Why Little Red Riding Hood is caught between innocence and sexuality
Is Little Red Riding Hood just a naive little girl? Only in the tale by the German Brothers Grimm. In older versions of the story, she flirts and the wolf seduces her. Here's a look at various Little Red Riding Hoods.
Little Red Riding Hood has always put me off - that dumb, innocent little girl who surrenders to the big bad wolf, only to be devoured by him. And then there's the manly, courageous hunter who heroically rescues her and her grandmother by cutting them out of the wolf's belly. And of course, though it defies logic, they both emerge totally unharmed. Obviously, the Brothers Grimm didn't mind the inconsistencies in the story. They were more interested in scaring children. They wanted to teach kids good behavior: Listen to your mother and don't talk to strangers. But today we would call that xenophobia and cowardice. Nevertheless, when I heard about an exhibition exclusively about Little Red Riding Hood, I was curious. What is it about the fairytale girl that can fill an entire exhibition? The Bilderbuchmuseum - the picture book museum - in Troisdorf is housed in a red manor house in a small town close to Bonn and holds Europe's largest collection on the Little Red Riding Hood. Dozens of girls with red hoods reside side by side over two floors in the house. On the ground floor of the museum, there is a play area for young visitors. Through a crack in the door, I see a child dressed as Little Red Riding Hood whistling and walking around paper trees. Upstairs, the exhibition is more geared toward adults. There is no artificial forest there, but only display cases with books and pictures on the walls. It's not particularly creative. The many faces of Little Red Riding Hood In each display case, a different Little Red Riding Hood encounters a different wolf - and not all of the images are G-rated. As curator Bernhard Schmitz tells me, the unusual collection was given to the museum by a Swiss couple. For over 30 years, Elisabeth and Richard Waldmann collected Little Red Riding Hoods wherever they went, gathering 800 books written since the end of the 18th century, as well as countless dolls, puppets, toys, flatware, ads, and all kinds of knickknacks. How on earth can anyone be so obsessed with a fairytale figure? Looking through the wooden display cases looking for the Little Red Riding Hood that I know - the sweet dumb little girl - I come across many others sitting next to her. One of them has bare breasts. Another one has a Mohawk, and yet another looks quite lascivious. Still others are wicked or sardonic. This girl seems to have many different faces. An erotic fairytale The very first one, the French "Petit Chaperon Rouge" is anything but innocent. An adolescent, she obviously enjoys alluring the wolf. And when he invites her to come to bed with his ("Viens te coucher avec moi"), she undresses and lies down naked next to the beguiling wolf. Clearly a case of coquettish seduction. Then I notice a comic from the 1990s depicting an erotic version of Little Red Riding Hood. Obviously, the sexual aspect of the original tale hasn't gotten lost over time, despite the prudishness of the prudish Brothers Grimm. An entire room in the picture book museum has been devoted to artist Burgi Kühnemann and her very special Little Red Riding Hoods. She is standing in front one of her works - a hunter's vest with numerous pockets filled with booklets. "The wolf is a traffic victim" is written on the dirty green fabric. Little Red Riding Hood and the Nazis Burgi Kühneman takes a booklet from her right breast pocket. In it, a youthful Little Red Riding Hood is sitting behind the steering wheel, about to run over the poor wolf. "Once there was a report about a wolf that got run over on the freeway," she says. "That's when I thought, people used to be afraid of wolves, but now they stuff them." Burgi Kühnemann's voice is hoarse and a subdued, but she enjoys talking. She introduces me to her next version of the Little Red Riding Hood: "I'm giving it a political dimension. For example the Nazi era provides a lot of material. Adolf Hitler liked being called 'Uncle Wolf' by little girls." So the blonde and naïve Little Red Riding Hood is only one of many red-hooded girls. It's the German version for young children. Once again, I walk by the display cases and think, Little Red Riding Hood was clearly schizophrenic.
Little Red Riding Hood
Little_Red_Riding_Hood Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1922_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1995_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1997_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(opera) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(album) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1953_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1920_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1954_film) Li'l_Red_Riding_Hood Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(Pinkney_book)
Little Red Riding Hood
Little_Red_Riding_Hood Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1922_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1995_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1997_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(opera) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(album) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1953_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1920_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1954_film) Li'l_Red_Riding_Hood Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(Pinkney_book)
German
Brothers Grimm
Brothers_Grimm Brothers_Grimm_(comics) Brothers_Grimm_(album) Grimms'_Fairy_Tales The_Brothers_Grimm_(film) Brothers_Grym
Little Red Riding Hoods
Little Red Riding Hood
Little_Red_Riding_Hood Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1922_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1995_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1997_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(opera) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(album) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1953_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1920_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1954_film) Li'l_Red_Riding_Hood Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(Pinkney_book)
Brothers Grimm
Brothers_Grimm Brothers_Grimm_(comics) Brothers_Grimm_(album) Grimms'_Fairy_Tales The_Brothers_Grimm_(film) Brothers_Grym
Little Red Riding Hood
Little_Red_Riding_Hood Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1922_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1995_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1997_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(opera) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(album) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1953_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1920_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1954_film) Li'l_Red_Riding_Hood Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(Pinkney_book)
Bilderbuchmuseum
Troisdorf
Troisdorf Troisdorf_station
Bonn
Bonn University_of_Bonn Bonn_Hauptbahnhof Telekom_Baskets_Bonn Timeline_of_Bonn Bonn_Stadtbahn Convention_on_the_Conservation_of_Migratory_Species_of_Wild_Animals Bundeshaus_(Bonn) Siege_of_Bonn_(1689) Siege_of_Bonn_(1703) Botanical_Garden,_Bonn Theater_Bonn Akademisches_Kunstmuseum Bonner_SC List_of_ambassadors_of_Australia_to_Germany Bönnsch_dialect
Europe
Europe UEFA Europe_(band) UEFA_competitions European_Athletic_Association European_theatre_of_World_War_II European_Union Europe_(dinghy) European_Cricket_Council UEFA_Champions_League Senior_League_World_Series_(Europe–Africa_Region) Big_League_World_Series_(Europe–Africa_Region) Sailing_at_the_2004_Summer_Olympics_–_Europe Neolithic_Europe History_of_Europe Europe_(magazine)
Little Red Riding Hood
Little_Red_Riding_Hood Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1922_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1995_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1997_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(opera) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(album) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1953_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1920_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1954_film) Li'l_Red_Riding_Hood Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(Pinkney_book)
Little Red Riding Hood
Little_Red_Riding_Hood Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1922_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1995_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1997_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(opera) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(album) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1953_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1920_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1954_film) Li'l_Red_Riding_Hood Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(Pinkney_book)
Little Red Riding Hood
Little_Red_Riding_Hood Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1922_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1995_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1997_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(opera) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(album) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1953_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1920_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1954_film) Li'l_Red_Riding_Hood Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(Pinkney_book)
Little Red Riding Hood
Little_Red_Riding_Hood Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1922_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1995_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1997_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(opera) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(album) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1953_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1920_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1954_film) Li'l_Red_Riding_Hood Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(Pinkney_book)
curator
Bernhard Schmitz
Swiss
Elisabeth
Elisabeth_(musical) Empress_Elisabeth_of_Austria Elisabeth_von_Lahnstein Elisabeth_of_Bavaria,_Queen_of_Belgium Elizabeth_(biblical_figure) Princess_Elisabeth_of_Hesse_and_by_Rhine_(1864–1918) Elisabeth_Andreassen Elisabeth_of_Wied Elizabeth_of_Luxembourg Elizabeth_(given_name) Elisabeth_of_Valois Elisabeth_of_Romania Tannhäuser_(opera) Elisabeth_of_Wrocław Elizabeth_of_Hungary Elizabeth_of_Bohemia_(1292–1330)
Richard Waldmann
Little Red Riding Hoods
18th century
Little Red Riding Hood
Little_Red_Riding_Hood Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1922_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1995_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1997_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(opera) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(album) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1953_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1920_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1954_film) Li'l_Red_Riding_Hood Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(Pinkney_book)
Mohawk
French
Petit Chaperon Rouge
1990
Little Red Riding Hood
Little_Red_Riding_Hood Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1922_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1995_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1997_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(opera) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(album) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1953_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1920_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1954_film) Li'l_Red_Riding_Hood Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(Pinkney_book)
Brothers Grimm
Brothers_Grimm Brothers_Grimm_(comics) Brothers_Grimm_(album) Grimms'_Fairy_Tales The_Brothers_Grimm_(film) Brothers_Grym
artist
Burgi Kühnemann
Little Red Riding Hoods
Little Red Riding Hood
Little_Red_Riding_Hood Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1922_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1995_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1997_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(opera) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(album) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1953_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1920_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1954_film) Li'l_Red_Riding_Hood Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(Pinkney_book)
Nazis
Nazism Nazi_Party Nazi_Germany Neo-Nazism Nazi_plunder Nazi_architecture Occupation_of_Poland_(1939–1945) Netherlands_in_World_War_II The_Holocaust_in_Poland Religious_aspects_of_Nazism Germans Louis_and_the_Nazis Austria_under_National_Socialism National_Alliance_(United_States) Austrian_National_Socialism Government_of_Nazi_Germany
Burgi Kühneman
Little Red Riding Hood
Little_Red_Riding_Hood Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1922_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1995_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1997_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(opera) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(album) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1953_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1920_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1954_film) Li'l_Red_Riding_Hood Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(Pinkney_book)
Burgi Kühnemann
Little Red Riding Hood
Little_Red_Riding_Hood Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1922_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1995_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1997_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(opera) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(album) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1953_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1920_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1954_film) Li'l_Red_Riding_Hood Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(Pinkney_book)
Nazi
Nazism Nazi_Germany Nazi_Party Propaganda_in_Nazi_Germany Wehrmacht German-occupied_Europe Reichskommissariat_Ostland Neo-Nazism German_military_administration_in_occupied_France_during_World_War_II Nazism_and_cinema Austrian_National_Socialism Nazi_architecture Occupation_of_Poland_(1939–1945) Austria_under_National_Socialism One-party_state Nazi,_Markazi
Adolf Hitler
Adolf_Hitler Adolf_Hitler_in_popular_culture Adolf_Hitler_(Marvel_Comics) Death_of_Adolf_Hitler 1st_SS_Panzer_Division_Leibstandarte_SS_Adolf_Hitler Adolf_Hitler's_rise_to_power Psychopathography_of_Adolf_Hitler Religious_views_of_Adolf_Hitler The_Bunker_(1981_film)
Uncle Wolf
Little Red Riding Hood
Little_Red_Riding_Hood Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1922_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1995_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1997_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(opera) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(album) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1953_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1920_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1954_film) Li'l_Red_Riding_Hood Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(Pinkney_book)
German
Little Red Riding Hood
Little_Red_Riding_Hood Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1922_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1995_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1997_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(opera) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(album) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1953_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1920_film) Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(1954_film) Li'l_Red_Riding_Hood Little_Red_Riding_Hood_(Pinkney_book)
Little Red Riding Hoods
Little_Red_Riding_Hood
iptc::01000000 slot::keyword topic::culture type::culture_title type::entity type::misc
Brothers Grimm
Brothers_Grimm
iptc::01000000 iptc::20000013 meta::redo slot::keyword topic::culture type::artist type::entity type::person type::writer
Bilderbuchmuseum
wikidata:Q151456
iptc::01000000 slot::keyword topic::culture type::culture_facility type::entity type::facility type::location
Bernhard Schmitz
gender::male iptc::01000000 slot::head slot::keyword topic::culture type::culture_per type::entity type::person
Burgi Kühnemann
gender::female iptc::01000000 iptc::11000000 slot::keyword topic::culture topic::politics type::artist type::entity type::person type::politician
German
topic::none type::gpe0-x type::other
Troisdorf
Troisdorf
topic::none type::entity type::gpe type::gpe2 type::location
Bonn
Bonn
topic::none type::entity type::gpe type::gpe2 type::location
Europe
Europe
topic::none type::entity type::location type::regio
curator
topic::none type::role type::value
Swiss
topic::none type::gpe0-x type::other
Elisabeth
gender::female meta::todo topic::none type::entity type::person
Richard Waldmann
gender::male meta::todo topic::none type::entity type::person
18th century
topic::none type::time type::value
Mohawk
topic::none type::none type::other type::skip
French
topic::none type::gpe0-x type::other
1990
topic::none type::time type::value
artist
topic::none type::role type::value
Nazis
iptc::11000000 topic::politics type::entity type::organization type::party
Nazi
Nazi_Germany
iptc::11000000 topic::politics type::entity type::organization type::party
Adolf Hitler
Adolf_Hitler
gender::male iptc::11000000 topic::politics type::entity type::person type::politician
Uncle Wolf
iptc::11000000 topic::politics type::entity type::person type::politician
Germany
France
Switzerland