So this week we read many strange and some shocking versions of Little Red Riding Hood. After this assignment gone are all of the comforting thoughts that this was just a story because some versions of this tales actually made me cringe in fear and revulsion. I have never been particularly fond of LRRH or the thought of being alone in the woods and attacked by a wolf. There are numerous reasons for my fears : I had a very active imagination, I lived in the country, I had a grandmother that lived within walking distance whom I visited everyday, and I had an older brother with a habit of telling me scary stories in which I was the leading character.
I researched LRRH and found that various movies and even cartoons have used this story for inspiration since 1922 to present day. The characters and plot twists were as varied as the number of entries found within a Google search. In a 2011 adaptation of the story, LRRH is in love with Peter (ironic); however, her parents want her to marry another man who is wealthy. LRRH of course wears a red hood that her grandmother made for her and is used as bait to lure the werewolf terrorizing the village. This version has some seductive scenes, a bit of mystery, and suspense especially since LRRH believes the werewolf is a family member.
The though that a child is sent out into the woods alone as bait for a ravenous beast is an idea that would be considered criminal in this day, but children have not always been deemed as valuable with full rights of an adult. During the early period of human history, mortality rates of children were extremely high and survival rates to adulthood were also low. Could this be why children were not depicted in literature until after the Middle Ages when people gained more knowledge and chances of survival for children increased? According to Shavit, most stories began as folktales; therefore, we used these tales to entertain, teach, and explain the things that were unfamiliar or scary to people. After the Enlightenment, more people were learning to read, and as Shavit pointed out, that is when children were being considered as miniature adults. Now children need to be trained in behavior and trained to perform jobs that would make them productive adults.
The story of Wolf Alice by Angela Carter would have been a story that was told in parlors after a dinner as entertainment or as a bedtime story for children. The Werewolf seems to me as if it was a folktale that has been converted into written form. The geographic location could have been modified to suit the immediate surroundings and it has several lessons that could be heard by the different age levels that would have listened to a folktale. One lesson that is driven home by Carter in this tale is that to be different is dangerous. Everyone must conform and it does not matter who you are if you are different we (society) will dispose of you. Another lesson could be that if you don't take care of yourself then no else will. Who was really the wolf in this story, grandma or LRRH? Who tricked everyone in the end?

The readings for this first week of class are reminiscent of most classical fairy tales of love and the loss of love. However, the idea that women held the power in the love relationships was something that had not necessarily occurred to me. I always pictured myself and the female characters as the one who was attempting to woo the male and never considered the power aspect of the relationship. Certainly the thought for most women at the time to hold the power in a relationship would be enticing since women historically had not always been in control of their own lives much less the men to whom they would be married to for a lifetime. It is, therefore, ironic that the women in the tale of the Wife of Bath and Lanval are allowed to determine the fate of their male companions. At the end, Lanval jumps on the horse to ride off into the sunset after the female character has rescued him, how empowering for the young girls at the time! They were learning that men could be manipulated and it did not take a Disney movie to get the point across. I think this reinforces the train of thought that many of the tales were told by women who cared for children and provided entertainment with bawdier versions of the tales, perhaps at court.

In the poem by Yeats, the woman enchants the young man so completely that he spends his entire life searching for her. All the while he thinks of her and yearns to be with her in that magical perfect place where they will be together forever. This reinforces the idea that a woman can inspire the type of love that endures, inspires, and sustains. That is a lot to live up to! Fascinating to me is the ring of mushrooms mentioned because they allude to magic and harken back to the Druids and spirits in the forest. The circle could be the source of power or the site of rituals involving the spirits.  Interesting!

What do you think motivates female characters in fairy tales?
I think they are motivated by their dreams, deepest secret desires, and sometimes even by heartache. In the fairy tale genre female characters are finally allowed to voice their opinions, especially when they clash with society norms and expectations, and still expect a happily ever after ending. What female fairy tale character do most closely relate to and why?

I admit I am a literature geek and had read most of the assigned readings for this week; however, I was able to ponder the meaning from a new prospective than when I first read the selections. I can identify in a way with many of the female characters who at the time did not have control over their own lives; that is to say sometimes I feel that many of the choices I have made have been dictated by the fact that I am a mother and wife. Most of us have an idea in our heads about what a fairy tale should be and the final outcome will be a happily ever after situation. Life, however, is not that way. I have always loved to fantasy of fairy tales and as a young girl dreamed of my own Prince Charming., luckily I found a prince among a vast pond of frogs! I am excited to delve into the world of fairy tales and answer the question or they dream, nightmare, or reality.