Computer science
Summary of the Snow Maiden spring fairy tale Ostrovsky fragment. Encyclopedia of fairy-tale heroes: "The Snow Maiden". The main characters of the fairy tale "Snow Maiden" and their characteristics

Summary of the Snow Maiden spring fairy tale Ostrovsky fragment. Encyclopedia of fairy-tale heroes: "The Snow Maiden". The main characters of the fairy tale "Snow Maiden" and their characteristics

Title of the work: Snow Maiden

Year of writing: 1873

Genre: play

Main characters: Snow Maiden- daughter of Frost and Spring, Lel- shepherd, Kupava- rural girl, Mizgir- merchant, groom Kupava, tsar Berendeev.

Plot

The Snow Maiden is bored in the deep forest, she wants to join people in their world. Therefore, her parents send her to the settlement. The girl's beauty drives all the local boys crazy, and they quarrel with their girlfriends. Mizgir, who came to the wedding, abandons his bride and also takes care of the Snow Maiden. Kupava throws herself into the river, but Lel saves her. Then the offended girl goes to the king with a complaint. The Tsar is concerned about the state of affairs in the state and demands that one of the young men win the love of the Snow Maiden and call her his wife at a holiday dedicated to Yaril - the Sun. The Snow Maiden has a cold heart, but now she wants love and therefore turns to her mother for help. Spring gives her a wreath that allows her to feel like people. And, having met Mizgir, the Snow Maiden falls in love with him. At dawn, Mizgir announces to the king his marriage to the girl. But at this moment the sun rises and the Snow Maiden melts under its hot rays. Mizgir, unable to withstand such a blow, throws himself down the cliff. All villagers celebrate Yarilin's Day and weddings with their beloved ones.

Conclusion (my opinion)

The author, with his adaptation of the Russian folk tale about the girl Snow Maiden, wanted to show that only the living real people can achieve happiness in this life, fiction decorates our lives, but the basis of human existence is work, as well as loyalty to the traditions and customs of our ancestors.

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 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 “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 at Bobyl and Bobylikha’s place: 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 don't have 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 a 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. Snow Maiden in last hope runs to 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 plot of the play “The Snow Maiden” by Ostrovsky, written in 1873, is based on Russian folk tale. This is a poetic story stylized after Russian folklore, in which the characters are the lower and higher Slavic deities: Spring, Yarilo, Frost, Leshy.

Main characters

Freezing- a stern old man, lord of cold and blizzards.

Spring– a young beauty who brings warmth and joy with her.

Snow Maiden- the young daughter of Frost and Spring.

Lel- a carefree shepherd who can charm anyone with his singing.

Mizgir- a young merchant passionately in love with the Snow Maiden.

Other characters

Tsar Berendey- a kind and fair ruler of the magical kingdom.

Bobyl and Bobylikha- Snow Maiden's adoptive parents.

Kupava- Snow Maiden’s girlfriend, Mizgir’s rejected bride.

Bermyata- a close boyar of the king.

Elena the beautiful- Bermyata's wife.

Yarilo- a powerful deity, the sun, whom all Berendeys worship.

Prologue

First appearance

“Red Spring descends to the earth,” but the “gloomy country” greets it completely sadly - the fields are covered with snow, and the streams are frozen.

Vesna admits that sixteen years ago she showed her “fickle temperament, changeable and whimsical,” and seduced Frost. Now they have a common daughter - the beautiful Snow Maiden.

Second phenomenon

When they meet, Spring asks the old man to quickly go north, “to the Siberian tundra.” Having learned that Frost is leaving her daughter in the deep forest, she protests - the grown-up Snow Maiden needs “fun and games until midnight, spring parties and burners.”

Frost admits that his main opponent, Yarilo, “swore a terrible oath to destroy” him, and to melt the Snow Maiden as soon as she truly falls in love.

The third phenomenon

The girl confesses to her parents that she has long dreamed of going to the forest with her friends to pick mushrooms and berries, and leading round dances with them to the sonorous trills of the young shepherd Lelya.

Frost leaves the kingdom of the Berendeys, and Spring enters into its rightful possession.

The fourth phenomenon

To celebrate, the Berendeys burn an effigy of winter and celebrate Maslenitsa.

Bobyl and Bobylikha notice on the road a hawthorn “in a sheepskin coat, in boots, in mittens” - the Snow Maiden, who becomes their named daughter.

Act I

First appearance

The inhabitants of the kingdom receive a decree - to gather everyone “at the playground, at the playground, at the disgrace” and worship the bright Yaril.

Meanwhile, Bobyl and his wife are in trouble - suitors follow the Snow Maiden in “hordes and herds,” but the beauty doesn’t like anyone. Old people dream of a well-fed life for their future son-in-law, but the Snow Maiden wants to marry only for love. She just doesn’t know what love is yet.

Second phenomenon

Residents of the settlement offer payment to Bobyl to shelter the young shepherd Lel. Many of them are afraid that a young handsome guy might turn the heads of their wives and daughters, but Bobyl’s Snegurochka is not at all like the Slobozhan women.

The third phenomenon

The Snow Maiden asks Lelya to sing a song for her. The shepherd asks for a kiss as payment, but the girl does not agree. Then Lel is ready to take a flower as payment.

The shepherd boy begins to sing, but other girls call him, and the guy without hesitation throws away the withered flower and runs away.

The fourth phenomenon

The Snow Maiden is offended by Lelya’s indifference - “annoyance squeezes her chest.” The girl is offended by her father for making her so cold, and decides to take “a little warmth from her mother Spring” from her mother.

Fifth appearance

The Snow Maiden's friend named Kupava shares her joy with her - she met a rich, handsome fellow, Mizgir. The girl is looking forward to the holiday, because “on Yarilin’s day, at sunrise,” the chosen one promised to the king to take her as his wife.

Appearance Six

Seeing Mizgir in the distance, Kupava asks her girlfriends to hide her and give her to her betrothed only for a large ransom. The girls merrily bargain with the groom, and he gives them rich gifts. Kupava calls the Snow Maiden “for the last time, for the last time” to lead round dances together and sing songs.

Seventh Appearance

Seeing the Snow Maiden, Mizgir falls madly in love with her. For her sake, he is ready to leave his bride Kupava and shower the beauty with “priceless gifts.” Bobyl and his wife persuade the Snow Maiden to be favorable to such an enviable groom.

The eighth phenomenon

Humiliated Kupava comes with her friends to Bobyl’s porch and demands an answer from Mizgir. The rich merchant explains that “what is most dear to him is the modesty” of the Snow Maiden. Kupava “loved without looking back, hugged her with both hands,” and Mizgir considered the girl too flighty.

In desperation, Kupava decides to drown herself in the river, but Lel stops her in time. Slobozhans advise her to turn to Tsar Berendey for help.

Act II

First appearance

Tsar Berendey sits on his golden throne, and to the songs of the blind guslars he personally paints one of the pillars. Two buffoons jokingly argue among themselves about what is depicted there.

Second phenomenon

The ruler is worried that in the hearts of the Berendeys there is no former “fervor of love.” He proposes to unite all the gathered girls and boys in marriage on Yarilin’s day. To which Bermyata reports that “the brides quarreled to the point of fighting with the grooms,” and the reason for this is the unapproachable beauty Snegurochka.

The third phenomenon

Kupava comes to the king and complains about the unworthy behavior of Mizgir, who disgraced her in front of all the Slobozhans. Berendey orders the young man to be brought to him “for the court of the kings.”

The fourth phenomenon

Berendey invites the young man to “make amends” and take Kupava as his wife, but he does not agree - he loves only the Snow Maiden. And Kupava refuses such a marriage, because “he is offended, his heart is broken.”

Berendey wants to expel Mizgir from his kingdom forever, but he asks the king to only look at the Snow Maiden, and then pass judgment.

Fifth appearance

The Snow Maiden appears in the royal chambers, and the king cannot take his eyes off her. Berendey does not believe that the Snow Maiden’s heart is still silent, and none of the young men could charm her.

The Tsar turns to Elena the Beautiful for advice, and she says that “only one can inspire love in a maiden” - the young shepherd Lel. Mizgir asks the king to give him one more chance to win the love of the Snow Maiden.

Act three

First appearance

At dawn, boys and girls begin to dance in circles. The king looks at the fun with tenderness and advises to forget about all the problems, because “there is a time for caring.”

Berendey invites Lel to choose a girl who will reward him with a kiss. The Snow Maiden asks the shepherd to choose her, but he prefers Kupava to her. The Snow Maiden runs away in tears.

Second phenomenon

The Snow Maiden accuses Lel of choosing Kupava and not her. The girl’s pride is hurt, because she is much more beautiful than her rival. Lel promises that next time she will definitely choose her.

The third phenomenon

Mizgir finds the Snow Maiden and tells her about “how my heart aches, what melancholy my soul is sick with.” He scares the girl with his frenzied passion. For Snow Maiden's consent to become his wife, he is ready to do anything. The beauty runs away in fear.

The fourth phenomenon

With her enchanting singing, Lel drives not only Snegurochka and Kupava, but also Elena the Beautiful, crazy. She confesses her love to the shepherd, but “does not light a fire in Lel’s chest.”

Fifth appearance

Elena the Beautiful is jealous of Lelya, her husband, the boyar Bermyata. However, the beauty reassures him with the fact that “the young men are all insolently heartless, but the husbands are sweet and kind.”

Appearance Six

The Snow Maiden finds Lel and asks him for protection from the persistent Mizgir. However, the shepherd, seeing Kupava running, leaves under a plausible pretext.

Seventh Appearance

Kupava confesses his love to Lely, who “saved the girl’s pride.” The shepherd boy agrees to declare Kupava his wife as soon as the sun rises.

Snegurochka hears this conversation and in anger calls Lelya a traitor and Kupava a homewrecker. The girl replies that for the Snow Maiden, love is just a game, fun, and the shepherd admits that he “doesn’t need childish love.”

Act four

First appearance

Mizgir follows the ghost of the Snow Maiden deep into the forest - it was Leshy who tried to protect Frost’s daughter from a persistent suitor.

Second phenomenon

The Snow Maiden runs to her mother and complains that she wants to “love, but she doesn’t know the words of love at all.” She is tired of being cold and wants to open her heart to a strong feeling.

However, Spring reminds the Snow Maiden of her “father’s fears” - love will be the reason for her death. The girl is ready to die, just to experience “one moment of love.”

Spring puts a magic wreath on her daughter and says that she will love with all her heart the first person she meets.

The third phenomenon

The Snow Maiden meets Mizgir and confesses her love to him. He does not believe his luck and eagerly awaits sunrise to announce his betrothed to Tsar Berendey.

The fourth phenomenon

At dawn, boys and girls sing songs. The king blesses marriages and wishes the young people happiness and prosperity.

With the advent of bright sunlight, the Snow Maiden begins to melt. She is happy, because for the first time in her life “there is fire in the eyes... and in the heart... and in the whole blood there is fire.”

Out of grief, Mizgir throws himself into the lake, and Tsar Berendey says that the death of the lovers is not accidental, since “the sun knows who to punish and have mercy on.” Lel sings a song of praise to Yarile.

Conclusion

Ostrovsky’s work is built on the opposition of opposites: Frost and Yaril, cold and warmth, indifference and sensuality. main topic plays - life without love is meaningless.

A brief retelling of “The Snow Maiden” will be useful for reader's diary and in preparation for a literature lesson.

Play test

Check your memorization of the summary content with the test:

Retelling rating

average rating: 4.2. Total ratings received: 668.

A.N. Ostrovsky, the leading playwright of the Maly Theatre, wrote almost all of his plays in prose (sometimes with a little interspersed poetry). “The Snow Maiden” is an unusual play because it is written entirely in verse. Public I didn’t appreciate it at first a fairy tale play, because the audience is accustomed to Ostrovsky’s serious prose. But the play was destined to take a long time happy story. We bring summary fairy tales "Snow Maiden".

In contact with

The play has four acts and a prologue. The scene changes:

Red hill
settlement Berendeyevka
royal castle
reserved forest
Yarila Valley

Characters

Main characters:

Lel, young shepherd
Mizgir, young merchant
Tsar Berendey

The main female characters are Kupava and Snegurochka. Also in the fairy tale-play there is a “behind the scenes” character - Yarilo, he is constantly mentioned. At the end of the play he will appear in the guise of a young guy.

Characteristics of the influence of Frost on the kingdom of Berendey is unambiguous: where there is cold and frost, bad feelings like envy, indifference, cruelty, and deceit are born.

Prologue

Midnight, Red Hill. Spring is beginning, but there is snow everywhere. Spring-Red appears along with the bird retinue. It would seem, why should the country of the Berendeys greet spring so coldly? It turns out there is a reason, and a very good one: Vesna-Krasna tried it play in love with Santa Claus, but everything turned into a difficult marriage. It seems that we need to leave the stern grandfather, but it’s just difficult to decide on this: Spring and Frost are the parents of the girl Snow Maiden.

Soon Frost himself appears. A conversation ensues between him and Vesna. We learn about the enmity of the lord of winter with the sun god Yaril. God longs to destroy his sworn enemy, and knows about his weakness - the Snow Maiden. It is not surprising that Moroz is seriously worried and strictly instructs his wife to make sure that her daughter does not find out about love.

At the end of the prologue, the Berendeys appear, saying goodbye to the winter and burning the effigy of Maslenitsa.

First action

Bobyl Bakula and his wife became the adoptive parents of the Snow Maiden. A conversation began between them. It turned out that the male and female were hoping for happy life: the guy might like the girl, you see, and it would be a good wedding.

But, unfortunately, everything turned out differently. The beauty with an icy heart turned the heads of many guys, they forgot about the brides, and dogged each other like classic jealous people. Gradually, the intrigue of the play begins to emerge: because of the Snow Maiden, the guys cannot make peace with the girls. The young shepherd Lel sang a song to a girl with an icy heart, and then simply threw it away withered flower - a modest gift. The Snow Maiden felt only indignation, resentment, but not the pangs of love.
Only Kupava remained friendly with Moroz’s daughter. It would seem that the Snow Maiden will see the wedding of Kupava and the young merchant Mizgir. But it begins new drama: A merchant loses his head over a girl with an icy heart. Kupava wants to drown himself in the river, but Lel rushes to the rescue.

Second act

We are transported to the castle of Tsar Berendey. The ruler is busy with business - paints with intricate patterns one of the pillars. Two buffoons (simply put, jesters) are arguing about what kind of drawing this is - an image of a cow's or a dog's leg. The dispute becomes more and more serious, and almost turns into a fist fight. The king drives both buffoons away.

Later, an adviser comes to the ruler. During the conversation, the king notes that things in the state are bad: spring and autumn have been cold for fifteen years, snow lies until mid-summer. According to Berendey, Yarilo is very angry with people - because in their souls coldness, indifference, and other bad feelings. The only way to appease God is through prayers and sacrifices. The Tsar hopes to marry the brides and grooms just on Yarilin’s day, and not just anywhere, but in a reserved forest. A friendly marriage song should appease God.

The adviser says that the plan is unlikely to work - the brides and grooms quarreled, the reason is the appearance of the girl Snow Maiden. The king at first does not believe his ears, and then wants to see Frost’s daughter.

Kupava enters the royal castle and talks about his grief. Having learned that her heart was broken by her fiancé, the young merchant Mizgir, Berendey promises to punish the culprit.

Later, the culprit of Kupava’s grief, Snegurochka, appears. The king is surprised: how can such a beauty know absolutely nothing about love! Let someone be able to melt the ice in this girl’s heart.

Third act

The night begins on the eve of Yarilin's day. The fun begins, and the shepherd Lel became the lead singer. Gradually, the girls begin to make peace with the guys, everything goes well. Lel kisses Kupava in front of the Snow Maiden. How does the daughter of Frost feel? Jealousy? No, in the heart of a cold girl pride spoke.

Mizgir is blinded by love and wants to marry the Snow Maiden at all costs. But Frost’s daughter refuses. A little later the goblin intervenes. And the young merchant begins to be attracted by the mirage of a cold girl. And Mizgir will run after this mirage all night.

After a conversation with Lel and Kupava, Snegurochka finally realized that life without love is empty.

Fourth act

The Snow Maiden calls her mother - Vesna Krasna. The Spring Sorceress listens to her daughter's complaints and asks what she wants. Frost's daughter is tired of the cold life and wants love. The mother reminds her daughter of her father’s worries: love is deadly for a cold heart.

Snow Maiden ready to pay with my life for “one moment of love.” And he receives the gift of love from his mother.

The girl looks at the world in a new way. Having met Mizgir, the Snow Maiden admits that she loves him. And soon what needs to happen happens: falling under the ray of the Sun, the daughter of Frost melts. Mizgir, in despair over the loss of his beloved, drowns himself in the lake.

Tsar Berendey and the shepherd Lel call the god Yarilo. And God responded to the call: Yarilo stopped being angry, because his sworn enemy, Frost, was defeated.

Conclusion

The image of the Snow Maiden came from Russian folklore. In folk tales there are descriptions of a girl created from snow and melted in the spring. This is a poetic image of the changing seasons. Ostrovsky was inspired by folk art, and a string of works was created based on his play:

Opera by Rimsky-Korsakov;
Painting by V.M. Vasnetsov;
Children's films and cartoons;

The Snow Maiden, together with Father Frost, became a decoration of the New Year holidays in Russia.

Back in 1873, A.N. Ostrovsky wrote a wonderful play, which is considered a spring fairy tale Slavic peoples, called "Snow Maiden". The events of the work are presented in four acts. All main characters are fictional.

The text of the play was first published in the literary magazine “Bulletin of Europe”. In the same year, the play premiered on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow.

The appearance of a spring fairy tale, written in poetic form, was a completely random event.

In 1873, the leadership of the Ministry of Culture decided to temporarily close the small theater in order to carry out major renovations to the premises.

All the artists moved to the Bolshoi Theater, where they were to be involved in local productions.

To provide everyone with enough work, A.N. Ostrovsky was instructed to write an enchanting play, the plot and genre of which would allow the use of several artistic groups at once, namely:

dramatic;
ballet;
opera

The writer readily agreed to the proposal and immediately began writing a literary work.

The plot is based on a Russian folk tale about a girl who was born from the love of Father Frost and Spring and received the name Snegurochka. The music for the extravaganza fairy tale was commissioned to be written by the then young and still unknown in wide circles P. Tchaikovsky.

Brief summary of actions

What is Ostrovsky's play about? First of all, it’s about love. Events take place in the mythical state of the Berendeys.

Spring is slowly entering its domain, the mountains are still covered with snow. In the distance is the capital of the Berendey kingdom and the throne of the king himself, which is made of wood and covered with intricate carvings. The goblin does not like spring awakening and is ready to hide in a hollow until the next winter season.

He sits and watches Queen Spring descend from her horse on a team of geese, swans and cranes. Next, the events of the play unfold in four acts with a description of the main characters.

Important! If you do not have time to read the entire work as a whole, then it is recommended to read the summary.

Act one

Local residents of the kingdom of Berendey learn about the unprecedented beauty of the daughter of Father Frost and Spring-Red. All the guys are trying to woo the beauty and don’t give her a pass, but she doesn’t love anyone. Appearance The girls are menacing, their lips are compressed and their forehead is wrinkled.

All the guys who were looking to marry her were refused. The named grandfather and grandmother of the beauty, who are referred to in the play as Bobylikha and Bobyl, scold her very much, saying that she neglects happiness.

In the fairy tale, the girl has a good friend - Kupava, who is also a girl of marriageable age. A young guy named Mizgir wooes her. His father holds a noble rank in the royal settlement of the Berendeys and is a very rich man.

Kupava dreams of marrying him, and the wedding date has almost been agreed upon, but suddenly she decides to introduce her fiance to her friend.

As soon as Mizgir saw the extraordinary beauty of the Snow Maiden, he immediately fell in love with her, completely forgetting about his previously beloved Kupava.

The offended girl did not expect such a turn of events and accuses the Snow Maiden of betrayal, says that she took her fiancé away from her, and curses her so that she will never be happy.

Mizgir does not give up trying to win the beauty’s heart, presents her with expensive gifts, but the newfound love refuses to reciprocate his feelings.

Act two

In the kingdom of the Berendeys, the great ruler Berendey sits on a golden throne. Buffoons run around him, periodically fighting with each other with their fists. A boyar named Bermyata enters the room. He asks how things are in the kingdom.

The buffoons shout that everything is wonderful, but the king is not sure of this. He answers the boyar with great doubts, saying that he has been in the kingdom of cold and frost for a long time. Summer passes too quickly, and it is very cold.

Berendey believes that the ruler of the sun’s warmth, Yarilo, was angry with people, because the previous feeling of love for each other had disappeared in their hearts.

There is no more this kind and heartfelt melancholy. The hearts of the inhabitants of the Berendey state were filled only with envy of their neighbor’s beautiful outfits and vanity.

This worries him greatly, since no one knows warmth while there is a cold in his soul. For this, Yarilo, the lord of the sun, will continue to take revenge on all the Berendeys.

The king proposed his plan of action. Berendey says that tomorrow is Yarilin’s day. To please the lord of the sun's warmth, you need to gather all the young grooms and beautiful brides in the clearing, and then marry them.

This will be a sacrifice of love, for which Yarilo will thank all the inhabitants of the Berendey state, stop taking revenge and give him a warm spring, and then a long summer.

Bermyata, in response to the king’s proposal, explained that this was impossible, because all the young couples living in the kingdom had quarreled. The reason for this is the beautiful Snow Maiden.

The young guys are completely in love with the girl, they don’t give her a pass, and they abandoned their brides. At the same time, the beauty herself does not love anyone.

Berendey cannot believe what the boyar told him and demands that his order be carried out immediately.

A boy comes into the room and invites Kupava to complain that the Snow Maiden broke her love by charming Mizgir.

The king listened carefully to the offended girl. The boyar, who is standing nearby, offered to oblige Mizgir to marry Kupava, who had been deceived by him, but the girl answered with an unequivocal and proud refusal. From now on, her heart is broken and cannot feel anything for the guy except bitter hatred.

Berendey decides to try Mizgir according to the rules of the people's court. He orders the guy to be expelled from the state so that he can never deceive anyone again. Mizgir defends himself and invites the king to go and see how beautiful the Snow Maiden is.

Berendey agrees to this proposal. As soon as he saw the girl, he was immediately convinced of her extraordinary beauty. At this moment, the ruler promises the girl to find a handsome groom for her.

The beauty refuses the king’s proposal, citing the fact that she still does not know the feeling of love.

Bermyata's wife named Elena intervenes in the conversation and says that she knows who will help them.

This is the shepherd Lel. Only this boy is able to melt the cold and unapproachable heart of a girl.

On the instructions of the ruler, the shepherd invites the Snow Maiden to weave wreaths from field herbs all night, convincing the beauty that this will make her heart know true love.

At the same time, Mizgir does not give up trying to get a girl as his bride.

Act three

Evening came in Berendey's state, and the youth rushed to dance in circles. Lel began to sing his beautiful songs, which Tsar Berendey incredibly liked. As a sign of gratitude, the sovereign orders the guy to choose any bride who will give him a hot kiss in return.

The Snow Maiden's eyes lit up with happiness, and she asks Lel to choose her, but the guy turns away from the girl, choosing Kupava.

Mizgir rushes to Snegurochka and swears his sincere love to her, but the girl is frightened by his excessive passion and determination.

Mizgir does not stop his actions and tries to achieve the beauty by force.

Leshy comes to her aid, who magically creates the ghost of the Snow Maiden and takes the madman away.

At the same time, Lel continues to sing with her beautiful voice, driving Elena, the boyar’s wife, and Kupava herself crazy.

Act four

Lel starts a sincere conversation with Snegurochka, in which she recommends that she learn true love from Kupava. The girl runs in tears to her mother, Vesna, and asks to teach her love.

The mother warns the girl, but still gives her a wreath, saying that now she will fall in love with the first person she meets. This guy turns out to be Mizgir, who is bursting with pride that he finally got the love he wanted.

The groom doesn’t even want to hear anything about the girl’s fear of Yaril’s rays and calls her with him to Red Mountain, where all the inhabitants of the Berendey state have gathered to greet the sun.

As soon as the solar circle appears on the horizon, the Snow Maiden’s body immediately begins to melt and turn into a lake.

The girl understands that she is now dying, but despite this, she still blesses her love, since it was at that moment that she was able to experience real warm feelings.

Mizgir cannot stand what is happening, cries and yearns for his beloved. The realization comes to him that the gods laughed at him in this way.

He no longer wants to live without his bride, whose reciprocity he sought for so long.

The guy runs up and throws himself down the mountain straight into the lake. Emperor Berendey assures that the sacrifices on the part of the Snow Maiden and Berendey will only appease Yarilo. He will no longer take revenge and will bestow rays of his warmth on all the inhabitants of the kingdom.

Important! Despite the tragic ending of the play, which consists in the death of the main character, as well as her lover, the original work is easy and relaxed to read.

Useful video

Let's sum it up

In Ostrovsky's work the Snow Maiden, main character, like other characters, is a reflection of the difficult relationships between a man and a woman that happen in real life.

Many literary critics believe that this play is not just an extravaganza fairy tale, but is also filled with deep dramatic meaning, since the writer paid great attention to the issue of unrequited love and the consequences to which it can lead.

In contact with