Grandma, What Big Fears You Have! Cultural Femininity in Little Red Riding Hood

Abstract

Amanda Clapcich’s essay explores the evolving representations of femininity in various retellings of Little Red Riding Hood, analyzing how each version reflects its cultural moment’s attitudes toward gender, sexuality, and power. Using a post-structural lens, the paper examines literary and oral traditions from Egbert of Liège’s Christianized 11th-century variant to contemporary feminist reimaginings by Angela Carter. Clapcich highlights key shifts in narrative agency, the portrayal of the wolf as a symbol of male desire or societal threat, and the protagonist’s journey from innocence to sexual autonomy. By unpacking versions by Perrault, the Brothers Grimm, Tex Avery, and Carter, the essay argues that Little Red Riding Hood serves as a mirror of evolving social norms and a battleground for the representation of female identity and empowerment.