Little Red Riding Hood has never enjoyed an easy life. During the last three centuries, generations of male narrators and moralistic Victorian authors of both sexes have changed the once straightforward and clever peasant girl, who was capable of taking care of herself and outsmarting a seducing wolf by her own wit, into a passive heroine controlled by others to suit the traditional (male) view of how “nice girls” ought to behave.
In hundreds of adaptations, writers of children’s literature repeatedly let the young girl pay for her irresponsibility and her reckless talking to strangers. Red Riding Hood was sent into the forest to be gobbled up or raped by the wicked wolf over and over again. Generations of writers never hesitated to blame the girl for her misfortune. Since Charles Perrault first published the tale of Little Red Riding Hood in 1697, her tragedy normally has been considered her own fault. If she had only listened to her mother’s advice, gone straight to her grandmother’s house and had not talked to the wolf, nothing would have happened to her.
Until the beginning of the 20th century, that seems to have been the common attitude amongst fairy tale writers towards young girls. Despite the fact that many narrators were women, modern fairy tale tradition had been totally bourgeoisified by the turn of the century. Female Victorian writers adopted and continued the manipulation of gender roles that had been initiated by educated middle-class narrators in France and Germany.
In that process, the young girl who did so well in old French folk tradition vanished. Popular culture changed the simple and witty peasant girl, who brought her grandmother milk and bread, who did not give up, but took action and tricked the wolf, into a naive and passive heroine without neither character nor wit. It created a helpless girl who was dependent on goodwill from other people to save herself – even though, in her case, help from outside came too late.
Table of Contents
Preface
Strange Encounters in the Wood
Red Riding Hood and the Wondertale World
Red Riding Hood before Charles Perrault
The Broken Jar and the Colour Red
Charles Perrault, Werewolves and the Fear of Female Sexuality
The Mystery of the Red Hood
Reinventing Little Red Riding Hood
The Brothers Grimm and the Biedermeier Era
Nice Girls go to Heaven; other Girls go Everywhere
19th-century Victorian and Puritan Adaptations
The Red Riding Hood
Rehabilitating Little Red Riding Hood
Neo-Conservative English Versions
It is Not so Easy to Fool Little Girls Nowadays
Red Hot Riding Hood
Feminist Adaptations
Conclusion
Objectives and Research Themes
This academic paper examines the evolution of the fairy tale "Little Red Riding Hood" over the past three hundred years, specifically focusing on how shifts in societal gender roles, moral expectations, and perceptions of female sexuality have influenced various adaptations of the narrative.
- The historical transition of the protagonist from a self-reliant peasant girl to a passive Victorian figure.
- The symbolic function of clothing, specifically the red hood, as a marker of sexuality and nonconformity.
- The impact of male-dominated bourgeois ideologies on the transformation of the tale.
- The role of modern feminist revisions in reclaiming the agency of the heroine.
- Comparative analysis of versions ranging from Perrault and the Brothers Grimm to modern Irish, British, and American adaptations.
Excerpt from the Book
The Mystery of the Red Hood
It is not clearly documented why Charles Perrault added the red hood. As a present from a doting grandmother to a beloved granddaughter, it refers directly to the girls “spoiled nature” – and Perrault obviously intended “to warn little girls that this spoiled child could be ‘spoiled’ in another way by a wolf/man who sought to ravish her.”
The colour red, however, indicates a deeper and more sinister layer in Charles Perrault’s tale. Instead of hood, Perrault used the word chaperon – a small, stylish cap worn by women of the aristocracy and middle classes in the 16th and 17th centuries. By letting a village girl wear a red chaperon, he signalised that she was individualistic – and perhaps a nonconformist. From the folk-tale version, we know that there definitely was something individualistic about Red Riding Hood. Perrault introduces her to the reader as the prettiest girl around, spoiled by her mother and adored by her grandmother.
Thus, the image of this young girl suggests that she contains certain potential qualities which could convert her into a witch or heretic. Her natural inclinations do in fact lead her into trouble. In the woods, which was [sic!] a known haunting place of werewolves, witches, outlaws and other social deviates, Little Red Riding Hood talks naturally to the wolf because she is unaware of any danger. She trusts her instincts. If it were not for the male woodcutters (for only men can serve as protectors), the wolf would have indulged his appetite on the spot, in his natural abode. Instead he is forced to make a ‘pact’ with her.
Summary of Chapters
Strange Encounters in the Wood: Analyzes the wondertale setting and the pre-literary, oral traditions of the story where the protagonist acts with independence.
The Broken Jar and the Colour Red: Explores Perrault's literary intervention, examining how he introduced the red hood and transformed the tale into a cautionary narrative against female sexuality.
Reinventing Little Red Riding Hood: Discusses the Brothers Grimm's 1812 adaptation, focusing on how they moralized the story to fit the Biedermeier era's emphasis on obedience and social order.
Nice Girls go to Heaven; other Girls go Everywhere: Examines how 19th-century Victorian and Puritan adaptations further censored the story and shifted blame onto the protagonist's supposed idleness.
Rehabilitating Little Red Riding Hood: Investigates the post-war resurgence of the character's agency, analyzing neo-conservative resistance and the subsequent feminist literary movements that restored the heroine's autonomy.
Keywords
Little Red Riding Hood, fairy tales, Charles Perrault, Brothers Grimm, gender roles, female sexuality, Victorian morality, feminism, wondertale, social evolution, folklore, literary adaptation, agency, symbolism, cultural context.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research paper?
The paper explores how the iconic fairy tale "Little Red Riding Hood" has been rewritten over three centuries to reflect the shifting cultural attitudes toward women, female sexuality, and social hierarchy.
What are the primary themes explored in the work?
Key themes include the construction of gender roles, the influence of bourgeois morality, the symbolism of the color red, and the struggle between female autonomy and male-dominated social structures.
What is the primary research question?
The paper seeks to understand how the protagonist's interaction with the wolf and her specific attire reflect changing historical and social perceptions of what constitutes "proper" female behavior.
Which academic methodologies are applied?
The author uses a historical and comparative literary analysis, tracing the evolution of the narrative from oral folklore to modern feminist revisions.
What is covered in the main body of the text?
The body analyzes seminal versions by Perrault and the Brothers Grimm, Victorian adaptations, and concludes with 20th-century feminist re-interpretations that reclaim the heroine's intelligence and agency.
Which terms characterize this study?
Key concepts include gender performance, literary socialization, bourgeois morality, pagan origins, and the rehabilitation of the fairy tale heroine.
How does the author interpret the red hood?
The author argues that the red hood serves as a symbol of individualism, nonconformity, and potential sexual danger within the societal frameworks established by authors like Perrault.
How does the paper differentiate between folk and literary versions?
The author highlights that while early folk versions emphasized a resourceful, witty peasant girl, literary versions by Perrault and the Grimms transformed her into a passive victim requiring male rescue.
What role do modern adaptations play in the author's argument?
Modern adaptations are presented as a "rehabilitation" of the character, where feminist writers strip away moralistic projections and return the protagonist to her role as a self-reliant, intelligent individual.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Cand.mag. Henrik Petersen (Autor:in), 2010, Dress Codes and Gender Roles in "Little Red Riding Hood", München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/200987
