Little Red Riding Hood

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Little Red Riding Hood - J. W. Smith

Little Red Riding Hood - Project Gutenberg etext 19993

Arthur Rackham Little Red Riding Hood+

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Walter Crane26

Little Red Riding Hood

Grimm

Little Red Riding Hood is a European fairy tale about a young girl and a Big Bad Wolf. Its origins can be traced back to the 10th century to several European folk tales, including one from Italy called The False Grandmother. The best known version was written by Charles Perrault.

Plot

The story revolves around a girl called Little Red Riding Hood. In Perrault's versions, she is named after the red hooded cape/cloak that she wears. The girl walks through the woods to deliver food to her sickly grandmother (wine and cake depending on the translation). In the Grimms' version, she had been given orders not to stray from the path. The Big Bad Wolf wants to eat the girl and the food in the basket. He secretly stalks her behind trees, bushes, shrubs, and patches of little and tall grass. He approaches Little Red Riding Hood, who naively tells him where she is going. He suggests the girl pick some flowers, which she does. In the meantime, he goes to the grandmother's house and gains entry by pretending to be the girl. He swallows the grandmother whole (in some stories, he locks her in the closet) and waits for the girl, disguised as the grandma.

When the girl arrives, she notices that her grandmother looks very strange. Little Red Riding Hood then says, "What big eyes you have," "What big ears you have," "What big hands you have," and lastly, "What big teeth you have," to which the wolf replies, "The better to eat you with" and swallows her too. A hunter in the area, hearing the commotion, comes to the rescue with an axe, cuts open the wolf, saving both the girl and her grandmother.

Themes and analysis

The tale has been interpreted as a puberty rite, stemming from a prehistoric origin (sometimes an initiation). The story represents the child's move away from her mother, encountering the dangers of the forest (symbolizing the outside world), and being seduced by the wolf (representing male sexuality), with the grandmother representing the end of the child's life as a child (death of the child's identity before puberty).

Adaptations

Little Red Riding Hood has been adapted to a wide variety of media, including ballet, opera, children's literature, photography, and film. The story has been changed in various retellings and subjected to numerous modern adaptations and readings. The story has also been used as a warning against strangers.

Cultural impact

The tale is among the most popular fairy tales in the world. Little Red Riding Hood, her grandmother, and the Big Bad Wolf are iconic characters in the folkloric traditions of many cultures. The story has been subject to numerous interpretations and adaptations for centuries, which has contributed to its rich history of storytelling.