It is not entirely clear what happens in the fairy tale, but the plot is as follows: Prince Remy, happily living with his parents in a beautiful castle in a rich country, rides his favorite horse for a walk and finds himself in another reality: in a dark world inhabited by witches, sorcerers, lost children and other unfortunate and restless creatures.
Who set this up and why is unknown (at the end of the fairy tale it also doesn’t become clearer), but there is an assumption that this is an allegory of adolescence and the antithesis of adult and child life. In childhood, everything is simple, clear and sunny, but then there comes a period when a person is surrounded by characters who come from nowhere, whose intentions are vague and their adequacy is a big question. If you make an effort and push through the thorns, everything will fall into place again, life will sparkle with new colors again; a child, taking off his rose-colored glasses, will see things as they are, it will be difficult for him, but he will grow up and cope with everything. He will also understand that there is no fate or predestination, one must live in the present, make the future and not worry about the past. Prince Remy, having found the book of his life in the library, discovers that it is impossible to look into tomorrow, because the book is written every second. “What is, is; what was, is no longer; what will be, is not yet.” That's right... A real philosophical abyss. And I’m not yet telling you about the dragon that Remy turns into after killing another dragon... In general, many incredible adventures will befall the boy, but in the end he will find love and return home. Although this is not a true happy ending, a bitter aftertaste will remain. Well, it happens in life...
The atmosphere of “The Story of Prince Remy” is reminiscent of classic European fairy tales by Andersen, the Brothers Grimm, Perrault... Magic coexists with medieval darkness, sometimes with cruelty and death. Although this story was written in the middle of the twentieth century.
And the author also uses the “story within a story” technique, and from the lips of Prince Remy we hear two very interesting Russian folk tales: one about grief, the other about Koshchei. But they are very life-affirming and with an unconditionally good ending.
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