders of “Slavic” fantasy, the fact raising interest in the degree to which the author engages with archaic cultural models in a historical novel. The research is based on a text analysis supported by V. Propp’s works, discussing the connection between the fairy-tale structure and initiation rituals. The image of the forest, explicitly reflected in the title of the novel, is associated with the images of deceased ancestors, a shaman in an animal skin and a witch living away from people. The characteristics of these figures, such as lameness and zoomorphic traits, indicate their belonging to the “world of the dead”. When the main character Elga enters the forest, she finds herself in this “world of the dead” and undergoes trials comparable to ancient initiation rituals. The author describes the ritual in detail, striving for maximum realism; however, in the finale, Elga behaves not as a bearer of mythological consciousness, ready to repeat the fate of her ancestors, but as a literary heroine, capable of resisting circumstances and making her own choices. The cyclical nature of time, associated with mythological consciousness, is repeatedly emphasized at the plot level through embedded “fables” depicting recurring situations in Elga’s family, it is also verbally referenced through the theme of rings and circles. The study concludes that the author of the fantasy, by utilizing archaic cultural models in a historical novel, portrays the process of the heroine’s coming of age in traditional society. However, the transformation of the final stage of initiation and its essential substitution demonstrates that Elga represents a romantic rather than a mythological type of heroine.

1. Dvoretskaya, E. (2015). Ol'ga, lesnaya knyaginya [Olga, the Forest Princess]. 512 p. Moscow, Eksmo. (In Russian)

2. Propp, V. Ya. (2007) Istoricheskie korni volshebnoi skazki [Historical Roots of Fairy Tales]. 332 p. Moscow, Labirint. (In Russian)

3. Mify narodov mira (2008) [Myths of the Peoples of the World]. 1147 p. Moscow, Sovetskaya entsiklopediya. URL: https://prussia.online/books/mifi-narodov-mira-1980-el (accessed: 10.10.2024). (In Russian)