Originally, the story of Little Red Riding Hood was known to be "Little Red Cap", the titular name of the poem Duffy wrote. Not all fairy tales had happy ending as glossed over by Disney, and some may be even be originally morbid such as the story of Sleeping Beauty, originally coined by Charles Perraut, whereby the Princess was raped and impregnated while asleep. As the poem uses the title of the original story of Little Red Riding Hood, we see how Duffy is removing the sugar-coated gloss on the fairy tale that we are familiar with to link it back to a darker story.
Through the analysis, we are able to see sexual symbols and motifs in the poem. As sexual beings, we project our biological wants and needs through our interpretation of the world, and specifically in the realm of fairy tales, in the interpretation of its symbols and motifs. According to Freud as written in the BBC Article, "Maleficient:What Do Fairy Tales Really Mean?", fairy tales are stemmed from the same place as dreams, and motifs like forests and thorns indicated repressed desires and wish-fulfilment fantasies. Red Cap appears to be on the brink of puberty as highlighted by the opening line of "At childhood's end" and lead to a cat and mouse game involving the "Wolf" upon "first clapp[ing] eyes on the wolf" as she tries to make sure that he "spotted" her. The Wolf tries to "lead [her] deep into the woods" but little did he realise that he is falling into Red Cap's trap instead. This illustrates a complex plot as opposed to a generic one of a fairy tale, suggesting a ideas beyond a mere superficial value. With the advantage of a sultry disposition as exemplified by the term "babe", Red Cap being able to lure the Wolf easily also show a role reversal in which power and control now lays in Red Cap's hand as she has the power to manipulate the Wolf into her ulterior motive of exacting revenge over the death of her grandma, who was eaten by the Wolf. There could also be an allusion that Red Cap could genuinely be attracted to the older "paperback" reading and wine-sippingWolf as she could see that the Wolf is able to "lead [her] deep into the woods" or being able to extend and widen her knowledge. However, Red Cap also reveal to be multifaceted with the ability to remorse and contemplate on the killing of the Wolf as she realise similar to cheetahs not being able to change their spots, "year in, year out", the Wolf will still have the "same rhyme, same reason" illustrating how it will always be a killer in nature.
"Little Red Cap" ultimate challenges our perception of the role of women in society against traditional stereotypes. Such stereotypes that then become measures of qualities are warped and turned around in today's modern world and Duffy uses this poem to challenge the conventions of what it means to be a woman today.
