Interpretation of Little Red Riding Hood

• Feminist – gender equality
• Socialist – inequalities in society
• Psychoanalyst – concerned with workings of the mind, especially sexuality

Feminist – Why are wolf and woodcutters males? Men are associated with being strong. Why is LRRH caring for her grandmother? Woman are associated with being caring. Why not Little Red Riding Boy? Why are there no female woodcutters? Why is it that when a female walks alone she ends up being followed by a man?
“Perrault makes it clear in his quaint little rhyme that certain wolves are mild and gentle, following pretty young ladies into their very homes and bedrooms; and these are the most dangerous wolves all. This is what the story is meant to convey – women should not stop to talk to strange men lest they get themselves into some kind of trouble.”
Socialist – Why is LRRH the carer? Why is LRRH commenting on grandma’s appearance? Why is she walking alone? In the past it was ok for children to walk the streets alone. Where are her parents? Why is she talking to a stranger? Why is the wolf disguised? Why do the woodcutters chop up the wolf? Why not jail? Animal cruelty? Justice? Does that mean the woodcutters are murderers?
Psychoanalyst – The wolf threatens LRRH and could relate to rape. The wolf is a paedophile (he’s a big man and she a little girl). Sexual objectification – ‘Red’ associated with love and lust. Bestiality?
“Animals, due to their lack of reason and baser instincts, are often seen as symbolizing the sexual drive. In a carnivorous beast such as a wolf this metaphor can be extended to that of a sexual predator. Even in contemporary times a lascivious way of calling attention to a woman’s – er, more desirable attributes – is known as a wolf-whistle.”