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Berlin, 1936) is generally considered the finest of Teffi’s collections of short stories; it is certainly her most unusual collection, with a great variety of both tone and content.

Nearly all the stories bear the titles of folkloric beings – e.g. “Vedun” (“Wonder-Worker”), “Domovoi” (“House Spirit”) or “Rusalka” (the name given to a female water spirit resembling the Lorelei). Some stories are fanciful; others are sober, even grim. Some of the stories are realistic, with only the merest hints at anything supernatural; in others, the supernatural motifs are more pronounced. Sometimes a character all too transparently tries to cover up his or her misconduct with the help of some improbable supernatural explanation; sometimes, however, it is the

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Citation: Chandler, Robert. "Ved'ma". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 20 August 2019 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=38906, accessed 27 November 2024.]