The recent episode (S1E15) episode of the ABC TV show "Once upon a Time" was fantastic. This episode was entitled "Red-Handed" and it was about Red Riding Hood. But as usual they added some interesting twists to the classic story. They also made some interesting little connections to other stories and legends about wolves. Whenever any program does some my mind tends to go off into many directions. I thought I would further explore the idea presented.
In this episode red riding Hood wants to run away with her true love. A huntsman named Peter, a nod to the classic Peter and the Wolf. Grandma is very protective, won't let her go far as there is a threat to the village from "wolf". We learn that there is a regular time when the wolf is active and that the color red keeps you safe. In the episode the wolf is very dangerous and we discover is not as it seems. It is in fact a werewolf.
The Little Red Riding Hood most of us are familiar with is the version by the brothers Grimm. They compiled the story from two separate German tales they were told. The story as we know it was first published in there book "Children's and Household Tales" in 1812. It goes as follows;
The girl walks through the woods to deliver food to her sick grandmother. A wolf wants to eat the girl but is afraid to do so in public. He approaches Little Red Riding Hood and she naively tells him where she is going. He suggests the girl pick some flowers, which she does. In the meantime, he goes to the grandmother's house and gains entry by pretending to be the girl. He swallows the grandmother whole, and waits for the girl, disguised as the grandma. When the girl arrives, she notices that her grandmother looks very strange. Little Red Riding Hood then says, "What big hands you have!" In most retelling of this colloquy eventually culminates with Little Red Riding Hood saying, "My, what big teeth you have!" to which the wolf replies, "The better to eat you with" and swallows her whole, too. A lumberjack, however, comes to the rescue and cuts open the wolf with his axe, who had fallen asleep. Little Red Riding Hood and her grandmother emerge unharmed. They fill the wolf's body with heavy stones. The wolf awakens and tries to flee, but the stones cause him to collapse and die.
The origins of the Little Red Riding Hood story can be traced to versions from various European countries and more than likely preceding the 17th century. Some significantly different from the Grimm's-inspired version. It was told by French peasants in the 14th century as well as in Italy, where a number of versions exist.
The earliest known printed version was known as Le Petit Chaperon Rouge and had its origins in 17th century French folklore. It was included in the collection "Tales and Stories of the Past with Morals. Tales of Mother Goose", in 1697, by Charles Perrault. This version is both more sinister and more overtly moralized than the later ones. The redness of the hood, which has been given symbolic significance was a detail introduced by Perrault.
The story had as its subject an "attractive, well-bred young lady", a village girl of the country being deceived into giving a wolf she encountered the information he needed to find her grandmother's house successfully and eat the old woman while at the same time avoiding being noticed by woodcutters working in the nearby forest. Then he proceeded to lay a trap for the Red Riding Hood. The latter ends up being asked to climb into the bed before being eaten by the wolf, where the story ends. The wolf emerges the victor of the encounter and there is no happy ending.
Charles Perrault explained the 'moral' at the end so that no doubt is left to his intended meaning. The threat of strangers to children and men to young pretty women. Especially the proverbial wolf in sheep's clothing. This was just one of many different interpretations of a common theme throughout European legends. There is also a astronomical reference.
In early variations of the tale's theme the antagonist is not always a wolf, but sometimes an ogre, dragon or a werewolf. All of these reference to different "evils" but primarily human predation such as sexual, extreme violence, cannibalism, and deception. The tale makes the clearest contrast between the safe world of the village and the dangers of the forest (the outside world).
The Big Bad Wolf is a term used to describe a fictional wolf who appears in several precautionary folkloric stories. Versions of this character have appeared in numerous works, including Peter and the Wolf, the seven kids in the wolf, and the three Little pigs. He has become a generic archetype of a menacing predatory antagonist, sometimes referred to as the Big Bad. So why was it the wolf what was chosen as the representative for the predatory antagonist, and devouring and rebirth.
anthropomorphized the wolf. We relate to the wolf and understand that we all have a beastly side. How humans could do the most predatory, violent, and terrible things. Just as they are like us we can be like them. I believe the tales are warnings to be precautionary with other humans and could be based on real cases of illness.
There is a disease called lycanthropy. It is a mental illness in which a person believes they have been transformed into or are animals and behave accordingly. It is often seen in feral children. Certain drugs are also known to be able to induce the affect, such as with Scandinavian berserkers. The definition of lycanthropy is the ability or power of human being to transform into a wolf, or to gain wolf like characteristics. The word has been linked to the Arcadian King Lycoan. In Ovid's Metamorphoses, he was turned into a ravenous wolf in retribution for attempting to serve human flesh (his own son) to visiting Zeus in an attempt to disprove the god's divinity. Clearly not literal but a precautionary tale about cannibalism, and insanity or a curse resulting from it. The Windigo of native legend is closely related.
Lycanthropy can begin when one believes that he/she is destined to or desires to take the form. Usually this happens in a time of vulnerability, or major change of the mind such as depression. Often, the transformation is triggered by someone saying or doing something that makes the victim believe that he/she must begin transformation, such as someone they truly love being in danger. Sometimes, the victim even reads something that makes them believe that they could or should change form. The disease can begin with physical symptoms like dry skin, fatigue, and the need to be alone. Slowly, cravings will change.
The werewolf appears to be an amalgamation of different beliefs and realities expanded into a creature. Originally by superstitious people of the less educated middle ages. There were many medieval "werewolf trials". Trials of some perpetrators of very brutal and animal like murders involving cannibalism. The public had trouble believing a normal human could do such things. The killers did claim to be werewolves and having made evil pacts. Although there was no evidence ever of actual transformation from human form. There was some hysteria and it is still unexplained why there were so many similar cases around that era. Perhaps the psychosis of lycanthropy is able to occur more than we believe. It is now known that full moons also have the ability to affect human behavior. If one believed they really were they a wolf it is quite plausible that on a full moon night could in fact experience increased psychosis and classic werewolf traits like hunger and strength. Furthermore if they suffered from the disease Hypertrichosis they would for all intensive purposes be a werewolf, minus the claws and fangs.Hypertrichosis is a syndrome where a person grows an abnormal amount of hair on their bodies. One extreme form the entire body can be covered with hair thick like for. It can be present at birth or come on later in life.
A combination of these diseases would make someone look and act like a wolf. Or is it plausible that there really could be wolfmen? And we see glimpses every once in a while among the general population. I suggest keeping one eye open the next full moon, just in case.
No comments:
Post a Comment