[Written down in the government of Archangel.]
This name has been translated, but incorrectly, Koshchéi, the
"Deathless" or "Immortal." Koshchéi was not deathless. His death was
in the world, but in a place apart from him, which is simply another
way of saying that the source of his life was at a distance. We may
find in this fact one very important clew to the discovery of the
nature of personages like Koshchéi. No matter how they are cut up or
slaughtered, where they act, they are alive and as strong as ever next
instant; it is as vain to try to kill them by attacking their bodies
as it is to destroy winter by making bonfires in the open country, or
destroy the summer by artificial cooling. There are two ways by which
we may draw conclusions as to who these personages are,--one by
discovering what or where their life or death is, the other by
examining their acts. We do not know much at present about Koshchéi,
from the fact that his death is in a duck's egg; but if we could learn
who the women are whom he carries away, that would throw light on his
character. Let us take an American example. There is a personage,
Winter, in a certain Indian myth whose heart is hidden away at a
distance, and whose song brings frost and snow. The heart is found by
the enemy of the Snow-maker; this enemy burns it, and the Snow-maker
dies. In another Indian myth the hero's enemy is pounded to pieces,
but comes to life, is killed repeatedly without result. At last the
hero learns that his enemy's heart is in the sky, at the western side
of the sun at midday; straightway he reaches up, gets the heart,
crushes it, and his enemy dies. In this case the enemy is surely not a
snow-maker.
Vassilissa Golden Tress, Bareheaded Beauty. Page 124. (Part viii. p.
367.)
[Written down by Bronnitski.]