Marya Moryevna is a Russian variant of Tale Type 552, The Girls Who Married Animals. Despite this fact, it has many differences from other tales of the same type, specifically the Grimm version "The Three Sisters." A Proppian analysis, which looks at the structure of a tale, reveals that the two tales begin similar, and then diverge.
I. This first section occurs only once
--Ivan Tsarevich is instructed by dying mother and father to let sisters marry first suitor who comes along.
II. This section occurs twice
--Thunder storm
--Animal proposes to the sisters
--Ivan Tsarevich agrees
III. This section occurs once
--Ivan goes in search of sisters
--Meets Morya Moryevna
--Ivan is instructed to not look in a certain room
--Ivan opens the door and finds Koschey the Deathless
--Koschey the Deathless takes Marya Moryevna
--Ivan goes out in search of Marya
IV. This section occurs three times
--Ivan meets with his sisters and their animal husbands
--He leaves an item with each of the animals
V.This section repeats three times
--Ivan finds Marya and takes her away with him
--Koschey the Deathless chases after Ivan on his very fast horse
--Koschey warns Ivan not to take Marya again
VI.This section occurs once
--On the final time, Koschy kills Ivan
--Items given to animals turn black
--They bring Ivan back to life
--They suggest that Ivan finds out where Koschey got his horse
--Marya learns from Koschy that he got his horse from Baba Yaga
VII. This section occurs three times
--On his way to Baba Yaga, Ivan encounters three animals with food that he does not eat
--At Baba Yaga's, he is instructed to look after the horses
--Animals bring horses back to Baba Yaga's
VIII. This occurs only once
--Ivan steals a horse
--He rescues Marya and escapes on his horse
--Kills Koschey the Deathless
--Returns to brothers-in-law
This page was written by Maria Sloughter and edited by Michele Nichols