Many phraseological units appeared in the Russian language thanks to myths and legends. “Valaam’s donkey” is a clear example of such a speech turn. Its meaning can lead to a stupor of a person who is not familiar with the story of Balaam and his animal. To understand what this sustainable design means, the information contained in this article will help.
“Valaam’s donkey”: who is so called
Most often, this phraseology is used in an ironic sense. “Valaam’s donkey” - who can be called that? For example, a person throughout his life shows humility and humility, allows others to lead themselves. But at one point, he is bored, he begins to protest against what he considers unjust. It is interesting that in this case, speech circulation can be used not only in relation to women, but also to representatives of the stronger sex.
“Valaam’s donkey” is a phraseological unit that is not only relevant in the situation discussed above. So people can call the representative of the fair sex, which demonstrates the utmost obstinacy, rudeness, bad manners. In this case, the speech revolution takes an abusive character.
Bible parable
What is the origin of the phrase “Valaam donkey”? He appeared in Russian thanks to one famous biblical parable. She talks about the warlock of Valaam, who lives in the city of Pefor, which is located on the Euphrates River.
The story begins with the fact that the ancient Israelis, who had just conquered the Jordan, plan a crushing attack on the Canaanite land promised by God. Moab, the ruler of a state that borders Canaan, rightly fears manifestations of aggression from potential neighbors. However, the forces available to the king are too small to provide worthy resistance to the enemy. Therefore, Moab is forced to call upon the forces of darkness. The governor turns to Balaam and invites him to bring corruption to the ancient Israelites.
Stubborn donkey
And here is the "Valaam’s donkey"? The meaning of phraseology is revealed above, but its origin is still a mystery. Balaam does not immediately agree to help the king, who turned to him. However, after long deliberation, he still decides to go to Moab. The warlock intends to make this journey astride a donkey.
Suddenly, an angel blocked by God directed his way to the magician. As a result, the animal on which he travels goes astray. Balaam is furious, beating a donkey. She becomes indignant at this injustice, which forces her to speak in a human voice.
The donkey tells his master that has always served him faithfully. This causes the warlock to repent and make peace with a devoted animal. It is thanks to this story that the speech turn of the “Valaam donkey” appeared. The meaning of phraseology is now becoming clear.
Examples from the literature
Today, this stable design is rarely found in colloquial and written speech, but was once very popular. For example, the expression was used by Maxim Gorky in his work "Thomas Gordeev." “Valaam’s donkey” - the old father always ironically calls his always submissive daughter, who suddenly thought to complain.
Also the author Koptyaeva resorts to this expression in his work “Daring”. This speech revolution is used by one of the heroes, who talks about a woman who, despite her professorship, speaks only nonsense.
Rembrandt painting
“Valaam’s donkey” is a speech revolution that is liked not only by writers, but also by artists. That is what the brilliant Rembrandt called one of his famous paintings. The master completed work on this work of art in 1628. At that time, Dutch artists often turned to biblical subjects.
Interestingly, the genius also has other works that are very similar to the painting “The Valaam Donkey”, if you rely on the opinions of critics. For example, “Feast of Belshazzar”, “The Return of the Prodigal Son”, “Jeremiah”, “Samson and Delilah”, “The Sacrifice of Abraham” and so on. It is possible that the similarity is limited by the fact that the plots of all works are borrowed from the Old Testament.
It is curious that the teacher, with whom Rembrandt studied, painted a picture with the same name. However, “Valaam’s donkey” in his performance turned out to be not so amazing, the student surpassed his teacher in skill.
Everyone can see the work of the brilliant Rembrandt in the Paris Museum, which is called Cognac-Jae.
How to
The word order in this case is absolutely irrelevant. If you wish, you can say "donkey Valaamov", this option will also be correct.