Kazimiera
11-18-2016, 03:21 PM
The Earliest, folk versions of Little Red Riding Hood are horrifying, violent and grotesque
Source: http://www.thevintagenews.com/2016/10/21/the-earliest-folk-versions-of-little-red-riding-hood-are-horrifying-violent-grotesque/
There are many fairy tales about a girl and a Big Bad Wolf around the world but the story is most common in the European countries, including the character of “The False Grandmother”.
The earliest versions of the fairy tale date back to 17th century.
The most famous variations of the story are the ones written by Italo Calvino in the “Italian Folktales” and of course the one written by Charles Perrault and Brothers Grimm.
The fairy tale is number 333 in the Aarne-Thompson classification system for folktales.
http://www.thevintagenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/800px-George_Frederic_Watts_-_Red_Riding_Hood_-_Project_Gutenberg_eText_17395-470x640.jpg
Red Riding Hood by George Frederic Watts
http://www.thevintagenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Carl_Larsson_-_Little_Red_Riding_Hood_1881-640x512.jpg
Little Red Riding Hood (1881) by Carl Larsson
According to the Aarne-Thompson classification system for folktales and is most famous as “Little Red Riding Hood”, “Little Red Ridinghood”, “Little Red Cap” or simply “Red Riding Hood”.
There is a number analysis made of this fairy tale.
For example, the American, feminist journalist and activist, Susan Brownmiller gives a sexual analysis of the fairy tale as a description of rape.
But other people interpret it as empowerment with the Little Red Hood and the grandmother defending themselves from the Big Bad Wolf.
http://www.thevintagenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Walter_Crane26.jpg
“The better to see you with”: woodcut by Walter Crane
http://www.thevintagenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/170px-Dore_ridinghood.jpg
A depiction by Gustave Doré, 1883.
When it comes to the earliest variations of the tale, they are quite different from the story we know today and make one wonder how and why such stories were created. Sometimes, instead of the wolf, there is an ogre or “bzou” (werewolf).
Whatever he is, the antagonist usually leaves the grandmother’s blood and meat for the girl to eat.
But an unknown moment that doesn’t exist in the more recent variants is that unwittingly cannibalizes her own grandmother.
http://www.thevintagenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Little_Red_Riding_Hood_-_Project_Gutenberg_etext_19993-439x640.jpg
Little Red Riding Hood, illustrated in a 1927 story anthology
http://www.thevintagenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/800px-GustaveDore_She_was_astonished_to_see_how_her_gran dmother_looked-640x447.jpg
Gustave Doré’s engraving of the scene: “She was astonished to see how her grandmother looked”
http://www.thevintagenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Arthur_Rackham_Little_Red_Riding_Hood-433x640.jpg
“Little Red Riding Hood” illustration by Arthur Rackham
Another one is that the wolf asks the girl to get off her clothes and toss it in the fire.
In some of the early tales about the Little Red Cap, the girl gets into bed with him but she manages to save herself by telling “her grandmother” that she really needs to defecate so she escapes by excusing herself.
In others, she manages to escape by using her own cunning and very rarely the red hood is not even existent.
There is also a variant of the story where the wolf actually eats the girl and the tale ends up here.
http://www.thevintagenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/800px-Little_Red_Riding_Hood_WPA_poster-429x640.jpg
Works Progress Administration poster by Kenneth Whitley, 1939.
http://www.thevintagenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Little_Red_Riding_Hood-640x434.jpg
French images, like this 19th-century painting, show the much shorter red chaperon being worn
http://www.thevintagenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/New-33.jpg
An engraving from the Cyclopedia of Wit and Humor.
After a long scientific and folklore research, in 2013 it was revealed that the story actually originates from the Middle East, first written in the 1st century.
The scientists analysed the storylines and characters from 58 versions of the tale from different areas. By means of a computer model they then determined how the different versions of Little Red Riding Hood are related.
Source: http://www.thevintagenews.com/2016/10/21/the-earliest-folk-versions-of-little-red-riding-hood-are-horrifying-violent-grotesque/
There are many fairy tales about a girl and a Big Bad Wolf around the world but the story is most common in the European countries, including the character of “The False Grandmother”.
The earliest versions of the fairy tale date back to 17th century.
The most famous variations of the story are the ones written by Italo Calvino in the “Italian Folktales” and of course the one written by Charles Perrault and Brothers Grimm.
The fairy tale is number 333 in the Aarne-Thompson classification system for folktales.
http://www.thevintagenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/800px-George_Frederic_Watts_-_Red_Riding_Hood_-_Project_Gutenberg_eText_17395-470x640.jpg
Red Riding Hood by George Frederic Watts
http://www.thevintagenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Carl_Larsson_-_Little_Red_Riding_Hood_1881-640x512.jpg
Little Red Riding Hood (1881) by Carl Larsson
According to the Aarne-Thompson classification system for folktales and is most famous as “Little Red Riding Hood”, “Little Red Ridinghood”, “Little Red Cap” or simply “Red Riding Hood”.
There is a number analysis made of this fairy tale.
For example, the American, feminist journalist and activist, Susan Brownmiller gives a sexual analysis of the fairy tale as a description of rape.
But other people interpret it as empowerment with the Little Red Hood and the grandmother defending themselves from the Big Bad Wolf.
http://www.thevintagenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Walter_Crane26.jpg
“The better to see you with”: woodcut by Walter Crane
http://www.thevintagenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/170px-Dore_ridinghood.jpg
A depiction by Gustave Doré, 1883.
When it comes to the earliest variations of the tale, they are quite different from the story we know today and make one wonder how and why such stories were created. Sometimes, instead of the wolf, there is an ogre or “bzou” (werewolf).
Whatever he is, the antagonist usually leaves the grandmother’s blood and meat for the girl to eat.
But an unknown moment that doesn’t exist in the more recent variants is that unwittingly cannibalizes her own grandmother.
http://www.thevintagenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Little_Red_Riding_Hood_-_Project_Gutenberg_etext_19993-439x640.jpg
Little Red Riding Hood, illustrated in a 1927 story anthology
http://www.thevintagenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/800px-GustaveDore_She_was_astonished_to_see_how_her_gran dmother_looked-640x447.jpg
Gustave Doré’s engraving of the scene: “She was astonished to see how her grandmother looked”
http://www.thevintagenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Arthur_Rackham_Little_Red_Riding_Hood-433x640.jpg
“Little Red Riding Hood” illustration by Arthur Rackham
Another one is that the wolf asks the girl to get off her clothes and toss it in the fire.
In some of the early tales about the Little Red Cap, the girl gets into bed with him but she manages to save herself by telling “her grandmother” that she really needs to defecate so she escapes by excusing herself.
In others, she manages to escape by using her own cunning and very rarely the red hood is not even existent.
There is also a variant of the story where the wolf actually eats the girl and the tale ends up here.
http://www.thevintagenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/800px-Little_Red_Riding_Hood_WPA_poster-429x640.jpg
Works Progress Administration poster by Kenneth Whitley, 1939.
http://www.thevintagenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Little_Red_Riding_Hood-640x434.jpg
French images, like this 19th-century painting, show the much shorter red chaperon being worn
http://www.thevintagenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/New-33.jpg
An engraving from the Cyclopedia of Wit and Humor.
After a long scientific and folklore research, in 2013 it was revealed that the story actually originates from the Middle East, first written in the 1st century.
The scientists analysed the storylines and characters from 58 versions of the tale from different areas. By means of a computer model they then determined how the different versions of Little Red Riding Hood are related.