The historical roots of a fairy tale. Propp V.Ya.

How far in the darkness of centuries go the roots of a magical folk tale? What is the hidden initial meaning of the actions of her heroes, a millennium ago wiped from folk memory, which retained only fabulous plots? Why did Ivanishka-Durachk or Ivan Tsarevich actually go to the distant kingdom? Who is the mysterious woman-yaga from no less mysterious hut on chicken legs?

The importance of the book “Historical Roots of a Fairy Tale” for folklore is difficult to overestimate. In translated into many languages ​​(from English to Japanese) and many times reprinted by V.Ya. Propp invites the reader to look into foggy antiquity and figure out how meanings and archetypes move through times.