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Author
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Comment
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euphoria
Registered User
(2/11/06 12:21 am)
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Different Interpretations?
Recently, I have been studying the varying interpretations of the intended moral of Little Red-Riding Hood.
What are your opinions on the matter? What do you think of the of re-writes such as Angela Carter's to support feminism? Do you believe Carter's re-write served it's purpose?
Your thoughts will aid my better understanding.
Thank you in advance,
euphoria.
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Writerpatrick
Registered User
(2/11/06 5:19 pm)
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Re: Different Interpretations?
I think the moral of Red Riding Hood is clear: Don't talk to strangers. Or wolves. Or if you do, make sure you're friends with a woodcutter.
I haven't read Carter's version, but I don't like the idea of rewriting stories to push an ideology because it often results in a badly written story.
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Chris Peltier
Registered User
(2/11/06 5:21 pm)
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Re: Different Interpretations?
There have been a number of recent discussions on the board about LRRH. You can probably find some of the answers you seek here:
An alternate take on Little Red Riding Hood?
p203.ezboard.com/fsurlalu...2886.topic
Red Riding Hood - single mother?
p203.ezboard.com/fsurlalu...2831.topic
Where is the wolf?
p203.ezboard.com/fsurlalu...=1&stop=20
Hope that helps!
~Chandra~
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kristiw
Unregistered User
(2/11/06 5:55 pm)
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pushing an ideology
I have to comment about rewriting a story to push an ideology: um, don't they all? I agree this can be done clumsily, in a way that defeats the purpose, but I think any telling is going to reflect the author's opinions and ideology. That's why we still have LRRH and other stories from originally oral traditions; people have continually rewritten them to reflect the minds and tastes of contemporary audiences.
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evil little pixie
Registered User
(2/11/06 6:06 pm)
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Re: Different Interpretations?
I'd suggest taking a look at this page, particularly the link on the left side to the "Path of Needles or Pins" article.
Have fun!
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Chris Peltier
Registered User
(2/11/06 8:10 pm)
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Re: pushing an ideology
I'd have to agree about tales taking on whatever climate they happen to be penned in - the Arthurian legends are a classic example, whether to push a religious agenda, warrior codes, or later to suit the taste for fashionable romantic chansons.
Angela Carter was a beautiful writer - both lyrical and sometimes disturbing (in a good way!). If you really want to gauge her, read her! You're in for a treat!
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princessterribel
Registered User
(2/12/06 6:00 am)
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victorian
I suppose you could think about a victorian reading of the tale. It warned young girls of the advances of cads, men about town. Young women were prey to souch men and this warned them to be on their guard.
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evil little pixie
Registered User
(2/12/06 3:46 pm)
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Re: victorian
Wow, I'm an idiot: forgot to put the link in when I posted a few days ago! Here it is:
www.surlalunefairytales.c...index.html
Sorry!
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DividedSelf
Registered User
(2/13/06 11:43 am)
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Re: victorian
Just to say, if you feel a writer's pushing an ideology then it probably isn't Angela Carter. Whatever she is or isn't "pushing" it's certainly dripping with some sort of truth.
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kristiw
Unregistered User
(2/13/06 12:56 pm)
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Berne
I was just reading Dundes' article, "Interpreting LRRH Psychoanalytically," and he mentions Eric Berne's interpretation: LRRH's mother is trying to get rid of the girl and make it look like an accident, grandmother is asking for it by leaving her door unlatched, and LRRH herself is a tease. The moral isn't for little girls but for the wolf: "the whole thing was a plot to do in the poor wolf by making him think he was outsmarting everybody, using LRRH as bait. In that case the moral of the story is not that innocent maidens should keep out of forests where there are wolves, but that wolves should keep away from innocent-looking maidens and their grandmothers."
As Dundes points out, that's the kind of interpretation that says more about the interpreter than anything else!
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DividedSelf
Registered User
(2/13/06 1:47 pm)
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Re: Berne
For that to be a genuine interpretation, wouldn't it have to be told from the wolf's point of view? Would be quite fun to see a LLRH story from the wolf's pov, with that interpretation, or some other. Most obvious being a bird in the hand/two in the cottage fable.
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Rosemary Lake
Registered User
(2/15/06 6:46 pm)
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older
Looking at older versions where a clever girl detects and outwits the monster, might suggest some sort of ideology was applied to later versions. :-)
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Terri Windling
Registered User
(2/18/06 3:00 am)
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Re: older
Have you read Catherine Orenstein's book Little
Red Riding House Uncloaked: Sex, Morality, and the Evolution of
a Fairy Tale?
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