“The Snow Maiden” is perhaps the least typical of all Alexander Ostrovsky’s plays, which stands out sharply among his other works for its lyricism, unusual themes (instead of social drama, the author paid attention to personal drama, identifying the theme of love as the central theme) and absolutely fantastic surroundings. The play tells the story of the Snow Maiden, who appears before us as a young girl desperately yearning for the only thing she never had - love. Remaining true to the main line, Ostrovsky simultaneously reveals several more: the structure of his half-epic, half-fairy-tale world, the morals and customs of the Berendeys, the theme of continuity and retribution, and the cyclical nature of life, noting, albeit in an allegorical form, that life and death always go hand in hand.
The Russian literary world owed the birth of the play to a happy accident: at the very beginning of 1873, the Maly Theater building was closed for major renovations, and a group of actors temporarily moved to the Bolshoi. Having decided to take advantage of the opportunities of the new stage and attract spectators, it was decided to organize an extravaganza performance, unusual for those times, using at once the ballet, drama and opera components of the theater team.
It was with the proposal to write a play for this extravaganza that they approached Ostrovsky, who, taking the opportunity to implement a literary experiment, agreed. The author changed his habit of looking for inspiration in the unsightly sides of real life, and in search of material for the play he turned to the creativity of the people. There he found a legend about the Snow Maiden girl, which became the basis for his magnificent work.
In the early spring of 1873, Ostrovsky worked hard to create the play. And not alone - since stage production is impossible without music, the playwright worked together with the then very young Pyotr Tchaikovsky. According to critics and writers, this is precisely one of the reasons for the amazing rhythm of “The Snow Maiden” - words and music were composed in a single impulse, close interaction, and were imbued with each other’s rhythm, initially forming one whole.
It is symbolic that Ostrovsky put the last point in “The Snow Maiden” on the day of his fiftieth anniversary, March 31. And a little more than a month later, on May 11, the premiere performance took place. He received quite different reviews among critics, both positive and sharply negative, but already in the 20th century literary scholars firmly agreed that “The Snow Maiden” is the brightest milestone in the playwright’s work.
The plot is based on the life path of the Snow Maiden girl, born from the union of Frost and Spring-Red, her father and mother. The Snow Maiden lives in Berendey's kingdom, invented by Ostrovsky, but not with her relatives - she left her father Frost, who protected her from all possible troubles, - but in the family of Bobyl and Bobylikha. The Snow Maiden longs for love, but cannot fall in love - even her interest in Lelya is dictated by the desire to be one and only, the desire for the shepherd boy, who equally gives warmth and joy to all the girls, to be affectionate with her alone. But Bobyl and Bobylikha are not going to shower her with their love; they have a more important task: to cash in on the girl’s beauty by marrying her off. The Snow Maiden indifferently looks at the Berendey men who change their lives for her, reject brides and violate social norms; she is internally cold, she is alien to the Berendeys, who are full of life - and therefore attracts them. However, the Snow Maiden also suffers misfortune - seeing Lel, who is favorable to another and rejects her, the girl rushes to her mother with a request to allow her to fall in love - or die.
It is at this moment that Ostrovsky clearly expresses the central idea of his work: life without love is meaningless. The Snow Maiden cannot and does not want to put up with the emptiness and coldness that exists in her heart, and Spring, which is the personification of love, allows her daughter to experience this feeling, despite the fact that she herself thinks it’s bad.
The mother turns out to be right: the beloved Snow Maiden melts under the first rays of the hot and clear sun, having, however, managed to discover a new world filled with meaning. And her lover, who had previously abandoned his bride and was expelled by Tsar Mizgir, gives up his life in the pond, striving to reunite with the water, which the Snow Maiden has become.
(Scene from the ballet performance "The Snow Maiden")
The Snow Maiden is the central figure of the work. A girl of extraordinary beauty, desperately wanting to know love, but at the same time cold at heart. Pure, partly naive and completely alien to the Berendey people, she turns out to be ready to give everything, even her life, in exchange for knowledge of what love is and why everyone craves it so much.
Frost is the father of the Snow Maiden, formidable and strict, trying to protect his daughter from all sorts of troubles.
Vesna-Krasna is the mother of a girl who, despite a premonition of trouble, could not go against her nature and her daughter’s pleas and endowed her with the ability to love.
Lel is a windy and cheerful shepherd who was the first to awaken some feelings and emotions in the Snow Maiden. It was precisely because she was rejected by him that the girl rushed to Vesna.
Mizgir is a trade guest, or, in other words, a merchant who fell in love with the girl so much that he not only offered all his wealth for her, but also left Kupava, his failed bride, thereby violating the traditionally observed customs of the Berendey kingdom. In the end, he found reciprocity with the one he loved, but not for long - and after her death he himself lost his life.
It is worth noting that despite the large number of characters in the play, even the minor characters turned out to be bright and characteristic: Tsar Berendey, Bobyl and Bobylikha, Mizgir’s ex-bride Kupava - all of them are remembered by the reader and have their own distinctive features and characteristics.
“The Snow Maiden” is a complex and multifaceted work, including both compositionally and rhythmically. The play is written without rhyme, but thanks to the unique rhythm and melodiousness present in literally every line, it sounds smoothly, like any rhymed verse. “The Snow Maiden” is also decorated with the rich use of colloquial expressions - this is a completely logical and justified step by the playwright, who, when creating the work, relied on folk tales telling about a girl made of snow.
The same statement about versatility is also true in relation to the content: behind the outwardly simple story of the Snow Maiden (she went out into the real world - rejected people - received love - was imbued with the human world - died) lies not only the statement that life without love is meaningless, but also many other equally important aspects.
Thus, one of the central themes is the interrelation of opposites, without which the natural course of things is impossible. Frost and Yarilo, cold and light, winter and the warm season outwardly oppose each other, enter into irreconcilable contradiction, but at the same time, a red line through the text runs the idea that one does not exist without the other.
In addition to the lyricism and sacrifice of love, the social aspect of the play, displayed against the backdrop of fairy-tale foundations, is also of interest. The norms and customs of the Berendey kingdom are strictly observed; violation is subject to expulsion, as happened with Mizgir. These norms are fair and to some extent reflect Ostrovsky’s idea of an ideal old Russian community, where loyalty and love for one’s neighbor, life in unity with nature are valued. The figure of Tsar Berendey, the “kind” Tsar, who, although forced to make harsh decisions, regards the fate of the Snow Maiden as tragic, sad, evokes definitely positive emotions; It is easy to sympathize with such a king.
At the same time, in Berendey’s kingdom, justice is observed in everything: even after the death of the Snow Maiden as a result of her acceptance of love, Yarila’s anger and dispute disappears, and the Berendeyites can again enjoy the sun and warmth. Harmony triumphs.
It's the end of winter in the Berendey country. Everyone is waiting for the beginning of spring. Spring and Frost give birth to a daughter, Snegurochka. Her parents are worried about her. Frost believes that she needs to live in a quiet forest, among animals. But Spring, on the contrary, wishes her daughter a cheerful life among people. Frost knows that the god of the Sun, Yarilo, gave his word to destroy the Snow Maiden. The moment she falls in love, he will melt her. The parents give the Snow Maiden to live with Bobyl, who has no children. As soon as Moroz finds out that the girl likes the singing of the shepherd Lel, he asks her to beware of him.
The Snow Maiden has a hard time living with her adoptive parents. They are angry with her because the girl scared off all the rich suitors with her shyness.
Lel comes to their house for the night. The shepherds are the only ones who let him in, as other parents fear that their daughters will not be able to resist the shepherd's charms. The Snow Maiden is so beautiful that she attracts the attention of other young men. Most girls don't like her for this. Only Kupava treats the girl well. She announces that the rich Mizgir has wooed the girl. Here he himself appears. But as soon as Mizgir sees the Snow Maiden, he falls madly in love with her and forgets about the bride. Stunned by this news, Kupava asks Mizgir about the reasons for his change. He replies that he likes that Snegurochka is modest, but Kupava’s determination, on the contrary, scares him away. The humiliated Kupava curses Mizgir and rushes to the river to drown herself. Lel saves her.
Tsar Berendey talks with Bermyata about the ongoing troubles in the country. For many years now, Yarilo has been merciless towards them, the winters are cold, the summers are no hotter. The king believes that God is angry because the feelings of the Berendeys are fading. In order to appease Yarilo, he decides to marry as many couples as possible. But a close associate says that because of the appearance of the Snow Maiden, all the brides and grooms quarreled among themselves. The Snow Maiden's charm amazed the Tsar himself. He believes that if he finds a good husband for her, this will definitely soften the Sun God. Elena the Beautiful believes that Lel is the only guy who can win the heart of the Snow Maiden. But Mizgir is not going to give up.
Mizgir meets the Snow Maiden. He talks about his feelings. But this scares the girl. She says that she loves Lelya. Angry Mizgir wants to forcefully marry her.
The Snow Maiden goes to Mother Spring with a request to teach her how to love. Spring reminds her daughter of Frost’s warning, but the girl agrees to sacrifice her life in order to experience this real feeling, at least for a moment. The mother places a magic wreath on the Snow Maiden's head and says that she will love the first guy she sees. The girl meets Mizgir. He doesn't take her fear of the Sun God seriously. When the first rays of sunlight appear on Yarilina Mountain, the Snow Maiden melts. Mizgir believes that the girl deceived him and out of sadness he throws himself from the mountain into the water.
The action takes place in the country of the Berendeys in mythical times. The end of winter comes - the goblin hides in a hollow. Spring flies to Krasnaya Gorka near Berendeyev Posad, the capital of Tsar Berendey, and with it the birds return: cranes, swans - Spring's retinue. The land of the Berendeys greets Spring with cold, and all because of Spring’s flirtations with Frost, the old grandfather, Spring herself admits. Their daughter, Snegurochka, was born. Spring is afraid to quarrel with Frost for the sake of her daughter and is forced to endure everything. The “jealous” Sun itself is angry. That’s why Spring calls all the birds to warm themselves up by dancing, just as people themselves do in the cold. But just when the fun begins - the choirs of birds and their dances - a blizzard rises. Spring hides birds in the bushes until the new morning and promises to warm them up. Meanwhile, Frost comes out of the forest and reminds Vesna that they have a common child. Each of the parents takes care of the Snow Maiden in their own way. Frost wants to hide her in the forest so that she can live among obedient animals in a forest chamber. Spring wants a different future for her daughter: for her to live among people, among cheerful friends and boys playing and dancing until midnight. The peaceful meeting turns into an argument. Frost knows that the sun god of the Berendeys, the hot-tempered Yarilo, has vowed to destroy the Snow Maiden. As soon as the fire of love is lit in her heart, it will melt it. Spring doesn't believe it. After a quarrel, Moroz offers to give their daughter to be raised by the childless Bobyl in the settlement, where the boys are unlikely to pay attention to their Snow Maiden. Spring agrees.
Frost calls Snow Maiden from the forest and asks if she wants to live with people. The Snow Maiden admits that she has long been yearning for girlish songs and round dances, that she likes the songs of the young shepherd Lelya. This especially frightens the father, and he tells the Snow Maiden, more than anything else, to beware of Lel, in whom the “scorching rays” of the Sun live. Separating from his daughter, Moroz entrusts the care of her to his forest “frogs”. And finally gives way to Spring. Folk festivities begin - seeing off Maslenitsa. The Berendeys greet the arrival of Spring with songs.
Bobyl went into the forest for firewood and saw the Snow Maiden dressed like a hawthorn. She wanted to stay and live with Bobylya and her adopted daughter.
Snegurochka’s life is not easy at Bobyl’s and Bobylikha’s: the named parents are angry that she, with her excessive bashfulness and modesty, has scared off all the suitors and they are not able to get rich with the help of their adopted daughter’s advantageous marriage.
Lel comes to stay with the Bobylys because they alone are ready to let him into the house for money collected by other families. The rest are afraid that their wives and daughters will not resist Lel's charm. The Snow Maiden does not understand Lel’s requests for a kiss for a song, for a gift of a flower. She plucks a flower with surprise and gives it to Lelya, but he, having sung a song and seen other girls calling him, throws away the already withered flower of the Snow Maiden and runs away to new fun. Many girls quarrel with guys who are inattentive to them because of their passion for the beauty of the Snow Maiden. Only Kupava, the daughter of the rich Sloboda resident Murash, is affectionate towards the Snow Maiden. She tells her about her happiness: a rich trading guest from the royal settlement of Mizgir has wooed her. Then Mizgir himself appears with two bags of gifts - bride price for girls and boys. Kupava, together with Mizgir, approaches the Snow Maiden, who is spinning in front of the house, and calls her for the last time to lead the girls’ round dances. But when he saw the Snow Maiden, Mizgir fell passionately in love with her and rejected Kupava. He orders his treasury to be carried to Bobyl's house. The Snow Maiden resists these changes, not wishing harm to Kupava, but the bribed Bobyl and Bobylikha force the Snow Maiden to even drive Lel away, which Mizgir demands. The shocked Kupava asks Mizgir about the reasons for his betrayal and hears in response that the Snow Maiden won his heart with her modesty and bashfulness, and Kupava’s courage now seems to him a harbinger of future betrayal. The offended Kupava asks for protection from the Berendeys and sends curses to Mizgir. She wants to drown herself, but Lel stops her, and she falls unconscious into his arms.
In the chambers of Tsar Berendey, a conversation takes place between him and his close associate Bermyata about the troubles in the kingdom: for fifteen years now Yarilo has been unkind to the Berendeys, the winters are getting colder, the springs are getting colder, and in some places there is snow in the summer. Berendey is sure that Yarilo is angry with the Berendeys for cooling their hearts, for “cold feelings.” To quench the Sun’s anger, Berendey decides to appease him with a sacrifice: on Yarilin’s day, the next day, to tie together as many brides and grooms as possible in marriage. However, Bermyata reports that because of some Snow Maiden who showed up in the settlement, all the girls quarreled with the guys and it is impossible to find brides and grooms for marriage. Then Kupava, abandoned by Mizgir, runs in and cries out all her grief to the king. The king orders to find Mizgir and convene the Berendeys for trial. Mizgir is brought in, and Berendey asks Bermyata how to punish him for cheating on his bride. Bermyata offers to force Mizgir to marry Kupava. But Mizgir boldly objects that his bride is the Snow Maiden. Kupava also does not want to marry a traitor. The Berendeys do not have the death penalty, and Mizgir is sentenced to exile. Mizgir only asks the king to look at the Snow Maiden himself. Seeing the Snow Maiden come with Bobyl and Bobylikha, the Tsar is amazed by her beauty and tenderness and wants to find a worthy husband for her: such a “sacrifice” will certainly appease Yarila. The Snow Maiden admits that her heart does not know love. The king turns to his wife for advice. Elena the Beautiful says that the only one who can melt the Snow Maiden’s heart is Lel. Lel invites the Snow Maiden to make wreaths before the morning sun and promises that by morning love will awaken in her heart. But Mizgir does not want to give up the Snow Maiden to her opponent and asks permission to enter into the fight for the Snow Maiden’s heart. Berendey allows and is confident that at dawn the Berendeys will joyfully meet the Sun, which will accept their atoning “sacrifice.” The people glorify the wisdom of their king Berendey.
At dawn, girls and boys begin to dance in circles, in the center are the Snow Maiden and Lel, while Mizgir appears and disappears in the forest. Admired by Lelya's singing, the king invites him to choose a girl who will reward him with a kiss. The Snow Maiden wants Lel to choose her, but Lel chooses Kupava. Other girls make peace with their loved ones, forgiving them of their past infidelities. Lel is looking for Kupava, who has gone home with her father, and meets the crying Snow Maiden, but he does not feel sorry for her for these “jealous tears” caused not by love, but by envy of Kupava. He tells her about secret lovemaking, which is more valuable than a public kiss, and only for true love is he ready to take her to meet the Sun in the morning. Lel reminds how he cried when Snegurochka did not respond to his love before, and goes to the guys, leaving Snegurochka to wait. And yet, in the heart of the Snow Maiden, there is not love yet, but only pride that Lel will lead her to meet Yarila.
But then Mizgir finds the Snow Maiden, he pours out his soul to her, full of burning, real male passion. He, who has never begged a girl for love, falls to his knees in front of her. But the Snow Maiden is afraid of his passion, and his threats to take revenge for his humiliation are also terrible. She also rejects the priceless pearls with which Mizgir is trying to buy her love, and says that she will exchange her love for Lel’s love. Then Mizgir wants to get the Snow Maiden by force. She calls Lelya, but the “leshutki”, whom Father Frost instructed to take care of his daughter, come to her aid. They take Mizgir into the forest, luring him with the ghost of the Snow Maiden, and he wanders in the forest all night, hoping to overtake the ghost Snow Maiden.
Meanwhile, even the heart of the king’s wife was melted by Lel’s songs. But the shepherd deftly dodges both Elena the Beautiful, leaving her in the care of Bermyata, and the Snow Maiden, from whom he runs away when he sees Kupava. It was precisely this kind of reckless and ardent love that his heart was waiting for, and he advises the Snow Maiden to “eavesdrop” on Kupavi’s hot speeches in order to learn to love. The Snow Maiden, in her last hope, runs to her mother Vesna and asks her to teach her real feelings. On the last day when Spring can fulfill her daughter’s request, since the next day Yarilo and Summer take over, Spring, rising from the water of the lake, reminds the Snow Maiden of her father’s warning. But the Snow Maiden is ready to give her life for a moment of true love. Her mother puts a magic wreath of flowers and herbs on her and promises that she will love the first young man she meets. The Snow Maiden meets Mizgir and responds to his passion. The immensely happy Mizgir does not believe in the danger and considers the Snow Maiden’s desire to hide from Yarila’s rays to be an empty fear. He solemnly brings the bride to Yarilina Mountain, where all the Berendeys have gathered. At the first rays of the sun, the Snow Maiden melts, blessing the love that brings her death. It seems to Mizgir that the Snow Maiden deceived him, that the gods mocked him, and in despair he throws himself from Yarilina Mountain into the lake. “The Snow Maiden’s sad death and the terrible death of Mizgir cannot disturb us,” says the Tsar, and all the Berendeys hope that Yarila’s anger will now fade away, that he will grant the Berendeys strength, harvest, life.
The end of the harsh and cold winter is approaching, which is being replaced by the long-awaited spring with its warm rays of the sun and the first thawed patches in the forest, where the goblin hides in a hollow. Spring comes to Krasnaya Gorka and the birds return. The country of the Berendeys greets Spring with cold, and all because of Spring’s flirtations with Frost. Their daughter, Snegurochka, was born. Spring is afraid to quarrel with Frost and endures everything for the sake of her daughter.
Spring calls all the birds to warm up by dancing, as people do in cold weather, but the blizzard rises with joy. Frost comes out of the forest and reminds Spring that the time has come to take care of the Snow Maiden. Frost wants to hide her in the forest so that she can live among obedient animals in a forest chamber. But Spring wants a different future for her daughter, so that she can live among people and cheerful friends who play and dance until midnight. The Sun God of the Berendeys, the hot-tempered Yarilo, wants to destroy the Snow Maiden. As soon as the fire of love is lit in her heart, it will melt it.
After a quarrel, Frost offers to give Snegurochka to be raised by the childless Bobyl in the settlement, where the boys are unlikely to pay attention to her. Spring agrees. The Snow Maiden admits that she has long been yearning for girlish songs and round dances; she really likes the songs of the young shepherd Lelya. This frightens the caring father very much, and he tells the Snow Maiden to beware of Lelya, and entrusts the care of her to his forest leches. So spring has come into its own. Folk festivities began.
Once Bobyl went into the forest for firewood and saw the Snow Maiden dressed as a hawthorn. She agreed to stay in their house as an adopted daughter. The named parents are angry that she, with her bashfulness and modesty, has scared off all the suitors, and they are not able to get rich. Lel comes to the Bobylys. The Snow Maiden does not understand Lelya’s requests for a kiss for a song, and for a gift of a flower. Lel, having sung a song, saw other girls and ran to them. Girls quarrel with guys who are carried away by the beauty of the Snow Maiden.
Only Kupava, the daughter of the rich merchant Murash, is affectionate towards the Snow Maiden. She shares her good news with Snegurochka and says that a wealthy trade guest, Mizgir, has wooed her. Here Mizgir appears with two bags of gifts - bride price for girls and boys. Mizgir, seeing the Snow Maiden, passionately falls in love with her and orders her to carry the treasury to Bobyl’s house. The Snow Maiden does not wish harm to Kupava, she resists Mizgir’s change. Offended by grief, Kupava asks the Berendeys for protection. Kupava decided to drown herself, but Lel stopped her.
For fifteen years Yarilo has been unkind to the Berendeys. To quench the wrath of the sun, you need to appease it with a sacrifice. But the Bermyats report that because of the Snow Maiden, who appeared in the settlement, all the girls quarreled. Then the abandoned Kupava runs in and tells the king about her grief. Mizgir is sentenced to exile. Mizgir is desperately fighting for his rights. At dawn, girls and boys dance in circles. Lel is looking for Kupava and meets a crying Snow Maiden, but he does not feel sorry for her. The Snow Maiden rejects Mizgir's love, calling Lelya. The leshutki take Mizgir into the forest, beckoning him with the ghost of the Snow Maiden, where he wanders all night. The Snow Maiden asks the mother of spring for advice, to teach her to love. The mother places a magical wreath of flowers and herbs on the Snow Maiden's head and promises that she will love the young man she meets. Happy Mizgir leads the Snow Maiden to the mountain where the Berendeys have gathered. The Snow Maiden melts at the first rays of the sun, blessing the love that brought her death. Mizgir, who thinks that the Snow Maiden has deceived him, throws himself from the mountain into the lake in despair. Now all the Berendeys hope that Yarila’s anger will go away, because he gives strength, harvest and life.
In ancient times, Spring-Red and Father Frost gave birth to a daughter, Snegurochka. For 16 years, Frost hid her under the protection of goblins, wolves and eagle owls in a forest tower, where no one was allowed to go. So that the Snow Maiden would not be harmed by the heat, Frost made all these 16 winters unusually cold and persuaded his wife, Spring, to come to earth later.
But when the snow girl grew up, she became bored alone among the animals and forest monsters. Vesna-Krasna, feeling sorry for her daughter, persuaded Moroz to let her live in a nearby settlement of the Berendey tribe. Frost did not agree. He knew that his enemy, the sun god Yarilo, was angry for 16 icy winters and was going to kindle with his rays a love flame in the heart of the Snow Maiden, which would melt her and destroy her.
Snow Maiden. Feature film based on the play by A. Ostrovsky, 1968
However, Spring still persuaded Frost to let her daughter go to people. Frost agreed to this, but on the condition that the Snow Maiden should live with the Berendeys in the hut of the impoverished family of Bobyla Bakula and his wife, Bobylikha. Frost hoped that the suburban boys would not stare at the poor bride, and without their caresses, love would not flare up in his daughter’s soul.
The Snow Maiden happily agreed to live among people. Soon celebrating Maslenitsa, the farewell to winter, the Berendeys saw an unusually beautiful girl at the edge of the forest. She said that she had nowhere to go and asked to go to the house of Bakula and his wife.
The lazy Bobyl and Bobylikha, who lived by freeloading from strangers, gladly accepted the Snow Maiden. They expected rich suitors to flock to such a beauty and shower them with money. All the local boys really began to fight for the Snow Maiden. However, she, the daughter of Frost with an icy heart, did not feel anything for them, although she passionately wanted to feel love. The Snow Maiden worked diligently for Bobyl and Bobylikha, but they constantly reproached her for her inability to attract guys.
All the suburban girls were pining for the poor shepherd Lelya, who was very handsome, skillfully wove flower wreaths, sang sweet, passionate songs, and was considered the first heartthrob in the area. The Snow Maiden looked curiously at Lel and loved to talk to him, trying to experience that state of mind that she had never experienced. But Lel, spoiled by the girl’s attention, either flirted with her or mocked her. Without feeling love, the Snow Maiden, like a child, felt grief and jealousy.
The merchant Mizgir, a stately young handsome man, fell in love with her best friend, Kupava. Mizgir came with bags of gifts to woo Kupava in the settlement, but when he saw the Snow Maiden, he was so shocked by her beauty that he immediately abandoned the bride. He began to ask Bobyl and Bobylikha for the hand of their “daughter.” They ordered the Snow Maiden to accept the rich gifts of the merchant. “Collect tribute, envious people, from your friend’s misfortune, get rich in my shame,” she lamented sadly.
Snow Maiden. Cartoon based on the play by A. Ostrovsky
Kupava, in a frenzy, cursed the deceiver Mizgir and the “home-wrecker” Snegurochka. By order of Bakula, the Snow Maiden drove Lel away, and he hated her. Kupava decided to go with a complaint against Mizgir to Tsar Berendey himself.
Tsar Berendey had long been worried that the last fifteen cold winters and springs had extinguished the love fire in the hearts of his subjects. Boys and girls were less attracted to each other, the connection between wives and husbands weakened, and marital fidelity was shaken.
Tomorrow, in the reserved forest, the Berendeys were supposed to celebrate the great holiday of Yarila: feast all night, and then greet the sunrise. The king planned to arrange a wedding of all the brides and grooms among the people during this celebration, so that such a spectacle would appease Yarila, who was angry at the cold.
But on the eve of the holiday, Kupava came to Berendey with a complaint against Mizgir. The king convened all the people for a trial of those who dared to violate a girl’s feelings.
Snegurochka also came to the court with her parents. When he first saw her, Berendey was admired by her beauty no less than Mizgir. He asked the Snow Maiden to find a groom for herself and participate with him in tomorrow’s marriage ceremony. However, she replied that she was unable to feel love.
The Tsar proclaimed: the one of the Berendeys who manages to captivate the Snow Maiden with tender passion before dawn will receive her as his wife and will be the first guest at the palace feasts. Mizgir and Lel volunteered to ignite love in the Snow Maiden.
In the evening, the Berendeys gathered in a clearing in the forest to celebrate the holiday of Yarila. Lel, approaching the Snow Maiden, sang a song about red maidens, but then, in front of her eyes, he began to kiss Kupava. The Snow Maiden began to reproach Lel with tears in her eyes, but he said to her: “It’s your own fault, I loved you a lot, I secretly shed a lot of burning tears.”
Lel left, and Mizgir appeared next to the Snow Maiden. Falling on his knees in front of her, he begged her for love. But the powerful and proud Mizgir instilled fear in the Snow Maiden. She said she could never love him. Mizgir, having lost his head, tried to take it by force, but a goblin who suddenly appeared threw him into the thicket with witchcraft. The spell of the devil forced Mizgir to chase the ghost of the Snow Maiden all night, which appeared before his eyes here and there.
Having gotten rid of Mizgir, the Snow Maiden soon met Lel again and began to beg him to take her to the king as his bride. But Lel went to Kupava, saying: I will meet the sunrise of Yaril only with her. The timid feeling of the Snow Maiden, in comparison with the ardent love of Kupava, looked funny and childish in his eyes.
The Snow Maiden, sobbing, rushed to her mother, Vesna, to ask her to breathe true passion into her icy heart.
Near the festival site there was a mountain and a lake. The Snow Maiden ran to the lake shore, and Spring-Red rose from the water, surrounded by flowers.
The Snow Maiden began to ask her mother to give her the ability to love. Spring reminded the Snow Maiden of the prophecies of Father Frost: love will destroy her. But the girl insisted: “Let me perish, one moment of love is dearer to me than years of melancholy and tears.”
Spring placed a wreath of flowers on her daughter’s head, and the Snow Maiden’s soul was overcome with love. In her delight, it seemed to her that even the grass and trees had acquired new beauty.
Spring wished the Snow Maiden to find a young man after her heart today, but ordered her to hurry home until morning so as not to fall under the rays of the Sun-Yarila at dawn, which would kindle the heat in her so that it would melt her. Spring fell into the lake again, and the Snow Maiden joyfully ran along the path - and came across Mizgir, whose courageous appearance now sweetly enchanted her.
She threw herself on his chest and said that she agreed to become his wife. The delighted Mizgir took the Snow Maiden to Tsar Berendey to take part in the marriage ceremony at sunrise. The Snow Maiden asked to lead her home quickly, but Mizgir, without listening, ran with her to the clearing, where the Berendey choirs were already beginning to praise the dawn.
The action takes place in the country of the Berendeys in mythical times. The end of winter comes - the goblin hides in a hollow. Spring flies to Krasnaya Gorka near Berendeyev Posad, the capital of Tsar Berendey, and with it the birds return: cranes, swans - Spring's retinue. The land of the Berendeys greets Spring with cold, and all because of Spring’s flirtations with Frost, the old grandfather, Spring herself admits. Their daughter was born - Snegurochka. Spring is afraid to quarrel with Frost for the sake of her daughter and is forced to endure everything. The “jealous” Sun itself is angry. That’s why Spring calls all the birds to warm up by dancing, just as people themselves do in the cold. But just when the fun begins - the choirs of birds and their dances - a blizzard rises. Spring hides birds in the bushes until the new morning and promises to warm them up. Meanwhile, Frost comes out of the forest and reminds Vesna that they have a common child. Each of the parents takes care of the Snow Maiden in their own way. Frost wants to hide her in the forest so that she can live among obedient animals in a forest chamber. Spring wants a different future for her daughter: for her to live among people, among cheerful friends and boys playing and dancing until midnight. The peaceful meeting turns into an argument. Frost knows that the sun god of the Berendeys, the hot-tempered Yarilo, has vowed to destroy the Snow Maiden. As soon as the fire of love is lit in her heart, it will melt it. Spring doesn't believe it. After a quarrel, Moroz offers to give their daughter to be raised by the childless Bobyl in the settlement, where the boys are unlikely to pay attention to their Snow Maiden. Spring agrees.
Frost calls Snow Maiden from the forest and asks if she wants to live with people. The Snow Maiden admits that she has long been yearning for girlish songs and round dances, that she likes the songs of the young shepherd Lelya. This especially frightens the father, and he tells the Snow Maiden, more than anything else, to beware of Lel, in whom the “scorching rays” of the Sun live. Separating from his daughter, Moroz entrusts the care of her to his forest “leshutki”. And finally gives way to Spring. Folk festivities begin - seeing off Maslenitsa. The Berendeys greet the arrival of Spring with songs.
Bobyl went into the forest for firewood and saw the Snow Maiden dressed like a hawthorn. She wanted to stay and live with Bobylya and her adopted daughter.
Life is not easy for the Snow Maiden with Bobyl and Bobylikha: the named parents are angry that she, with her excessive bashfulness and modesty, has scared off all the suitors and they are not able to get rich with the help of their adopted daughter’s profitable marriage.
Lel comes to stay with the Bobylys because they alone are ready to let him into the house for money collected by other families. The rest are afraid that their wives and daughters will not resist Lel's charm. The Snow Maiden does not understand Lel’s requests for a kiss for a song, for a gift of a flower. She plucks a flower with surprise and gives it to Lelya, but he, having sung a song and seen other girls calling him, throws away the already withered flower of the Snow Maiden and runs away to new fun. Many girls quarrel with guys who are inattentive to them because of their passion for the beauty of the Snow Maiden. Only Kupava, the daughter of the rich Sloboda resident Murash, is affectionate towards the Snow Maiden. She tells her about her happiness: a rich trading guest from the royal settlement of Mizgir has wooed her. Then Mizgir himself appears with two bags of gifts - bride price for girls and boys. Kupava, together with Mizgir, approaches the Snow Maiden, who is spinning in front of the house, and calls her for the last time to lead the girls’ round dances. But when he saw the Snow Maiden, Mizgir fell passionately in love with her and rejected Kupava. He orders his treasury to be carried to Bobyl's house. The Snow Maiden resists these changes, not wishing harm to Kupava, but the bribed Bobyl and Bobylikha force the Snow Maiden to even drive Lel away, which Mizgir demands. The shocked Kupava asks Mizgir about the reasons for his betrayal and hears in response that the Snow Maiden won his heart with her modesty and bashfulness, and Kupava’s courage now seems to him a harbinger of future betrayal. The offended Kupava asks for protection from the Berendeys and sends curses to Mizgir. She wants to drown herself, but Lel stops her, and she falls unconscious into his arms.
In the chambers of Tsar Berendey, a conversation takes place between him and his close associate Bermyata about the troubles in the kingdom: for fifteen years now Yarilo has been unkind to the Berendeys, the winters are getting colder, the springs are getting colder, and in some places there is snow in the summer. Berendey is sure that Yarilo is angry with the Berendeys for cooling their hearts, for “cold feelings.” To quench the Sun’s anger, Berendey decides to appease him with a sacrifice: on Yarilin’s day, the next day, to tie together as many brides and grooms as possible in marriage. However, Bermyata reports that because of some Snow Maiden who showed up in the settlement, all the girls quarreled with the guys and it is impossible to find brides and grooms for marriage. Then Kupava, abandoned by Mizgir, runs in and cries out all her grief to the king. The king orders to find Mizgir and convene the Berendeys for trial. Mizgir is brought in, and Berendey asks Bermyata how to punish him for cheating on his bride. Bermyata offers to force Mizgir to marry Kupava. But Mizgir boldly objects that his bride is the Snow Maiden. Kupava also does not want to marry a traitor. The Berendeys do not have the death penalty, and Mizgir is sentenced to exile. Mizgir only asks the king to look at the Snow Maiden himself. Seeing the Snow Maiden who came with Bobyl and Bobylikha, the Tsar was amazed by her beauty and tenderness and wants to find a worthy husband for her: such a “sacrifice” will certainly appease Yarila. The Snow Maiden admits that her heart does not know love. The king turns to his wife for advice. Elena the Beautiful says that the only one who can melt the Snow Maiden’s heart is Lel. Lel invites the Snow Maiden to make wreaths before the morning sun and promises that by morning love will awaken in her heart. But Mizgir does not want to give up the Snow Maiden to her opponent and asks permission to enter into the fight for the Snow Maiden’s heart. Berendey allows and is confident that at dawn the Berendeys will joyfully meet the Sun, which will accept their atoning “sacrifice.” The people glorify the wisdom of their king Berendey.
At dawn, girls and boys begin to dance in circles, in the center are the Snow Maiden and Lel, while Mizgir appears and disappears in the forest. Admired by Lelya’s singing, the king invites him to choose a girl who will reward him with a kiss. The Snow Maiden wants Lel to choose her, but Lel chooses Kupava. Other girls make peace with their loved ones, forgiving them of their past infidelities. Lel is looking for Kupava, who has gone home with her father, and meets the crying Snow Maiden, but he does not feel sorry for her for these “jealous tears” caused not by love, but by envy of Kupava. He tells her about secret lovemaking, which is more valuable than a public kiss, and only for true love is he ready to take her to meet the Sun in the morning. Lel reminds how he cried when Snegurochka did not respond to his love before, and goes to the guys, leaving Snegurochka to wait. And yet, in the heart of the Snow Maiden, there is not love yet, but only pride that Lel will lead her to meet Yarila.
But then Mizgir finds the Snow Maiden, he pours out his soul to her, full of burning, real male passion. He, who has never begged a girl for love, falls to his knees in front of her. But the Snow Maiden is afraid of his passion, and his threats to take revenge for his humiliation are also terrible. She also rejects the priceless pearls with which Mizgir is trying to buy her love, and says that she will exchange her love for Lel’s love. Then Mizgir wants to get the Snow Maiden by force. She calls Lelya, but the “leshutki”, whom Father Frost instructed to take care of his daughter, come to her aid. They take Mizgir into the forest, luring him with the ghost of the Snow Maiden, and he wanders in the forest all night, hoping to overtake the ghost Snow Maiden.
Meanwhile, even the heart of the king’s wife was melted by Lel’s songs. But the shepherd deftly dodges both Elena the Beautiful, leaving her in the care of Bermyata, and the Snow Maiden, from whom he runs away when he sees Kupava. It was precisely this kind of reckless and ardent love that his heart was waiting for, and he advises the Snow Maiden to “eavesdrop” on Kupavi’s hot speeches in order to learn to love. The Snow Maiden, in her last hope, runs to her mother Vesna and asks her to teach her real feelings. On the last day when Spring can fulfill her daughter’s request, since the next day Yarilo and Summer take over, Spring, rising from the water of the lake, reminds the Snow Maiden of her father’s warning. But the Snow Maiden is ready to give her life for a moment of true love. Her mother puts a magic wreath of flowers and herbs on her and promises that she will love the first young man she meets. The Snow Maiden meets Mizgir and responds to his passion. The immensely happy Mizgir does not believe in the danger and considers the Snow Maiden’s desire to hide from Yarila’s rays to be an empty fear. He solemnly brings the bride to Yarilina Mountain, where all the Berendeys have gathered. At the first rays of the sun, the Snow Maiden melts, blessing the love that brings her death. It seems to Mizgir that the Snow Maiden deceived him, that the gods mocked him, and in despair he throws himself from Yarilina Mountain into the lake. “The Snow Maiden’s sad death and the terrible death of Mizgir cannot disturb us,” says the Tsar, and all the Berendeys hope that Yarila’s anger will now fade away, that he will grant the Berendeys strength, harvest, life.
Retold by E. P. Sudareva.
