The Company of Wolves Essay

"The Company of Wolves" is written by Angela Carter, and is a modern version of the old classic "Little Red Riding Hood". This time though, Cater has changed the ethics and moral of the story to portray her own modern message.

The story takes place during the winter in the countryside. Around the small community that lives in the region, there are mountains and a big forest. The people are terrorized by werewolves that has ruthlessly killed and eaten those who have crossed their path. The town is suffering heavily because of these werewolf accidents. "If you spy a naked man among the pines, you must run as if the Devil were after you".

The main story is about a young girl. She makes the decision to deliver food to her old grandmother, well aware of the fact that the woods she has to travel through are dangerous. Along the way she meets a hunter, he seems charming and protective. She lets him carry her basket, which contains a knife she provided for protection in case of a wolf attack. This shows us that the girl is a bit naïve at this point. The young girl and the hunter split up and they go down different paths. The hunter is the first one to reach the grandmother's house. He knocks on the door and imitates the girl's voice. We quickly feel that something is wrong, because in the original "Little Red Riding Hood" it is the wolf that imitates a child's voice. The hunter also eats the raw meat he has gotten from his prey.

The hunter turns into a wolf, eats the old woman, and waits for the girl to arrive. When she steps into the house and sees that he is a wolf, she doesn't get frighten, but starts to pity the wolves. She takes her cloth off and then starts to take off the werewolf's clothes.

"Company of Wolves" is inspired by the "little red riding hood" and that makes for a splendid opportunity to write about feminism. The story circles around the liberation of women and the identity of women, this is clearly shown at specific points in the text. In the original story of "little red riding hood" the young girl was innocent, naive and helpless due to the fact that she gets eaten by the wolf. In Angela Carter's story, the girl is more mature. She seems to be able to take care of herself, and most importantly, to make her own decisions. She f.x carries a knife with her, something that was completely unthinkable in the original story. The girl's ability to make her own decisions is even more important. Instead of being afraid and becoming a victim, she stands up to the wolf and proves herself as a free woman. The narrator tells us that the bones of the grandmother are clattering, as if it were a warning from the dead grandmother, not to get involved with the wolf. The heroine don't care, she is free to do what she wants. The red cape she wears is "the color of sacrifices",