“The Company of Wolves” is a metaphorical, supernatural story derived from the original folktale of “Little Red Riding Hood.” Similar to the original tale, the story takes place next to a dangerous forest, where a pretty adolescent girl, who will be called Red, goes on a quest to deliver a basket of baked goods to her ill and aging grandmother. The story deviates from the original tale when the young girl runs into a handsome man, rather than a wolf, in the forest. He tricks her into thinking that he is a trustworthy chivalrous stranger, and accompanies her to her grandmother’s home in hopes of consuming them both. What was originally thought to be a traditional retelling of the “Little Red Riding Hood” tale, takes an unexpected turn when the female protagonist displays unconventional female characteristics that resemble more a “whore” than a pure, virtuous girl. The story ends in an unforeseen large shift in power that undermines the ideal, innocent traditional female gender role when the girl ultimately sacrifices her virginal self. This significant gender role shift indicates that women are their own kind of beast when needed to subjugate the barbarous nature of a man, which is positive for both parties, but especially for the female because it can be used as a method of survival in the real world.
Observation: Red as a “Good Girl”
In the beginning of “The Company of Wolves,” Red exhibits the traits associated with the traditional female “good girl” gender role. Traditionally, women have been subjected to follow the ideal “good girl” gender role and were often praised if they were beautiful and young. Red, in “The Company of Wolves,” initially follows this ideal description; her “good girl” character traits include ones of being “pure,” “virginal,” and “obedient.”
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Readers of “The Company of Wolves,” are first introduced to a Red that is a pure and virginal adolescent “good girl,” just like in the original “Little Red Riding Hood” folktale. Red is described as “an unbroken egg,” “a sealed vessel” (Carter 114), meaning she is still pure/virginal and has not been touched or used in any way. She is “so pretty and the youngest of her family” (Carter 113), who “has just started her woman’s bleeding” (Carter 113), fitting with the classic young and inexperienced girl that typically attracts predators, such as Wolf. Red’s young age could also act as a foreshadowing detail - that her future life-changing decision of talking to a stranger can be blamed on her tender age.
In line with being a “good girl,” Red is obedient by doing what is told of her. In Carter’s story, Red trudges through the woods during the “worst time in all the year for wolves” (113) to deliver to her old grandmother a basket of cheeses, liquor, oatcakes, and jam her mother had packed. Red does this without hesitation or complaint, which shows she follows obedience to the full extent, putting her own safety at risk. Nowadays, girls her age would likely reject such a task and argue that it is “lame,” cold (it is winter), and a dangerous errand - anything to get out of it.
Observation: Wolf - Same Old Dirty Scoundrel
The wolf in “The Company of Wolves” manifests several signs of the devious, deceptive, and cunning character traits of the traditional male gender role. The wolf’s appearance is the first indication of his devious trait. The wolf disguises himself as a man - “a fully clothed [man], a very handsome young one” (Carter 114). His appearance and age are the first deceptive factors about him. Wolf knows a man with good looks is assumed to have a better personality and a more rewarding lifestyle than an unattractive man, and thus it is a big contributor in luring Red to what should have been her demise. The wolf also deceptively comes across as a charming and friendly man; “soon they were laughing and joking like old friends” (Carter 114). Wolf had the cunning foresight to tell Red that he was not afraid of the wolves, as “his rifle would protect [the two of] them” (Carter 114), and thus offering to take her basket with her knife, leaving her with no protection. The man’s charming personality combined with his attractive good looks gives Red the illusion that he is her dream hero or Prince Charming, the likes of which she has never seen “among the rustic clowns of her native village” (Carter 114).
Observation: Shift in Gender Role Characteristics; a Power Struggle
Carter’s version of Red begins like the “good girl” in the original “Little Red Riding Hood” folktale, but shortly thereafter, the reader starts noticing the not-so-naive/pure Red as the story progresses. The fact that Red brings a knife on the errand to her grandmother’s implies she is well aware of the dangers of the forest and of its occupants - wolves - suggesting she is not totally naive or oblivious. “She has her knife and she is afraid of nothing” (Carter 114). And when Red runs into the huntsman/wolf, she throws all caution to the wind because she found him attractive and even flirts coyly with him by asking him what he would like if he beat her to her grandmother’s. He replies he would like a kiss. She makes a tremendous effort to “make sure the handsome gentleman would win his wager” (Carter 114), pushing away any precautions she previously adhered to in order to satisfy her strong desire for sexual enlightenment. Red’s plan to abandon all caution proves to be a fatal and a life-altering mistake, when Wolf beats her to her grandmother’s house and devours the old lady. Red, upon entering the house, takes a few moments to realize that Wolf had killed her grandmother, and that she herself was in a life or death situation.
In their final encounter, Red turns the table on the wolf by being the aggressor. Red is in full survival mode and has to do whatever it takes to live or she is going to die, even if it means sacrificing her virginity. After all, she did initially find the wolf attractive; maybe it will not be too much of a chore for her. To save herself, Red stuns the wolf by performing a striptease - pulling off the pieces of her clothing one by one. After she is naked, she then “stood up on tiptoe and unbuttoned the collar of his shirt” (Carter 118). This catches Wolf off guard, and he does not know what to make of this. Red feels confident and empowered. She even “burst[s] out laughing; she knew she was nobody's meat” (Carter 118). He is now confronted by a strong-willed girl, unlike his prior victim(s). He becomes docile, no longer wanting to eat Red; at least not in the literal sense. At this point, Red is in full power; the wolf is under her seduction and can now be considered “tamed.” The pivotal point of when the reader recognized the wolf as being tamed is when Red commented on how big his arms were, to which he replied, “All the better to hug you with” (Carter 118). The wolf’s main goal, as in the original “Little Red Riding Hood,” was to devour the grandmother and Red. Now, however, the wolf is starting to grow fond of Red; he no longer is focused on murdering her. The power of Wolf has been reduced to nothing; his traditional “devious” male gender role has been sealed as the girl sleeps “between the paws of the tender wolf” (Carter 118). No longer is Red an innocent, pure, naive virgin, for she has succumbed to the sexual nature of human beings and animals.
Commentary: The significance of this shift in power
The shift in power in “The Company of Wolves” signifies all that is sacrificed in order to live. Wolf had eaten her grandmother, and Red knew she was next. Red did not have a choice if she wanted to live. She had to conjure up her feminine wiles, something she was not fully aware of or experienced in, to placate the wolf. Red had to use her sexuality to gain power over the wolf to save her own life. In doing so, she not only sacrificed her virginity and purity to a wolf, but she also sacrificed her life as she knew it. She will now live the life of an animal - sleeping, eating, and living amongst the beasts. She will not be able to return to her home, her parents, or her village for people will not welcome her as she is now tainted. Therefore, she will be living in the woods and sleeping “between the paws of the tender wolf” (Carter 118), her “husband,” in her new world.
Readers must rethink how they thought the story would end. They started out as opposites in the story - bad and good, beastly and virginal, then Red’s seduction shifts the power of the girl and the wolf. The girl-turned-woman embraces and uses her powerful sexuality as protection from the wolf. Red is not a weak little girl by the end of the story. Wolf is the one who becomes weak, or at least more docile and tender, as Red becomes strong. He is overpowered and tamed by her sexuality and aggressive nature. This power shift indicates how a woman can outpower a man when pushed to the limit. Red, by accepting her predicament, and essentially Wolf, will help bring some happiness into Wolf’s life. He, too, wishes not to be a beast, and Red is the “external mediator” (Carter 112) who redeems and saves him from his lonely beastly suffering. With her acceptance and now a more equal power balance between Red and Wolf, Red, too, may be reincarnated as a wolf to live in her new world, but will that make her happy? For she has sacrificed and lost a lot. As in any relationship or situation in real life, whether it be personal or professional, there needs to be compromise and balance on the part of all parties for it to work. People will not be happy, because who is when they have compromised something they believed in or felt strongly about? But the ability to change and adapt is paramount in order to live and coexist.
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