This quote was in the back of one of the copies of Vasilissa the Beautiful I was reading:

"I particularly loved this story because it is a tale peopled by women. From Vasilissa's mother and her deathbed blessing, to the wicked stepmother, to the wily old witch, Baba Yaga, to Vasilissa's adopted mother, even to the little doll--it is women who challenge Vasilissa to grow, who sustain her in her troubles, and who rejoice iwth her in her final triumph."

That was a quote by the author, and then there was another really intersting comment by the illustrator. The illustrator chose to put Vasilissa in a kitchka, which is a cap with horns, which were extremely disliked in Russia after it adopted Christianity because the caps resembled the devil.