I find these themes important to the retelling of gender because it can apply to males, females, animals, or objects. In every telling of “Little Red Riding Hood,” there was a common pattern of characters: the young girl, the grandmother, a wolf, with the occasional dwarf or huntsman thrown in. These themes apply to these genders or characters because they were different in each story. The women in the stories were either strong and fierce or innocent and helpless. The idea of a character should not be solely based on their gender and any assumptions made about it. A retelling can do anything with the characters and manipulate their attitudes, strengths and weaknesses as much as the author pleases.
For the first theme, “not everyone is as innocent as they seem,” I thought of the women in the stories, such as Little Red Riding Hood and the grandmother and also the wolf character. Throughout, both sides seemed to play an innocent role.; the wolf thought he was fooling the women and the women stood up for themselves when danger was near.
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The idea for genders to be neutral in a story is essential. The theme “things don’t always go your way” occurs for all main characters in these retellings. In one version, the wolf was caught by a huntsman and filled with rocks. In another, Little Red Riding Hood and her grandmother were eaten by a wolf. And in another, Little Red Riding Hood shoots the wolf.
Dominance through gender is not accepted anymore due to the capability of both parties. All genders need to take precautions in situations. The female can’t trust the handsome looking man walking in the woods. The wolf can’t trust the innocent looking girl picking flowers. Precautions are necessary since there are no rules in life of who gets to pick on who. The deception that a person or character can create is so realistic, it’s scary.
Gender in fairytales is not always equal or fair. In these retellings of “Little Red Riding Hood,” there is a balance between male and female dominance. The man does not always need to come to the female’s rescue, but in some cases, he does. In newer fairytales, the roles are reversed where the female will save the male, yet the classic understanding is still that men are braver and more superior than women.
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