Red Cap
Red Cap or Little Red Riding Hood, as most people know it, is one of the most famous fairy tales on the planet. Everybody is familiar with it. But is that true? Do you know there are hundreds of versions with sometimes very different messages and endings (imagine Red Riding Hood without a hunter!)? Do you know its rich symbolism and countless hidden meanings? Can you spot a difference between a hood and a cap?
Don't worry, we'll provide all the necessary answers and more. Most of all, we'll go through a short summary of the story illustrated by Carl Offterdinger and try to spot some specifics on the way.
Red Cap is famous for three dialogues. Here is the first one, which can be written in many different ways but always sounds more like a monologue. After the introduction part, where we are informed about the girl's nickname, her connection with her granny, and the grandmother's living place and health conditions, the mother tells her daughter something like:
"Go straight to your grandmother's hut."
"Don't talk to strangers."
"Your granny needs you and your basket with goods."
"Don't stray from the path."
No matter what, Red Cap promises everything. She is a good girl after all, just like we were already informed.
Yet the audience is pretty sure she won't obey. She is a good girl now, that's true. But she won't be for long. Not after meeting the wolf. This makes a story interesting. This makes it worth reading. This makes Red Cap a classic.
The second scene provides the second dialogue. This one sounds more like an inquiry. Again, different writers write differently. Some even provide internal monologues of the wolf or the girl. In essence, it goes like this:
"Where are you going?"
"What are you carrying in the basket?"
"Where does this nice lady live?"
"Would you like to show me a shortcut to her home?"
"Why don't you pick some flowers to bring some smile to the granny's face?"
Red Cap is naive, provides all the necessary information, and falls for all the wolf's traps. She is a good girl with no proper knowledge of the world and life in general. He, on the other hand, is a trained beast.
Above we see a very popular scene among illustrators. What can bring better contrast than a carefree girl picking the flowers for her beloved grandmother followed by the next scene, which is probably the most horrifying among the best-known scenes in the world of children's literature? And it's also supported by very likely the most well-known dialogue in the world.
But we are not there yet. Red Caps take time to create a bouquet of beautiful colorful flowers. Some illustrators took an opportunity to draw a nasty wolf somewhere in the background so the audience could see what was really going on.
While the girl enjoys the sunny meadow, the beast runs to the grandmother's hut. The wolf intends to eat the old lady for his main course and have the young lady for dessert.
Sounds like a plan, right?
Remember - a good plan always involves a dessert. No exception!
Here we are. The girl stays in front of the bed, and the beast waits for her under the sheets. This is the moment when a girl turns into a woman.
We don't know what happened to granny. We can only presume. In most popular versions, the wolf eats her and puts on her clothes. This scene adds some comic relief to the horrifying act. A hairy animal in the old lady's gown? It sounds funny. And it looks funny, too. Illustrators loved the scene, and Carl Offterdinger was no exception.
Then, the dialogue happens. The Dialogue. In my humble opinion, this is the most famous dialogue ever. One of the main reasons for that is definitely a number of possibilities for the interpretation.
- It can be scary.
- It can be suspenseful.
- It can be funny.
- It can be erotic.
- It can be lyric.
"How big are your eyes!"
"To see you better!"
"How big are your ears!"
"To hear you better!"
"How big are your hands!"
"To grab you better!"
"How big are your mouth!"
"To eat you better!"
Like every masterpiece, it can be understood in many ways. Every writer and translator changed it a bit, sometimes adding or losing important subtones that are, unfortunately, unknown to most of the audience. This hasn't changed the fact that Red Cap still has an immense effect on the subconscious mind, but sadly, diluted and sanitized versions started to dominate the market, which can eventually change Red Cap to 'just a story for kids'.
This reminds me to provide a link to one of countless interpretations of Red Cap.
The suspense of the dialogue between the Red Cap and the wolf can't go forever, and the usual climax in classic versions is simple. The wolf eats the girl. This is how the world works, and this is one of the most valuable lessons a child can learn.
Yet, apparently, this act looks too cruel to more and more people. Especially to the parents who grew up in permissive environments with super-protective parents who taught their kids that a reasonable talk can solve everything.
If that were true, we would never need lawyers, policemen, soldiers,... But hey - let's hide the reality from the children so they can experience something really unique when a true beast enters their lives!
Obviously, Carl Offterdinger decided exactly that. His wolf doesn't eat the girl. He actually doesn't eat at all.
The wolf tries to attack the Red Cap when, just in time, a woodcutter enters and kills the beast with his mighty axe.
It's interesting to note that a woodcutter (version by Charles Perrault) is used instead of the hunter (version by the Grimm Brothers).
Maybe an axe provides more direct relief than a gun?
We can also spot another person in the scene. There is Red Cap's grandmother in the background. She was obviously not eaten as well. We see we are dealing with a very pacifistic version of Red Cap.
At least the wolf is dangerous, what we can't say for another 'adapted' version, rewritten and illustrated by William Wallace Denslow.
That's it. We have a happy end. Is it enough to make a fairy tale good? Or even great? I don't think so.
Red Cap and her grandmother are enjoying some quality time over the dead wolf's body. Yey!