The Fairy Tale: The Death of Koschei the Deathless
Sources: Alexander Afanasyev and The Red Fairy Book
Medium: Television
Show: Grimm
History and Analysis
Last week’s episode of Grimm, titled “Red Menace,” started with a quote: “To kill Koshei the Deathless, first you must find his soul, which is hidden in an egg, in a duck in a lead chest buried beneath an oak tree.” This comes from the Russian fairy tale “The Death of Koschei the Deathless,” collected by Alexander Afanasyev in his book Narodnye russkie skazki and also found in Andrew Lang’s The Red Fairy Book. The story is about an evil immortal man who terrorizes young women. The hero, Ivan Tsarevitch, marries the beautiful warrior princess Marya Marevna.
One day, Marya leaves for war and instructs Ivan to avoid opening a dungeon door in their castle. Driven by curiosity, Ivan eventually opens it and discovers Koschei, weak and near death. Koschei pleads for water, and Ivan brings him twelve buckets, reviving Koschei’s magical powers. Koschei then escapes and abducts Marya. Ivan sets out to find her, and in his first encounter with Koschei, he is killed, with his remains thrown into the sea.
Ivan is later rescued and revived by the husbands of Koschei’s sisters. They advise him to get a magic horse from Baba Yaga, as Koschei possesses one. After passing Baba Yaga’s test, Ivan confronts and kills Koschei, rescuing Marya safely.
Koschei appears in other Russian fairy tales as a typical male antagonist known for abducting the hero’s wife. Killing him is challenging because his soul is protected in the egg inside the duck mentioned earlier. Finding this egg is nearly impossible since even if the protagonist locates the oak tree and the duck, the duck will fly away.
The Good
In the latest Grimm episode, they featured a Wesen named Koschei who repents for his past misdeeds. This Koschei is a menace to young women, a womanizer who cheats on his wife, similar to the folk tale character who is typically portrayed as an older, emaciated man preying on young women.
The Bad
Aside from the old man trope and the Wesen’s name, the episode doesn’t closely follow the original tale. There isn’t much else that reflects the fairy tale’s events.
The Ugly
What makes it disappointing is that this character appears in many Russian fairy tales and serves as an archetypal figure. The show didn’t need to strictly follow one specific story, but it could have stayed true to the archetype. The character in Grimm is old and menacing but doesn’t abduct anyone’s wife or appear emaciated and creepy. He is somewhat wizard-like since he’s a healer in the episode, but that’s a stretch. He isn’t portrayed as a feared wizard terrorizing young women, which is a missed opportunity.
Do you have your own take on this fairy tale? Share your thoughts below…
