"Little Red Riding Hood"

Paper Summary:

The paper shows how "Little Red Riding Hood" began as a story about female triumph and heroism, but has been transformed over the years by male authorship and the influence of male dominated societal values into a lesson in female obedience. The paper discusses the origin of "Little Red Riding Hood" as "Oral Conte de la mere-grand" and its subsequent publishing by Charles Perrault in his "Le Petit Chaperon Rouge," that painted a picture of how women were viewed during the 17th century. The paper then focuses on Joseph and Wilhelm Grimm's "Le Petit Chaperon Rouge" that offered a patriarchal lesson in female obedience. In addition, the paper looks at Anne Sexton's "Red Riding Hood" that is in contrast to the patriarchal morals of its predecessors, but still does nothing to directly empower female readers while Angela Carter's "The Company of Wolves," is an improvement but is not perfect. The paper asserts that women need an example to look toward and little girls need something concretely, female to lead the tale and teach the story of a woman's ability to thrive in a world of hungry wolves.

From the Paper:

"By the time they are old enough to read, almost all little girls across the globe have heard the story of "Little Red Riding Hood" in one form or another. Most likely they have been exposed to either a tale from the Mother Goose collection, written by Charles Perrault or the version written by Joseph and Wilhelm Grimm. It is unfortunate that as they are read these traditional cautionary tales, they remain unaware of the "education" being drilled into their young minds. The values learned from classic fairy tales, which are the training wheels of literature, reflect a patriarchal society that indoctrinates women with a victim mentality. Even more unfortunate than the accidental installation of ancient male values is the ignorance about the good stuff that Mother Goose left out."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Bacchilegia, Cristina. Postmodern Fairy Tales: Gender and Narrative Strategies. Philadelphia: Penn Press, 1997.
• Hastings, Waller. Little Red Riding Hood. Diss. Northern State U, 2002. Aberdeen, SD: 2000.
• Orenstein, Catherine. Little Red Riding Hood Uncloaked: Sex, Morality, and theEvolution of a Fairy Tale. New York: Perseus, 2002.
• Reddish, Barbara Smith. A Postmodern Critique of the 'Little Red Riding Hood' Tale.Diss. Texas Woman's U, 2000. Denton, TX: DAI-A, 2000.

More papers on "Little Red Riding Hood":

• Analytical Essay # 107077 : "Little Red Riding Hood."
• Analytical Essay # 40462 : "Little Red Riding Hood"
• Essay # 72383 : "'The Company of Wolves'"

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