Ivan the Fool () or Ivan the Ninny is a lucky fool stock character who appears in

Russian folklore Folklore of Russia is folklore of Russians and other ethnic groups of Russia. Russian folklore takes its roots in the pagan beliefs of ancient Slavs and now is represented in the Russian fairy tales. Epic Russian bylinas are also an important ...

, a very simple-minded, but, nevertheless, lucky young man. Ivan is described as a likeable fair-haired and blue-eyed youth. The approximate setting of Ivan the Fool's adventures is 15th- or 16th-century

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

. Ivan the Fool usually appears in stories either as a

peasant A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasa ...

or as the son of a poor family. He is usually the youngest of three brothers; his older siblings appear much smarter than he, but are sometimes unkind to and envious of him. In contrast to typical

hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ''actor''), ''her ...

es, Ivan's simplicity and lack of guile turn out to help him in his adventures. For example, he listens to his heart rather than to his mind, and he easily forgets offence and endeavors to help others even at his own expense. His naivety, kindness, and daring help him fight

villain A villain (also known as a " black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. '' Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' defines such a charact ...

s, make friends, and win

princess Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin '' princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subs ...

es' hearts, and ultimately he is rewarded with half a kingdom or some similar accomplishment. The moral of these stories is that Ivan the Fool is rarely the fool, but is merely perceived as such by others owing to his simple nature and joviality. According to one theory, Ivan the Fool as originally created was not intended to be a fool at all: at that time the Russian word дурак (''durak'', currently meaning "fool") did not have any negative connotation, and was used to refer to the youngest son in the family. It was only later that it obtained a new meaning, from which the ambiguity arose. It is inevitably the case that he is a positive character in all tales which mention him.

References

Fiction set in the 15th century Fiction set in the 16th century Russian folklore characters Fairy tale stock characters Russian folklore Fictional jesters {{Europe-myth-stub

See also

References