1. Little Red Riding Hood A Tale of Female Sexuality

2. Popular Versions Le Petit Chaperon Rouge by Charles Perrault –This is the most well-known version of the myth. It features Red walking through the woods, meeting the wolf, continuing on to her grandmother’s house, and being eaten Perrault wrote the story in an attempt to warn young girls about the threats that 18 th century French society posed to their virtue –Although girls were severely punished for adultery, sex was also used as a means of gaining a higher social standing In 1812, the Grimm brothers added the character of the huntsman, so that Red would have a strong male figure to save her

3. http://www1.assumption.edu/users/mcclymer/His130/cautionary%20tales/RedRidingHood.jpg

4. Deviating Accounts “Get undressed...and come to bed with me” –In some versions of the tale, our crimson-clad heroine is forced to undress and burn her clothes In some early accounts, Red meets a bzou (werewolf) Certain tales also feature a scene where red unknowingly consumes her grandmother’s remains

5. The Grandmother The purpose in Red visiting her grandmother may be that she needs an older woman to lecture her on sexuality, virtue, and “wifely duties” The role of the grandmother, especially in versions that omit a male savior, is to save Red from her own naïveté and curiosity

6. The Wolf “It’s such fun out here in the wood!”- The Wolf, from the Grimm brother’s Little Red Cap Elle avoit vû le loup — “she’d seen the wolf.” –A French idiom used to describe a girl who had been deflowered The Wolf plays a sexual predator, deceiving, manipulating, and ultimately seducing and devouring Red

7. From this story one learns that children, especially young lasses, pretty, courteous and well-bred, do very wrong to listen to strangers, And it is not an unheard thing if the Wolf is thereby provided with his dinner. I say Wolf, for all wolves are not of the same sort; there is one kind with an amenable disposition — neither noisy, nor hateful, nor angry, but tame, obliging and gentle, following the young maids in the streets, even into their homes. Alas! Who does not know that these gentle wolves are of all such creatures the most dangerous! ~ Charles Perrault

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9. Red Little Red Riding Hood is the stereotypical helpless female, commonly featured in fairy tales Red is a bit of a ditsy, naïve character –she is an innocent young girl who has yet to be exposed to the evils of the world Her curiosity and friendliness towards the wolf are seen as being promiscuous, and she is punished accordingly

10. Budding Female Sexuality The color red is a very important symbol in this story. It can be interpreted as symbolizing many things, such as –Passion –Red’s first menstrual period –The loss of a girl’s virginity –A warning signal –Blood –A lack of purity, the symbolic color for purity being white

11. http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=sexy+little+red+riding+hood&view=detail&id=BA8F836A18672 6FA3DCC56F15D2CDC1F1CBA5EE8&first=674&adlt=strict

12. Little girls, this seems to say, Never stop upon your way, Never trust a stranger-friend; No one knows how it will end. As you’re pretty so be wise; Wolves may lurk in every guise. Handsome they may be, and kind, Gay, and charming — never mind! Now, as then, ‘tis simple truth — Sweetest tongue has sharpest tooth! ~ Charles Perrault

13. Sexual Shame and Repression The Wolf is a natural predator, and is therefore expected to take advantage of potential victims –This story condemns Red more for letting herself get in a position where she was made vulnerable than it does the wolf for preying upon her It seems as though the writers of the various Little Red Riding Hood myths are trying to imply that it is Red’s fault that she gets killed –The story serves as a parable against curiosity, especially in regards to sex

14. Children, especially attractive, well bred young ladies, should never talk to strangers ~Charles Perrault

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16. Works Cited Orenstein, C. (2004). Dances with wolves little red riding hood's long walk in the woods. Retrieved from http://www.msmagazine.com/summer2004/da nceswithwolves.asp Reed, D. (2012). Red ridin hood. Retrieved from http://www.onceuponatimefans.co.uk/redridin ghood.htm