Lindsey Lundberg: Little Naive Riding Hood

Coles statement “the whole point of stories is not ‘solutions’ or ‘resolutions’ but a broadening and even heightening of our struggles,” proves to be true for the “Little Red Riding Hood” stories. It doesn’t matter which rendition of the “Little Red Riding Hood” one reads, because Little Red Riding Hood has struggles in all of them. The main struggles naive Little Red Riding Hood faces is her lack of judgement and awareness to warnings. I believe the “Little Red Riding Hood” stories are about not talking to strangers.

In Charles Perrault’s version of the “Little Red Riding Hood,” Little Red Riding Hood didn’t know it was dangerous to talk to a wolf. She told the wolf that her grandmother lived in the first house of the village right passed the mill. This showed how naive Little Red Riding Hood was. When the wolf told her what path to take, she listened to him and proceeded to take his suggested route. She didn’t think twice of the wolf’s motives. 

In Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm’s “Little Red Cap,” Little Red Cap makes the same mistake as Charles Perrault’s character Little Red Riding Hood. Little Red Cap talks to the wolf, because she doesn’t know he’s wicked. She gave detailed directions on where her grandmother lives. She goes as far as explaining what bushes and trees are near her grandmother’s house. This allowed the wolf to know exactly where grandmother lived. 

Another reoccurring theme of the “Little Red Riding Hood” stories is to be aware of warning signs and listen to your intuition. In Lower Lusatia’s “Little Red Hood,” Little Red Hood asks questions about grandmother’s new large ears, eyes, and mouth. While she noticed warning signs, she didn’t act on them. She questioned them without realizing she should flee the scene. Had she known to trust her intuition, she might’ve been able to get away from the wolf.