Little Red Riding Hood: The Twentieth Century Revolution
Generations of children have grown up with the fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood; as a result, it is one of the most popular children’s fairy tale. This tale as well as all other tales, originated as oral tales centuries ago. Eventually, these oral tales were written down and ultimately transformed into famous literary tales by collectors of fairy tales, such as French writer, Charles Perrault (Zipes). Wolf by Francesca Lia Block is a twentieth century version of Little Red Riding Hood. It is set in sharp contrast to Perrault’s early sixteen century, literary rendering of Little Red Riding Hood. Block’s retold account is devoid of censorship aimed at the female gender. The wolf/man is clearly portrayed as debauched man who commits an atrocious act of violence against his stepdaughter. Furthermore, Block’s twentieth century tale of Little Red Riding Hood gives rise to equality of the sexes: eradicates male superiority and holds the male responsible for his actions inflicted upon the girl. scrutinizing Perrault’s version of Red Riding Hood
Moreover, Block’s transformation of Little Red Riding Hood, Wolf, clearly identifies the wolf/man as awful person because of the heinous crime of rape he committed with the young lady. We feel the excruciating turmoil this young woman is experiencing due to being brutally violated. However, Perrault’s tale strongly suggests that this gullible, feeble, young girl, Little Red Riding Hood somehow warranted the actions imposed upon her, being eaten (raped) by the wolf. Therefore, wolf is completely innocent, above reproach and suffers absolutely no consequences. Jack Zipes, editor of The Trials & Tribulations of Little Red Riding Hood, st...
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...in secluded areas, and especially in locales of high crime. According to the Center for Disease Control, an estimated twenty percent to twenty-five percent of college women in the United States have experienced an attempted or complete rape during their college career. These statistics are alarming and are cause for great public health concerns. Perhaps, Block wants to bring retribution to all the “Little Red Riding Hoods” who suffers at the hands of “beastly” men. Her voice shouts out, “freedom from your shame” to all those little girls, adolescent females and women.
Clearly, the record needs to be set straight about Perrault’s tale of Little Red Riding Hood. Block has done so with her non-discriminatory rendering of Wolf. Many other women such as Angela Carter have transformed Little Red Riding Hood as well, thereby freeing Little Red Riding Hood from her shame.
During the 19th century, Grimm’s fairytales were strongly disapproved of due to harsh, gruesome details and plots. One American educator from 1885 stated, “The folktales mirror all too loyally the entire medieval worldview and culture with all its stark prejudice, its crudeness and barbarities.” As childre...
In Feminism and Fairy Tales, Karen E. Rowe asserts that “popular folktales” have “shaped our romantic expectations” and “illuminate psychic ambiguities which often confound contemporary women.” She believes that “portrayals of adolescent waiting and dreaming, patterns of double enchantment, and romanticizations of marriage contribute to the potency of fairy tales” makes “many readers discount obvious fantasy elements and fall prey to more subtle paradigms through identification with the heroine.” As a result, Karen Rowe contends “subconsciously women may transfer from fairy tales into real life cultural norms which exalt passivity, dependency, and self-sacrifice as a female’s cardinal virtues suggest that culture’s very survival depends upon a woman’s acceptance of roles which relegate her to motherhood and domesticity.” It is undeniable that numerous folk tales implant male chauvinism into women’s minds and thus convey an idea that woman should obey and depend on men. However, Rowe neglects the aspect that many other folk tales, on the contrary, disclose the evil and vulnerable sides of man and marriage and thus encourage women to rely on their own intelligence and courage other than subordinating to man. The Fairy tales “Beauty and Beast” and “Fowler’s Fowl” challenge Rowe’s thesis to some extent and exemplify that some fairy tales motivate women to be intelligent and courageous and to challenge patriarchy.
Most modern fairytales are expected to have happy endings and be appropriate for children, nonetheless, in past centuries most were gruesome. Consequently, fairytales have been modified throughout time. The stories “Beauty and the Beast” by Jeanne-Marie LePrince de Beaumont and “The Summer and Winter Garden” by Jacob and Wilherm Grimm share similarities and differences. The two stories are distinct because of the peculiar year they have been written in. LePrince de Beaumont’s story is written in London of 1783 and Grimm’s in Germany of 1812. At the time, wealthy people in London, were educated and had nannies who would read to their children; whereas, in Germany, the Grimm brothers created their own interpretation into a short story. Because many high class parents in 18th century London would not be able to spend time with their children, nannies would read “Beauty and the Beast” to them since they were intended for children and considered appropriate. In “The Summer and Winter Garden,” the Grimm’s’ story was mostly based to entertain misbehaved children and teach them the valuable lesson that everyone should be treated with kindness. The Grimm brothers’ goal in rewriting this short story is to better children’s behavior which worked quite well. Since these stories have been re-written for children, it would be safe to say the reason why parents expose the two stories to their children is because they both portray the same moral: good things happen to good people. The two interpretations of “Beauty and the Beast,” although written in separate countries, share important similarities and differences even though the authors have different interpretations and came from different cultures.
The fairytale Little Red Riding Hood by Charles Perrault is a story that recounts the adventure of the protagonist Little Red Riding Hood as she fulfills her mother’s wishes to bring a package to her ill grandmother. Perrault’s short story conveys influential life themes on the idea of male predation on adolescent women who fall victim to male deception. Perrault successfully portrays these themes through his use of rhetorical devices such as personifying the actions of the antagonist Wolf predator as he preys on the protagonist Little Red. Perrault illuminates the central theme of upholding sexual purity and being aware of eminent threats in society in his work. Roald Dahl’s poem, Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf, is an adaptation to
In a society unbridled with double standards and set views about women, one may wonder the origins of such beliefs. It might come as a surprise that these ideals and standards are embedded and have been for centuries in the beloved fairy tales we enjoyed reading as kids. In her analytical essay, “To Spin a Yarn: The Female Voice in Folklore and Fairy Tales”, Karen Rowe argues that fairy tales present “cultural norms which exalt passivity, dependency, and self-sacrifice as a female’s cardinal virtues.” Rowe presents an excellent point, which can be supported by versions of the cult classics, “Cinderella” and “Snow White”. Charles Perrault’s “ The Little Glass Slipper” and the Brothers Grimm’s “ Snow White” exemplify the beliefs that females are supposed to be docile, dependent on the male persona and willing to sacrifice themselves. In many cases, when strong female characters are presented they are always contradicting in these characteristics, thus labeled as villainous. Such is the case of the Cinderella’s stepsisters in Perrault’s “Cinderella” and the stepmother in the Brothers Grimm’s “Snow White.” These female characters face judgment and disapproval when they commit the same acts as male characters. With such messages rooted in our beloved fairy tales it is no wonder that society is rampant with these ideals about women and disapprove of women when they try to break free of this mold.
...the young girl prior to meeting the wolf, how the young girl strays from the ideals of femininity once she meets the wolf, and last, what is inherently not feminine as represented by the wolf and his masculine characteristics. The wolf does not naturalize masculine characteristics within the reader because he still acts somewhat like a wolf, he is used as a tool to further naturalize the ideals of femininity, by standing in stark contrast to them.
“I've told her and I've told her: daughter, you have to teach that child the facts of life before it's too late” (Hopkinson 1). These are the first three lines of Nalo Hopkinson's short story “Riding the Red”, a modern adaptation of Charles Perrault's “Little Red Riding Hood”. In his fairy tale Perrault prevents girls from men's nature. In Hopkinson's adaptation, the goal remains the same: through the grandmother biographic narration, the author elaborates a slightly revisited plot without altering the moral: young girls should beware of men; especially when they seem innocent.
...ult's fairy tale: “Red Hot Riding Hood.“ Both Hopkinson's and Avery's wolf share some human qualities which make him even more dangerous for young innocent girls.
When analyzing a classic fairytale such as, Snow White, by the Brothers Grimm through a feminist lens, it is clear that it is a phallocentric fairytale that includes stereotypes, gender roles, the male gaze, and paternalism.
Today, adults reading Charles Perrault’s Cinderella realize similarities and differences between Cinderella and a modern western woman. Adults recognize that Cinderella in Perrault’s fairy tale has undesirable qualities for a modern western woman, today. Cinderella is affectionate, goodwill, forgiving, and loyal. On the other hand, Cinderella is not independent, outspoken, confident, and strong. Cinderella has low self esteem and is incapable of solving problems. Inferiority, dependence and passiveness are characteristics that represent Cinderella do not characterize a modern western woman.
... stories show symbolism for Little Red learning and maturing. The moral in Perrault?s story is weaker, because it ends in tragedy with Little Red being eaten and dying. In the Grimm brother?s story, because the woodsman comes to their rescue, Little Red learns from her mistakes. She knows not to wander off the path when going to her grandmother?s house, and she learns that talking to strangers can lead to trouble. Even if most children will never encounter a talking wolf, it shows that talking to strangers can put children in harms way Also, the moral of Perrault?s story addresses only ?attractive, well bred young ladies,? (Schlib, 2003, 669) which may not lead some readers to identify with the moral. Also, a child reading this story may not understand the relation between a wolf eating the little girl and talking to strangers, because it is written as a fairy tale.
Over centuries of children have been enjoying the classic fairy tales of the Grimm Brothers and Charles Perrault. The fanciful plots and the vivid details allow children to be entranced by characters and adventures that can only be found in these stories. One of the most beloved fairy tales, which both the Perrault and the Grimms have their own separate versions of, is Cinderella. Cinderella is able to show how both versions are able to feed off the same plots while personifying the century and social economic situation in which they have lived.
Folktales are a way to represent situations analyzing different prospects about gender, through the stories that contribute with the reality of the culture in which they develop while these provide ideas about the behavior and roles of a specific sex building a culture of womanhood, manhood and childhood. This is what the stories of Little Red Riding Hood of Charles Perrault (1697) and Little Red-Cap of the Grimm Brothers (1812) show. This essay will describe some ideas about gender in different ways. First, the use of symbolic characters allows getting general ideas about the environment in the society rather than individuals. Second, it is possible to identify ideas about gender from the plot from the applied vocabulary providing a better understanding of the actions. Finally, the narrative perspective of the tales analyzes deeply the status of the characters referring to the thoughts among the society.
“Don’t ever take candy from a stranger or get into his car” this line has been drilled into our young little brains from teachers to parents. We have grown up being told never to trust a stranger because “stranger danger” one of my favorite lines as a child. Not only was this directed to us with our parents and teachers, but the classic folktale, “Little Red Riding Hood” has been taught to young children for many years. The stories moral is not to trust strangers and do not associate with them for any reason. While reading Perrault’s version of the classic folk tale, his moral is that children, especially young girl’s, can be eaten by wolves by just talking and trusting a stranger. He points out that women are more
In the classical tale of Little Red Riding Hood, Little Red Riding Hood leaves her mother to visit her grandmother, and both the women possess the feminine roles in the society. The story commences in the kitchen with the mother baking. In many cultures, the communities assume that the women should cook, clean, and tend to impositions inside the household. As the grandmother appears in the plotline, the author illustrates her to be ailing and feeble. By describing this elderly female in the manner of weakness, the author subconsciously implies the faintness and vulnerability of women brought on by the ideas and practices of an earlier time period. The grandmother becomes vulnerable and naïve as she expresses her susceptibility to the wolf when she tells him she is “too weak to get out of bed” (Hyman 12). By admitting to her helplessness, she acknowledges the weakness of her gender to the more superior male wolf.