The Bear and the Nightingale and The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden

In a time long ago and a world far away, one girl dares to claim the right to make her own fate. Against her family's desires, the demands of society and church, she resists the life laid out for her. Even the pagan gods, whose power is slowly fading, tries to harness her for their good but she will not be chattel to anyone. Vasilisa, the wild child of the woods, who can talk to horses and the household spirits, only seeks one thing: the freedom of self determination.

All my Goodreads friends had raved about The Bear and the Nightingale. I felt like I had badly missed out. I purchased a Kindle copy but had not read it...then I won a copy of the second volume in the Winternight Trilogy, The Girl in the Tower, through Bookish. I immediately started reading the first book before the ARC of the second volume arrived.

I am not a huge fantasy fan. So take that into consideration when I say I loved this book. I loved the setting in old Rus', a time when paganism had not yet been driven out by Christianity. I loved the Russian fairy tales that inform the novel. Vasilisa, with her wide mouth and large green eyes, is a manifestation of a traditional Russian folk tale of a frog who turns into a princess.

The story opens on a late winter night in Rus', with children demanding a story. And they hear about the frost-demon, the winter king Morozko, also known as the death-god who froze bad children in the night. In the fairy tale, a step-mother sends her step-daughter into the winter forest to marry Morozko. The girl was nonplussed by the demon and he sent her home with dowry gifts. The step-mother was jealous of her good fortune and sends her own daughter to the Frost-King, expecting her to return with riches. But her spoiled daughter was ungrateful and complained. Morozko did not save her.

One of the children listening, Vasilisa, has inherited her mother's and grandmother's gift of recognizing the spirit world. Vasya is happier in the stable or the woods than she is in the house, and bristles against the limited life laid out for a girl child. She understands that the spirits are languishing, which means they cannot protect the hearth, home, or stable, and she befriends them in secret. Else, she would be called a witch or a mad woman.

In an interview with Book Page, Arden describes these household spirits of protection:

There is a guardian spirit for everything in Russian folklore. The domovoi guards the house; the dvorovoi guards the dooryard. The bannik guards the bathhouse, the ovinnik, the threshing-­house. Their areas of influence are almost absurdly specific. And each creature has a certain appearance and personality, and people must do certain things to placate them.

Vasya's father goes to Moscow to seek a bride, and a bridegroom for his eldest daughter. His son Sasha stays to study for the priesthood. The Rus' ruler takes advantage, offering his 'mad' daughter as wife-- Anna, a pious Christian who sees the spirits and, believing they are demons, shrieks in despair.

Also sent back to the deep woods is the priest Konstantin, a man who seeks holy glory and preaches against the old ways. When voices talk to him he believes it is God who directs him to instill fear to drive the people to God. Vasya disturbs him, in more ways than one.

Vasya strives to maintain the old ways, fighting the evil spirits that threaten her family, and finding protection from Morozko. When the spirit of Death in the form of a monstrous bear attacks their community, Vasya is blamed. Rather than being forced to marry or enter a convent, or be killed as a witch, Vasya dresses as a boy and goes out into the world with a horse from Morozko, the unworldly stead Solovey, or Nightingale.

The novel is otherworldly and enchanting. It is a delight to read a female hero's journey.

*****

In the early 1970s I audited a course in which I read Carl Jung, Joseph Campbell, and Morphology of the Folktale by V. Propp. Reading Arden's story brought back things I had learned at that time.

The Hero's Journey as set out in Campbell's Hero with a Thousand Faces is found universally in folk lore, fairy tales, religions, and in literature. The journey includes separation, or leaving home and childhood; initiation and trials; symbolic death, a journey to the underworld or being 'in the belly of a whale'; meeting with a god; apotheosis; return, rescue, and freedom. There are magical agents or helpers along the way to ad the hero.

Propp breaks down the structure of folk tales. The villain threatening harm to the family, an object is sought to solve a problem, the hero is pursued and rescued, the hero is given difficult task, the false hero or villain is exposed,the villain is punished, and the hero is married.

The journey of a female hero is slightly different. First, the female hero must escape domestic imprisonment as a child. She is called to adventure, refusing supernatural aid. She may have to chose between a light and a dark man, searches for a father, and encounters an alternative mother figure.The female hero rejects her inferiority as a woman, and after trials and tests, succeeds in her quest.

Vasya is truly a female hero on a journey, born of the traditional Russian folk tale.

*****

The Girl in the Tower continues Vasya's story from The Bear and the Nightingale.

In the cruel winter, Vasya flees her home where she was driven out as a witch. Alone in the frozen winter woods with Solovey, Morozko must save her life once again. She will not heed his advice to take on the life of a wife and mother. She will not be constrained to such a limited world.

Vasya encounters burned villages and hears of raiders who take girl children. She follows the marauders and, using trickery, saves the the girls. But the leader of the marauders sees her and pursues them. Vasya comes to walled village and they are taken in. There she meets her brother Sasha, the valiant priest and childhood friend of the ruling prince. Her exploits impress the prince, and she leads his band to track down the marauders. Vasya accompanies the retinue to Moscow and is reunited with her sister. Also in Moscow is the tormented Konstintine, the priest whose misguided faith drove him to persecute Vasya in her hometown.

Vasya's identity as a boy forces her siblings to collude in her lie, a risky venture since they must deceive the prince. Also in Moscow is a foreign ruler who has a special interest in Vasya, and who also has a magical horse even more powerful than Solovey.

Morozko, the Frost King, reappears several times warning Vasya or saving her life. He needs her faith to live, but also is drawn to the girl. But to love her he must give up immortality. In any case, Vasya disdains his help and alienates him.

The story includes a twisted plot of false identities, a heritage of women who can communicate with the spirit world, and a riveting epic battle.

I can't wait for the third volume!

I received a free ARC through Bookish First in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

*****

In the story, Christianity vies with pagan beliefs. Konstantine represents the aggressive element which warns of witches and false worship, calling the spirits demons. Sasha has studied for the priesthood, but can not leave the world for the cloister. He is fights at the prince's side while also blessing the dying. He must reconcile his Christian belief with Vasya's shared wisdom of otherworldly forces.

In an interview with Book Page, Arden addresses this conflict:

BP: The conflict between Christianity and the old traditions is a big part of this book. What do readers need to know about this period in Russian history? 

KA: I think it’s important to realize that this period of Russian history doesn’t have a lot of primary sources...But what we do know: at this time period (mid fourteenth century) Muscovy was rising rapidly, buoyed by a long collaboration with the Golden Horde, which had taken power in Russia about two hundred years prior. At the time, the Horde was preoccupied by succession problems (Genghis Khan had a really absurd number of descendants), and the Grand Princes of Moscow were quietly expanding their territory and bringing lesser princes into the fold. 

During this period, much of Muscovy’s conflict was with other Russian city-­states (notably Tver), but Dmitrii Ivanovich (who is still a boy in The Bear and the Nightingale) is the first prince who will successfully oppose the Golden Horde and Mongol dominance in Russia.