Masha and Bear(s): A Russian Palimpsest

Abstract

When stories are scraped clean and re-written, how much of the original shines through later tales? This paper offers a palimpsest analysis (palímpsestos, “scratched/scraped again”) of the story Masha and the Bear based on a Russian folktale, Tolstoy’s tale The Three Bears, and the transformed folk world in the contemporary cartoon series Masha and the Bear. A palimpsest analysis of a text reveals different layers of readers’, listeners’, and viewers’ expectations, allowing them to challenge the story. Bringing together different versions of a tale with seemingly very similar characters and plot lines, where each subsequent story is regarded as a palimpsest, adds new features to each story’s interpretation. Considering the tale of Masha and the Bear, told differently in Russian folklore, literary tradition and modern media, demonstrates juxtaposition of textual layers that produces a variety of effects, from tragic to comic.