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While “Little Red Cap” by Grimm Brothers is educational in its nature with emphasis being made on the negative consequences of the girl’s disobedience, the message of Goldflower and the Bear is more profound as it conveys the prevalence of intellect and courage over physical strength. The Story of Grandmother is filled with grotesque humor, which implies that the primary purpose of this version was to amuse readers rather than to teach or motivate them.

Little Red Cap by Grimm Brothers was published in the beginning of the 19^th century. As stated by Shavit (327), the primary audience of the text was not children but the members of the literary elite, as reading folklore-based literature was in vogue at that time. In the subsequent editions, though, they were trying to make the tale more suitable for children, eliminating the details that could be perceived as offensive. Even though targeted at adults, Little Red Cap by Grimm Brothers is imbued with moralization, similarly to the Perrault’s version that they obviously relied upon. Another remarkable characteristic of the tale is the naivety of narration, intended to fit the story into the pattern of a folktale as distinct from the literary tale (Shavit 328). Grimm Brothers present Little Red Cap as a beautiful and adorable girl who is loved immensely by her mother and grandmother. The idyllic intrafamily relations are also manifest in the responsibility the heroes feel for the heath of the grandmother. Even though it requires covering a long distance, the mother asks the girl to carry wine and a piece of cake to the grandmother, hoping that “they will give her strength” (Grimm 14). As argued by Shavit, it was characteristic of the 19th century to attach large importance to strong family ties, while they were not highly valued a century earlier. The family bond also comes to the foreground in Goldflower and the Bear, where the girl thinks about saving her little brother first.

The mother gives detailed instructions for her daughter: “walk properly and don’t stray from the path”, “and when you enter the room, don’t forget to say good morning, and don’t go peeping in all corners of the room” (14). In response, Little Red Cap promises that she will follow the instruction. Mother’s admonishing her daughter reflects the importance of educating children and taking responsibility for their behavior, which became prevalent in the 19^th century, while previously parents placed more emphasis on amusing children (Shavit 327). The role of the mother in the other two versions is relatively unimportant as the heroines do not receive any instructions from them.

When he meets Little Red Cap in the forest, the wolf urges the girl to look at the beautiful flowers around and thus deviate from the path until he eats the grandmother. The girl follows the lead of the wolf: her choice to pick flowers rather than to proceed with her task is a symbol of her agreement with the devilish being, whom she has shown the road to her grandmother (Zipes 37). In this episode, the wolf closely resembles the Biblical serpent that tempts Eve to try the fruits of the forbidden tree, despite God’s prohibition. Just like Eve’s eyes were opened and she saw how pleasant the fruits were, “Little Red Cap opened her eyes and saw how the sunbeams were dancing this way and that through the trees and how there were beautiful flowers all around” (Grimm 14). She justifies her imprudent choice by claiming that grandmother will be pleased with a fresh bouquet. Listening to the tempter, Little Red Cap chooses to disobey the instructions of her mother and thus she has to derive a lesson from the adverse consequences of her disobedience. In contrast, in Goldflower and the Bear and the Story of Grandmother, the heroine does not carry any guilt for the adverse events that happen to them.

It is remarkable that the Grimms’ version of the tale is totally deprived of all the erotic details and innuendos, characteristic for many other accounts, even for the highly moralistic version of Charles Perrault. However, in the psychoanalytic interpretation, it still bears sexual meaning to a large extent. Thus, Erich Fromm posed that the major theme of the tale was the adolescent’s encounter with adult sexuality (Darnton 281). Bruno Bettelheim claimed that Little Red Cap followed her oedipal desires, with the wolf representing her father and her id at the same time (283). However, these interpretations still remain highly controversial as they do not apply to more authentic versions of the tale.

It is notable that, despite its moralistic pathos, Little Red Cap has a happy ending, similarly to the Goldflower and the Bear and the Story of Grandmother. The belly of the wolf is cut open by the huntsman and his victims are successfully released. As observed by Zipes in the psychoanalytic vein, only a strong man’s hand could save the girl from her lustful desires (37). Even though the desires of the girl may not be of the sexual nature, she is still guilty in that she follows her emotions rather than reason, represented in the image of her admonishing mother. After this adventure, however, Little Red Cap makes appropriate conclusions and promises herself that she will never stray from the road. The alternative story presented by Grimm Brothers in the end serves to demonstrate what would have happened if the girl had behaved in a reasonable manner from the very start, showing how much more advantageous this manner of behavior is.

The Story of Grandmother was published by French folklorist Paul Delarue who claimed that is was an authentic version, faithful to the peasant oral tradition. It is likely that this version was widespread in France in the 17^th and 18^th centuries before Perrault polished it in his mimetically unforgettable variant (Zipes 33). The heroine of the Story does not wear a red hood, because this detail was introduced by Perrault at his own deliberation. The resemblance of the Story of Grandmother with the Grimms’ tale is restricted to the beginning, while the subsequent unfolding of the events is drastically different. In this version, the girl is also asked by her mother to bring a present to her granny, a loaf of fresh bread and a bottle of milk. Another important similarity with the Grimms’ version is that the girl engages in a conversation with the wolf, naively informing him about the path she is going to take. However, instead of trying to divert her, the wolf goes straight to the grandmother’s house where he kills the old lady and dresses up in her clothes. He makes the girl consume the blood and flesh of her granny in the guise of wine and bread. Moreover, he asks her to undress and go in the bed with him, which is an obvious sexual implication.

The dialogue that takes place between the wolf and the girl is much alike the Grimms’ version, though it points out some additional details of the wolf’s appearance (e.g. nostrils, shoulders, hairiness). When the girl asks the wolf about his large nostrils, he responds “The better to sniff my tobacco with, my child” (11), which is reflective of dwn-to-earth peasant humor. The request of the girl to go out to relieve herself and the talking cat who calls the girl “a slut” (10) are manifestations of grotesque, which would be considered improper for the high literary style, characteristic of the Brothers Grimm and Charles Perrault. In contrast to the passive heroine of the Grimms’ version, the girl in the Story of Grandmother does not hesitate to take action and manages to escape by using her cunning. The heroine of Goldflower and the Bear shows similar independence and smartness: moreover, she uses the identical trick of appealing to her physical needs in order to escape the bear.

The version rendered by Delarue thus presents a young peasant girl who is shrewd, courageous and is able to cope with difficulties without any help from the outside. The path of needles and the path of pins mentioned in the story are suggestive of the sewing ritual where the maturing woman was required to show that she could handle sewing accessories, replacing an older woman (Zipes 35). The mother does not play any notable role in the story: in contrast to the version of Grimm brothers, she does not admonish her daughter on the proper behavior. The educational motif is generally absent from the Story: instead of trying to instruct or advise their readers (as typical of Grimm brothers), the sole purpose of this version is to amuse the readers and demonstrate the independence and braveness of peasant girls in dealing with difficulties. The Story is more feminist in its tone than Little Red Cap because it suggests that women do not necessarily need strong male protection. Moreover, if the act of eating the girl can be considered as a symbol for rape, the Story of Grandmother does not imply that the women are responsible for their being raped, in contrast to the classical version of Grimm brothers where it is the girl’s disobedience that leads to her downfall (Zipes 37). References to cannibalism, smoking and physical needs make it clear that the audience for the tale was limited to adult readers, while Goldflower and the Bear was intended for children and the Grimms’ version was adapted for younger audience after some amendments.

Goldflower and the Bear, rendered by the Chinese writer Chiang Mi, presents an Asian perspective on the tale of Little Red Riding Hood. The heroine of the tale, Goldflower, is described as a “clever and brave” girl (Mi 19): therefore, the tale emphasizes the inner qualities of the girl, while Grimm brothers merely describe her as lovable and the Story of Grandmother does not provide any description at all. In contrast to other versions of the tale, Goldflower does not go anywhere, but stays at home with her grandmother and brother while her mother is away. She uses her cunning to save herself, though she primarily thinks about saving her brother. The remarkable similarity with the Story is that Goldflower uses her physical needs as an excuse to leave the Bear. However, her smartness and courage go much beyond this trick as she also climbs the tree, greases it and talks with bear without any fear. Using her obvious intellectual supremacy over the bear and her advantageous position, she laughs at him and finally kills him with the spear after much mockery. The actions of Goldflower are presented as a heroic deed, which deserve the praise of both her mother and the community.

Depicting a courageous girl who prevails over a frightful beast with her cunning, the Goldflower and the Bear suggests that smartness and braveness are more important than physical strength. The independence of the girl and the use of tricks to deceive the beast account for the tale’s close similarity with the Story of Grandmother. However, Goldflower and the Bear is even more feminist in its tone, because it shows the girl as absolutely unyielding to the seduction and powerful enough to triumph over the attacker. It creates a stark contrast with the version of Grimm brothers, where the girl is not only defenseless in front of the wolf, but also becomes the cause of her own misfortunes. These two versions present the behavior of the girl on the opposite ends of the spectrum: while Goldflower acts in a laudatory and heroic manner, the actions of Little Red Cap are shameful because she disobeys her mother. As contrasted with the other two versions, Goldflower and the Bear was targeted at children and sought to motivate them to fight their fears.

Little Red Riding Hood is an archetypal image, which has allowed for different and even opposite interpretations over the centuries. In the classical version of Grimm brothers, the girl is a powerless creature, who bears the guilt for her own downfall because she disregards reason and obedience. In the vein of the 19^th century, the authors placed large emphasis on the need to educate children. In contrast to this version, the Story of Grandmother is devoid of any moralistic message and simply aims to amuse the readers with the depiction of shrewd peasant girl who can escape any dangers. Goldflower and the Bear invests the heroine with the largest power, smartness and independence, conveying to the readers that frightening situations can be overcome with cunning and courage. 

Works Cited

Brothers Grimm. “Little Red Cap”. The Classic Fairy Tales. Ed. Maria Tatar. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1999. Print.

Darnton, Robert. “Peasants tell tales: The meaning of Mother Goose”. The Classic Fairy Tales. Ed. Maria Tatar. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1999. Print.

Mi, Chiang. “Goldflower and the Bear.” The Classic Fairy Tales. Ed. Maria Tatar. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1999. Print.

Shavit, Zohar. “The concept of childhood and children’s folktales: Test case – Little Red Riding Hood”. The Classic Fairy Tales. Ed. Maria Tatar. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1999. Print.

“The story of grandmother”. The Classic Fairy Tales. Ed. Maria Tatar. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1999. Print.

Zipes, Jack David. Why Fairy Tales Stick: The Evolution and Relevance of a Genre. London: Taylor & Francis, 2006. Print.