Little Red Riding Hood

Wow! Who knew that fairy tales could be so diverse and complex, not to mention thought provoking. In our study of "Little Red Riding Hood" this week, we learned that there were many versions of the tale and that they differed greatly in the details. In Perrault's version, for example, the girl is eaten at the end and the story is over. (In other versions the grandma and LRRH are saved.) However in Perrault's version, there is a long moral narrative added after the story concludes. It warns pretty, well-bred, young girls not to "listen to just anyone", and to be particularly careful of the proverbial 'wolves in sheep's clothing' who are charming and pleasant. The moral narrative finishes by saying that "tame wolves are the most dangerous of all." From this I realised that in most of the versions of this tale, she does talk to the wolf before any mayhem happens. He is friendly and conversational, and she is not afraid of him. In several of the tales, she even tells him exactly where grandma lives! This is an interesting comment on the male predator mentality. Their looks and actions may not lure a child in, but perhaps their words will. You often hear stories of young girls being lured in by a predator's kind words and casual talk. He might say she's pretty or that he's a friend or that she might like to go down the street with him in his car. This verbal exchange is often what draws a young girl in. That must be why we are taught not to TALK to strangers. Maybe our elders knew that it was that initial conversation that would attract a child's attention and allow them to trust the predator. This certainly happened in LRRH's case. She talks with the wolf and even takes his suggestion that she look around and play in the pretty woods. She listens to him and trusts him. If the wolf had seemed scary or threatening to Little Red, we might have had a very different tale. Perhaps she would have run home, or run to Grandma's and locked the door behind her! The conversation between the two goes along with the sexual undertones of this tale as well. I have heard men say that they have to "talk their wives into" having sex with them. Women do respond to words. I find that if my husband says something nice to me, it means more to me than if he does something nice. On the other side of that, if he says something wrong, it has the potential to make me very mad! I have heard it said that men fall in love with their eyes, but women fall in love with their ears. What he sees is important and sexy to him and what she hears is important and sexy to her. This idea seems to play out in "Little Red Riding Hood" because he sees the little girl and wants to devour her, and she listens to the wolf and is not afraid. This story is so multi-faceted that my blog could go on forever. I will discuss the theory that this story may represent the male fear of the woman and his own sexuality in a later blog...