Little Red Riding Hood

So… where did the fairy tale derive from?

 

Were they intended for children or adults?

 

A fairy tale is a traditional folktale that has been adapted and written for the entertainment of children (Oxford Dictionary, 2005; Zipes, 1999). They derived from oral folktales told in Europe that were passed down through generations by word and mouth. They contained marvellous elements and have existed for thousands of years.

 

The early oral tales were closely tied to rituals and beliefs of society at the time. Furthermore, they were intended to enable people to have an imagination and were also used to warn, amuse and enlighten (Zipes, 1993; Zipes, 1999).At the time, these tales were intended for the adult audience.

 

In the seventeenth century, books were expensive, and it was not until the eighteenth century that the tales were adapted and intended for the child audience (Orenstein, 2002, p.50). At this time, the industrial revolution changed the book market. New industrial printing processes reduced the cost of books, resulting in the growth of reading for lower, middle and upper class people (Orenstein, 2002).

 

These entertaining adapted tales feature marvellous events and archetypes such as princesses, witches and queens (Zipes, 2007). The famous and talented Brothers Grimm are well-known for their re-tellings of folktales throughout the nineteenth century for children, of which include Little Red Cap.

 

Recommended reading for further research

 

Grimm, J., & Grimm, W. (2013). Grimm: Complete fairy tales. England: Taylor and Francis.

 

Zipes, J. (2002). The Brothers from Enchanted Forests to the Modern World: New

York Palgrave Macmillan.