Maxim Gorky's first published work was the story "Makar Chudra". Its analysis makes it possible to understand that, despite his youth and inexperience, the author managed to organically depict the life of the gypsies and convey the fullness of their feelings. For Gorky, his wanderings across vast Russia were not in vain. The writer did not always have something to eat, but he never parted with his thick notebook for a minute, in which he wrote down unusual stories, legends, and some interesting events from the lives of random companions.
Gypsy love story
Analysis of “Makar Chudra” shows the author of the work in the image of a romantic writer. The main character of the story is an old gypsy who is sincerely proud of his free life. He despises peasants who are already born slaves, whose purpose is to dig in the ground, but at the same time they do not even have time to dig their own grave before death. The heroes of the legend told by Makar are the embodiment of the maximalist desire for freedom.
Radda and Loiko love each other, they are happy together, but they are too fixated on personal freedom. An analysis of “Makar Chudra” shows that the main characters even looked at love as a hateful chain that fettered them and diminished their independence. Declaring their love, young people set conditions for each other, while each of them strives to be the main one in the couple. Gypsies never kneel before anyone, this is considered a terrible humiliation, but Loiko gives in to Radda and bows before her, immediately killing his beloved, and then he himself dies at the hands of her father.
Comparison of the value systems of the gypsy and the narrator
Analysis of “Makar Chudra” shows that for the main character, Radda and Loiko are the ideals of love of freedom. The old gypsy understands that the highest degree of pride and love cannot get along together, no matter how wonderful these feelings are. But he is sure that every person must defend his freedom, even at the cost of his own life. Gorky's story is interesting because of the presence of a narrator in it, in whose image the author himself can be discerned. Its influence on the work is subtle, but still sufficient for the writer to express his own thoughts.
Gorky does not agree with all of the old gypsy’s judgments. Makar Chudra (analysis of the story shows the author’s admiration for the heroes of the legend) does not receive direct objections from the narrator, but still at the very end, summing up the story, the author says that the young people have become slaves of their freedom. Pride and independence make people unhappy and alone
nokimi, because sometimes you still have to sacrifice your interests for the sake of your family and loved ones.
Musicality of the story
An analysis of “Makar Chudra” shows how successfully the writer used the technique of landscape sketches. The frame of the entire story is the sea, which clearly expresses the feelings and state of mind of the characters. The work is filled with musicality, it is even said that Radda’s beauty can only be played on the violin. Maxim Gorky's story immediately attracted attention with the brightness of its images and memorable plot.
Features of the conflict in M. Gorky's story “Makar Chudra”
LET'S READ IT AGAIN
Elena Starodubtseva,
With. Donskoye,
Stavropol region
Features of the conflict in M. Gorky's story “Makar Chudra”
The phenomenon of neo-romanticism in Russian literature at the end of the twentieth century gave birth to a new romantic hero. He largely inherited the traits of the romantic heroes of the early 19th century: strength and brightness of character, the desire for heroism and adventure, often opposition to a hostile society, a gray and dull life.
But in Gorky's early stories, romantic heroes such as Loiko Zobar, Sokol, Danko, are endowed with a new feature - great moral strength, capable of awakening sleepy souls.
The conflict in the story “Makar Chudra” also has new features. From the very first lines, the author introduces us to an unusual, bright, almost fairy-tale world: “A damp, cold wind blew from the sea, spreading across the steppe the pensive melody of the splash of a wave running onto the shore and the rustling of coastal bushes. Occasionally, his gusts brought with them wrinkled, yellow leaves and threw them into the fire, fanning the flames; the darkness of the autumn night that surrounded us shuddered and, timidly moving away, revealed for a moment a boundless steppe on the left, an endless sea on the right...” And extraordinary people live in this world, free, strong, amazingly beautiful. The philosophy of these people is unique, succinctly and accurately expressed in aphorisms: “...go and see, you’ve seen enough, lie down and die - that’s all!”, “Aren’t you life yourself?”; “...everyone learns on his own”, “this is how you need to live: go, go - and that’s all”; “Don’t stand in one place for a long time... you run away from thoughts about life, so as not to stop loving it...”. A spontaneous philosopher, Makar Chudra derives his formula for life, according to which you just need to enjoy being and freedom. Painful thoughts about the meaning of human existence and theological questions are alien to him; he does not accept any restrictions: neither physical nor spiritual. These are the other heroes of the story: Loiko Zobar, the beautiful Radda, old Danilo.
It is interesting that the conflict of the story is not built on the opposition of the hero and society (as, for example, in “The Robber Brothers” by A.S. Pushkin or “The Corsair” by D.H. Byron). And Chudra, and Loiko, and Radda harmoniously fit into their world, there is no resentment, desire for revenge, or dissatisfaction in their hearts. There is also no internal conflict between the characters. They are self-sufficient, the passion for profit is alien to them, there is no vanity or envy. Loiko “loves horses and nothing else, and even then not for long - he rides and sells them, and whoever wants the money, take it.” And Radda’s wallet with money, thrown by the old tycoon at her feet, “as if she accidentally kicked her foot into the mud, and that’s all.” The conflict arises from the relationship between two romantic heroes. Each of them values freedom most of all. Loiko: “...I am a free person and I will live the way I want!” Radda: “...And I also love freedom!” And so the hearts of these strong and free people were struck by love for each other. Love is the first and as bright as they are. “I saw a lot of your sister, hey, a lot! And no one has touched my heart like you. Eh, Radda, you have filled my soul!” - says Zobar. And Radda answers: “I have never loved anyone, Loiko, but I love you.”
What is the essence of the conflict? The fact is that for heroes to fall in love means to lose their will, which is so valuable to them. Loiko and Radda found themselves in a dead end situation, the essence of which was expressed very clearly by the heroine: “I love my will, Loiko, more than you. And I can’t live without you, just as you can’t live without me.” The heroes cannot live without each other, but they cannot live without freedom. Love and freedom turned out to be mutually exclusive concepts for them, since each of them seeks to subjugate the other: “But look, my will cannot be opposed - I am a free person...” - “So I want you to be mine both soul and body ....” Thus, according to the laws of romanticism, the conflict of relationships can only be resolved by the death of one or both heroes. This is exactly what happens - Loiko kills Radda and himself dies at the hands of old Danila, Radda’s father.
And here a new question arises: who is the initiator of such a decision? At first glance, Loiko: it is he who delivers the killing blow. But, it seems to me, Gorky creates another paradox here, which is hidden in the image of Radda. The beautiful gypsy seems to have a deeper and more complex nature than the daredevil Loiko Zobar. Radda is endowed with an unusually strong character. And she could only fall in love with a man whom she could not “amaze”, that is, subjugate. But for her to fall in love is, let us remind you, to submit herself, which is unacceptable for Radda. And so she gives Loiko an obviously impossible task: “... tomorrow you will submit to me as a senior fellow young man. You will bow at my feet in front of the whole camp and kiss my right hand - and then I will be your wife.” Did Radda know how this could end? Undoubtedly: “Farewell, Loiko! I knew you would do this!..”
Well, what would have happened if Loiko had completed a task that was shameful for him? This would mean that Radda suppressed his will, “obfuscated him.” We know how the proud gypsy woman treated such men. It turns out that Radda does not so much want to subjugate him as she is testing her lover’s strength. If he fulfills the condition, Radda will stop loving him and will regain the desired freedom. If he fails, the girl will die. Like fairy-tale heroines, Radda gives her lover a task. But it is not he who risks his life, but she. Gorky's heroine thus plays with fate. The gain is freedom. The bet is life. Radda, as a stronger nature, takes the initiative into her own hands. Having subtly felt the character of Loiko Zobar, she pushes him to the only solution possible for both of them: seeing no other way out, the gypsy sacrifices herself. Loiko’s death is not on her conscience.
The paradox of the heroine’s nature is that she cannot love a weak man, but, having loved a strong man, she cannot obey him and prefers to die.
It seems to me that the true heroine of “Makar Chudra” is Radda. Gorky showed her with a more noble nature, for sacrificing oneself is the lot of beautiful and strong people.
Composition
1. Romantic stories by M. Gorky.
2. Story composition, plot, characters, conflict.
3. Conflict resolution. Author's position.
You go, well, go your own way, without turning to the side. Straight ahead and go. Maybe you won’t lose your life in vain. That's it, falcon!
M. Gorky
The early stories of M. Gorky are called works of romanticism of the “new stage”. His revolutionary romantic “Makar Chudra”, “Chelkash”, “Old Woman Izergil”, “Song of the Falcon”, “Song of the Petrel” are on the same level. Their bright heroes are endowed with the main feature - a passion for freedom. This determines their actions. Based on the traditions of Russian classical literature, the writer puts a special pathos into his works: romance calls for action, struggle, and achievement of heroism. They were relevant as propaganda on the eve of the revolution and remain relevant now because they contain wisdom.
The author's years of wandering around Russia gave him vast life experience. He wrote down his impressions in a travel notebook, and many stories were later included in his works. “Makar Chudra” was the first published story by M. Gorky. It was he, published in 1892 in the Tiflis newspaper “Caucasus”, who was first signed with this pseudonym. The story immediately attracted attention with its vivid images and topical issues. Gorky told a legend he heard on his travels about people who value independence and freedom more than anything else in the world.
The story is constructed in an unusual way - the author uses a frame composition, this is the so-called “story within a story.” The story begins with a dialogue between the old gypsy Makara Chudra and the narrator. The image of the narrator here is special. This is a dialogue where we do not hear the narrator’s words, and we do not see him himself; there are only responses from Makara Chudra.
Gorky's heroes are the embodiment of pride and audacity, integral characters, independent of their passions, beautiful and self-confident people. Old Makar says that for him the truth of life is freedom. He was not born to be a slave, the will and expanse of the steppe are clear to him, “the sound of the sea wave gladdens his heart.” Makar believes that you need to live without stopping in one place and without thinking about life, so as not to stop loving it. There is no need to ask yourself why you live, otherwise you will be overcome by melancholy. He does not understand the Russian, who advises him to live according to God’s word and says that then God will give everything: why doesn’t he himself ask him for new clothes to replace the torn ones? The gypsy tells a story that “as soon as you remember, you will be a free bird throughout your life.” Freedom for him is the greatest value in the world.
This romantic legend helps us understand the hero's inner world and what he values. The daring fellow Loiko Zobar loved only horses, and even then not for long - he had nothing cherished and he was not afraid of anything. This is how Makar Chudra characterizes him: “I’ll be damned if I didn’t already love him as myself, before he said a word to me or simply noticed that I also live in this world! Look, falcon, what kind of people there are! He will look into your eyes and fill your soul, and you are not at all ashamed of this, but also proud for you. With such a person you become a better person. There are few such people, friend!.. And he is as wise as an old man, and knowledgeable in everything, and he understood Russian and Magyar literacy. It used to be that he would go talk and wouldn’t sleep for a long time listening to him! And he plays - God bless me if anyone else in the world played like that! He used to draw a bow along the strings - and your heart would tremble, draw it again - and it would freeze, listening, and he plays and smiles. I wanted to cry and laugh at the same time, listening to him.”
The beautiful Radda would not sell her freedom and pride for any money. When Zobar tells her of his love, she knocks him down with a belt whip. And then she comes to him to make peace. This is what Radda Loiko says: “I have never loved anyone, Loiko, but I love you. And I also love freedom! Will, Loiko, I love you more than you. And I can’t live without you, just as you can’t live without me. So I want you to be mine, body and soul.” Radda demands from the gypsy in love that he submit to her as the eldest, in full view of the entire camp. Gypsies are such proud people that kneeling is like death for them. However, the hard-hearted Radda demands this from Loiko, promising him her love. Why is Rudd's "devil wench" behaving this way? Why is it not easy for Loiko to confess his love? The heroes are freedom-loving and do not want to be subordinated to anything, even love passion. They do not recognize dependence even on a loved one, and therefore they talk about love and immediately fight for independence, for supremacy.
How do the gypsies feel about what is happening? They “even wanted to go somewhere, just not to see Loiko Zobar fall at the feet of a girl - even if this girl was Radda. I was ashamed of something, and sorry, and sad.” How is the conflict resolved? What do the heroes choose? The ending of the story is tragic. Loiko refuses to bow at her feet and plunges a knife into Radda, and then kneels in front of the dead girl. Before her death, Radda says that she knew that Loiko would do so, appreciating the fact that he did not give up his ideal for the sake of love, did not humiliate himself. Radda's father, Danilo, plunges the same knife into Loiko's back.
The landscape in the story conveys the feelings of the characters - “the sea sang a gloomy and solemn hymn to the proud pair of handsome gypsies.” A seascape with a strong cold wind, the silent darkness of the steppe, autumn rain, the flame of a fire - these sketches look like the frame of a legend. The author says that a person will only become a fighter if he has achieved inner freedom. Gorky gives Loiko the traits and makings of a folk hero, ready to sacrifice himself for the sake of another person or for the sake of an idea.
The story of Zobar and Radda shows that they value freedom more than life and love. Everyone sets their own impossible conditions for their loved one. According to Makar Chudra, pride and love are incompatible, and more than anything else, a gypsy must protect his independence, even if it can only be preserved at the cost of his own life. The narrator leads us to the idea that pride dooms a person to loneliness. And therefore the heroes become hostages of their freedom.
What do you need to do to look at the world in a new way? Experience an important event, visit an unknown place. But how to get acquainted with a different attitude towards life? Gorky's story "Makar Chudra" solves all the questions raised. This early work of the writer goes beyond the romantic sketch that it is traditionally considered to be. This creation has philosophical overtones and remains relevant to this day.
“Makar Chudra” is the first story of the young writer Alexei Peshkov, which he published under the pseudonym M. Gorky. This striking debut took place in 1892 in the newspaper “Caucasus”. The author was then working in a provincial newspaper in Tiflis, and the impetus for writing was conversations with A. Kalyuzhny, a revolutionary and wanderer. It was this man who was the first to see a talented prose writer in the young writer and instilled in Alexei confidence in his own abilities. He also helped Gorky take the first step into the world of great literature - to publish a work. The writer was grateful to Kalyuzhny and considered him his teacher.
The story is called, like many other early works of Gorky, after the name of the main character - an old gypsy. And it is not accidental: Makar is translated from Greek as “happy,” and Chudra is the occasionalism of the creator of the text, the etymology of which probably goes back to the word “miracle.”
Genre and direction
Gorky's early work is permeated with the spirit of romanticism: the author asks questions about the ideal, freedom, and the meaning of life. As a rule, these themes are heard in the narration of a hero who is wise and experienced, and these memories are presented to a still young interlocutor with an unformed worldview. So, for example, in the work of the gypsies under consideration, Makar Chudra tells the young man about his fate, about what he values, what, in his opinion, is worth valuing.
Here is a view that is in many ways exotic to the average reader: is there happiness in a settled life? What is real will? In the heroes there is no struggle between reason and feeling: unconditional preference is given to passion and will. They are worth living for, and you can die for them. In order to form the most complete idea of the direction of Gorky’s early work, pay attention to.
Composition
The main feature of the composition is that Gorky in his work uses the technique of a story within a story: the young hero hears from the lips of Chudra the legend of a daring gypsy named Loiko Zobar. This beautiful story is framed by Makar’s philosophical reasoning, presented in the form of replicas. This method of presentation is reminiscent in its nature of confession.
The story about Loika has a classic three-part composition: the introduction of the hero, his character and environment, the climax - the main conflict of the character and its romantic resolution at the end of the story.
The work is rounded off by a description of the sea - an imperturbable element that symbolizes freedom and eternity.
Conflict
The main conflict of the work is freedom and slavery. The story is permeated by the collision of two fundamentally different worldviews: people of a nomadic lifestyle and a sedentary one. It is this conflict that becomes the impetus for remembering the legend of Loika Zobar. Some value freedom, both internal and external, which is expressed in the refusal to own material wealth and independence from anyone. The inability to obey is explained by pride and self-esteem. Any admiration for such a person is seen as slavery, with which a free soul will never agree.
This attitude to life led to the death of two young people who continue to be admired even after death. Radda admitted that she loves Loika, but still freedom is more than him. The passionately loving gypsy could not come to terms with such a revelation: he could not lose his will for the sake of someone who could not make the same sacrifice.
About what?
The old gypsy Makar Chudra reflects on existence, freedom and the destiny of man. He recalls the story of the daring Loika Zobar. He was handsome, strong and incredibly talented. The daredevil allowed himself to play with women’s hearts because he could not find his equal, that worthy girl. The meeting with the beauty turned his life upside down: he realized that he could only be happy by possessing her, or death. The obstinate gypsy puts will above love and invites her knight to bow at her feet in front of the entire camp - to submit to her. The young gypsy cannot agree to such humiliation in front of a woman: he decides to test her stone heart for strength with his knife. Radda's father pays him the same - this is how these lovers are united in heaven.
The main characters and their characteristics
The first image of Makar Chudra appears before us in this story. The author's admiration for this man is felt: the writer repeatedly appeals to the fact that the hero is already 58 years old, but he still retains his powerful physique. His conversation with the young man resembles a philosophical dialogue between a self-satisfied sage and a student. The main thesis of Makar Chudra is that you are your own life. It is better to be free from prejudices, rather than listen to imaginary instructions. For him, the standard of such a free and independent personality is Loiko Zobar.
This young gypsy was incredibly kind and talented, his pride did not develop into arrogance: it was a sincere joy in freedom, in the opportunity to enjoy the vastness of this world. His crime was not caused by fear of what other gypsies would say. No, this is not that kind of character. Love replaced the passion for will, but Radda did not experience the same feeling for Loika in order to fill the place of her former life in his heart. The young man could not survive this grief, there could be no other outcome: the path of humiliation is not for a proud gypsy, longing for his beloved is not for a warm heart.
Themes
- Freedom. Nomads value independence from everything material and do not understand how they can spend all their years on endless work in the field and arranging their home. So, for the entire period that is allotted from above, you may not see anything in the world and not comprehend wisdom.
- Love. For the main characters, love has a special value: you can kill for it, give your life. Everything is radical and clear: this feeling either comes first, or it should be torn out of the heart.
- Nature. She acts as the keeper of the secrets of knowledge. Only she knows will, willfulness, independence. The landscape in the story is rich in symbols: the steppe and the sea - freedom, the cultivated field - slavery.
- Meaning of life. The text is permeated by philosophical reflections on the search for the purpose of existence: wandering or cultivation, the search for beauty or everyday life? The old gypsy offers his point of view to the Russian youth, and it seems that he manages to charm the young interlocutor with it.
- Freedom and slavery. This antithesis concerns absolutely all topics: from love to way of existence. What is really worth spending your life on: “come and see” or stay and settle down? Perhaps the worldview of a nomad and a peasant are alien to each other, but still everyone has something to adopt for themselves.
- Impossibility of love. The wayward beauty does not respond to Loika with the same feeling, but offers to submit. Deep down, the enchantress knows what this gypsy will do. Can we say that she deliberately doomed herself to death, that she wanted to die for the sake of his passionate love? Probably yes, because two loves fought inside Radda: for a young man and for freedom, and she lost this battle in favor of her will. But was the girl happy with this outcome of the internal conflict? Hardly. That's why she made such an offer. Loiko could not come to terms with Radda’s decision, which prompted him to do just that. These heroes were worth each other: the young gypsy also understood that her father would avenge her - only death would unite proud hearts.
Issues
The meaning of the story
Showing a worldview that is exotic for the majority of the readership, Gorky reminds the public of the natural, primordial beginning of man, when he was not tied to his place, home, things. The author's position is expressed in rejection of a slavish attitude towards life. It is worth remembering that this writer will later say: “Man, that sounds proud.” Gorky is outraged by the cowardice of people, their attention to public opinion, and thoughtless adherence to accepted orders. It is worth noting that he does not follow the path of ridiculing the current situation. A different method is proposed here: it shows people of other faiths with completely different values and preferences.
The idea of “Makar...” is to remember your individuality and not merge with the masses. Perhaps Gorky hopes that his creation will make the same bewitching impression on the reader as on the young listener of Makar Chudra. Thus, people will awaken the desire to discover a new life.
Interesting? Save it on your wall!“Makar Chudra” is Maxim Gorky’s first story, so it showed all the sincerity of the young artist, his romantic nature. The story was written based on the impressions of the future writer’s wanderings in Bessarabia, his acquaintance with the free wandering life of the gypsies, bright characters, and the spirit of freedom characteristic of the expanses of those places. The dependence of Gorky’s story on Pushkin’s poem “The Gypsies” (1824) is undeniable. But “Makar Chudra” is not at all a repetition of Pushkin’s work in new images in another historical time. For Gorky, Pushkin’s poem became a source of inspiration, serving as an example of the development of a plot situation and the creation of images.
Gorky uses a traditional scheme of interaction between heroes in the story. There are four heroes. First of all, this is the listener and the author-narrator of the story, that is, this image is simultaneously “in” the story being told and “outside” it. The second important figure is the narrator - the old gypsy Makar Chudra. Note that in Pushkin, the old gypsy sometimes appears in this capacity, but not in those cases when direct events occur in the poem. And finally, the core of the romantic story is the love of two bright natures: the young gypsy, who embodied the very daring and freedom, Loiko Zobar, and the beautiful gypsy Radda, in whose image all earthly beauty and indomitable will were combined. Thus, the reader learns an extraordinary story-legend about love and freedom from the story of an old gypsy, which, in turn, is retold by the author-narrator. It turns out that the story passes through three “filters”: the personal experience of its direct participants, the assessment and reasoning of the gypsy, and the artistic rethinking of the author-narrator.
The conflict in the story “Makar Chudra” can be presented from two perspectives. First of all, he continues the Pushkin theme in “Gypsies”. However, if Pushkin’s romantic poem embodies ideas that go beyond the boundaries of this literary movement, then Gorky, on the contrary, affirms the romantic ideal in spite of reality. That is why the love conflict in Pushkin’s poem, in which the Russian exile Aleko, the gypsy Zemfira and the young gypsy participate, was replaced by Gorky with a conflict between two gypsies, between whom there is no barrier except their will, which they value more than life. Consequently, the conflict in Gorky’s story is not realistic, like Pushkin’s, but romantic.
Why did Gorky call the story “Makar Chudra”, because he is just a storyteller? It seems that the role of the old gypsy is very important in the work and is not limited to the function of the narrator. Makar Chudra serves as an exponent of the ideas of the story from the position of a person who is outside social life, outside the oppression of morality and obligations. Thanks to the ideological purpose of this image, the plot role of Makar Chudra grows to the role of a wise teacher expressing the innermost thoughts of a young writer.
The romantic spirit of Gorky's early works turned out to be in demand in Russian society of that time, which needed a voice affirming freedom, love, and human dignity. A very characteristic visual technique of early Gorky was that he expanded the traditional possibilities of prose by involving other types of art, such as painting and graphics. This is, for example, the description of the hero: “Here is a horse cut out of the darkness, and a man sits on it and plays, riding up to us.” The verb “cut out” is akin to a colorful epithet, and Gorky needed it in order to clearly and visibly highlight the main image of his early work - a proud and free person.
Source: Moskvin G.V. Literature: 9th grade: in 2 hours. Part 2 / G.V. Moskvin, N.N. Puryaeva, E.L. Erokhin. - M.: Ventana-Graf, 2016
Chekhov highly valued Gorky's stories “On Rafts” and “In the Steppe”: they were in tune with the work of Chekhov and his contemporaries with their strict, sad and merciful attitude towards the world and the people of everyday life. The novelty of Gorky's position was manifested, however, in a new approach to man. It was not enough for him to say how badly people lived. It was not enough for him to teach the reader to pity and love the humiliated and oppressed. In all spheres of life, Gorky began to look for those who were capable of heroism.
The semi-legendary tale of the “experienced man” Makar Chudra about the young gypsies Loiko Zobar and Radda, the daughter of the glorious soldier Danila, sounded like a hymn to freedom and love. The beautiful Radda, lovingly, smiled like a queen. Loiko was like a mountain eagle. Their love burned with a bright, sizzling flame. But in the gloomy life that people have created, lovers would have to “submit to the tightness that squeezed them.” Like a flash of lightning, their love could not get along with the world of ordinary, dimly living people, ready to either sell or buy what they called love. Radda and Loiko, both of them, preferred death to such love. It’s hard to believe that the legend about their love, their rapture of will and their fearless death is based on reality. Gorky painted such unusual characters, so strongly feeling souls, that the reader imagines heroes of heroic proportions: they wanted love-will, which can be seen in a dream or which can be heard about in a fairy tale.
The atmosphere of a romantic fairy tale is supported by a corresponding description of nature: gusts of cold wind, the severity of the endless steppe, the splash of a sea wave running onto the shore, the bright flame of a fire that parted the darkness of the autumn night. The romantic flavor is enhanced by the story of the daring robber life of Zobar, who was not afraid of Satan himself and his retinue. And even more so - hints at the demonic nature of Radda’s image: Makar Chudra alternately calls her “the devil’s wench,” “the damned Radda,” and then “the devil’s wench.” However, despite the seemingly ominous epithets and comparisons, the general tone of the legend story is magical, fairy-tale, highly romantic.
