Tea Obreht’s “The Tiger’s Wife” is a hybrid combination of both the fantastical and the real. By engaging with the various genres of the fairy tale, fable and realism, Obreht’s work extends the notions of genre in fiction, to a hyper-realistic portrayal of the Balkan Wars. When considering the two key tales in Obreht’s work, that of the “Deathless Man” and “The Tiger and the Tiger’s Wife” Obreht reveals a fantastical world immersed in Yugoslavian myth and ancient superstition. In contrast, there
interesting duality. Koschei the Immortal, Baba Yaga’s male counterpart, hides his mortality in a needle making him
based on the Russian folktale about Prince Ivan, who wanders into the realm of Koschei the Immortal. He is chasing The Firebird, but in their final battle he does not kill her. As a token of thanks, The Firebird gives Prince Ivan a magical feather to summon her in a time of dire need. Prince Ivan meets 13 princesses who are under the control of Koschei. He falls in love with one princess, and then quarrels with Koschei. Koschei sends his minions after Prince Ivan, who summons The Firebird. The Firebird
Folklore is a collection of stories passed down from generation to generation that include Legends, Myths, and Fairy Tales. Legends are stories about people or events which have been written in history. The stories can be made up, but the events may be loosely based on facts. Myths are stories that contain little to no historical facts, and are so far fetched that it is easy to distinguish. Fairy Tales are stories that can contain fantastic elements, and/or supernatural events or mythical characters
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov was born in 1844 and lived until his death in 1908. He was born in Tikhvin, Russia, and by the time he was nine, he had written his first composition. Music was never thought as a profession for Rimsky-Korsakov until much later. Both his brother and his father were naval officers, and he was expected to become one as well. As a child Rimsky-Korsakov loved to play the piano and had an excellent ear and perfect pitch. His parents never really took notice