The Two Faces of Little Red Riding Hood

 Through the years the character of Little Red riding Hood has been describes in many ways by many authors. She has been the vulnerable, scared little girl or as opposite from that, strong, fearless, sexy woman. Zohar Shavit shows how two story tellers can transform the image of her into two separate individuals with the red hood still remaining as the focal point, in his article “The Concept of Childhood and Children’s Folktales: Test Case – “Little Red Riding Hood”. The same exact theme can be seen when we were reading about the traditional fairy tales and then the Disney versions; one female character but multiple images of her.

The character in the Brothers Grim version concentrates on the family ties between Little Red and the Grandmother, creating an illustration of womanhood as loyal and loving, and always there for each other. On the other side in Perrault’s version the women do not seem to be bonded by family ties nor unconditional love for each other, both women are seen as individuals with their own goals. Childhood for girls is represented in multitude of ways if you combine these two versions. One can be individual or one can be seen as extension of a family. “In Perrault’s version, the girl picks flowers for her own enjoyment alone, while in the Grimm version she picks them to bring as a gift to her grandmother.” (Shavit 331)  

Another way these two authors portray Little Red in different light is the way they portray her sexuality or the lack of it. The hood assumes the role of this particular symbol. “For Perrault it symbolizes the girl’s eroticism, whereas for the Brothers Grimm it is an expression of the grandmother’s deep love.” (Shavit 330) How this portrays her to the children who read these stories affects the view of women, the way sexuality and family love is expressed. The Grimm’s version depicts her as good, respectful, vulnerable girl but by Perrault she gains new qualities as a women with a power of on scene in the story; the one where she climbs to bed with her grandmother. Which one of these stories would one consider more appropriate for children, or is the way of describing the erotic undertone in Perrault’s version just an adult readers set of mind playing tricks. The point being, these are two different views of Little Red Riding Hood for the reader’s amusement.