Psychoanalytic Approach to Little Red Riding Hood 

Although there are numerous approaches employed in understanding literature, the

psychoanalytic interpretation most significantly attempts to utilize the symbolic mysteries of a
work. In exclusive contrast to the formal approach, which focuses entirely on the wording, the
fascinating aspect of the psychoanalytic investigation is that it searches for a purpose beyond
that which is strictly in the text. By insinuating the existence of innate and hidden motives, it
allows for a broad range of abstract and creative possibilities. When applied to Perrault's,
"Little Red Riding Hood," it appropriately suggests evidence toward underlying sexual
motivations and tensions. Additionally, this analysis unfolds a constant interplay between
forces of the human psyche.

Sigmund Freud pioneered the introduction of the psychoanalytical concepts behind his
principle theory that all human behavior is primarily motivated by sexuality. Throughout
Perrault's version of "Little Red Riding Hood," veiled sexual implications are in abundance.
In fact, the moral suggests that the entire purpose of the story is to caution against the
"smooth-tongued…dangerous beasts" which like to rob young ladies of their innocence.
Likewise, the hungry wolf does not simply eat the grandmother. Instead, Perrault distinctly
portrays that before consumption, "he threw himself on the good woman." And furthermore,
before digesting the young girl, he invites her into bed. At which point, she "took off her
clothes and went to lie down in the bed." After she thoroughly inspects and comments on
nearly every aspect of the wolf's "big" body parts, the wolf then "threw himself upon Little
Red Riding Hood" to consume her as well. Such obvious references in the text clearly serve
as evidence for Freud's theories on interpretive analysis.

Another Freudian theory relating to this story is his belief that society poses a forbidden aura
on sexual compulsion, and as a result comes the tendency to repress sexual desires. When
applied to "Little Red Riding Hood," the character of the wolf can justify to this argument.
Although he is constantly seeking to satisfy his appetite, he has the ability to control himself
in the beginning. Despite not eating for three days, he skillfully awaits for the perfect time and
situation to gratify his cravings. Notice he does not go after the male woodcutters; instead he
wais to take advantage upon a pretty little girl. In the process, he gets her naked and into bed
before pleasing himself. Having withheld his sexual desires for so long, in the end he loses
control. He gobbles up both the little girl and her grandmother while they lie innocently in
bed.

While accurately applying the psychoanalytical approach, it is necessary to prove the

interactions of the human mind. The concept that unconscious psychological forces inspire
human behavior is vital to this examination. Freud believed that there were three psychic
zones of the mental process: the id, the ego and the superego. In "Little Red Riding Hood,"
the mother and grandmother represent the superego. Representing all that is moral, they raise
Little Red Riding Hood by helping to protect and control her natural urges. In contrast, the
wolf represents the psychic energy of an id. Lacking logic and principle, he functions only for
instinctual gratification. Serving as the mediator between restraint and mayhem, Little Red
Riding Hood symbolizes the ego and attempts to balance both extremes. In the beginning she
is described as a "pretty little girl," who dresses as "fine ladies" do. Adored by all, she then
goes into the woods to encounter the id. There she disobeys her mother's instructions, and
becomes "the poor child." In the moral, these "pretty, nicely brought-up young ladies" turn
"foolish" upon talking to strangers. As "elegant" as they were once considered, it is a child's
own fault if she leans to far to the irrational id. Furthermore, Freud dramatically insinuates
that this struggle can only end in death, which is the exact fate of Little Red Riding Hood.

Despite the fact that the psychoanalytic approach is the most controversial interpretation of
literature, it proves to be utterly intriguing. In stories such as this, the sexual undertones are
clearly evident, and thus substantiate the intricacies behind the approach. Perhaps it is a bit
untraditional. However, this investigation remains both thought provoking and brilliantly
compelling.

A Psychoanalytical Look at Broumas' Little Red Riding Hood  

Sigmund Freud, the key developer of the psychoanalytical approach to the human mind, created a
theory that can
explain the driving force behind all forms of human life. In his theories he uses the desire for sexual
pleasure as one of
those driving forces, but very often, according to Freud, those desires are not met, weather they are
through the actual
event of receiving pleasure or through some alternate form of dispersing the energy that the desire
builds. The ideas
become repressed upon not being met and eventually become entrenched in the unconscious part of
our mind, also
known as the id. It is my belief that Olga Broumas used the poem "Little Red Riding Hood" as an
opportunity to express
herself to the literary community, but as Freud's theories argue, not only do her intentions become a
part of her writings,
but also her viewpoints on herself and her surroundings arise from the depths of her id to haunt the
poem with personal
references that were not originally designed to be in a poem about a little girl taking gifts to her sick
grandmother.
It is my belief that Broumas wants to tell who she is through this poem. As one reads the lines about
her own birth to the
explanation of how she is in no way continuing that tradition, it becomes clear that she chose
homosexuality as her course
in life. In addition to this statement, Broumas asks how she can fulfill some continuation of herself
because standard
means are no longer conceivable.

As one reads deeper and deeper into the lines of the poem, other symbolic statements arise including
her journey and
how other women have walked the same road, but I believe her wording arose in some of these
symbolic statements
without her conscious knowledge and caused her to reveal more to the reader than she anticipates.
For example, she
speaks of her own birth in detail and says, "High forceps might, in that instant accomplished what you
and that good
woman failed in all these years to do: cramp me between the temples, hobble my baby feet." It is
possible that this
excerpt could be telling her mother that she couldn't keep her within the bounds of what is considered
socially
acceptable, because obviously homosexuality has not always been socially correct. The reason why
this conclusion is
drawn relies on the relation between the allusion to cramping her between the temples and her mother
failing in all her
years as a parent. It could also be seen as an unconscious apology to her mother for not becoming
who her mother
expected her to become.

In the closing stanza Broumas writes, "across this improbable forest people with wolves and our lost
flower-gathering
sisters they feed on." Once again this could easily be an unconscious statement of her fear of not
fitting into the standards
of society. When the word "people" is used to describe wolves, it is easy to see a strong correlation
between her beliefs
and a fear of people not agreeing with her beliefs.

In conclusion we see that Broumas introduces several levels of imagery, symbolism, and statement
into her poem "Little
Red Riding Hood," but she also incorporates much more without even noticing it according to Freud's
theories.
It could be something that could be easily mistaken in that she may have intended for several of these
interjections to
exist in her poem, but Freud does argue that unconscious repressed thoughts can easily find their way
into our lifestyle,
particularly in this case, our writings.

Brothers Grimm Little Red Cap

Red Riding Hood, far from being an innocent tale of a little girl’s lucky escape from the belly of the beast, with
herself and her beloved grandmother intact, is the story of a budding sexually adventurous young woman …
who wants to learn, and to grow into her womanhood, but finds the danger in doing so. There are plenty of
symbols pointing towards this sexual interpretation of the tale, Red Riding Hood’s red cloak actually signifies
the fact that she has recently menstruated, and as such is no longer a little girl, but a woman ready to be
initiated in life’s ways. The story, as do many others in folklore and myth, has a strong Oedipal leaning – it is
an expression of Freud’s basic human desire to replace our parent of the same sex, in a relationship with our
parent of the opposite sex – therefore, a young man’s desire to replace his father, and a young woman’s desire
to replace her mother in relation to her father. We see much supporting evidence for a Freudian interpretation
of Little Red Riding Hood within the tale – it is not all far-flung, tenuous links and coincidences.

Freud was the father of the psychoanalytic school of thought which believes that all human behaviour is
motivated by sexuality. As such, fairy tales become vehicles for teaching new members of society sexual
lessons. However, these must be oblique lessons: it goes against so many of our society’s values to overtly
indoctrinate sexuality into our children. At the same time, sexuality is an important part of our adult lives, and
as with other areas of life, it is the responsibility of parents and other adults to teach children how to relate to
these social phenomena. However, there are several differing, sexual interpretations of the Little Red Riding
Hood parable – exactly what message is being sent to those reading it for the first time cannot be agreed on!

Many people believe this is a story about budding sexuality, with lessons on relating to sexuality for both boys
and girls. Whether these are appropriate lessons in today’s society is highly debatable! One reading suggests
that the red cloak symbolises the young woman’s menstrual blood, and her readiness for sexual awakening.
She braves the dark forest of womanhood, unfortunately encountering first the predatory male (the wolf), who
forcibly initiates her into the reality of sex … as symbolized by Red Riding Hood being eaten. The red cloak is
also sometimes thought to symbolize the girl’s hymen, with the wolf therefore taking her virginity. The two
readings are not mutually exclusive.

Another common interpretation is the idea that Little Red Riding Hood is a prostitute, and the fairy-tale about
her is a repressive tale warning against becoming a working girl. One of the strongest points in favour of this
argument is that the red cloak was a classic symbol of a prostitute in 17th century France, when Charles
Perrault was writing his famous version of the tale. The fact that his version of the tale is not the original one
does not discount this interpretation; folklore can have a changing meaning to concur with changing societal
conditions. Reading Perrault’s version of Little Red Riding Hood, you realize it was lucky not to have been
censored from school curriculums everywhere, due to its very overt sexual signals in parts of the tale where the
wolf is about to eat Red Riding Hood. Before eating the grandmother of the story, he ‘threw himself on the good
woman’. He later ‘threw himself on Little Red Riding Hood’ also, but only after she had been invited into bed, so
she ‘took off her clothes and went to lie down in the bed’. After looking carefully and commenting on all of the
wolf’s big body parts (“My, what a big … you have!”), the wolf throws himself upon the nude Little Red Riding
Hood, in bed. Given thought, it becomes amazing that schools have continued to repeat the tale for centuries!

Various specific and modern interpretations of the tale also recognize the sexuality of the tale. Stephen
Sondheim and James Lapine’s musical, Into The Woods, features a wolf with an obvious penis attached to the
costume. As the Little Red Riding Hood grows up, she discards her cloak, presumably in accordance with the
reading suggesting that the cloak is her hymen, the symbol of her virginity. What Do You Say After You Say
Hello? Is Eric Berne’s modern version of the tale, and in this, Red Riding Hood’s grandfather fondles her under
her dress, which awakens her sexuality. In this version, the wolf and the grandmother also have an intimate
relationship … a much more literal expression of the sexual symbols, but a valid extrapolation of the theories.

The way the Little Red Riding Hood tale teaches children about the roles of their gender has also been
researched extensively. The mother of the tale, who tells Red Riding Hood not to stray from the path,
represents a woman who knows her place within the patriarchal society. The fact that Little Red Riding Hood
strays from the path, talks to a strange man (‘Don’t talk to strangers!’), and dawdles, against her mother’s
instructions, and comes to harm, is a lesson to young girls to accept what society dictates they must do, or
come to harm. “This action, an expression of her own desire, is the cause of her troubles” (Cranny-Francis,
1992, p123).

The tale has so many sexual markers and overtones … it has been recognized as a sexual tale for so many
centuries, but people still enjoy reading it, and still tell it to their children, and still love to create modern
interpretations of the tale, so they can relate more easily to it. Embrace its sexuality – it exists throughout it –
and enjoy it!

References

Cranny Francis, A., 1992, Engendered Fiction: Analysing Gender in the Production and Reception of Texts,
University of New South Wales Press, NSW, Australia
Dundes, A., 1991, Note, in Journal of American Folklore, Vol 104, Issue 411, pp 74-84
Psychoanalytic Approach to Little Red Riding Hood, 2006, on 123helpme.com,
http://www.123helpme.com/view.asp?id=7341