The Little Red Riding Hood is an old fairy tale that many of us grew up with and the story as most of us know it is about a 'sweet little girl' who fell prey to a wolf but was later rescued by a brave huntsman, the most popular versions by Charles Perrault and the Brothers Grimm. However many are unaware of the sequel in which Red and her grandmother were able to outwit another wolf they encounter all by themselves. Unknown to many, the earlier oral versions had a more feminist take on the story, the heroine often safes herself by virtue of her own wits, without the aid of a man nor an older woman also openly embracing the topic of sexuality as she is older than the child she is described to be in the "traditional" version. The tale has since been appropriated and re-imagined by many contemporary authors, the old and new are then often compared and analyzed from the feminist perspective.
Nikita Gill is a feminist writer who focus on empowering women through her beautiful and honest poetry. Fairy tales have become part of the popular culture, a source of inspiration and role model for children which values will subconsciously be brought into adulthood. With this in mind, Gill retold classical tales with a feminist twist, taking inspiration from fellow feminist author Angela Carter. Both Gill and Carter have referenced the tale of Red Riding Hood in quite a few of their works, challenging the patriarchal idea of the "original", creating empowering female characters in a beautiful and dark manner. Female author, Catherine Orenstein later discussed women issues and the various feminist retelling of the stories in Little Red Riding Hood Uncloaked.
She has the spirit of a wolf that belongs only to herself, to the earth and to the dark — Nikita Gill
For The Red Riding Hood Who Was The Wolf and Wolf and Flame are two of Gill's few poems with loose reference to The Little Red Riding Hood. The heroine portrayed in them are not only fearless of the wolf, but are also the predator themselves, "the wolf hiding behind your eyes". The metaphorical idea of the werewolf seems to suggests that women do not have to succumb the power of others but instead, inspiring them to nurture their inner "flames" to be their own saviour and stand their own ground. Gills poems relates to many women as they are personal, her heroines are vulnerable but strong at the same time, empowering women, telling them to acknowledge their fears, thereon gaining strength.
In both illustration, I gave the heroines the iconic cape of Red Riding Hood. The red cloak is said to symbolize the sexual awakening, the blood of menstruation, braving womanhood, or even the hymen as even earlier versions the colour of the cloak was not stated (Maya, 2013). A red cloak and a white bonnet have become a symbol of women's oppression in Margaret Atwood's 1985 novel, The Handmaid's Tale. In that dystopic future, the uniform is not only a symbol of subservience but also similarly indicates fertility and menstrual blood. Red is the prominent colour in both stories both with sexual implications as an underlying theme, however it is also known as an emotionally intense colour, often associated with power, anger, hatred and passion. I decided to go with a blood red tone to accentuate the above symbolism of women, the menstrual and sexual awakening well as the burning passion, "the inner flame" as written by Gill.
The wolf in my rendition is not the enemy, not a man who could be a lover, seducer or sex predator nor another women who attempts to destroy the heroine like in Carter's The Werewolf. The silhouette of wolf is not against the heroine, although lurking behind, it faces the same direction as her, her partner in the battle of life. The wolf is the manifestation of the heroine's strength, her spirit or perhaps it could be the other fierce companions she is leading, "she grew up to become ... the wolf leading wolves". In For The Red Riding Hood Who Was The Wolf, the heroine is making the same gesture as the iconic figure of a strong female war production worker in the infamous "We Can Do It!" poster that was used to promote feminism in the 1980s. It is a literal translation of "the strongest of the strong" but also an indirect reference to the modern feminist theories. As the tone of the poem suggest that she will prove those who did not approve of her wrong, the heroine in Wolf and Flame is depicted to be in a warrior-like outfit as if confidently approaching battle.
There are multiple re-tellings of such fairy tales from a more empowering perspective, back to the form in which these tales were first told among women and the poor. However, as these tales have now been adapted into popular culture for children, it is important to allow the younger generation view to get a different perspective of the representation of women in society. Thus, based off Gill's poem, an incarnation of The Little Red Riding Hood with a feminist twist, the visual poem was created to resemble children picture book. I was mesmerized by the poetic language of Nikita Gill and her interesting retelling of childhood stories, giving us a different perspective of the stories we grew up with, urging us to question everything, especially the feminine ideals we are taught.
References
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Gandhi, L. (2018) 'Poet Nikita Gill on Reimagining the Classics in her Book ‘Fierce Fairytales’', The Teal Mango, September 10. Available at: https://www.thetealmango.com/culture/poet-nikita-gill-is-reimagining-the-classics-with-fierce-fairytales/ (Accessed: 18 March 2019).
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Kristin. (2014) 'Little Red Riding Hood and Feminism', Tales of Faerie, April 29. Available at: http://talesoffaerie.blogspot.com/2014/04/little-red-riding-hood-and-feminism.html (Accessed: 18 March 2019).
Starling, M. (2013) 'Little Red Riding Hood – moral warnings and sexual implications', July 6. Available at: https://www.mayastarling.com/little-red-riding-hood-moral-warnings-and-sexual-implications/ (Accessed: 18 March 2019).
Tolovaj Publishing House. (2016) 'The Little Red Riding Hood: Summary and Symbols Explained', Owlcation, November 12. Available at: https://owlcation.com/humanities/red_riding_hood (Accessed: 18 March 2019).
Vanity Fair. (2017) 'The Symbolism of the Color Red in The Handmaid’s Tale', May 10. Available at: https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/05/the-symbolism-of-the-color-red-in-the-handmaids-tale (Accessed: 18 March 2019).
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