Isabelle C. Chang's The Chinese Red Riding Hood

There are many similarities that Isabelle C. Chang’s “The Chinese Red Riding Hoods” has with other stories in its tale type. There is a wolf, dressed as an old woman; a mother who gives her daughter instruction and advice; and a female protagonist facing danger and learning a lesson. Something that Chang’s story exclusively has in common with Perrault’s “The Story of Red Riding Hood” is that it has a written moral—the first line of Chang’s version is “Beware of the wolf in sheep’s clothing” (Hallet and Karasek 38). While this is a moral that could be attributed to any of the Little Red stories, it seems to overshadow the more specific lesson of Chang’s story—that girls at a young age must learn to be independent of the protection of a husband or parent (by learning about the outside world, learning to do domestic tasks, and taking care of weaker beings), because a girl never knows when she’ll have to care for herself.
There are several indicators that suggest the true moral of this
story. Firstly, this version of Little Red does not have a sexual element. After the wolf has successfully entered the girls’ house, the girls themselves insist they sleep with the wolf, not the other way round: “The children begged as usual to be allowed to sleep in the huge double bed with their Grammie” (Hallet and Karasek, 39). Later, when only Felice is in bed with him, the wolf is clearly more interested in eating than he is in Felice’s body. He sees Felice not as a sexual being, but as food (or a vehicle to obtain food, as she volunteers to climb the tree and fetch gingko nuts for him). This is important because it highlights that the story is for children, not pubescent young women. It also shows that the moral of the story does not involve male-female relationships—because, under the conditions of the moral, there are no men to have relationships with.
Another indicator is that the story is devoid of male authority figures. In “The Story of Grandmother” and Perrault’s tale, the wolf is sexually attracted to the girls, thereby taking the place of a human man in the story. In the Grimms’ story, a heroic lumberjack saves Little Red. In Chang’s version, the wolf behaves like a grandmother, and is really a hungry animal underneath; the authority he exerts is to obtain food, not sex, and he is only able to exert authority because he is dressed as a woman. There is no man in the story; this shows the reader that a community without male protector could be a reality.
The story is directed at very young girls, which is evident in several ways. Firstly, the mother of the children is a “young widow” (Hallet and Karasek 38). We know from the very start that while there once was a man in the family, he is no longer present; and, given that the widow is young, we can assume that the man died unexpectedly. History is repeating itself; a young woman lost her protector and was forced to take care of herself and her dependents, just as Felice does in the story. While it is not written that the children are young, it can be assumed this is the case when the mother leaves her girls in the house as opposed to sending them into the forest. The mother didn’t send them because it is too dangerous and they are too young; they are not prepared for the kind of journey that the other Little Reds in other stories experience. It also shows, again, that a young girl can be abandoned at any time; the little girls are left alone in the house to fend for themselves, and the listener needs to know it could happen to them as well.
Despite the mother’s efforts to keep her girls safe, danger comes knocking on their door.
The mother has specifically said to Felice, “‘You must watch over your sisters Mayling and Jeanne while I am gone. Lock the door and don’t let anyone inside’” (Hallet and Karasek 38). While there are three sisters, the protagonist of this story is Felice; the instructions given by her mother are only for her, meaning only she can disobey, thereby furthering the conflict. The fact that this story focuses on the eldest sibling and not the youngest, as so many fairy tales do, implies that being mature and responsible are desirable qualities that girls should aspire to have.
Unfortunately, Felice does not listen carefully to her mother’s advice. The girls open the door for the wolf dressed as their grandmother, allowing an otherworldly creature into their safe inside space (Mareen 6). It is from this moment that Felice must use the skills she has learned from her female elders to avoid being
eaten.
Felice first uses her knowledge of the Other World to save herself and her sisters. When Felice lights the candle and sees the wolf’s face, she recognizes who and what the wolf is; we know this because the story says “she was frightened,” as she should be (Hallet and Karasek 39). Felice also knows that the wolf will be greedy and focussed on food. Her knowledge is demonstrated as she describes the delicious gingko nuts and offers to fetch some as a ruse (Hallet and Karasek 39). We know Felice has obtained this information from a female source, as she does not have a male figure to teach her; hence, this information can be qualified as “female knowledge.”
Felice does obey her mother’s instruction to keep her sisters safe, thereby demonstrating her maturity and ability to take care of others. Felice safely tricks both the wolf and her sisters into letting the little girls get out of bed and leave the room. Felice created distance between the wolf and her sisters, showing that she cares about their well-being and is able to protect them. It is also revealed how young Felice is, as she persuades her sisters to get up and go by pinching Jeanne; this may not have been the most adult method of persuasion available to Felice. This shows, again, that while a girl may be young, this doesn’t mean she can’t be responsible and capable.
Ultimately, Felice uses her knowledge of domestic tasks and tools to defeat the wolf. She entices him with food, a motif intrinsically tied to women and women’s work. She then constructs a pulley out of a clothesline and clothesbucket to subdue the dangerous animal. It should be noted that while Felice has knowledge of women’s work, she also succeeds in her task by climbing a tree, an act very much associated with children’s play.
There are several elements of “The Chinese Red Riding Hoods” that seem inconsistent with the text: firstly, the name “Red Riding Hoods” doesn’t align with the details of the story. The girls don’t wear riding hoods; and, as the story doesn’t have a sexual element, the use of the colour red in the title is out of place. Additionally, the moral of the story presented at the beginning of the text does not provide the reader with a comprehensive interpretation of the story’s message. This particular version of the Little Red story focuses on the importance of female knowledge and independence in the absence of men, a lesson entirely unique to this version of the tale.