Archetypes are hidden psychological energies that move us along behavioural patterns mapped since the beginning of time. Writers don’t use them as much as portray them where they see fit. But archetypes aren’t a simple ingredient of someone’s personality. They can be mixed and matched in ways that can boggle the human mind. We can only do our best to traverse these dark waters and hope to make sense of them. But as a writer, be warned, if you’re using them, you’ve got to make sure you cook them at the right temperature if you hope to bake the cake!
The Baba Yaga (2015), by Eric Brown and Una McCormack, is a sci-fi thriller that uses archetypes for the foundation of plot and character. In this story, we follow intelligence specialist Delia Walker’s as she travels beyond the Expansion into Hell’s Reach. There, she hopes to find a planet where inhabitants co-exist peacefully with the Weird, a carniverous species with an appetite for human meat. Overshadowing her journey is a political crisis at home involving the Bureau’s more hawkish elements who staged a false flag event to gain political power. Walker must find the Weird and negotiate a peace settlement before the Bureau stops her, dead in her tracks if necessary.
The Baba Yaga myth brings depth and structure to this complex, mature story. Encyclopedia Britannica cites Baba Yaga as “a Russian folklore, an ogress who steals, cooks, and eats her victims, usually children. A guardian of the fountains of the water of life, she lives with two or three sisters (all known as Baba-Yaga) in a forest hut which spins continually on birds’ legs; her fence is topped with human skulls. Baba-Yaga can ride through the air—in an iron kettle or in a mortar that she drives with a pestle—creating tempests as she goes. She often accompanies Death on his travels, devouring newly released souls.”
The New World Encyclopedia cites a similar description, claiming Baba Yaga’s roots could be found in Slavic cultures, as many as several Eastern European culture groups, describing her as a witch who could answer questions if posed properly or become dangerous if not. Baba Yaga was also said to have the appetite for feasting on children. In 2017, Vice magazine claimed the Baba Yaga legend was still popular today, claiming the witch even has a feminist following (with some praising Baba Yaga for the carefree life outside of civilized norms and values often associated with the patriarchy).
The best definition for the Baba Yaga comes directly from the novel itself. On page 159, Hecate Heyes tells Walker of: “The old witch who lives in the forest in a hut that runs on chicken legs, and who flies about on a mortar and pestle? (…) The wise woman, the arch-crone, the goddess of wisdom and death. In some versions of the legend she has iron teeth. (…) I rather liked that. Iron teeth. Anyway, you’re wise not to cross her. You’re wise to stay on the right side of her.” Walker doesn’t care for the story despite the reader knowing that it’s probably her. Many who are possessed by an archetype may not even recognize it. But Walker fits the description rather well. She’s a hardened individual willing to bully people if she doesn’t get what she wants. She withholds Yershov’s drug to induce obedience to her. She rides on a ship that might as well be mortar and pestle.
The question is how the Baba Yaga energy works in the book. Who or what exemplifies the characteristics of a scone witch that is wise but dangerous? Does this individual devour anyone literally or otherwise? Does she travel in a crude way? Archetypes are found through synchronicities, a series of unlikely coincidences that release psychic energies within a person. These energies compel them to a destiny of sorts.
Take for instance, Delia Walker, who seeks face-to-face contact with the Weird. On this journey, she decides to ride on an old, derelict vessel (called the Baba Yaga itself) piloted by drug-addict Yershov. She happens to be traveling to Hell’s Place to encounter Death, perhaps. When she gets there, will she encounter the Fountain of Life or anything else that seems rejuvenating? Walker happens to find a portal when she gets there. She has a baby that is like the Fountain of Life. This child brings wisdom to the world, much like the Baba-Yaga does.
Keep in mind that Walker isn’t meant to be the spitting image of a scone witch. We’re just looking for the archetypal energies to be prevalent in the story. It can work through Walker or others, like her daughter. It is as if the scone witch’s spirit passes over the story, not turned legend, in part because of the crossroads everyone is forced to pass.
Other female characters could take on the Baba Yaga archetype as well. Amber is a succubus-like woman who can hypnotize her prey; an ability she uses well on the Shuloma Station for her pimp Springer. Commander Grant could be said to have iron teeth given her ruthless command style at the Bureau. Scarlett Conway is another evil woman who kills innocents to cover political crimes. Hecate Heyes is a priest who brings wisdom and salvation, just as Baba Yaga does, at least in part. Heyes was easy to find almost as if she was living in a hut in the middle of nowhere. But none of these woman truly encapsulates the scone-witch. Only parts of her. Smaller parts.
Nor could any of them male characters lend weight to this archetype. Most of them are either weak or dead in the story. Andrei Gustav, Walker’s mentor, dies early in the story. Kit, the husband who helps his wife and daugther escape Braun’s World, disappears – presumed dead – again, quite early in the story. Mark Kinsella, Walker’s father to her child – and colleague, buys into the lie and becomes Grant’s puppet for the rest of the story. The rest of the men are sleazy individuals that can’t be trusted. They all die sooner or later. The Baba Yaga is a women-led story with weak male characters, none of which could have any real connection to the Baba Yaga.
Although Delia Walker seems more likely to be closer to Baba Yaga, she also falls short of living up the scone-witch’s character. First, the scone-witch is mysterious. She doesn’t live with the rest of the world. She’s an enigma. Conversely, Walker seems ordinary. She’s not a loner nor is she disaffected in any way. One would expect the embodiment of Baba Yaga to be like this. Second, the scone-witch is truly a bad-ass. She eats little children, works with Death and has a home that walks on four clucked feet. Walker isn’t as nearly as weird as the true Baba Yaga. She’s rough, but so is everyone else in her world. It doesn’t stand out. Third, Walker isn’t as wise as the scone-witch. Although her entry into the portal results in wisdom from her daughter, Walker herself isn’t wise in any way. You would expect her to be an old soul to some degree. Therefore, the external references to Baba Yaga are present, but none of the internal ones. Seeing these individual characteristics in Delia Walker would have made her more three-dimensional, in terms of archetypes, and less ordinary as a human being. This inclusion would have made it more mysterious and therefore, psychic in nature.
Overall, one more possibility exists. The Weird is a species that eats humans alive and live on the fringe of known human space. Yet, they can also bring peace and wisdom to the world, depending on how you ask them. Walker’s journey could be that of the warrior seeking out the Baba Yaga for a favour. If she asks properly, she wins. If she doesn’t, then she dies – and quite possibly the rest of humanity. Even more, the Weird at Hell’s Portal is very much interested in her child just like the Baba Yaga would although the Baba Yaga would probably eat the children alive. Despite the Weird being an entire species rather than a singular person, one might suspect they are the true Baba Yaga, not Delia Walker.
In the end, The Baba Yaga is a science fiction political thriller novel framed within the Baba Yaga folklore from a Slavic or Russian origins. The tale spins around Delia Walker’s quest to meet the Weird at Hell’s Place. She rides a ship named after the scone-witch and gets a lot of people killed along the way. Her personality is hardened, but doesn’t truly come near being like Baba Yaga. She’s not a disaffected loner with a creepy side, much like the scone-witch Baba Yaga. Moreso, external references to the Baba Yaga are present to give the tale just enough colouring to merit the title of the work. Yet, on the other hand, the Weird look a lot more like the scone-witch than anyone else. They eat human alive, live on the fringe of human space and offer the hope of life and wisdom. Finding the true archetype in this story, however, may say more about how it is written rather than what we know about archetypes themselves. Perhaps The Baba Yaga simply references this myth peripherally, never achieving the depths that archetypes truly have to offer.