Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wo
The short story by Tanith Lee entitled "Wolfland," which was largely based on Charles Perrault's "Little Red Riding Hood," has both similarities and differences to Perrault's tale. In Lee's "Wolfland," Lisel is, in essence, metaphorically devoured by the wolves in the tale due to her innate wolf-like characteristics. Due to Little Red Riding Hood's vulnerability and naivety, she is literally devoured by the wolf in Perrault's tale. Red is sexually disempowered in Perrault's tale because the wolf takes advantage of her vulnerability and eats her. Red is not as clever as Lisel in "Wolfland." Red is associated with neither cannibalistic power, nor intellectual power, nor common sense. She has, in fact, become a cautionary tale. Lisel is empowered in the sense that she has innate wolf senses given by her grandmother, Anna, who makes herself into a werewolf to overcome and ultimately kill her abusive husband. Both Lisel and Red represent sexual characters in each tale; Lisel has more innate features of sexual manners of a wolf while Red's vulnerability causes her to be metaphorically raped by the wolf.In Perrault's tale, the wolf represents sexuality and danger as he tells the little girl to get into bed with him. Perrault chooses to
Tanith Lee's "Wolfland" takes Perrault's story and creates many more possibilities for the young girl in the red hooded cape. At the wolf's bidding, the child undresses and gets into bed beside him. Haven't you always preferred the night to the day, staying up 'til the morning, lying abed till noon? Don't you love the cold forest? Doesn't the howl of the wolf thrill you through with fearful delight? And why else should the Wolfland accord you an escort, a pack of wolves running by you on the road? Do you think you'd have survived if you'd not been one of their kind, too? Thus Anna plays the role of the initiator, guiding Lisel into discovering a hidden part of her self, a part which, in the context of this story, is connected with freedom and empowerment. "One sees here that young children, Especially young girls, Pretty, well brought-up, and gentle, Should never listen to anyone who happens by, And if this occurs, it is not so strange When the wolf should eat them I say the wolf, for all wolves. However, we know that red was generally associated at the time with sin, sensuality and the devil. Accustomed to being the center of attention, Little Red Riding Hood stops to listen to the wolf and tarries in the woods. However, there wasn't a single wolf with sexual intentions. As pointed out, it seems that Perrault's Red is pretty, spoiled, gullible and helpless as opposed to Lisel who is forthright, brave and shrewd. Anna, the werewolf of "Wolfland", is hardly a victim, as her title ("the Matriarch") implies. (South Hadley, MA: Bergin and Garvey Publishers, Inc. The moral of the tale does nothing to alter Perrault's character of Red; it simply warns children to be more alert and beware strangers as shown below in the Perrault's moral passage. Lisel, on the other hand, is more aware of her sexual affairs and has more interest in them. Exactly why Perrault added the red hood is not clear. They were, in fact, consumed by the identity of wolves.
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Acceptance Essays
