![]() The earliest oral versions of the story include bodily functions “oh, but I’ve also got to make cacka, grandma” and cannibalism “Slut! To eat the flesh… of your grandmother” and also sexual innuendo “undress yourself… come lie down beside me…” which were all removed when Perrault wrote it down. – In terms of social anthropology, this is a wonderful example of a 17th century text. This has been repeated in every retelling of the story apart from removing some lines such as “the better to hug you with…” for their promiscuity. – Although this version was not originally intended for children, the repetition the ‘all the better to…’ sequence is a formula that is liked by children. Perrault turned the wolf into a stand –in for male seducers who lure young women into their beds. ![]() She “met old neighbour wolf, who had a great desire to eat her.” This is the first clue that the wolf is actually a sexual predator. She wears red, the colour of passion, which was introduced by Perrault, as a symbol of her ‘sinful’ nature. She does not escape but instead serves as an example of girls who are spoilt and naive. Her attractiveness is important because, as is seen later, the story is a warning to women against talking to the wrong kind of men. In Perrault’s version (1697) the girl who is now nicknamed Little Red Riding Hood, is “the prettiest that had ever been seen”. She later encounters the wolf dressed as her grandmother and gets into bed with him. This was originally a tale of initiation as she chose the path of needles. In the original folk tale the little girl (unnamed) is asked by the wolf if she is taking the path of pins or needles – pins representing the temporary binding of a young girl’s garments, and needles representing coming into adulthood, where needles are a permanent bind. They have been retold and altered according to social and cultural contexts. This means that the child is aware that it is just a story.įairy tales began as folk tales for adults but have been used to entertain children since the eighteenth century. The vague time and location of ‘Once upon a time…’ signifies to the child that this is a world of fantasy. It includes violence, death and sexual connotations (and we read this to kids!). The story of Little Red Riding Hood is essentially a story about an attack on a little girl and her grandmother. English: An illustration from Tales of Mother Goose by Charles Perrault translated and edited by Charles Welsh The caption was “”She met with Gaffer Wolf””, it presumably illustrates the tale “Little Red Riding-Hood” and is found as the frontispiece (Photo credit: Wikipedia)ĭouble Review: Little Red Riding Hood by Charles Perrault and Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf by Roald Dahl ![]()
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