Ambiguous (by) nature: writing Baba Yaga and the Tasmanian Devil

In order to provide some context for the following excerpt from my novel-in-progress, “The House on Legs,” let me first share some thoughts about the reasons one might choose to reinvent Baba Yaga, the witch-crone of Russian and Slavic folk tales, as a wildlife warrior in Australia’s island state of Tasmania. Generally, it is accepted that Baba Yaga’s signature trait is her profound ambiguity. Straddling such binaries as good/evil, natural/supernatural, human/nonhuman, she is a character famous for her unpredictability. Should a heroine or hero approach her house on legs, she may help them in their quest. Or, she may attempt to eat them up. Contradiction is a key component of her reputation, and the same can be said of Tasmania, Australia’s island state, and also of that island’s wildlife icon, the Tasmanian devil.