查爾斯·狄更斯曾經說過：“小紅帽是我的初戀。我總覺得要是娶了小紅帽，我就會知道什麼叫做天賜良緣。”是的，那個穿著紅鬥篷的小女孩身上散發著稚氣、純真和勇敢的氣息。但是，有沒有人真正地理解紅鬥篷下麵蘊藏的曆史故事與文化內涵呢？2003年，美國女作家凱瑟琳·奧蘭斯汀出版了Little Red Riding Hood Uncloaked： Sex， Morality， and the Evolution of a Fairy Tale(《百變小紅帽：一則童話三百年的演變》)——解讀了該童話背後的曆史典故與文化內涵，揭開了紅鬥篷下麵所有的秘密。而在此，小編特別獻上一篇有關該書的書評，供讀者朋友們一窺這些潛藏的秘密！
——Mac
Forget everything you ever thought you knew about Little Red Riding Hood. In Little Red Riding Hood Uncloaked： Sex， Morality， and the Evolution of a Fairy Tale， the author， Catherine Orenstein， explores the history of the fairy tale， from the French court， 1)Charles Perrault， Hans Christian Anderson， and the Brothers Grimm， to 2)Bruno Bettelheim and 3)Anne Sexton.
As she explains， “The endeavor of this book is to draw Little Red Riding Hood forth from her literary 4)crypt， to unwrap the protective 5)vellum that 6)mummifies her in the rare book section of the library.”
In this survey of literature， Orenstein inspects the derivations of Little Red Riding Hood， who has been depicted as a 7)seductress， a victim， a 8)femme fatale， and a 9)she-wolf in various works. Changes in society have dramatically affected the evolution of this story.
The Origins of the Fairy Tales
Fairy tales are fantastical tales， with talking creatures， great heroes， fair maidens， magical and miraculous deeds， and heroic 10)quests. While the tales are often considered part of children’s literature， they can also be horribly 11)grotesque. According to Orenstein， “The first recorded reference to a fairy tale seems to occur in a letter Madame de Sevigne wrote to her daughter in 1677 describing one of ‘the stories they amuse the ladies with at 12)Versailles’.” The tales became popular in French salons， entertaining men and women with 13)utopian musings.
D’Aulnoy is given credit for publishing the first fairy tale in 1690， but it wasn’t long until Perrault and others carried on the tradition.
An Epic Journey Re-invented
Actually， Little Red Riding Hood has many derivations and can be told in several ways. In Charles Perrault’s tale， the wolf (interpreted as a man who seduces women) hides under the covers， and urges the girl to “climb into bed with me.” The girl comments on “what big” arms， legs， ears， eyes， and teeth the wolf has， which ends with the wolf saying “The better to eat you！” The wolf then “threw himself upon Little Red Riding Hood and ate her up.” In Perrault’s fairy tale， published in 1697， no 14)woodsman comes to rescue her； and Little Red Riding Hood does not save herself.