Charles Perrault was one of the first to recognize the potential of this archetypal story, which continues to this day through its traditional versions and hundreds of adaptations.
As far back as the 1970s, the great Italian writer and educator Gianni Rodari stated in his Grammar of Fantasy that hearing only these five words “girl, forest, flowers, wolf and grandmother” everyone conjured up the same story. No wonder, because if there is a fairy tale par excellence that has been handed down from generation to generation in Western societies, it is that of Little Red Riding Hood.
For many of us, it’s the first story our parents or grandparents told us, and it’s probably one of the first we’ve ever told. However, few will remember that it was Charles Perrault who published the first written version of the story (in which the grandmother and granddaughter are devoured by the wolf) in 1697, and that it was not until 1812 that the Brothers Grimm gave birth. hunter, saving the girl from the wolf’s jaws.
Little Red Riding Hood is one of the most shared and reinterpreted fairy tales of the 20th century, with over a hundred different versions since World War II.
Little Red Riding Hood is a worldwide literary reference that has been able to adapt to the social, moral, political, educational and literary concerns of each era, to the point where it is today considered a universal icon.
As Miguel de Unamuno said: “Progress consists in innovation.” The way Little Red Riding Hood, like the fairytale genre, has transformed over the past few decades is an example of how children’s literature has evolved at the turn of the century.
One of the main features of the contemporary children’s story is that, after its consolidation as written literature, it incorporates the visual code – that is, the image or illustrations – into the narrative and semantic construction.
We can currently find endless versions and illustrated interpretations of this story, some of which contain only illustrations, as is the case in Adolfo Serra’s textless album entitled Little Red Riding Hood (Nórdica Libros, 2019) or that of Lorena Martínez Oronoz entitled A (Cenlit, 2018 ).
These types of silent books require a more participatory reading by the reader, as there is no narrative voice interpreting the story; in this way offering an active reading exercise that enables the reader to develop his literary competence and progress in his reading training.
Despite the novelties resulting from postmodern cultural trends, some of the recently published adaptations of Little Red Riding Hood continue to carry a strong moral charge, especially those that do not sweeten the ending of Perrault’s story.
Such is the case with the version of Little Red Hood (Youth, 2019), written more than a century ago by Beatrix Potter and recently illustrated by Helen Oxenbury. The combination of the work of these authors – two of the most prestigious in English children’s literature – places the plot in the English countryside.
On the other hand, we currently find Little Red Riding Hood in which a more psychological characterization of the characters emerges, as for example in The Stamp Thief by Txabi Arnal with illustrations by Julio Antonio Blasco (Edelvives, 2014), where Little Red Riding Hood cannot overcome the death of the wolf and through letters trying to communicate with him.
Cover of The girl in red, by Frisch and Innocenti and translation by Carlos Heras Martínez (Kalandraka, 2013). kaledraka
In addition, there are also versions of Little Red Riding Hood that contain an underlying societal critique of modern lifestyles, such as The Girl in Red (Kalandraka, 2013) illustrated by Roberto Innocenti and written by Aaron Frisch, who turned the dangerous forest into big city – a resource that has already at the end of the 20th century was used in the famous Little Red Riding Hood in Manhattan by Carmen Martín Gaite (Siruela, 1990).
Finally, another characteristic of the contemporary children’s story that has also been adopted in the new adaptations of the classic story is humor and parody as a literary game, as appears in The True Story of Little Red Riding Hood by Agnese Baruzzi and Sandro Natali (Editions B, 2008). ), in which the wolf becomes polite, helpful and loved by all characters except Little Red Riding Hood, who has lost her leading role.
Another nice version is What Little Red Riding Hood Didn’t Saw by Mar Ferrero (Edelvives, 2013), in which the wolf, granny and the forest animals tell us what really happened that day.
It is not surprising that Little Red Riding Hood arouses inexhaustible interest, because through the contrast of archetypes it deals with some of the fundamental concerns of humanity, such as family, morals, growth and aging or relations between the sexes. Some archetypes that have reinvented themselves and have been able to adapt to the social changes that have occurred over time.
This article was published in ‘The Conversation’.
Source: La Verdad
I am David Jackson, a highly experienced professional in the news industry. I have been working as an author at Today Times Live for over 10 years, and specialize in covering the entertainment section. My expertise lies in writing engaging stories that capture readers’ attention and deliver timely information about the latest developments.
