Little Red Riding Hood - The Cannibalistic Stripper!!!
Interesting how simple tales evolve over time - turning more innocent and G rated. Who would ever think that such a tale actually started as horrific as this:
"In the 16th century, French peasants told a tale that went something like this: Girl meets werewolf on her way to granny's house. Wolf beats her there and kills granny, shelving her flesh in the pantry and her blood in a bottle. Upon arrival, girl snacks on granny, then strips naked and slides into bed with wolf. As wolf's about to eat her, girl says she has to go to the bathroom. Wolf lets her outside. He asks, "Are you merding a load?" but girl's already gotten away." (Meadows, Susannah. Whos Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?, Newsweek, 8/26/2002)
The book titled as "Little Red Riding Hood Uncloaked: Sex, Morality, and the Evolution of a Fairy Tale" written by Catherine Orenstein takes you over the decades and shows you how we ended up with such an 'innocent' fairy tale. Frankly, this isn't the only story that started in such a way - allot of them did. If you're interested you can purchase it at amazon - I personally think its a great book!
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Any furs here that are also anime fans? go rent or buy Jin-Roh, it's got something very similar to this woven into the storyline. Those with weak stomachs avoid like the plague!
Tlaren }:=8}
I came across a list of published versions of Litte Red Riding Hood a while back.
The oldest version cited was simply a cautionary tale about a very gullible young woman who accepts the wolf's excuses for appearance and is eaten in short order. It was quite short (no obvious remnants of a longer heritage).
Later versions let her get away.
It would be interesting to see the full (known) heritage of this and other stories. I presume this is what the book contains?
Oh yes, thats exactly what the book discusses plus more. It goes into detail in how the story was woven to fit what was going around during those times. I still didn't get my copy but I do suggest reading the reviews on amazon for more info.
Snakeskurt
I heard of this book several days ago and was surprised to discover it already mentioned on Flayrah! Kudos to literate furries!
The only criticism that I have read of the book is the author does not include the cat in the original story who warns Red about eating the meat and blood in the cupboard (and is duly ignored).
The one aspect of the original tale that intrigues me is when the wolf asks Red if she is traveling to Grandm's house via the Road of Pins or the Road of Needles and Red assures him she is traveling by the former. I've read some very interesting explanations of the references and would like to know Orenstein's take on it.
The book is available at my local college library and my name is on the waiting list.
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