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Title: Little Red Riding Hood Uncloaked: Sex, Morality, and the Evolution of a Fairy Tale
Author: Catherine Orenstein
Published: New York: Basic Books, 2002
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 289
Total Page Count: 85,839
Text Number: 246
Read Because: interested in Red Riding Hood, borrowed from the library
Short Review: If there's major fault in Uncloaked, it's not that Orenstien's examination is simplistic—but that it's not exhaustive. It may be surprising that a single fairy tale could offer too much content to cram into a single book, but with Red Riding Hood that's the case. In order simply to keep chapters and book a reasonable length, there's no room to examine every aspect of the tale's source material and multiple retellings—to say nothing of covering every single reinterpretation—so some aspects of the book lack sufficient exploration. But Orenstein provides a strong introduction to and overview of Red Riding Hood: The first few chapters cover early versions of the tale (Perrault, the brothers Grimm, and the old wive's tale that predates both), quoting the source material as well as providing commentary on each version's message and historical context. Latter chapters range from Tex Avery to Angela Carter, from second-wave feminism to folklore scholarship, studying how the tale has changed in more modern years. Some chapters near the tail end of the book begin to lag (in particular nine, The Punishment of Red Riding Hood: Fairy-Tale Fetish, an analysis of fairy-tale imagery in porn), and the texts which precede later chapters sometimes fail to be telling or iconic, but despite these weaknesses Orenstein's research, analysis, and arguments remain strong.
Uncloaked is imperfect, and the simple fact that it doesn't cover everything may leave the reader with dangling questions, but Orenstein's broad history of Red Riding Hood is nonetheless satisfying. It's a strong introduction to the roots of the fairy tale and a thoughtful overview of the various, changing roles it's played in modern culture, answering many questions and provoking future thought; the writing is solid, engaging, but never slick, making the book a swift read without sacrificing depth for style. The fairy tale of Little Red Riding Hood has a lot to offer, and Orenstein delivers on much of it: in parts a warning and a lesson, a morality play and a teaching tool, chastising and empowering, misogynist and feminist, this one fairy tale has been appropriated to cover a gamut of human experience and emotion, and that wide-reaching content makes for a fascinating read. I would have preferred some different media selections and perhaps a different focus in later chapters, and would that Orenstein had provided a further reading list (although she does mention multiple resources in the course of the book), but I found the chapters on the tale's roots and Carter-style feminist retellings particularly fascinating and all told I got all I hoped for from Red Riding Hood Uncloaked: a broad, intelligent, approachable introduction to this fairy tale in all its guises. If Red Riding Hood intrigues, Uncloaked will satisfy. I recommend it.
Review posted here on Amazon.com.
Author: Catherine Orenstein
Published: New York: Basic Books, 2002
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 289
Total Page Count: 85,839
Text Number: 246
Read Because: interested in Red Riding Hood, borrowed from the library
Short Review: If there's major fault in Uncloaked, it's not that Orenstien's examination is simplistic—but that it's not exhaustive. It may be surprising that a single fairy tale could offer too much content to cram into a single book, but with Red Riding Hood that's the case. In order simply to keep chapters and book a reasonable length, there's no room to examine every aspect of the tale's source material and multiple retellings—to say nothing of covering every single reinterpretation—so some aspects of the book lack sufficient exploration. But Orenstein provides a strong introduction to and overview of Red Riding Hood: The first few chapters cover early versions of the tale (Perrault, the brothers Grimm, and the old wive's tale that predates both), quoting the source material as well as providing commentary on each version's message and historical context. Latter chapters range from Tex Avery to Angela Carter, from second-wave feminism to folklore scholarship, studying how the tale has changed in more modern years. Some chapters near the tail end of the book begin to lag (in particular nine, The Punishment of Red Riding Hood: Fairy-Tale Fetish, an analysis of fairy-tale imagery in porn), and the texts which precede later chapters sometimes fail to be telling or iconic, but despite these weaknesses Orenstein's research, analysis, and arguments remain strong.
Uncloaked is imperfect, and the simple fact that it doesn't cover everything may leave the reader with dangling questions, but Orenstein's broad history of Red Riding Hood is nonetheless satisfying. It's a strong introduction to the roots of the fairy tale and a thoughtful overview of the various, changing roles it's played in modern culture, answering many questions and provoking future thought; the writing is solid, engaging, but never slick, making the book a swift read without sacrificing depth for style. The fairy tale of Little Red Riding Hood has a lot to offer, and Orenstein delivers on much of it: in parts a warning and a lesson, a morality play and a teaching tool, chastising and empowering, misogynist and feminist, this one fairy tale has been appropriated to cover a gamut of human experience and emotion, and that wide-reaching content makes for a fascinating read. I would have preferred some different media selections and perhaps a different focus in later chapters, and would that Orenstein had provided a further reading list (although she does mention multiple resources in the course of the book), but I found the chapters on the tale's roots and Carter-style feminist retellings particularly fascinating and all told I got all I hoped for from Red Riding Hood Uncloaked: a broad, intelligent, approachable introduction to this fairy tale in all its guises. If Red Riding Hood intrigues, Uncloaked will satisfy. I recommend it.
Review posted here on Amazon.com.
