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AirTalk

History and Analysis of “Little Red Riding Hood”

By AirTalk Staff
Published Sep 24, 2002

The fairy tale “Little Red Riding Hood” began in the court of Louis XIV as a morality tale to warn virgins against lascivious wolf-like men lurking in the palace halls. Since then, the story has undergone many transmutations and permeated popular culture. Catherine Orenstein, author of Little Red Riding Hood Uncloaked: Sex, Morality, and the Evolution of a Fairy Tale [Basic Books], examines Little Red Riding Hood in all her glory. She delves into the tale’s many versions, which she says gives us a window into the sexual and cultural mores of a time and place.