Little Red Riding Hood Bites Back: A Feminist Reinterpretation

Abstract

As part of a graduate class assignment, I was asked to semiotically analyze and reinterpret the classic fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood. In doing so, I discovered that the “innocent” fairy tale is riddled with problems; mainly, that Little Red Riding Hood is made to seem at fault, a provocateur, for the wolf ’s attention. In this written monologue, my response to the course assignment, I grapple with my own, inner Little Red Riding Hood, and how my 21st-century feminist views can return the girl power to the voiceless heroine of the Brothers Grimm.