Little Red Riding Hood
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"Little Red Riding Hood" is a
European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...
fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic (paranormal), magic, incantation, enchantments, and mythical ...
about a young girl and a sly wolf. Its origins can be traced back to several pre-17th century European folk tales. The two best known versions were written by
Charles Perrault Charles Perrault ( , also , ; 12 January 1628 – 16 May 1703) was an iconic French author and member of the Académie Française. He laid the foundations for a new literary genre, the fairy tale, with his works derived from earlier folk tales ...
and the
Brothers Grimm The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859), were a brother duo of German academics, philologists, cultural researchers, lexicographers, and authors who together collected and published folklore. They are among the ...
. The story has been changed considerably in various retellings and subjected to numerous modern adaptations and readings. Other names for the story are: "Little Red Cap" or simply "Red Riding Hood". It is number 333 in the Aarne–Thompson classification system for folktales.


Tale

The story revolves around a girl called Little Red Riding Hood. In Perrault's versions of the tale, she is named after her red
hooded A hood is a kind of headgear that covers most of the human head, head and neck, and sometimes the face. Hoods that cover mainly the sides and top of the head, and leave the face mostly or partly open may be worn for protection from the environm ...
cape A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. Th ...
/
cloak A cloak is a type of loose garment worn over clothing, mostly but not always as outerwear for outdoor wear, serving the same purpose as an overcoat, protecting the wearer from the weather. It may form part of a uniform. Cloaks have been and a ...
that she wears. The girl walks through the woods to deliver food to her sickly grandmother (wine and cake depending on the translation). In the Grimms' version, her mother had ordered her to stay strictly on the path. A stalking wolf wants to eat the girl and the food in the basket. He asks her where she is going. She tells him. He suggests that she pick some flowers as a present for her grandmother, which she does. In the meantime, he goes to the grandmother's house and gains entry by pretending to be Riding Hood. He swallows the grandmother whole (in some stories, he locks her in the closet) and waits for the girl, disguised as the grandmother. When the girl arrives, she notices that her grandmother looks very strange. She says, "What a deep voice you have!" ("The better to greet you with", responds the wolf), "Goodness, what big eyes you have!" ("The better to see you with", responds the wolf), "And what big hands you have!" ("The better to embrace you with", responds the wolf), and lastly, "What a big mouth you have" ("The better to eat you with!", responds the wolf), at which point the wolf jumps out of the bed and eats her, too. Then he falls asleep. In Charles Perrault's version of the story (the first version to be published), the tale ends here. In later and better-known versions, the story continues. A woodcutter in the French version, or a
hunter Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...
in the Brothers Grimm and traditional German versions, comes to the rescue with an axe, and cuts open the sleeping wolf. Little Red Riding Hood and her grandmother emerge shaken, but unharmed. Then they fill the wolf's body with heavy stones. The wolf awakens and attempts to flee, but the stones cause him to collapse and die. In the Grimms' version, the wolf leaves the house and tries to drink out of a well, but the stones in his stomach cause him to fall in and drown (similarly to the story of " The Wolf and the Seven Little Kids"). Sanitized versions of the story have the grandmother locked in the closet instead of being eaten and some have Little Red Riding Hood saved by the lumberjack as the wolf advances on her rather than after she is eaten, where the woodcutter kills the wolf with his axe.


History


Relationship to other tales

The story displays many similarities to stories from classical Greece and Rome. Scholar Graham Anderson has compared the story to a local legend recounted by
Pausanias Pausanias ( el, Παυσανίας) may refer to: *Pausanias of Athens, lover of the poet Agathon and a character in Plato's ''Symposium'' *Pausanias the Regent, Spartan general and regent of the 5th century BC * Pausanias of Sicily, physician of t ...
in which, each year, a virgin girl was offered to a
malevolent spirit In mythology and folklore, a vengeful ghost or vengeful spirit is said to be the spirit of a dead person who returns from the afterlife to seek revenge for a cruel, unnatural or unjust death. In certain cultures where funeral and burial or crem ...
dressed in the skin of a wolf, who raped the girl. Then, one year, the boxer Euthymos came along, slew the spirit, and married the girl who had been offered as a sacrifice. There are also a number of different stories recounted by Greek authors involving a woman named Pyrrha (literally "fire") and a man with some name meaning "wolf". The Roman poet
Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 – 27 November 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). The rhetorician Quintilian regarded his ' ...
alludes to a tale in which a male child is rescued alive from the belly of
Lamia LaMia Corporation S.R.L., operating as LaMia (short for ''Línea Aérea Mérida Internacional de Aviación''), was a Bolivian charter airline headquartered in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, as an EcoJet subsidiary. It had its origins from the failed ...
, an
ogre An ogre ( feminine: ogress) is a legendary monster depicted as a large, hideous, man-like being that eats ordinary human beings, especially infants and children. Ogres frequently feature in mythology, folklore, and fiction throughout the wor ...
ss in classical mythology. The dialogue between the wolf and Little Red Riding Hood has analogies to the Norse ''
Þrymskviða ''Þrymskviða'' (Þrym's Poem; the name can be anglicised as ''Thrymskviða'', ''Thrymskvitha'', ''Thrymskvidha'' or ''Thrymskvida'') is one of the best known poems from the ''Poetic Edda''. The Norse myth had enduring popularity in Scandinavi ...
'' from the ''
Elder Edda The ''Poetic Edda'' is the modern name for an untitled collection of Old Norse anonymous narrative poems, which is distinct from the ''Prose Edda'' written by Snorri Sturluson. Several versions exist, all primarily of text from the Icelandic med ...
''; the giant
Þrymr In Norse mythology, Þrymr (''Thrymr'', ''Thrym''; "uproar") was king of the jǫtnar. In one legend, he stole Mjǫlnir, Thor's hammer, to extort the gods into giving him Freyja as his wife. His kingdom was called Jötunheimr, but according to ...
had stolen
Mjölnir Mjölnir (from Old Norse Mjǫllnir) is the hammer of the thunder god Thor in Norse mythology, used both as a devastating weapon and as a divine instrument to provide blessings. The hammer is attested in numerous sources, including the 11th cen ...
,
Thor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred groves and trees, strength, the protection of humankind, hallowing, an ...
's hammer, and demanded
Freyja In Norse paganism, Freyja (Old Norse "(the) Lady") is a goddess associated with love, beauty, fertility, sex, war, gold, and seiðr (magic for seeing and influencing the future). Freyja is the owner of the necklace Brísingamen, rides a chario ...
as his bride for its return. Instead, the gods dressed Thor as a bride and sent him. When the giants note Thor's unladylike eyes, eating, and drinking,
Loki Loki is a god in Norse mythology. According to some sources, Loki is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mentioned as a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi or Na ...
explains them as Freyja's not having slept, eaten, or drunk, out of longing for the wedding. A parallel to another Norse myth, the chase and eventual murder of the
sun goddess A solar deity or sun deity is a deity who represents the Sun, or an aspect of it. Such deities are usually associated with power and strength. Solar deities and Sun worship can be found throughout most of recorded history in various forms. The ...
by the wolf
Sköll In Norse mythology, Sköll (Old Norse: ''Skǫll'', "Treachery"Orchard (1997:150). or "Mockery"Simek (2007:292)) is a wolf that, according to Snorri Sturluson's ''Prose Edda'', chases the Sun (personified as a goddess, Sól). Hati Hróðvitn ...
, has also been drawn. A similar story also belongs to the North African tradition, namely in
Kabylia Kabylia ('' Kabyle: Tamurt n Leqbayel'' or ''Iqbayliyen'', meaning "Land of Kabyles", '','' meaning "Land of the Tribes") is a cultural, natural and historical region Historical regions (or historical areas) are geographical regions which ...
, where a number of versions are attested. The theme of the little girl who visits her (grand)dad in his cabin and is recognized by the sound of her bracelets constitutes the refrain of a well-known song by the modern singer
Idir Idir may refer to: People * Ali Idir (born 1966), Algerian judoka * Idir (singer) (1949–2020), Algerian singer-songwriter and musician * Idir Khourta (born 1986), French-born Algerian table tennis player * Idir Ouali (born 1988), French-Alger ...
, " A Vava Inouva": The theme of the ravening wolf and of the creature released unharmed from its
belly Belly may refer to: Anatomy * The abdomen, the part of the body between the pelvis and the thorax; or the stomach ** A beer belly, an overhang of fat above the waist, presumed to be caused by regular beer drinking ** Belly dance * The fleshy, cen ...
is also reflected in the Russian tale ''
Peter and the Wolf ''Peter and the Wolf'' ( rus, Петя и Bолк, r="Pétya i volk", p=ˈpʲetʲə i volk, links=no) Op. 67, a "symphonic fairy tale for children", is a musical composition written by Sergei Prokofiev in 1936. The narrator tells a children's s ...
'' and another Grimm tale ''
The Wolf and the Seven Young Kids "The Wolf and the Seven Young Goats" (german: Der Wolf und die sieben jungen Geißlein) is a fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm and published in Grimm's Fairy Tales (KHM 5). It is of Aarne-Thompson type 123. The tale has obvious resembla ...
'', but its general theme of restoration is at least as old as the biblical story, ''
Jonah and the Whale Jonah or Jonas, ''Yōnā'', "dove"; gr, Ἰωνᾶς ''Iōnâs''; ar, يونس ' or '; Latin: ''Ionas'' son of Amittai, is a prophet in the Hebrew Bible and the Quran, from Gath-hepher of the northern kingdom of Israel in about the 8th cent ...
''. The theme also appears in the story of the life of Saint Margaret, wherein the saint emerges unharmed from the belly of a
dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...
, and in the epic "The Red Path" by
Jim C. Hines Jim C. Hines (born April 15, 1974) is an American fantasy and science fiction writer. Life and work Hines was a volunteer crisis counselor in East Lansing and worked as the Male Outreach Coordinator for the Michigan State University, MSU Safe ...
. A Taiwanese story from the 16th century, known as ''Grandaunt Tiger'' bears several striking similarities. In this story there are two girls who are sisters. When the girls' mother goes out, the tigress comes to the girls' house and pretends to be their aunt, asking to come in. One girl says that the aunt's voice does not sound right, so the tigress attempts to disguise her voice. Then, the girl says that the aunt's hands feel too coarse, so the tigress attempts to make her paws smoother. When finally the tigress gains entry, she eats the girl's sister's hand. The girl comes up with a ruse to go outside and fetch some food for her aunt. Grandaunt Tiger, suspicious of the girl, ties a rope to her leg. The girl ties a bucket to the rope to fool her, but Grandaunt Tiger realises this and chases after her, whereupon she climbs into a tree. The girl tells the tigress that she will let her eat her, but first she would like to feed her some fruit from the tree. The tigress comes closer to eat the fruit, whereupon the girl pours boiling hot oil down her throat, killing her. According to
Paul Delarue Paul Alfred Delarue, born 20 April 1889 in Saint-Didier, Nièvre, died 25 July 1956 in Autun, Saône-et-Loire, was a French folklorist. A world-renowned specialist in the field of folklore, his crowning achievement was his , a catalog of folkt ...
, a similar narrative is found in East Asian stories, namely, in China, Korea and Japan, with the title "The Tiger and the Children".


Earliest versions

The origins of the Little Red Riding Hood story can be traced to several likely pre-17th century versions from various European countries. Some of these are significantly different from the currently known, Grimms-inspired version. It was told by French peasants in the 10th century and recorded by the cathedral schoolmaster Egbert of Liège. In Italy, Little Red Riding Hood was told by peasants in the fourteenth century, where a number of versions exist, including ''La finta nonna'' (The False Grandmother), written among others by
Italo Calvino Italo Calvino (, also , ;. RAI (circa 1970), retrieved 25 October 2012. 15 October 1923 – 19 September 1985) was an Italian writer and journalist. His best known works include the ''Our Ancestors'' trilogy (1952–1959), the '' Cosmicomi ...
in the ''
Italian Folktales ''Italian Folktales'' (''Fiabe italiane'') is a collection of 200 Italian folktales published in 1956 by Italo Calvino. Calvino began the project in 1954, influenced by Vladimir Propp's '' Morphology of the Folktale''; his intention was to emula ...
'' collection. It has also been called "The Story of Grandmother". It is also possible that this early tale has roots in very similar East Asian tales (e.g. "Grandaunt Tiger"). These early variations of the tale, do differ from the currently known version in several ways. The antagonist is not always a wolf, but sometimes a 'bzou' (
werewolf In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (; ; uk, Вовкулака, Vovkulaka), is an individual that can shapeshift into a wolf (or, especially in modern film, a therianthropic hybrid wolf-like creature), either purposely or ...
), making these tales relevant to the werewolf trials (similar to witch trials) of the time (e.g. the trial of
Peter Stumpp Peter Stumpp (c. 1535 – 1589; name is also spelled as Peter Stube, Peter Stubbe, Peter Stübbe or Peter Stumpf) was a German farmer and alleged serial killer, accused of werewolfery, witchcraft and cannibalism. He was known as 'the Werewolf of ...
). The wolf usually leaves the grandmother's blood and flesh for the girl to eat, who then unwittingly cannibalizes her own grandmother. Furthermore, the wolf was also known to ask her to remove her clothing and toss it into the fire. In some versions, the wolf eats the girl after she gets into bed with him, and the story ends there. In others, she sees through his disguise and tries to escape, complaining to her "grandmother" that she needs to defecate and would not wish to do so in the bed. The wolf reluctantly lets her go, tied to a piece of string so she does not get away. The girl slips the string over something else and runs off. In these stories she escapes with no help from any male or older female figure, instead using her own cunning, or in some versions the help of a younger boy who she happens to run into. Sometimes, though more rarely, the red hood is even non-existent. In other tellings of the story, the wolf chases after Little Red Riding Hood. She escapes with the help of some laundresses, who spread a sheet taut over a river so she may escape. When the wolf follows Red over the bridge of cloth, the sheet is released and the wolf drowns in the river. And in another version the wolf is pushed into the fire, while he is preparing the flesh of the grandmother to be eaten by the girl.


Charles Perrault

The earliest known printed version was known as ''Le Petit Chaperon Rouge'' and may have had its origins in 17th-century French
folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...
. It was included in the collection '' Tales and Stories of the Past with Morals. Tales of Mother Goose'' (''Histoires et contes du temps passé, avec des moralités. Contes de ma mère l'Oye''), in 1697, by
Charles Perrault Charles Perrault ( , also , ; 12 January 1628 – 16 May 1703) was an iconic French author and member of the Académie Française. He laid the foundations for a new literary genre, the fairy tale, with his works derived from earlier folk tales ...
. As the title implies, this version is both more sinister and more overtly moralized than the later ones. The redness of the hood, which has been given symbolic significance in many interpretations of the tale, was a detail introduced by Perrault. The story had as its subject an "attractive, well-bred young lady", a village girl of the country being deceived into giving a wolf she encountered the information he needed to find her grandmother's house successfully and eat the old woman while at the same time avoiding being noticed by woodcutters working in the nearby forest. Then he proceeded to lay a trap for Red Riding Hood. Little Red Riding Hood ends up being asked to climb into the bed before being eaten by the wolf, where the story ends. The wolf emerges the victor of the encounter and there is no happy ending. Charles Perrault explained the 'moral' at the end of the tale so that no doubt is left to his intended meaning: This, the presumed original version of the tale was written for the late seventeenth-century French court of King Louis XIV. This audience, whom the King entertained with extravagant parties, presumably would take from the story's intended meaning.


The Brothers Grimm

In the 19th century two separate German versions were retold to
Jacob Grimm Jacob Ludwig Karl Grimm (4 January 1785 – 20 September 1863), also known as Ludwig Karl, was a German author, linguist, philologist, jurist, and folklorist. He is known as the discoverer of Grimm's law of linguistics, the co-author of th ...
and his younger brother
Wilhelm Grimm Wilhelm Carl Grimm (also Karl; 24 February 178616 December 1859) was a German author and anthropologist, and the younger brother of Jacob Grimm, of the literary duo the Brothers Grimm. Life and work Wilhelm was born in February 1786 in Hanau, ...
, known as the
Brothers Grimm The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859), were a brother duo of German academics, philologists, cultural researchers, lexicographers, and authors who together collected and published folklore. They are among the ...
, the first by Jeanette Hassenpflug (1791–1860) and the second by
Marie Hassenpflug Marie Magdalene Elisabeth Hassenpflug (27 December 178821 November 1856) was a German author whose versions of various folk tales were an important source for the collection of tales by the Brothers Grimm. She is best known for her versions of ...
(1788–1856). The brothers turned the first version to the main body of the story and the second into a sequel of it. The story as ''Rotkäppchen'' was included in the first edition of their collection ''
Kinder- und Hausmärchen ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'', originally known as the ''Children's and Household Tales'' (german: Kinder- und Hausmärchen, lead=yes, ), is a German collection of fairy tales by the Grimm brothers or "Brothers Grimm", Jacob and Wilhelm, first publi ...
'' (Children's and Household Tales (1812) – KHM 26). The earlier parts of the tale agree so closely with Perrault's variant that it is almost certainly the source of the tale. This version ends with the girl and her grandmother saved by a huntsman who was after the wolf's skin; this ending mirrors that in the tale "
The Wolf and the Seven Young Kids "The Wolf and the Seven Young Goats" (german: Der Wolf und die sieben jungen Geißlein) is a fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm and published in Grimm's Fairy Tales (KHM 5). It is of Aarne-Thompson type 123. The tale has obvious resembla ...
", which appears to be the source. The second part featured the girl and her grandmother trapping and killing another wolf, this time anticipating his moves based on their experience with the previous one. The girl did not leave the path when the wolf spoke to her, her grandmother locked the door to keep it out, and when the wolf lurked, the grandmother had Little Red Riding Hood put a trough under the chimney and fill it with water that sausages had been cooked in; the smell lured the wolf down, and it drowned. The Brothers further revised the story in later editions and it reached the above-mentioned final and better-known version in the 1857 edition of their work. It is notably tamer than the older stories which contained darker themes.


Later versions

Numerous authors have rewritten or adapted this tale. Charles Marelle in his version of the fairy tale called "The True History of Little Goldenhood" (1888) gives the girl a real name – Blanchette.
Andrew Lang Andrew Lang (31 March 1844 – 20 July 1912) was a Scottish poet, novelist, literary critic, and contributor to the field of anthropology. He is best known as a collector of folk and fairy tales. The Andrew Lang lectures at the University o ...
included a variant called "The True History of Little Goldenhood" in ''
The Red Fairy Book ''The Langs' Fairy Books'' are a series of 25 collections of true and fictional stories for children published between 1889 and 1913 by Andrew Lang and his wife, Leonora Blanche Alleyne. The best known books of the series are the 12 collections ...
'' (1890). He derived it from the works of Charles Marelles, in ''Contes of Charles Marelles''. This version explicitly states that the story had been mistold earlier. The girl is saved, but not by the huntsman; when the wolf tries to eat her, its mouth is burned by the golden hood she wears, which is enchanted. James N. Barker wrote a variation of Little Red Riding Hood in 1827 as an approximately 1000-word story. It was later reprinted in 1858 in a book of collected stories edited by William E Burton, called the ''Cyclopedia of Wit and Humor''. The reprint also features a wood engraving of a clothed wolf on a bended knee holding Little Red Riding Hood's hand. In the 20th century, the popularity of the tale appeared to snowball, with many new versions being written and produced, especially in the wake of Freudian analysis,
deconstruction The term deconstruction refers to approaches to understanding the relationship between text and meaning. It was introduced by the philosopher Jacques Derrida, who defined it as a turn away from Platonism's ideas of "true" forms and essences w ...
and feminist critical theory. (See adaptations below.) This trend has also led to a number of academic texts being written that focus on Little Red Riding Hood, including works by Alan Dundes and Jack Zipes.


Interpretations

Apart from the overt warning about talking to strangers, there are many interpretations of the classic fairy tale, many of them sexual. Some are listed below.


Natural cycles

Folklorists Folklore studies, less often known as folkloristics, and occasionally tradition studies or folk life studies in the United Kingdom, is the branch of anthropology devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currenc ...
and
cultural anthropologists Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tylo ...
, such as P. Saintyves and
Edward Burnett Tylor Sir Edward Burnett Tylor (2 October 18322 January 1917) was an English anthropologist, and professor of anthropology. Tylor's ideas typify 19th-century cultural evolutionism. In his works '' Primitive Culture'' (1871) and ''Anthropology'' ...
, saw "Little Red Riding Hood" in terms of solar myths and other naturally occurring cycles. Her red hood could represent the bright sun which is ultimately swallowed by the terrible night (the wolf), and the variations in which she is cut out of the wolf's belly represent the dawn. In this interpretation, there is a connection between the wolf of this tale and
Sköll In Norse mythology, Sköll (Old Norse: ''Skǫll'', "Treachery"Orchard (1997:150). or "Mockery"Simek (2007:292)) is a wolf that, according to Snorri Sturluson's ''Prose Edda'', chases the Sun (personified as a goddess, Sól). Hati Hróðvitn ...
, the wolf in Norse mythology that will swallow the personified Sun at Ragnarök, or
Fenrir Fenrir (Old Norse: ; "fen-dweller")Orchard (1997:42). or Fenrisúlfr (O.N.: ; "Fenrir's wolf", often translated "Fenris-wolf"),Simek (2007:81). also referred to as Hróðvitnir (O.N.: ; "fame-wolf")Simek (2007:160). and Vánagandr (O.N.: ; " ...
. Alternatively, the tale could be about the season of spring or the month of May, escaping the winter.


Rite

The tale has been interpreted as a
puberty Puberty is the process of physical changes through which a child's body matures into an adult body capable of sexual reproduction. It is initiated by hormonal signals from the brain to the gonads: the ovaries in a girl, the testes in a boy. ...
rite, stemming from a prehistoric origin (sometimes an origin stemming from a previous matriarchal era). The girl, leaving home, enters a liminal state and by going through the acts of the tale, is transformed into an adult woman by the act of coming out of the wolf's stomach.


Rebirth

Bruno Bettelheim Bruno Bettelheim (August 28, 1903 – March 13, 1990) was an Austrian-born psychologist, scholar, public intellectual and writer who spent most of his academic and clinical career in the United States. An early writer on autism, Bettelheim's wor ...
, in '' The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales'' (1976), recast the Little Red Riding Hood motif in terms of classic
Freudian Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating pathologies explained as originating in conflicts i ...
analysis, that shows how fairy tales educate, support, and liberate children's emotions. The motif of the huntsman cutting open the wolf he interpreted as a "rebirth"; the girl who foolishly listened to the wolf has been reborn as a new person.


Norse myth

The poem "
Þrymskviða ''Þrymskviða'' (Þrym's Poem; the name can be anglicised as ''Thrymskviða'', ''Thrymskvitha'', ''Thrymskvidha'' or ''Thrymskvida'') is one of the best known poems from the ''Poetic Edda''. The Norse myth had enduring popularity in Scandinavi ...
" from the ''
Poetic Edda The ''Poetic Edda'' is the modern name for an untitled collection of Old Norse anonymous narrative poems, which is distinct from the ''Prose Edda'' written by Snorri Sturluson. Several versions exist, all primarily of text from the Icelandic me ...
'' mirrors some elements of Red Riding Hood.
Loki Loki is a god in Norse mythology. According to some sources, Loki is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mentioned as a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi or Na ...
's explanations for the strange behavior of "
Freyja In Norse paganism, Freyja (Old Norse "(the) Lady") is a goddess associated with love, beauty, fertility, sex, war, gold, and seiðr (magic for seeing and influencing the future). Freyja is the owner of the necklace Brísingamen, rides a chario ...
" (actually
Thor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred groves and trees, strength, the protection of humankind, hallowing, an ...
disguised as Freyja) mirror the wolf's explanations for his strange appearance. The red hood has often been given great importance in many interpretations, with a significance from the dawn to blood.


Erotic, romantic, or rape connotations

A sexual analysis of the tale may also include negative connotations in terms of rape or abduction. In ''Against Our Will'',
Susan Brownmiller Susan Brownmiller (born Susan Warhaftig; February 15, 1935) is an American journalist, author and feminist activist best known for her 1975 book '' Against Our Will: Men, Women, and Rape'', which was selected by The New York Public Library as o ...
describes the fairy tale as a description of rape. Many revisionist retellings focus on empowerment and depict Little Red Riding Hood or the grandmother successfully defending herself against the wolf. Such tellings bear some similarity to the "animal bridegroom" tales, such as ''
Beauty and the Beast ''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve, Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' ( ...
'' or ''
The Frog Prince "The Frog Prince; or, Iron Henry" (german: Der Froschkönig oder der eiserne Heinrich, literally "The Frog King or the Iron Henry") is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 in ''Grimm's Fairy Tales'' (KHM 1). ...
'', but where the heroines of those tales revert the hero to a prince, these tellings of ''Little Red Riding Hood'' reveal to the heroine that she has a wild nature like the hero's. These interpretations refuse to characterize Little Red Riding Hood as a victim; these are tales of female empowerment. The gender role varies according to the professional level and gender of the artist that illustrates these characters. In general, professional artists do not imply sexual intent between the characters, and produce family-friendly illustrations.


In popular culture


Animation and film

* In
Tex Avery Frederick Bean "Tex" Avery (February 26, 1908 – August 26, 1980) was an American animator, cartoonist, director, and voice actor. He was known for directing and producing animated cartoons during the golden age of American animation. His mo ...
's short
animated cartoon Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anima ...
, "
Red Hot Riding Hood ''Red Hot Riding Hood'' is an animated cartoon short subject, directed by Tex Avery and released with the movie '' Dr. Gillespie's Criminal Case'' on May 8, 1943, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In 1994, it was voted number 7 of The 50 Greatest Cartoo ...
" (1943), the story is recast in an adult-oriented urban setting, with the suave, sharp-dressed Wolf howling after the
nightclub singer A nightclub act is a production, usually of nightclub music or comedy, designed for performance at a nightclub, a type of drinking establishment, by a nightclub performer such as a nightclub singer or nightclub dancer, whose performance may ...
Red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...
. Avery used the same cast and themes in a subsequent series of cartoons. Similar modern takes also feature in " Swing Shift Cinderella" (1945) and "
Little Rural Riding Hood ''Little Rural Riding Hood'' is a 1949 MGM animated cartoon short subject directed by Tex Avery, conceived as a follow-up to his 1943 cartoon ''Red Hot Riding Hood''. In 1994, the cartoon was ranked in 23rd place of The 50 Greatest Cartoons. It ...
" (1949). *
Neil Jordan Neil Patrick Jordan (born 25 February 1950) is an Irish film director, screenwriter, novelist and short-story writer. His first book, '' Night in Tunisia'', won a Somerset Maugham Award and the Guardian Fiction Prize in 1979. He won an Academy ...
directed a film version of ''
The Company of Wolves ''The Company of Wolves'' is a 1984 British gothic fantasy horror film directed by Neil Jordan and starring Angela Lansbury, David Warner, Micha Bergese and Sarah Patterson in her film debut. The screenplay was written by Jordan and Angela C ...
'' (1984) based on the short story by
Angela Carter Angela Olive Pearce (formerly Carter, Stalker; 7 May 1940 – 16 February 1992), who published under the name Angela Carter, was an English novelist, short story writer, poet, and journalist, known for her feminist, magical realism, and picar ...
. The wolf in this version of the tale is in fact a werewolf, which comes to the newly-menstruating Red Riding Hood in the forest, in the form of a charming hunter. The hunter turns into a wolf and kills her grandmother, and is about to claim Rosaleen (Red Riding Hood) as well; but she is equally seductive and ends up lying with the wolf man and dominating him right back. In the end, she becomes a werewolf and the huntsman's mate before the two run off into the forest to join his pack. This version may be interpreted as a young girl's journey into womanhood, both with regard to menstruation and sexual awakening. * is a 1937 adaptation of the story by the German state which had a deep interest in the stories of the Brothers Grimm and saw them as useful for teaching ideology. This version has been suppressed but has been seen by academics. * ''Krasnaya Shapochka'' (1937) is a Soviet black-and-white animated film by the
Brumberg sisters Valentina Semyonovna Brumberg (russian: Валентина Семёновна Брумберг; — 28 November 1975) and Zinaida Semyonovna Brumberg (russian: Зинаида Семёновна Брумберг; — 9 February 1983), commonly kn ...
(the so-called "grandmothers of the Russian animation"). Its plot differs slightly from the original fairy tale. It was issued on videotapes in various collections in the 1980s, via the SECAM system, and in the 1990s, via the PAL system, in collections of animated films of a video studio "Soyuz" (since 1994 and 1995 respectively). * ''
The Big Bad Wolf The Big Bad Wolf is a fictional wolf appearing in several cautionary tales that include some of ''Grimms' Fairy Tales.'' Versions of this character have appeared in numerous works, and it has become a generic archetype of a menacing predatory an ...
'' is an animated short released on 13 April 1934 by
United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studi ...
, produced by
Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...
and directed by
Burt Gillett Burton F. Gillett (October 15, 1891 – December 28, 1971) was a Film director, director of animation, animated films. He is noted for his Silly Symphonies work for Walt Disney Pictures, Disney, particularly the 1932 short film ''Flowers and Tree ...
as part of the ''
Silly Symphony ''Silly Symphony'' is an American animated series of 75 musical short films produced by Walt Disney Productions from 1929 to 1939. As the series name implies, the ''Silly Symphonies'' were originally intended as whimsical accompaniments to pieces ...
'' series. In the film, the Big Bad Wolf from 1933's ''
Three Little Pigs "The Three Little Pigs" is a fable about three pigs who build three houses of different materials. A Big Bad Wolf blows down the first two pigs' houses which made of straw and sticks respectively, but is unable to destroy the third pig's house ...
'' is the adversary of Little Red Riding Hood and her grandmother. * In the Soviet Russian animated film ''Petya and Little Red Riding Hood'' (1958), directed by Boris Stepantsev and Evgeny Raykovsky, the main character (a boy named Petya Ivanov) witnesses the Grey Wolf deceiving a trusting girl and risks his life to rescue her and her grandmother. The animated movie is considered a cult film, with many of its lines having become catch-phrases in popular culture. In 1959 and 1960, the film received awards at festivals in
Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...
, Ukraine and Ansi, Estonia. * The 1996 movie ''
Freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...
'' is a crime drama loosely adapted from the Riding Hood story, with Riding Hood (
Reese Witherspoon Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon (born March 22, 1976) is an American actress and producer. The recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Golden Globe Awards, she ...
) recast as an abused, illiterate teenager and the wolf (
Kiefer Sutherland Kiefer William Sutherland (born 21 December 1966) is a British-Canadian actor and musician. He is best known for his starring role as Jack Bauer in the Fox drama series '' 24'' (2001–2010, 2014), for which he won an Emmy Award, a Golden Glo ...
) portrayed as a serial killer named Bob Wolverton. The film had one straight-to-video sequel. * Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade (1999) is a Japanese action political thriller anime film uses the story of Little Red Riding Hood to show the triumph of the "wolfs". * ''
Hoodwinked! ''Hoodwinked!'' is a 2005 computer-animated musical comedy mystery film. It retells the folktale ''Little Red Riding Hood'' as a police procedural, using backstories to show multiple characters' points of view. It was produced independently by ...
'' (2005) is a retelling of "Little Red Riding Hood" as a police investigation. * The film ''
Red Riding Hood "Little Red Riding Hood" is a European fairy tale about a young girl and a sly wolf. Its origins can be traced back to several pre-17th century European folk tales. The two best known versions were written by Charles Perrault and the Brothe ...
'' (2006) is a musical based upon the tale. * The film ''
Red Riding Hood "Little Red Riding Hood" is a European fairy tale about a young girl and a sly wolf. Its origins can be traced back to several pre-17th century European folk tales. The two best known versions were written by Charles Perrault and the Brothe ...
'' (2011) is loosely based upon the tale. * The wolf appears in the ''
Shrek ''Shrek'' is a 2001 American computer-animated comedy film loosely based on the 1990 book of the same name by William Steig. It is the first installment in the ''Shrek'' franchise. The film was directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenso ...
'' franchise of films. He is wearing the grandmother's clothing as in the fairy tale, though the films imply that the gown is merely a personal style choice and that the wolf is not dangerous. * Red Riding Hood briefly appears in the film ''
Shrek 2 ''Shrek 2'' is a 2004 American computer-animated comedy film loosely based on the 1990 picture book '' Shrek!'' by William Steig, produced by DreamWorks Animation and released by DreamWorks Pictures. The sequel to ''Shrek'' (2001) and the ...
'' (2004), wherein she is frightened by Shrek and Fiona and runs off. * Red Riding Hood is one of the main characters in the 2014
film adaptation A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dial ...
of the 1987 musical ''Into the Woods'', and is portrayed by Lilla Crawford. * Little Red Riding Hood is parodied in the
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
cartoons ''
Little Red Riding Rabbit ''Little Red Riding Rabbit'' is a 1944 Warner Bros. '' Merrie Melodies'' cartoon, directed by Friz Freleng, and starring Bugs Bunny. It is a sendup of the Little Red Riding Hood story, and is the first time in which Mel Blanc receives a voice c ...
'' (1944, Merrie Melodies) and ''
The Windblown Hare ''The Windblown Hare'' is a Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' animated short directed by Robert McKimson. The short was released on August 27, 1949, and stars Bugs Bunny. The title, another pun on "hair", refers to Bugs being subjected to the Wolf's ...
'' (1949,
Looney Tunes ''Looney Tunes'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated comedy short film series produced by Warner Bros. starting from 1930 to 1969, concurrently with its partner series ''Merrie Melodies'', during the golden age of American animation.
), with
Bugs Bunny Bugs Bunny is an animated cartoon character created in the late 1930s by Leon Schlesinger Productions (later Warner Bros. Cartoons) and voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his starring roles in the '' Looney Tunes'' and '' ...
, and ''
Red Riding Hoodwinked ''Red Riding Hoodwinked'' is a "Looney Tunes" cartoon animated short starring Tweety and Sylvester. Released October 29, 1955, the cartoon is directed by Friz Freleng. The voices are performed by Mel Blanc and June Foray. The cartoon was Warner B ...
'' (1955, Looney Tunes) with
Tweety Tweety is a yellow canary in the Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of animated cartoons. The name "Tweety" is a play on words, as it originally meant "sweetie", along with "tweet" being an English onomatopoeia for t ...
and Sylvester. * Little Red Riding Hood is parodied in ''
The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! ''The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!'' is an American live-action/animated television series airing from September 4 to November 30, 1989, on syndication. The series is based on the video games ''Super Mario Bros.'' and '' Super Mario Bros. 2'' by ...
'' episode, "Little Red Riding Princess" with
Princess Toadstool is a fictional character in Nintendo's ''Mario'' franchise, created by Shigeru Miyamoto and introduced in the 1985 original ''Super Mario Bros.'' installment. She is the princess regnant and ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom, where she resides ...
in the role of Red Riding Hood and
King Koopa , or King Koopa, is a fictional character, the primary antagonist in Nintendo's Mario (franchise), ''Mario'' franchise, and the arch-nemesis of Mario. In Japan, the character bears the title of . Bowser is the leader of the turtle-like Koopa ...
as the wolf. * ''Children at Play'' (2010) is a short film written and directed by Lexan Rosser, starring
Bryan Dechart Bryan Patrick Dechart (born March 17, 1987) is an American actor and Twitch streamer. He is known for his role as Connor in the video game '' Detroit: Become Human''. He also played Eli Chandler on ''Jane by Design'' and has made appearances on ...
. The film can be interpreted as a reimagining of the classic fairy tale due to its number of overt/subtle parallels and references. *The character
Ruby Rose Ruby Rose Langenheim (born 20 March 1986) is an Australian model, actress, disc jockey and television presenter. Rose was a presenter on MTV Australia (2007–2011), followed by several high-profile modelling gigs, including Maybelline New York ...
in the popular internet series ''
RWBY ''RWBY'' (pronounced "Ruby") is an American anime-influenced computer-animated web series created by Monty Oum for Rooster Teeth. It is set in the fictional world of Remnant, where young people train to become warriors (called "Huntsmen" and ...
'' is based on "Little Red Riding Hood".


Television

* In the pilot episode "Wolf Moon" of the
MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
hit series ''
Teen Wolf ''Teen Wolf'' is a 1985 American coming-of-age romantic fantasy comedy film directed by Rod Daniel and written by Jeph Loeb and Matthew Weisman. Michael J. Fox stars as the title character, a high school student whose ordinary life is chang ...
'' the protagonist Scott McCall wears a red hoody, when he gets attacked by an alpha werewolf in the woods in the night of a full moon. * The pilot episode of
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
's TV series ''
Grimm Grimm may refer to: People * Grimm (surname) * Brothers Grimm, German linguists ** Jacob Grimm (1785–1863), German philologist, jurist and mythologist ** Wilhelm Grimm (1786–1859), German author, the younger of the Brothers Grimm * Christia ...
'' reveals that the Red Riding Hood stories were inspired by the fabled attacks of Blutbaden, lycanthropic beings who have a deeply ingrained bloodlust and a weakness for victims wearing red. * In
Monty Python's Fliegender Zirkus ''Monty Python's Fliegender Zirkus'' (''Monty Python's Flying Circus'') are a pair of 45-minute Monty Python German television comedy specials produced by WDR for West German television. The two episodes were respectively first broadcast in Janua ...
, Red is portrayed by
John Cleese John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Emerging from the Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and ...
as a huge, thuggish strongman in a dirndl and hood, while the wolf is an inoffensive longhaired Dachshund wearing an unconvincing costume, who is shot by security guards when he reaches
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
headquarters, which he has mistaken for Granny's house. * Red Riding Hood is a character in ABC's ''
Once Upon a Time "Once upon a time" is a stock phrase used to introduce a narrative of past events, typically in fairy tales and folk tales. It has been used in some form since at least 1380 (according to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'') in storytelling in t ...
'' (2011) TV series. In this version of the tale, Red (portrayed by
Meghan Ory Meghan Ory (born August 20, 1982) is a Canadian television and film actress. She is best known for her role as Red Riding Hood /Ruby on the ABC fantasy series '' Once Upon a Time'' and also starred in the short-lived CBS drama ''Intelligence'' as ...
) is a werewolf, and her cape is the only thing that can prevent her from metamorphosing during a full moon when there is magic present. In the Enchanted Forest, she accidentally devoured her boyfriend Peter (portrayed by
Jesse Hutch Jesse Hutch (born February 12, 1981) is a Canadian-born American film and television actor. He spends his time travelling between the USA and Canada. He worked on the television show ''American Dreams'' as Jimmy Riley, romantic interest of main c ...
) and ran off with Snow White (portrayed by
Ginnifer Goodwin Jennifer Michelle "Ginnifer" Goodwin (born May 22, 1978) is an American actress. She is known for her starring role as Margene Heffman in the HBO drama series ''Big Love'' (2006–2011) and Snow White / Mary Margaret Blanchard in the ABC fan ...
). Her Storybrooke persona is Ruby Lucas, a waitress. * The story was retold as part of the episode "
Grimm Job "Grimm Job" is the tenth episode of the twelfth season of the animated comedy series ''Family Guy'' and the 220th episode overall. It originally aired on Fox in the United States and Canada on January 12, 2014, and was directed by Joe Vaux and wr ...
" of the American animated TV series ''
Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom originally conceived and created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show centers around the Griffin family, Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter Griff ...
'' (season 12, episode 10), with Stewie playing Little Red Riding Hood and Brian the Big Bad Wolf. Additionally, both Red Hiding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf appeared briefly in a clip in the season one episode ''
The Son Also Draws "The Son Also Draws" is the sixth episode of the first season of the animated comedy series ''Family Guy''. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on May 9, 1999. The episode follows Chris as he is ejected from the Youth Scouts, and Pet ...
''. * In the TV series ''
Goldie & Bear ''Goldie & Bear'' is an American animated children's television series which began on September 12, 2015. The show was created for Disney Junior by Jorge Aguirre and Rick Gitelson. It was directed by Chris Gilligan and produced using CGI animation ...
'' Red is a little girl who delivers muffins to her granny and likes to keep her hood clean and tidy. * In the Disney Junior series ''
Little Einsteins ''Little Einsteins'' is an American animated children's television series based on the Baby Einstein line of videos. It was produced by The Baby Einstein Company (which, at the time, was owned by Disney) and animated by Curious Pictures. The ser ...
'' episode, "Little Red Rockethood" the format follows the story but in the episode Rocket is taking a stew-pot with his favorite "Rocket Soup" for his grandma who has a bad cold with help from the little Einsteins. His archenemy, Big Jet (playing the big bad wolf) steals the soup and flies off with it so the Einsteins chase after him before catching the soup. Upon arriving at Grandma Rocket's home Big Jet tricks them again only to then crash into a
mud A MUD (; originally multi-user dungeon, with later variants multi-user dimension and multi-user domain) is a Multiplayer video game, multiplayer Time-keeping systems in games#Real-time, real-time virtual world, usually Text-based game, text-bas ...
puddle before Rocket cures his grandma with the soup.


Literature

*
Letitia Elizabeth Landon Letitia Elizabeth Landon (14 August 1802 – 15 October 1838) was an English poet and novelist, better known by her initials L.E.L. The writings of Landon are transitional between Romanticism and the Victorian Age. Her first major breakthrough ...
's poem ''Little Red Riding Hood'' in The Court Journal, 1835 is subtitled ''Lines suggested by the engraving of Landseer's Picture''. It reflects on memories of lost childhood. * Charles Perrault's "Le Petit Chaperon rouge" ("Little Red Riding Hood") is centered on an erotic metaphor. *
Gabriela Mistral Lucila Godoy Alcayaga (; 7 April 1889 – 10 January 1957), known by her pseudonym Gabriela Mistral (), was a Chilean poet-diplomat, educator and humanist. In 1945 she became the first Latin American author to receive a Nobel Prize in Lite ...
, the Chilean Nobel Prize-winning poet, told the story as a short poem as part of her 1924 book, ''Ternura'' * Little Red Riding Hood appears in
Angela Carter Angela Olive Pearce (formerly Carter, Stalker; 7 May 1940 – 16 February 1992), who published under the name Angela Carter, was an English novelist, short story writer, poet, and journalist, known for her feminist, magical realism, and picar ...
's short story "The Company of Wolves", published in ''
The Bloody Chamber ''The Bloody Chamber'' (or ''The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories'') is a collection of short fiction by English writer Angela Carter. It was first published in the United Kingdom in 1979 by Gollancz and won the Cheltenham Festival Literary ...
'' (1979), her collection of "dark, feminist fables" filled with "bestial and ferocious" heroines. Carter's rewriting of the tale—both her 1979 story and its 1984 film adaptation, the screenplay of which Carter co-wrote with director Neil Jordan—examines female lust, which according to author Catherine Orenstein is "healthy, but also challenging and sometimes disturbing, unbridled and feral lust that delivers up contradictions." As Orenstein points out, the film version does this by unravelling the original tale's "underlying sexual currents" and by investing Rosaleen (the Little Red Riding Hood character, played by
Sarah Patterson Sarah Patterson (born ) is an English film actress. For her acting debut, Patterson starred as Rosaleen, a Little Red Riding Hood counterpart, in the Neil Jordan and Angela Carter film ''The Company of Wolves'' (1984). In 1987, she starred in a ...
) with "animal instincts" that lead to her transformation. * In her collection, ''The World's Wife'', Carol Ann Duffy published a poem- the first in the collection- called 'Little Red- Cap' in which a more grown up protagonist meets and develops a relationship with the Wolf. * In the manga '' Tokyo Akazukin'' the protagonist is an 11-year-old girl nicknamed "Red Riding Hood" or "Red Hood". Akazukin means "red hood" in Japanese. *
Jerry Pinkney Jerry Pinkney (December 22, 1939 – October 20, 2021) was an American illustrator and writer of children's literature. Pinkney illustrated over 100 books since 1964, including picture books, nonfiction titles and novels. Pinkney's works addres ...
adapted the story for a children's picture book of the same name (2007). * The American writer
James Thurber James Grover Thurber (December 8, 1894 – November 2, 1961) was an American cartoonist, writer, humorist, journalist and playwright. He was best known for his cartoons and short stories, published mainly in ''The New Yorker'' and collected ...
wrote a satirical short story called "The Little Girl and the Wolf," based on Little Red Riding Hood. *
Anne Sexton Anne Sexton (born Anne Gray Harvey; November 9, 1928 – October 4, 1974) was an American poet known for her highly personal, confessional verse. She won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1967 for her book '' Live or Die''. Her poetry details ...
wrote an adaptation as a poem called "Red Riding Hood" in her collection ''Transformations'' (1971), a book in which she re-envisions 16 of the ''Grimm's Fairy tales''. * James Finn Garner wrote an adaptation in his book '' Politically Correct Bedtime Stories: Modern Tales for Our Life and Times'', a book in which thirteen fairy tales were rewritten. Garner's adaptation of "Little Red Riding Hood" brings up topics like feminism and gender norms. * Michael Buckley's children's series ''
The Sisters Grimm ''The Sisters Grimm'' is a children's fantasy series written by Michael Buckley and illustrated by Peter Ferguson. The series features two sisters, Sabrina Grimm and Daphne Grimm, and consists of nine novels that were published from 2005 to 201 ...
'' includes characters drawn from the fairy tale. * ''Dark & Darker Faerie Tales'' by Two Sisters is a collection of dark fairy tales which features Little Red Riding Hood, revealing what happened to her after her encounter with the wolf. * Singaporean artist Casey Chen re-wrote the story with a
Singlish Singlish (a portmanteau of ''Singapore'' and ''English'') is an English-based creole language spoken in Singapore. Singlish arose out of a situation of prolonged language contact between speakers of many different languages in Singapore, inc ...
accent and published it as ''The Red Riding Hood Lah!''. The storyline largely remains the same, but is set in Singapore and comes with visual hints of the country placed subtly in the illustrations throughout the book. The book is written as an expression of Singaporean identity. *'' Scarlet'' is a 2013 novel written by
Marissa Meyer Marissa Meyer (born February 19, 1984) is an American novelist. Her debut novel, ''Cinder,'' was released on January 3, 2012. It is the first in her series ''The Lunar Chronicles''. Early life and education Meyer was born in Tacoma, Washington ...
that was loosely based on the fairy tale. In the story, a girl named Scarlet tries to find her missing grandmother with the help of a mysterious street fighter called Wolf. It is the second book of ''
The Lunar Chronicles ''The Lunar Chronicles'' is a series of four young adult science fiction fantasy novels, a novella and a short story collection written by American author Marissa Meyer and published by Feiwel & Friends. Each book entails a science fictional ...
''. *''
The Land of Stories ''The Land of Stories'' is a series of children's fiction, adventure and fantasy books written by American author, actor and singer Chris Colfer. The first book, ''The Wishing Spell'', was released on July 17, 2012. The sixth book was published ...
'' is a series written by
Chris Colfer Christopher Paul Colfer (born May 27, 1990) is an American actor, singer, and author. He gained international recognition for his portrayal of Kurt Hummel on the television musical '' Glee'' (2009–2015). Colfer's portrayal of Kurt received cr ...
. In it, Red Riding Hood is the queen of the Red Riding Hood Kingdom, whose citizens are called "Hoodians". She is one of the main characters and helps her friends fight dangerous intruders. She is narcissistic and self-absorbed, but can be useful at times. It is said that she and
Goldilocks "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" (originally titled "The Story of the Three Bears") is a 19th-century English fairy tale of which three versions exist. The original version of the tale tells of an obscene old woman who enters the forest hom ...
were good friends, but they both had a crush on Jack from
Jack and the Beanstalk "Jack and the Beanstalk" is an English fairy tale. It appeared as "The Story of Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean" in 1734 4th edition On Commons and as Benjamin Tabart's moralized "The History of Jack and the Bean-Stalk" in 1807. Henry Co ...
, and Red, in vain, misled Goldilocks to the Three Bears House, where she became an
outlaw An outlaw, in its original and legal meaning, is a person declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, all legal protection was withdrawn from the criminal, so that anyone was legally empowered to persecute or kill them ...
. * Nikita Gill's 2018 poetry collection ''Fierce Fairytales: & Other Stories to Stir Your Soul'' alludes to Little Red Riding Hood in the poem "The Red Wolf." * In Rosamund Hodge's 2015 novel '' Crimson Bound'', a girl named Rachelle is forced to serve the realm after meeting dark forces in the woods. * In
Lois Lowry Lois Ann Lowry (; née Hammersberg; March 20, 1937) is an American writer. She is the author of several books for children and young adults, including '' The Giver Quartet,'' ''Number the Stars'', and '' Rabble Starkey.'' She is known for writing ...
's historical novel ''
Number the Stars ''Number the Stars'' is a work of historical fiction by the American author Lois Lowry about the escape of a family of Jews from Copenhagen, Denmark, during World War II. The story centers on 10-year-old Annemarie Johansen, who lives with her ...
'', the protagonist Annemarie runs through the woods while fleeing Nazis, reciting the story of Little Red Riding Hood to calm herself down. * The Kentucky writer Cordellya Smith wrote the first Native American version of Little Red Riding Hood, called ''Kawoni's Journey Across the Mountain: A Cherokee Little Red Riding Hood''. It introduces some basic Cherokee words and phrases while drawing Cherokee legends into the children's story. * Hannah F. Whitten wrote a retelling inspired by "Little Red Riding Hood" named "For the wolf", where the character named Red is sacrificed to the Wolf as part of tradition. In this retelling the wolf is a man, and later on they form a relationship. * Red Riding Hood is a character in Bill Willingham's
Fables (comics) ''Fables'' is an American comic book series created and written by Bill Willingham, published by DC Comics' Vertigo imprint. Willingham served as sole writer for its entirety, with Mark Buckingham penciling more than 110 issues. The series featu ...
series beginning with the Homelands arc. * Little Red Riding Hood is frequently parodied in many of the '' Monica and Friends'' comic books, usually with the main character being played by either Monica or Maggy or being a separated character. One of the most notable parodies is the story "A Substituta" (published in June 2000 in Magali #288, Globo) that was latter adapted in a animated episode in 2005 for '' Cine Gibi 2'' with the title "Chapeuzinho Vermelho 2". In the story Little Red Riding Hood resigns from her role playing the same character which leads the Wolf and the other characters to use other girl (Maggy) to replace the role.


Music

* A.P. Randolph's 1925 "How Could Red Riding Hood (Have Been So Very Good)?" was the first song known to be banned from radio because of its sexual suggestiveness. * Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs's hit song, "
Li'l Red Riding Hood "Li'l Red Riding Hood" is a 1966 song performed by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs. It was the group's second top-10 hit, reaching No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in August 1966 It was kept out of the No. 1 spot by both " Wild Thing" by The Troggs a ...
" (1966), take Wolf's point of view, implying that he wants love rather than blood. Here, the Wolf befriends Little Red Riding Hood disguised as a sheep and offers to protect her on her journey through the woods. *
The Kelly Family The Kelly Family is an Irish-American music group consisting of a multi-generational family, usually nine siblings who were joined occasionally on stage in their earlier years by their parents. They play a repertoire of rock, pop, and folk music ...
's " The Wolf" (1994) is inspired by the tale, warning the children that there's a Wolf out there. During the instrumental bridge in live shows, the song's lead singer,
Joey Joey may refer to: People *Joey (name) Animals * Joey (marsupial), an infant marsupial * Joey, a Blue-fronted Amazon parrot who was one of the Blue Peter pets Film and television * ''Joey'' (1977 film), an American film directed by Horac ...
, does both Little Red Riding Hood's and Wolf's part, where the child asks her grandmother about the big eyes, ears and mouth. * "Little Red Riding Hood" is a rawstyle song by Da Tweekaz, which was later remixed by Ecstatic. * Sunny's concept photo for
Girls' Generation Girls' Generation (), also known as SNSD, is a South Korean girl group formed by SM Entertainment. The group is composed of eight members: Taeyeon, Sunny, Tiffany, Hyoyeon, Yuri, Sooyoung, Yoona, and Seohyun. Originally a nine-piece ensembl ...
's third studio album '' The Boys'' was inspired by "Little Red Riding Hood". *
Lana Del Rey Elizabeth Woolridge Grant (born June 21, 1985), known professionally as Lana Del Rey, is an American singer-songwriter. Her music is noted for its cinematic quality and exploration of tragic romance, glamour, and melancholia, with frequent ...
has an unreleased song called ''Big Bad Wolf'' (leaked in 2012) that was inspired by "Little Red Riding Hood". * The music videos of the songs ''
Call Me When You're Sober "Call Me When You're Sober" is a song by American rock band Evanescence from their second studio album, ''The Open Door''. It was released as the album's lead single on September 4, 2006. The track was written by Amy Lee and guitarist Terry B ...
'' from American rock band
Evanescence Evanescence is an American rock band founded in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1995 by singer and musician Amy Lee and guitarist Ben Moody. After recording independent EPs as a duo in the late 90's, and a demo CD, Evanescence released their debut ...
and '' The Hunted'' from Canadian supergroup
Saint Asonia Saint Asonia (stylized as SΔINT ΔSONIΔ) is a Canadian-American rock supergroup consisting of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Adam Gontier, lead guitarist Mike Mushok, bassist and backing vocalist Cale Gontier, and drummer Cody Watkins. ...
featuring Sully Erna from American heavy metal band
Godsmack Godsmack is an American rock band from Lawrence, Massachusetts, formed in 1995. The band is composed of lead singer and rhythm guitarist Sully Erna, bassist Robbie Merrill, lead guitarist Tony Rombola and drummer Shannon Larkin. Since its form ...
were inspired by "Little Red Riding Hood". * Rachmaninoff's Op. 39 No. 6 (Études-Tableaux) is nicknamed 'Little Red Riding Hood' for its dark theme and the wolf-like connotations of the piece. *
The Real Tuesday Weld The Real Tuesday Weld are a British band, founded in 1999 by lead singer and producer Stephen Coates, who studied at the Royal College of Art. They have released several albums, many singles and EPs, and many tracks on compilations. Their comb ...
's "Me and Mr. Wolf" (2011), portrays the relationship between the wolf and Red Riding Hood as a toxic relationship.


Games

* In the ''
Shrek 2 ''Shrek 2'' is a 2004 American computer-animated comedy film loosely based on the 1990 picture book '' Shrek!'' by William Steig, produced by DreamWorks Animation and released by DreamWorks Pictures. The sequel to ''Shrek'' (2001) and the ...
'' (2004) video game, she is playable and appears as a friend of Shrek's. She joins him, Fiona, and Donkey on their journey to Far Far Away, despite only appearing in the film’s opening scene. * In the computer game ''Dark Parables: The Red Riding Hood Sisters'' (2013), the original Red Riding Hood was orphaned when a wolf killed her grandma. A hunter killed the wolf before it could kill her. He took her in as his own out of pity. The Red Riding Hood of this story convinced the hunter to teach her how to fight. They protected the forest together until the hunter was killed during a wolf attack. The Red Riding Hood continued on protecting the forest and took in other orphaned girls and taught them to fight too. They take up wearing a red riding hood and cape to honor their teacher. Even after the death of the original Red Riding Hood the girls continue doing what she did in life. * In the
fighting game A fighting game, also known as a versus fighting game, is a video game genre, genre of video game that involves combat between two or more players. Fighting game combat often features mechanics such as Blocking (martial arts), blocking, grappli ...
''
Darkstalkers 3 ''Vampire Savior'', also known as ''Darkstalkers 3'', is a fighting game developed and published by Capcom for arcades in 1997. It is the third game in the '' Darkstalkers'' series. The story centers around a demonic nobleman from Makai named J ...
'' (1997), the character Baby Bonnie Hood (known in the Japanese release as Bulleta) is a parody of Little Red Riding Hood, complete with a childish look, red hood and picnic basket. But instead of food, her basket is full of guns and grenades. Her personality is somewhat psychotic, guerrilla-crazy. During the fights, a small dog named Harry watches the action from the sidelines and reacts to her taking damage in battle. Two rifle-wielding huntsmen named John and Arthur briefly appear alongside her in a special power-up move titled "Beautiful Hunting" that inflicts extra damage on opponents. The character may be based on the James Thurber or Roald Dahl versions of the story, where Red pulls a gun from her basket and shoots the wolf, and the idea behind her character was to show that at their worst, humans are scarier than any imaginary monster. * The psychological horror art game '' The Path'' (2007) features 6 sisters, ages 9–19, who all must face their own 'wolf' in the forest on the way to Grandmother's house. The game is developed by Tale of Tales and was originally released for the Microsoft Windows operating system on 18 March 2009, in English and Dutch, and later ported to Mac OS X by TransGaming Technologies. * In the free-to-play mobile game ''Minimon: Adventure of Minions'' (2016), Luna is a wolflike minion and agent of a secret society with humanlike physical characteristics who wears a red hood when awakened, which references both the wolf and Red Riding Hood. * ''
SINoALICE is a role-playing video game developed by Pokelabo for Android and iOS. The game is directed by Yoko Taro, better known for his work in the '' NieR'' and '' Drakengard'' series. The game was released in Japan by Square Enix in June 2017, and w ...
'' (2017) is a mobile
Gacha game A is a video game that implements the (toy vending machine) mechanic. Similar to loot boxes, gacha games entice players to spend in-game currency to receive a random in-game item. Some in-game currency generally can be gained through game ...
which features Red Riding Hood as one of the main player controlled characters and features in her own dark story-line which features her as a brutally violent girl whose main desire is to inflict violence, pain and death upon her enemies as well as the other fairy-tale characters featured in the game.


Musicals

* Little Red Riding Hood is one of the central characters in the
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
musical ''
Into the Woods ''Into the Woods'' is a 1987 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. The musical intertwines the plots of several Brothers Grimm fairy tales, exploring the consequences of the characters' wishes and quests. T ...
'' (1987) by
Stephen Sondheim Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March 22, 1930November 26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. One of the most important figures in twentieth-century musical theater, Sondheim is credited for having "reinvented the American musical" with sho ...
and
James Lapine James Elliot Lapine (born January 10, 1949) is an American stage director, playwright, screenwriter, and librettist. He has won the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical three times, for ''Into the Woods'', '' Falsettos'', and '' Passion''. He ...
. In the song, "I Know Things Now", she speaks of how the wolf made her feel "excited, well, excited ''and'' scared", in a reference to the sexual undertones of their relationship. Red Riding Hood's cape is also one of the musical's four quest items that are emblematic of fairy tales.


See also

* ''Freeway'' (1996 film) * ''Hard Candy'' (film) *
Ladle Rat Rotten Hut The Anguish Languish is an ersatz language constructed from similar-sounding English language words. It was created by Howard L. Chace circa 1940, and he later collected his stories and poems in the book ''Anguish Languish'' (Prentice-Hall, 1956). ...
* "Little Red Cap" (poem) * ''The Path'' (video game), a psychological horror art game


References


External links

* * – a thorough article on the history of Little Red Riding Hood.
The Little Red Riding Hood Collection
at the
Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library The Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library at the University of Virginia is a research library that specializes in American history and literature, history of Virginia and the southeastern United States, the history of the Universit ...
at the
University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...
contains hundreds of editions of the story, as well as ephemera, artifacts, and original artworks * Rea
Little Red Riding Hood
by Charles Perrault (sad ending), o
Little Red Cap
by Brothers Grimm (happy ending) * Singlish fairytal
The Riding Riding Hood Lah!
by Singaporean artist Casey Chen
Pretty Salma: A little red riding hood story from Africa by Niki Daly


{{Authority control 1697 short stories 1812 short stories
Grimms' Fairy Tales ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'', originally known as the ''Children's and Household Tales'' (german: Kinder- und Hausmärchen, lead=yes, ), is a German collection of fairy tales by the Grimm brothers or "Brothers Grimm", Jacob and Wilhelm, first publi ...
Works by Charles Perrault Wolves in folklore, religion and mythology Child characters in literature Child characters in fairy tales Child characters in film Child characters in musical theatre Female characters in fairy tales European folklore characters European fairy tales French fairy tales German fairy tales Cross-dressing in literature Big Bad Wolf ATU 300-399