Little red riding hood by Charles Perrault is a good example of a traditional French fairy tale which plays a symbolic function in representing the society in which its written the values of that society and the gender roles within it. As well as being a simple enough for children to understand the moral lessons and being enjoyable so that children want to listen to it. The type of society being represented by Perrault in his 1697 version of lRRH was a note ably changed society from the one represented in the early oral French fairytale which were much more magical and Gruesome. The society Perrault represents is industrialized and scientific. The piece of Westphalia in 1648 represents the change from the church ruling to the `state' ruling.
The stories have a similar moral at the end, each with a slight twist. This story, in each of its translations, is representative of a girl?s loss of innocence, her move from childhood or adolescence into adulthood. The way women are treated within each story is different. Little Red in the French version was eaten; whereas in the German version, she is rescued by the woodsman, and this further emphasizes the cultural differences. The common elements in the two stories are the wolf, Little Red (Riding Hood/Cap), her grandmother, and her mother.
Fairy tales are not generally considered to be shining examples of modern-day feminism. They tend to reduce their female characters to simple objects of physical attractiveness, and usually center their conversations and actions around other male characters, because everyone knows that women exist solely to look pretty and talk about men. In the classic fairy tale “Snow White,” made popular by the Disney film adaptation, this stereotype holds true, although this particular woman actually has value, since she can cook and clean. Both Snow White and her evil stepmother are controlled by societal pressures to be beautiful, the primary way women of the time could grasp onto any semblance of power in a world that only saw their exteriors. In the
They are not evil or cruel; if anything Clara, the Cinderella of this story, can be very cruel despite her beauty. One factor that is similar in both the modern and old tale is the eventual antagonism the stepmother directs at Cinderella. In Maguire’s version even though (stepmothers name) does not force Clara to become a maid(it is in fact Clara’s own choice), the reader finds out that the evil stepmother actually poisoned Clara’s mother so that she could marry Clara’s rich father. In Perrault’s version, the stepmother isn’t shown to be evil to that extent, but she is much more cruel to Cinderella. In both the old and new stories the stepmother remains an evil character, which is a common trop in fairy
However, each presents the reader with a dichotomy that leads to an interesting juxtaposition in presentation. Carter and Perrault both offer interesting insight in their short stories depicting the fairytale of Little Red Riding Hood by the symbolism of the wolf and flip in moral. In “Little Red Riding Hood”, Charles Perrault uses the wolf as both a religious symbol and a symbol for men who prey on those weaker and more naïve than themselves, usually women. The devilish wolf is sneaky and cunning and at every opportunity has “a very great mind to eat her up” in the woods, but instead makes a deal with her. Like the classic devil, he charms her with his manners and suavely offers her his assistance.
She would lay his fearful heard in her lap and pick out the lice from his pelt and put them in her own mouth and eat them, as she would do in a savage marriage ceremony. All was silent and still. Snow shows the confusion of paw prints. Sweet and sound she sleeps in granny’s bed, between the paws of the tender wolf. SUMMARY So now you know that there are some very different versions of tales then we are accustomed to.
Once invited to the ball, the step-sisters contemplate what they will wear. One decides on her "red velvet suit with French trimmings", while the other chooses to accentuate her look with a "diamond stomacher" (Classics, 18). While Perrault describes in detail the pampered lifestyle of this bourgeoisie family, he says much less about the appearance of the misfortunate Cinderella. While Cinderella's clothing is of little interest to Perrault's audience, her "rare goodness and sweetness of temper" (Classics, 17) are esteemed values desired by all the middle-class. When called upon to arrange the hair of her unkind step-sisters for the ball, we are told that "anyone but Cinderella would have dressed their hair awry, but she was good-natured, and arranged it perfectly well" (Classics, 18).
The “Little Red Riding Hood” narratives described by Maria Tatar are told in similar yet different ways. For instance, each narrative has a sexual tendency of the wolf trying to get Red Riding Hood to sleep in bed with them. Each narrative has a moral story of paying the consequence of talking to a stranger. However, the narratives differ because a few of the stories involved Red Riding Hood’s character knowing the wolf. The major difference with each narrative is the outcome of when Red Riding Hood arrives at her grandmother’s house.
In The Company of Wolves, Rosaleen’s imaginative skills free her from her sister’s mistreatment. Her sister, Alice aggrieves Rosaleen by calling her names and wishing harm on her. Alice explains, “Lazy, Lazy, Lazy… I wish you did not come out of your room” (The Company Wolves). As Alice continues to talk, Rosaleen enters a mythical realm in her dream.... ... middle of paper ... ...o devours the insides of children before he murders them to satisfy himself. In her second task, she sacrifices the fairies to eat some grapes.
From the textual evidence it’s obvious she connects her story to both. Although as Clarke argues she focuses more on the Grimms’ version. He makes the claim that, "This resemblance to the German Cinderella tale provides an important key to Bronte’s ethic of female intelligence, activity, pleasure, and integrity" (Clarke 696). By using fairy tales Bronte could also connect to her readers who were most likely familiar with them. Charlotte Bronte spins her own Cinderella tale through the text of Jane Eyre to reveal that the goodhearted girl who is kept down by society does in fact succeed in the end.