The basic images of fairy tales

It is interesting to consider how uncharacteristic images   for

the Italian fairy tale appeared.

Neither in the Italian origin nor in Berlin "alteration and

 processing" there is no Pero. It is purely Tolstoy’s creation

 and consequently an image Pero deserves to get accustomed

 more steadfastly to it. Distinct from an original plan the

 retelling plan is simply not clear out of the system of

 deviations and an image Pero in this system  and the subject

 movements connected with it are very appreciable and

 considerable. Kollodi doesn`t have Pero but there is a

 Harlequin:  he recognizes Pinokkio among the public during

 the performance and Pinokkio saves  his doll life. Here the

 role of the Harlequin in the Italian fairy tale comes to an end

 and Kollodi does not mention him anymore. Here the Russian

author grasps this unique mention and pulls out on a scene  the

 natural partner of the Harlequin - Pero because the mask "the

 successful lover" (Harlequin) is not necessary to Tolstoy, he

 needs - "the deceived husband" (Pero). To call out Pero to a

 scene  there is no other function of  the Harlequin in Russian

 fairy tale: Buratino is recognized  by all dolls, the scene of the

 rescue of Harlequin is omitted, in other scenes it is not

 occupied.

The theme of Pero is

 included at once

 and resolutely, gamegoes

 simultaneously on

 the text - traditional

 dialogue of two

 traditional characters of the

 Italian folktheatre

 and on implied

 sense - satirical,

secret, full

 caustichints:

 "Behind  the cardboard tree there was a small little manin a

 long white shirt with long sleeves. His face was  sprinkled

by powder, white, as a tooth-powder. He bowed to the most

 respectable public and told sadly:

- Hello, my name is Pero... Now we will play for you a comedy

 under the name: "The Girl with blue hair, or Thirty three

 clips". I will be beaten by a stick, I will be given slaps in the

face and clips. It is a very ridiculous comedy...

From behind the other  cardboard tree  all checkered as a

chessboard person   jumped out. He  bowed to the most

 respectable public: - Hello, I am a Harlequin! After that he

 turned  to Pero and released to him  two slaps in the face

which were so sonorous that powder fell down from cheeks.

A. Tolstoy enters Harlequin with those words "other person

 jumped out ". But there was no" first person, there was a

 "little man"-  Pero  is humiliated earlier, than he  was given a

 name by that "little man" .  Pero loves the girl with blue hair.

 The harlequin laughs at  him because there aren`t  girls with

 blue hair! (The motive of exclusiveness of  Pero`s bride) - and

beats him again. Malvina is a creation of the Russian writer

 and she is necessary, first of all, for selfless love of  Pero. -

one of the main  differences of "Adventures of Buratino" from

"The adventures of Pinokkio"

      It is characteristic also that poet-lyric Pero (Block?) in a

 fairy tale is run down not only by Buratino but also the story-

teller. For example: "Pero at the sight of Malvina started to

 mutter words - they were so incoherent and silly that we do

 not mark them here".

Malvina. As  M.S.Petrovsky noticed, her name is "a

 professional pseudonym of the maiden of easy behaviour".

We learn about it that she  ran away from theatre of  Karabas

 Barabas because she was "couldn`t stand  rough tricks of the

owner". How did  she live  in a lonely small house in wood? It

 appears that "animals supplied her  with all necessaries for a

 life": "the mole brought nutritious roots", "mice 

 broughtsugar and sausage slices", "a hawk - fried game" 

"magpies stole  chocolates in silvery pieces of paper at the

  market for her". Artemon washes her clothes:  she  conducts

 such parasitic way of life (and it`s interesting  if it confuses

 her) abusing the kind relation to outside associates or  she

 somehow  makes her living.

Naming the beautiful doll Malvina, Tolstoy relied on an  old

 tradition, well-known to him , the expert on Russian XVIII-th

century. The name of Malvina  got to Russia  with the poems of

 Scottish bard Ossian. These works were shown to the world in

 the end of a XVIII-th century by the English writer James

 MacPherson, these works were grandiose mystification.

The name of Malvina is a name of a companion of aged Ossian

 and the girlfriend of his  lost son Oscar ;this name got huge

 literary popularity and became the most attractive sign of a

 romantic beloved. The circle of reading of Tatyana Larina, for

 example, included the multivolume novel of French writer

 ,Maria Kotten, "Malvina".

The name of Malvina  entered  into verses of young Zhukovsky

 and in young Pushkin's verses too, and in tens other poems.

 Then this name  got into a romance and became a steady sign

of romance`s heroine. At the beginning of our century the

 name of Malvina fell to the bottoms and was reflected in the

 literature of that epoch (for example, in A.Kuprin's "Duel" and

 in A.Remizov's story of "Malvina" from his book "city Noise")

 as a professional pseudonym of the maiden of easy behaviour.

 In what aura of meanings the name of Malvina enters into Tolstoy's fairy tale.

Kollodi has a girl with blue hair, she is a kind fairy in the

 Italian fairy tale. Unlike Kollodi`s girl  the girl of Tolstoi with

blue hair is not magic  but household, satirically shined

 character.

 Pinokkio does not get to school and, hence, remains illiterate,

 nevertheless in one of following scenes he  reads an

 inscription on a tomb of the magician with tears in the face .

 Perhaps, Tolstoy  noticed this ridiculous discrepancy and

 thought up a scene of training of the hero to the reading and

 writing when alteration of "Pinokkio" in "Buratino" had

 begun? Anyway, but pedagogical temperament, passion to

 give lessons under any circumstances, purely teacher's

 pedantry,   - steels defining lfeaturesof an image of Malvina.

Like the axem pupil copying the tutor, Malvina speaks the

 slang of governesses. Her speech is stylised under a bad

 translation from French: "Buratino, my friend, do you repent,

at last?" Distracted lines and conditional values of Malvina

 obviously lose from the nearest neighbourhood with everyday

resource and ingenuous judiciousness of Buratino. There is a

 check of characters on viability, and it becomes clear:

 viability - the greatest and all solving value in Tolstoy's artistic thinking.

The particular interest represents an image of a street

 proletarian Karlo. Apparently, the concrete prototype at this

 image is not present. Maybe,it is a collective symbol of that

 class which raised   Gorkyi was uplifted on a pedestal. A

 class once again deceived. And here there is a poor daddy

 Karlo in a wind poor who had nothing to lose  except the

 chains, listens the same melody, the end of which  is its

 beginning - in the same way as the end of "the Italian fairy

 tale"of Gorky  returns all to the beginning..

The names of fantastic heroes participate in the creation of

 images. We already know that Buratino is the patrimonial

 name which has become the own name of a puppet, Pero who

 is the partner of the Harlequin in the Italian national comedy,

 Duremar is  the simpleton whose name is  said in  a foreign

 manner, the name of the cat Basilio  is  pronounced  in a

 similar manner from the  name of  the cat  Vas’ka.

     The name of Karabas Barabas is  comprehended more

 difficult. The similar character of a fairy tale of Kollodi bears

 the name of Mandzhofoko that means " the fire-eater" .

 "Barabas" is conformably to  Italian words with the meaning

 the villain, the swindler ("barabba") or a beard ("barba") -

 both that and another quite corresponds to an image.

Puppet heroes of a fairy tale are allocated by the  characters

 which are  not too difficult (difficult would contradict genre

 laws) but expressed extremely intensively. "Human"

 character of daddy Karlo appears more faintly because

 sample traits  of the theatrical role (something like "the noble

 father")are looked  through in his character. Doctor of puppet

  sciences and the seller of bloodsuckers are more successful.

 In Karabas some  miracle incorporated in a single  image of

 line poster bourgeois and the fantastic malicious wizard. His

friend Duremar - soul whose trade directs horror of loathing

 even at Karabas, - a pettiness which is on sale for a supper,

the informer and the traitor. He throws the patron as soon as

 good luck leaves Karabas and changes the owner with

 readiness - he goes to winners to apply for a service. Tolstoy

 delicately holds back whether winners accept of service of

 the recent seller of bloodsuckers. 

 way. Only a delicate hint on Russian senses of foreign names

 which are hidden draws system. This system connects names

of characterswith  a fairy tale plan, enters names into a circle

of ideological problems of the work  opposing  native to

 foreign.