Little Red Riding Hood, Essay Example

In its earliest known form the tale of Little Red Riding Hood had a tragic ending far different than the more commonplace version publicized by the Brothers Grimm. In this version of the story, the wolf emerges victorious and devours the protagonist. It was written by Charles Perrault as a stern warning to girls of all ages to avoid the enticing approach of sweet-talkers, with malicious intents.  Since its inception the ubiquitous fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood has been subjugated to many interpretations, but in light of its origins examining it from a feminist perspective seems most appropriate.

For those who do not recall the tale it centers on the misadventures of a young girl and her fated meeting with an anthropomorphic wolf (personified as male) who approaches her in the woods. Though instructed to avoid all manners of woodland creatures she engages the wolf in conversation and reveals her destination, Grandmother’s house. For the sake of argument, we will adhere to the Brother’s Grimm version of events, which conclude as follows: Using subterfuge the wolf reaches her destination before her, and swallows the Grandmother. He then adopts a disguise using Grandmother’s clothes to fool Red Riding Hood. His trick works for a few moments and he pursues Red Riding Hood around the room until a nearby hunter who hears the melee, decapitates and disembowels the wolf, thus uniting Red Riding Hood and her Grandmother.

The story serves as a representation of the frailty of females at all ages, as Red and Grandma are both delicate, and need, the hunter’s intervention to survive. Both women are easily duped and overrun by the wolf, thus personifying them as not just weak, but lacking intelligence. Now one might excuse this unintelligence as the gullibility of youth, given that Red Riding Hood’s age in popular culture ranges from prepubescent to late teenage years. However if this theory is accurate Red Ridding Hood is immediately inferior to her more clever male counterparts in tales such as Jack the Beanstalk, and Hansel and Gretel.

The argument can be made that the story does not merely speak to females but to children of all ages. However, several things run contrary to this claim. The first item is the range of Red’s age. The inclusion of older ages (I.e. around 13-19) and the story’s original claim make it a tale geared directly at women of all ages. Also the older she is in the story the more unintelligent her actions are or put another way as her age increases the justification of her actions decreases. Another item is the use of the wolf. The word wolf on its own has long been a euphemism for men who relentlessly pursue women with salacious intent. In addition, the fact that both women are rescued by the hunter (another representation of the masculine ideal) further imprints the strong elements of the story with a masculine persona and the weaker with a feminine persona.

To discuss matters on a tangent for moment, supposing the wolf was anthropomorphic enough to pass for human, what does this say about gender and sexuality? The story displays a latent phobia for transvestitism, by placing it in a character who is the epitome of deviousness. From a pragmatic point of view the wolf’s role in this story parallels the action of the same animal in Aesop’s fable wolf in sheep’s clothing, which when applied to gender roles makes a profound statement against the act of transvestitism, as a unnatural activity with deadly consequences. In addition, by giving himself over to items of a feminine nature, the wolf makes himself vulnerable and an easy target for the hunter.

Because of these inconsistencies in her age and her portrayal as a damsel in distress, in many revisionist storylines it is Red Ridding Hood herself who kills the wolf. This killing speaks to a form of Jungian duality expressed by a disillusioned idealist, who had just spent the better part of an hour frolicking and picking wildflowers, and now is forced to murder in a simultaneous event of self-defense and revenge.

Though none of the characters in the tale have given names, they (with the exception of Red Riding Hood)  are referred to with titles that define their character‘s functions. In addition, each of these titles has a corresponding classical archetype.  The Grandma is the Matron, the caring compassionate elderly person. The Big Bad Wolf is the devil, pure evil, disguised as good.  The hunter is the Wandering Hero, who briefly interjects into the lives of the people he benefits and disappears just as he comes.

In her primary form, one could note that Red Riding hood represents the Innocent, a person steeped in naiveté and untouched by the evils of the world. Building on this analysis one can easily see how the themes of corruption and defloration abound in feminist criticism of this story.

There is also the argument that the story in itself is the depiction or rather the representation of a grotesque violation, as feminist critics like Susan Brownmiller say the story represents rape. To expound on that hypothesis, the violation of Red Riding Hood is implicit in male characters, the wolf who simply wishes to devour Red and the hunter who forces his way into the bedroom in order to protect her.  One can dive further by examining the fact that the only reason the wolf noticed her was because of her eponymous clothing. This fact is a sleight against women as is subtly says that if perhaps she hadn’t of been so noticeable the wolf would not have desired to eat her. In fact, the wolf only eats the grandmother as a way to get to Red Riding Hood.

This cautionary tale for girls of all ages says much more than originally intended, about the perception of women in the world. It’s primitive perception of woman as codependent on men for survival, and latent statements about sexuality and gender, place (though likely uncalculated) stamp this story as an affirmation of the chauvinistic views of women.