Analysis and Interpretation Paper on “the Company of Wolves”

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Analysis and interpretation paper on “The Company of Wolves” In the 1970s many female writers started to question the differences between men and women in society. One writer who did this as well was Angela Carter. She rewrote an old famous fairy tale into the short story “The Company of Wolves”, in which she breaks with several with norms by using different symbols and the topic, feminism. She uses different characters, who are very norm-breaking for the time when the story was written in. By using an old fairy tale and making a new version of it, Angela Carter gives a perfect insight into how the topic feminism can be transferred, into an old famous fairy tale. When we first meet the huntsman, he seems very attractive and handsome. “She’d never seen such a fine fellow before, not among the rustic clowns of her native village.” (p. 23 II. 13-14) He represents something new and exciting for the young girl. But when he turns into a wolf, he becomes an evil and unknown creature. The narrator tells that the werewolf is something you have to be aware of, especially in the winter where they are known for attacking humans. “You can tell by their eyes, eyes of a beast of prey, nocturnal, devastating eyes as red as wound” (p. 24 II. 24-25) The werewolf is a symbol of the male gender. The male gender was very dominant in society at the time when “Little Red Riding Hood” (1697) was written. Men were the “owners” of women, who were put in the world for the purpose of marriage and pleasure. Angela Carter shows how the male gender could be considered as an unknown and dangerous animal that controlled society. At the time when “Little Red Riding Hood“ was written, people were very superstitious and believed that the werewolf was not able to walk or touch anything that had anything to do with the Bible or the Church. When you first meet the grandmother, you get

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