Society's Consequence Of Society In Little Red Riding Hood

Katie Chan
Nagel
English 102
2 February 2018
Society’s Consequence
One would believe that the society of today completely differs from the society of the 19th century. However, the societal norms of the early nineteenth century, when Little Red Riding Hood was first recorded, do not change significantly from the social norms that rule today’s society in the 21st century. Of course, today’s society grows to accepts the gradually less binary and more complex status quo, but the social traditions from centuries ago are still present. Beneath the progressive society of today remains restrictive gender stereotypes and the common stigma attached to promiscuousness which present themselves all throughout Little Red Riding Hood. One may not notice

The superego enforces morals and social expectations, functioning as a person’s conscience and moral compass. The superego actively fights against the id, which often does not concur with society’s rules and norms. The ego operates as the balance or the compromise, partially conscious and subconscious; the ego does not know the irrational id or the righteous superego. The ego only acts logically to balance the id and the superego. On the website Simply Psychology, Sarah McLeod explains Freud’s theory of abnormal repression, an idea that over-restraining the id leads to illogical, self-destructive, callous, or antisocial behavior (McLeod). Little Red Riding Hood displays these psychological concepts in their main characters.
Little Red Riding Hood, Red for short, plays the protagonist of the tale and acts on her superego to fit into the gender role for girls, but ultimately resigns to her ego and id due to abnormal repression. No matter which century, 19th or 21st, the notion that girls should act submissive, sweet, and virtuous prevails, and society slanders girls who do not behave accordingly. Girls who engage in sexual activities outside of marriage receive the most backlash and tarnished reputations. Throughout the many versions of Little Red Riding Hood, Red always begins at

Society pictures men as strong and powerful. It expects for men to take charge and, unlike women, seek out sex to prove their dominance. The Wolf meets the standard for men and thinks with his ego in “Little Red Cap (1812)” when he chooses to prey on both Red Riding Hood and her grandmother; but the protagonist “was not afraid of him”(Grimm and Grimm 157-158). The Wolf follows the norm in the sense that he pursues gratification and also proves he thinks strategically with his ego to make a bigger catch. Though he also breaks a social norm for men when Red fails to recognize his potential for evil. Men do not have to look evil to fit the norm, but should look powerful and intimidating according to society. The Wolf does not conform to the male gender roles and aspires to be different. “Little Red Cap (1812)” verifies this this by mentioning that the Wolf dresses himself as the grandmother after he eats her (Grimm and Grimm 158). The Wolf crossdresses as a female because he does not want to stick by the male gender roles and preys on women to make up for his ‘lost’ masculinity. The Wolf does not have to disguise himself to catch Red but makes the conscious decision to do so and also spends more time than necessary pretending as the grandmother. He wishes to escape from the social expectations placed on him and savors his moment as a woman. The Wolf’s