Myths and Legends
The Transformation of Little Red Riding Hood
Through the Years
Nicole Rose
English 4950 Section 602
Professor Hackett
July 27, 2008
The Transformation of Little Red Riding Hood
Through the Years
The world has always had a fascination with Little Red Riding Hood. The little girl in the red hood has meant many different things to different people. Early oral versions were told for adult audiences and contained a background of dark and sexually oriented plots. As stories were written and published, the versions dramatically changed through the years. The story grew so popular that Walt Disney chose to animate the story in 1922 (Orenstein, 2002). Presently, “Barnes and Noble sells more than one hundred different editions, including one diagrammed in American Sign Language.” (Orenstein, 2002, p.3) In a society that is accused of losing its morality over the years, Little Red Riding Hood developed morality through modernization in the 19th century. However, in the 20th century, a new kind of Little Red Riding Hood character developed. This essay will explore the transformation of Little Red Riding Hood through the years. Alan Dundes, a psychoanalytical folklorist, explained that before a written version of Little Red Riding Hood existed, there was an oral version in which the little girl did not even wear a red hood (1989). This oral version was known to have a French or Italian background and it was entitled The Grandmother, according to Zack Zipes (2001). However, Maria Tatar also lists a similar story titled as The Story of Grandmother as being told by Louis and Francois Briffault in 1885 (2002). Dundes stressed that some critics question whether the oral version existed and they insist that Charles Perrault’s 1697 version is the original version of Little Red Riding Hood (1989). In the controversial oral version of The Grandmother, a little girl who is carrying bread
Through the Years
Nicole Rose
English 4950 Section 602
Professor Hackett
July 27, 2008
The Transformation of Little Red Riding Hood
Through the Years
The world has always had a fascination with Little Red Riding Hood. The little girl in the red hood has meant many different things to different people. Early oral versions were told for adult audiences and contained a background of dark and sexually oriented plots. As stories were written and published, the versions dramatically changed through the years. The story grew so popular that Walt Disney chose to animate the story in 1922 (Orenstein, 2002). Presently, “Barnes and Noble sells more than one hundred different editions, including one diagrammed in American Sign Language.” (Orenstein, 2002, p.3) In a society that is accused of losing its morality over the years, Little Red Riding Hood developed morality through modernization in the 19th century. However, in the 20th century, a new kind of Little Red Riding Hood character developed. This essay will explore the transformation of Little Red Riding Hood through the years. Alan Dundes, a psychoanalytical folklorist, explained that before a written version of Little Red Riding Hood existed, there was an oral version in which the little girl did not even wear a red hood (1989). This oral version was known to have a French or Italian background and it was entitled The Grandmother, according to Zack Zipes (2001). However, Maria Tatar also lists a similar story titled as The Story of Grandmother as being told by Louis and Francois Briffault in 1885 (2002). Dundes stressed that some critics question whether the oral version existed and they insist that Charles Perrault’s 1697 version is the original version of Little Red Riding Hood (1989). In the controversial oral version of The Grandmother, a little girl who is carrying bread
References: American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.) [Brochure] Dundes, A. (1989). Little Red Riding Hood: a casebook. Madison, WI: The University of Wisconsin Press. Forward, T. (2005). The Wolf 's Story: What Really Happened to Little Red Riding Hood. Garner, J. The Official Website of James Finn Garner. Retrieved July 27, 2008, from The Official Website of James Finn Garner Web site: Martin, A. (2006). Red Riding Hood and the wolf in bed: modernism 's fairy tales. Orenstein, C. (2002). Little Red Riding Hood uncloaked: sex,morality, and the evolution of a fairy tale. New York, NY: Basic Books. Tatar, M. (2002). The Annotated classic fairy tales. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. Zipes, J. (2001). The Great Fairy Tale Tradition: From Straparola and Basile to the Brothers Grimm Zipes, J. (1993). The Trials & Tribulations of Little Red Riding Hood. New York, NY: Routledge, Inc.