1.0 Introduction
In traditional fair-tale setting, woman characters are often designed and crafted with gender stereotype. In a patriarchal society, men often hope that ideal women are biological inferior than males. They have a stereotypical thinking that women are ignorant and innocent. Even though some of the male writers do not realize that they are actually instructing or using their own ideological values to influence target readers. Grimms’ “Little Red Cap” or Perrault’s “Little Red Riding Hood” perceives the female character, “Little Red Cap”, as an innocent character. The portrait of “little red cap” or “little red riding hood” is almost always depicted as an innocent and pretty girl from the village. In this essay, the two retelling versions will be analyzed in details to illustrate how Carter and Lee manage to challenge the distorted values and gender stereotypes in Grimms’ “Little Red Cap”. Besides, a discussion of titles, ending stories and other important parts of the retelling will also be presented accordingly.
2.0 Little Red Cap and Gender Stereotypes
In traditional fair tales such as Grimms’ Fair Tales, many readers especially children are inculcated with gender stereotypes or distorted values inadvertently. As compared with “sex”, gender is actually referring to the socially constructed roles, behaviors, activities, and attributes that a society considers appropriate for men and women. But in a patriarchal society, men hope and believe that women should be innocent, ignorant and well-protected. Even many women themselves feel that they should do according to the gender stereotypes in order to be socially favorable. In my opinion, it is rather tragic because girls after reading Grimms’ Tales are educated to be kind and innocent but they are never told that they should not only bet on “princes” or external assistance. For instance, Grimms describe in “Little Red Cap”, “She [Little Red Cap] left the path and ran off into the woods looking for flowers“ (Grimms, 103). Here, it is obvious that Brother Grimms aim to shape a stereotypical female image that girls are kind and innocent because they love flowers and appreciate the beauty of flowers. It might be nothing wrong here because it is women’s nature to appreciate beautiful things and so do men. But Grimms further describe, “As soon as she picked one she saw an even more beautiful one somewhere else and went after it, and so she went deeper and deeper”(Grimms, 103). From this part, readers will immediately feel that little red cap or perhaps most girls are so ignorant that they may lately fall into the traps without knowing the dangerous situation.
3.0 Analysis of “The company of Wolves” and “Wolfland”
3.1 Literature Analysis of the Company of Wolves
Carter writes her tale, “The Company of Wolves” through the scope of feminism. The story is made in the genre of fantasy-horror. In other words, it combines the genres of both fantasy and horror. The writer aims to create a literature image of jealousy and contrast between men and women mirroring the British society at that time. The The plot of “The company of Wolves” describes how human beings can change their faces into wolves. At literature level, it symbolizes men’s jealousy and violence nature. The story sets the girl as a protagonist and a heroine whereas wolves are the anti-heroes. The story takes place in the winter (Carter, 110). It represents a very harsh social environment toward women. Besides, the cold and dark forest further symbolizes the dark society in the modern world(Carter 110). Generally speaking, the style of “The Company of Wolves” is post-modernism and realism. Pastiche is one of the major characteristics of the novel. It blends two and more feminism tales such British and Gothic fiction into one story. Pastiche is referring to the technique that writers employ light-hearted and tongue-in-cheek intimation of different styles in the writing. Besides, Carter also uses the symbol of feminism in the literature style. Sheep and goats are obedient and submissive. They are they symbols of women in a patriarchal society. Wolf, on the other hand, is a symbol of men. For instance, the narrator says, “There was a hunter once, near here, that trapped a wolf in pit. This wolf has massacred the sheep and goats”(Carter 111). It reveals the violence nature of the wolf.
The title, “The company of Wolves”, implies that wolves are the major anti-heroes in the story. Readers are assumed to be familiar with the well-known fable, “Little Red Cap” or “Little Red Riding Hood”. Carter plays upon the familiarity. She points out the gender stereotypes that wolves or men are extremely dangerous to young and beautiful girls. But in the traditional version, a girl has to be rescued or protected from such dangers imposed by wolves. Cartel tries to retell the story with a modern perspective of women. Women are actually accompanied by such wolves in the real society, most likely a patriarchal one. It is thus more important to tell girls how to protect themselves and know how to live in such a dangerous environment. The last line of the story reads, “See! Sweet and sound she sleeps in granny’s bed, between the paws of the tender wolf”. it seems that Carter obliterates the traditional role of victim and criminal prescribed for the old moral of the story. Women become something like the werewolf. It is possible for them to become a new creature who is very different from the little red cap in Grimms’ fable. In this rewriting ,the old grandmother died but the young girl survived. Therefore, from author’s perspective, the tale aims to praise the female liberation and sexuality. It is the sexual superiority which saves the life of the girl rather than purity, innocence or ignorance.
Another quotes, “Snowlight, moonlight, a confusion of paw-prints” also symbolizes the birth of a werewolf. It is widely known that human beings will become wolves under the moonlight. Here, the author implies that as compared with the innocent little red cap, the girl decides to become a company of the wolves as the title suggests. Both the ending part and the quote demonstrate Carter’s ability to use magic realism to reflect feminism in the writing. The girl herself becomes a werewolf to survive and successfully turns the violent wolves into “tender” creatures. If recalls the beginning parts, there is an obvious paradox between the beginning and the ending. For instance, there is a contrast between “howl of wolf” (Carter 110) and “paws of the tender wolf” (Carter 118). the howl of wolf implies that men are in a much more advantaged and stronger than women in the society. “paws of the tender wolf” suggests that women also have their own advantages in living in such a patriarchal society. So to speak, little red cap is not just a simple-minded, ignorant and innocent victim but rather has her own power to live in a world of wolves.
3.2 Analysis of Wolfland
Very similarly, the title of Wolfland also suggests that human beings are living in a world of wolves. As traditional fair tale suggests, wolves have very cruel and violent nature. Lisel, as the protagonist, was well-protected by her male family members such as father since very young. At this point, Lisel seems to be nothing different from the little red cap in Grimms’ tales. She was taught to listen to her father’s order and appreciate distorted social expectation and roles of being an obedient and innocent girl. Hence, when she was sent to her grandmother’s house to inherit the fortune, she is in the dangerous situation exactly the same as the little red cap. In my opinion, Lisel is not fully aware of the dangerous situation largely because she is over-protected by her father as a princess. But she does not receive adequate education about the world outside. Thus, the fortune of grandmother is not just about wealth or money. In some sense, the fortune is a kind of knowledge which the grandmother as a woman can pass on to her.
In the last paragraph, “She [Lisel] hastened out through the doors and over the winter park and followed her grandmother away into the Wolfland”(Lee 131). It implies that she finally became a werewolf with her grandmother in order to be fundamentally liberated from a highly patriarch and male-dominated society. Here, Lee presents a very different view from Carter in the tale, “The Company of Wolves”. Carter tries to help women recall their sexuality and other advantages over males. She suggests that women can also survive or make a living in such a world by accompanying wolves. Under the feminine power, even a cruel wolves can become tender. But in Lee’s story, Lisel’s grandmother kills her grandfather in order to survive from domestic violence and abuses. It shows that it is not necessary for women to even live with men in the patriarch society. Women should learn how to live independently such as through transforming themselves into werewolves. Besides, in the sentence, “Closing the bedroom door behind her, Lisel stole forward into the black nothingness of unfamiliarity” (Lee 116-117), Lee shows that Lisel is a brave girl with curiosity. Instead of being innocent and ignorant, Lisel has courage to close the bedroom door and steal forward into the black nothingness. “Bedroom” symbolizes traditional rules and social values. “black nothingness of unfamiliarity” actually represents a brand new world where Lisel can rediscover her gender identity. Therefore, “Wolfland” has a pedagogical function to educate women about the importance to identify their true gender identity and correct distorted values such as gender discrimination and stereotype in the modern society.
(World count: 1717)
Reference
Grimm, J., & Grimm, W. (1993). Little Red Cap: a fairy tale. North South Books.
Lee, T. (1983). Wolfland. Don’t Bet on the Prince: Contemporary Feminist Fairy Tales in North America and England, 122-147.
Carter, A. (1984).The Company of Wolves. Ireland Books.