12 - Goodness Endures

Summary

In the dark hours of the 1930s, authors and illustrators drew succor from the compassion in folklore. Goodness is closely allied with Foolishness in Russian folklore; each derives from an amalgam of innocence and kindness. In tale after tale, hapless heroes selflessly help troubled creatures and later reap multiples of the assistance rendered. Authors and illustrators sought sanctuary in this unrealistic parallel world, revisiting and updating tales of talking animals, exotic times and places, and Fools whose wishes are granted. The hidden meanings – their potent messages about the good, the bad, and the wily – slipped under the censors’ radar, reaching adult readers as well as children. Successive new editions of Petr Ershov’s Little Humpbacked Horse (1834) reached wide Soviet audiences. Andrei Platonov developed a remarkable collection of fairytales in the 1940s, while his teenaged son was imprisoned in the GULAG. Sergei Prokofiev’s Peter protected the wolf from hunters. Kornei Chukovsky created a ménage of friendly animals and a kindly Russian Dr. Dolittle to tend them. Daniil Kharms penned a tale of inclusion and tolerance in 1929, as Stalin’s hold on the arts tightened. These and other works countered the cruelty and cynicism of Socialist Realism.