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= Emilian the Fool =

Introduction
“Emilian the Fool” is a Russian folktale included as part of the W.R.S Ralston collection of Russian Fairy Tales. The story follows a fool named Emilian receiving magical luck from a river pike. “Emilian the Fool” is a piece taking place in a type of kingdom. Due to the role of a “fool” being a staple in medieval culture, the piece could be inferred to take place in a medieval context, despite Emilian himself not fitting the typical description of a medieval fool.

Plot summary
Emilian is a fool who is one of three brothers. His brothers are married businessmen, who go off to sell their goods in town and order Emilian to stay home with their wives. They tell him to treat their wives with respect, and that they will buy him red boots, a red caftan, and a red shirt. Emilian stays home and instead lazily lays on the stove, which offends the wives, and they tell the fool to go fetch water from the river.

While fetching the water, Emilian scoops up a pike. He intends to cook the pike, but the pike speaks to him, saying Emilian will receive good luck if it is returned to the river. He questions the pike’s “good luck”, and the pike tells Emilian that whatever he says, shall be done. As proof of this, Emilian commands the pails he used to fetch the water to return home and be put in their place. Just as he says, the pails go home and put themselves away at their own accord. Emilian’s sisters-in-law are confused by this, and once again command Emilian to fetch more wood for the fire. Emilian grabs axes and climbs into a sledge and commands it to go forth without horses. The sledge carries Emilian through a nearby town, which upsets the townsfolk, and into the forest. He orders the axes to chop the wood into pieces and a cudgel. He returns to town, and the townspeople are still angry, so Emilian orders the cudgel to push through the crowd and knock them over before returning home with the wood.

The townspeople petition the King, saying the best way to get ahold of the fool would be to give him the gifts his brothers promised him. The king’s men go to the fool and extend the offer, and Emilian rides to the King on his stove. The King plans to put Emilian to death, but he has a daughter who takes a liking to the fool. At the daughter’s insistence, herself and Emilian are instead married. The King orders the couple inside a tub and throws it in the water. Emilian commands the tub be cast ashore, and also commands a palace be built for them standing opposite the King’s. The King notices this and pardons the couple, before they all begin living together happily.

Literary context
The story “Emilian the Fool” contains magical elements, but focuses on a simpler narrative of everyday events in its not explicitly described setting. The story doesn’t contain any animal companions or any animals at all, keeping it from being classified as an animal tale. The story also has no references to saints, religious practices, or anything of the sort. Some of the family and class conflicts could link the story as being classified as a wonder tale. “Emilian the Fool” however is hardly a heroic tale. Emilian is granted great power, but does not use his newfound power for good, only for his own personal gain. He at one point even uses his power to essentially terrorize the townspeople. “Emilian the Fool” most closely could be classified as a tale of everyday life but contains magical elements that contrast its own natural world.

Fools stereotypically fit the role of comedy and entertaining those of aristocracy and higher class, whether genuinely talented or not. Fools took more authoritative roles over time however, serving in royal courts or being put to work as servants, or even going to battle. Emilian is not a fool in profession, but serves to be no more than entertainment and a target of ridicule to those around him, particularly his brothers.

Themes
The tale has clear conflict between Emilian and his brothers, their wives, the townspeople, and the King. There is both familial conflict and class conflict. One reading of the tale may reveal “Emilian the Fool” to be about class, but nothing about Emilian’s status as a “fool” could be read as commentary as his status is mainly regarding his work ethic and intelligence. The story does not aim to paint the King in a particularly negative light, so we don’t see negative commentary on an upper class. Emilian, seeming to come from the lower class, makes a new life for himself not through works of his own but through supernatural influence by the pike. His journey as a character does not see him met with repercussions, especially being pardoned by the King in the end.