Out of the Deep Woods and Into the Light: The Invention of Snegurochka as a Representation of Russian National Identity

Abstract

The character of Snegurochka [Snow Maiden] has her origin in Russian folktales and is now part of an annual national tradition. The article considers her popularity as a result of different processes of inventing and reinventing national identity and the reflection on cultural heritage initiated through the Russian intelligentsia in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Since her breakthrough as the main character of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera Snegurochka (1882), based on Alexander Ostrovsky’s play in verse of the same name (1873), the amalgamation of different artistic interpretations facilitated her transformation into a representation of national identity, perceived as a product of national community and therefore of the people.