Last night we went to see a production of Ostrovsky’s The Snow Maiden at a local college. We saw an “updated” version but the basic story was the same.

Like some classic plays this one, at least the updated version, begins with the world being out of kilter; the environment is messed up. In this case it is the result of a dispute between the seasons. A romance between Father Frost and Spring has produced a love child, the Snow Maiden. This has made the sun angry and he has withheld summer for 15 years. In the original folktale the snow maiden had been created out of snow by a childless peasant couple who kept her hidden from the sun.