Analysis of different versions of the fairytale: Little Red Riding Hood

I have been listening to fairy tales ever since I was a baby. Little Red Riding Hood is one that my mom would tell me before going to sleep and it would always teach me a lesson to ‘not to talk to strangers’. When I read the Grimm tales, I was brought back to the fairytale memories. Even though the Grimm version and the fairy tale are quite similar, there are many differences between them. In the Grimm tales, they eventually kill the wolf, whereas in the fairytales the wolf would never be so -explicitly- killed due to the gruesome nature of this action.

Most fairy tales I have heard or read always had a climax or a villain, may it be the evil stepmother or the witch. Little Red Riding Hood is no different, here the ‘evil’ character is the big bad wolf.

In the original version, LLRH is a young girl who is naive enough to be manipulated by a man character. Here she is also saved by a man which plays into all the stereotypes of fairy tales, of a man saving a damsel in distress. When I read Carol Ann Duffy’s version, I found a different perspective on the entire story. In Ann Duffy’s version, Red Cap is a strong, independent woman who decides that even though she knows the wolf is bad, she is able to have fun and be herself.

I believe that the time of writing plays a big role in how the main character is portrayed, Grimm tales being much older, shows the old-fashioned ideas and mentalities, whereas, Red Cap being a much newer poem, released in the 20th century, shows the mentality people have towards women’s rights being much more open and inclusive than before.