The Scarlet Flower. The Tale of the Key Keeper Pelageya

Sergei Timofeevich Aksakov (1791 - 1859) was a Russian writer, literary and theatrical critic. He was born in Ufa into a noble family belonging to an ancient lineage, graduated from Kazan Gymnasium, and entered Kazan University. At the gymnasium, S.T. Aksakov began writing poetry, and during his university years, he participated in the activities of the student theater. Without finishing university, he moved to St. Petersburg, where he took a position in the Commission for the Drafting of Laws as a translator. However, this job was not very interesting to the future writer; he became increasingly interested in literary activities. In 1847, S.T. Aksakov published "Notes on Fishing," and in 1849, "Notes of a Gun Hunter," both of which were significantly successful. But the writer truly gained fame with his autobiographical books - "Family Chronicle" (1856) and "The Childhood Years of Bagrov's Grandson" (1858), written based on childhood memories and family traditions.
As an appendix to "The Childhood Years of Bagrov's Grandson," the tale "The Scarlet Flower" was published. According to the author himself, he first heard the plot of "The Scarlet Flower" from key keeper Pelageya: "This tale, which I heard for several years, not just a dozen times, because I liked it very much, I later memorized and told it myself." "The Scarlet Flower" is one of the many variations of the European fairy tale "Beauty and the Beast." This work teaches readers to value in a person not external beauty, but spiritual qualities and a rich inner world. The heroine of the tale was able to see that behind the terrifying appearance of the beast lies a kind and loving heart, able to love "the forest beast, the sea miracle," and thereby break the magical spell.