Among scholars delving into the folkloric aspects of the novella, Viktor P. Petrov tries to match individual motifs in the plot with folktales from Afanasyev's collection or elsewhere.[8]
Viacheslav V. Ivanov's studies concentrate on the Viy creature named in the title, and the themes of death and vision associated around it; Ivanov also undertakes a broader comparative analysis which references non-Slavic traditions as well.[8]
Hans-Jörg Uther classified the story of "Viy", by Gogol, as Aarne–Thompson–Uther tale type ATU 307, "The Princess in the Coffin".[10]
The witch
The witch (Russian: ведьма, ved'ma or панночка, pannochka[d][11]) who attempts to ride her would-be husband is echoed in Ukrainian (or Russian) folktale.
The Malorussian folktale translated as "The Soldier's Midnight Watch", set in Kiev, was identified as a parallel in this respect by its translator, W. R. S. Ralston (1873); it was taken from Afanasyev's collection and the Russian original bore no special title, except "Stories about Witches", variant c.[12][13]
The "Vid'ma ta vid'mak" (Відьма та видьмак), another tale or version from Ukraine, also features a "ride" of similar nature according to Vladimir Ivanovich Shenrok (1893)'s study of Gogol; this tale was edited by Drahomanov.[14]
A listing of a number of folktales exhibiting parallels on this, as well as other motifs, was given by Viktor Petrov (pen names V. Domontovych)[15] and paraphrase of it can be found in Frederik C. Driessen's study (avail. in English translation).[16][e]
Viy
Viy (Russian: Вий) was the name given to the "chief of the gnomes" (Russian: нача́льник гно́мов, nachál'nik gnómov) by the "Little Russians" (Ukrainians), or so Gogol has insisted in his author's note.[19][20]
However, given that the gnome is not a part of native Ukrainian folklore, or of Eastern Slavonic lore in general,[21][22][20] the viy has come to be considered a product of Gogol's own imagination rather than folklore.[21][23]
The fact that viy itself shows little sign of existing in the region's folklore record is an additional plain reason for the skepticism.[21][22] Thus, Gogol's contrivance of the viy is the consensus opinion of other modern commentators also, who refer to the viy as a literary device,[22] and so forth.[f]
In the past, the viy creature had been an assumed part of genuine Malorussian (Ukrainian) lore. For instance, Scottish folklorist Charlotte Dempster mentions the "vie" of Little Russia in passing, and floats the idea of the phonetic similarity to the vough or vaugh of the Scottish Highlands.[24] Ralston suggested Viy was known to the Serbians, but clarification as to any attestation is wanting.[25]
There is a tantalizing claim that a Gogol acquaintance Aleksandra Osipovna Rosset (later Smirnova) wrote c. 1830 that she heard from a nurse, but this informant's reliability has been questioned,[27] as well as her actual authorship at such a date,[g] So the story was probably something Smirnova had heard or read from Gogol, but reshuffled as a remote past memory.[29]
Heavy eyebrow motif
The witch's husband in the Russian folk tale "Ivan Bykovich (Ivan the Bull's Son)", needed to have his eyebrows and eyelashes lifted with a "pitchfork" (Russian: вилы).[30][31] The aforementioned Viacheslav V. Ivanov (1971) is credited, in modern times, with drawing the parallel between Gogol's viy and the witch's husband, called the "old, old man" or "Old Oldster" (Russian: старый старик; staryĭ starik).[32] However, this was perhaps anticipated by Ralston, who stated that the witch-husband ("Aged One") bore physical resemblance to what, he claimed, the Serbians called a "Vy",[25] though he did not address resemblance with Gogol's viy directly.
There also exists an old folk tradition surrounding St. Cassian the Unmerciful, who was said in some tales to have eyebrows that descended to his knees and which were raised only on Leap Year.[33] Some scholars believe that the conception of Viy may have been at least partially based on it, as it is likely that Gogol had heard about the character and designed Viy on his various forms.
