little red riding hood uncloaked by catherine orenstein

It felt as if she was shying away from any chance of being titillating and in the process gave up the chance to be truly scholarly. The essay focusing on the parallels of fairy tales and pornography was far to short for any in depth coverage, which I found disappointing as there's enough material in the subject for an entire tome of its own. Orenstein did avoid presenting that chapter with a bias, giving equal weight to the extreme grrrl power hysteria and the more gentle woman-as-viewed-by-men point of view, which was much appreciated. I have an aversion to feminist grandstanding and so didn't give much of a damn about the section dedicated to that viewpoint. The expectation that the reader isn't a complete moron is refreshing. Different aspects of the tale are presented and dissected without getting bogged down in asides, each point supported by appropriate context from the age without drifting into long winded lessons on unnecessary history.

Her examination of the story's early history and metamorphosis over time is thorough without being dry, riveting enough to hold even a casual reader's interest. A surprisingly quick read, Orenstein presents her material in a succinct manner and makes each individual section stand on its own merits, thereby avoiding an overabundance of repetition. Part cultural study, part literary analysis, Little Red Riding Hood Uncloaked fed that fire and lived up to my expectations.

My fascination with fairy tales knows no bounds.

Full of fascinating history, generous wit, and intelligent analysis, Little Red Riding Hood Uncloaked proves that the story of one young girl's trip through the woods continues to be one of our most compelling modern myths. In Little Red Riding Hood Uncloaked, Red appears as seductress, hapless victim, riot grrrrl, femme fatale, and even she-wolf, as Orenstein shows how through centuries of different guises, the story has served as a barometer of social and sexual mores pertaining to women. In Little Red Riding Hood Uncloaked, Catherine Orenstein reveals for the first time the intricate sexual politics, moral ambiguities, and philosophical underpinnings of Red Riding Hood's epic journey to her grandmother's house, and how, from the nursery on, fairy tales influence our view of the world.īeginning with its first publication as a cautionary tale on the perils of seduction, written in reaction to the licentiousness of the court of Louis XIV, Orenstein traces the many lives the tale has lived since then, from its appearance in modern advertisements for cosmetics and automobiles, the inspiration it brought to poets such as Anne Sexton, and its starring role in pornographic films.

Little red riding hood uncloaked by catherine orenstein