GENDER ASYMMETRY IN COLOR SYMBOLISM IN RUSSIAN FOLK TALES

Аннотация

Russian folk tales are rich in symbolic imagery, where color often functions as a key code that shapes the audience’s understanding of characters, events, and moral lessons. In traditional oral storytelling, color descriptors are rarely ornamental; rather, they serve as condensed symbols of broader cultural meanings. Through repeated use, certain colors become associated with particular moral, social, or cosmic concepts, and these associations often intersect with gender representation. In Russian folk narratives, male and female characters are frequently depicted with distinct color schemes, and these color choices are rarely accidental.