Baba Jaga i inne wiedźmy – wizerunek starości w słowiańskiej fantastyce
Baba Yaga and Other Witches – The Representation of Old Age in Slavic Fantasy

Summary/Abstract: The article pertains to a subgenre of popular literature known as Slavic fantasy. By analyzing several selected examples, we aim to answer the following question: to what extent does old age determine the character of Baba Yaga and other witches (witches) appearing in the novels? Is old age a reason for their exclusion and alienation? Can age alone be a marker of „demonic” nature, evoking disgust and fear among other characters? How and why does social marginalization of old women occur within the narrative universe? What other attributes, besides physicality, are inseparably linked with these women and their old age? To address these and other questions, we draw on the theory of aetonormativity, as well as intertextual, ethnographic, postcolonial studies, myth criticism, and refer to religious studies and folkloristic research on the figure of Baba Yaga (and other witches) in Slavic culture.

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