Little Red Riding Hood
Brothers Grimm Little Red Cap
Grimm’s Little Red Cap de-emphasised the sexual elements for the purpose of aiming the tale towards the child audience of the nineteenth century (Lyden, 2002). They added a new emphasis to the story- violence, to enforce new ideas of obedience for children, and young women (Lyden, 2002; Zipes, 2002; National Public Radio, 2002).
Furthermore, the rescue by the male hunter, a hero in the tale, symbolises the protection of the Father in the nineteenth century. The hero is courageous, masculine and appears to represent the power men had in the nineteenth century.
The tale conveys a message of the dangers of talking to strangers and disobeying parents. Despite the protagonist’s disobedience, she is still a naïve, helpless, innocent and an extremely gullible child (Zipes, 1993). This is seen when the wolf asks “where are you going so early, Little Red Cap?” and the protagonist responds “To Grandmother’s”. Consequently, the wolf knew Little Red Riding Hood’s intended destination. This is a deliberate element to the story to warn Mother’s and children of the dangers of talking to strangers.
This certainly does reflect Perrault’s version. However, the major change in this version is the happy ending, where the hunter saves Little Red Cap and her Granny. It is obvious that the brothers thought Perrault’s ending was too cruel for children.
Moral:
Stranger danger
Don't stray from the path
Listen to your parents/guardians
Click the play button to listen to the audio of Grimm's Little Red Cap.
Recommended reading for further research
Zipes, J. (2002). The Brothers from Enchanted Forests to the Modern World: New
York Palgrave Macmillan.
Zipes, J. (1993). The Trials and Tribulations of Little Red Riding Hood. Great Britain: Routledge.