Toastmasters Speech: Sanitizing Folk Tales
Today I gave the Toastmasters a speech about how we’ve cleaned up old folk tales to suit our modern sensibilities about what’s suitable for children. I used Little Red Riding Hood as my example, telling first the familiar version of the tale (abbreviated) and then a grittier version from the 1600’s (in greater detail). I love telling stories, so that part was the most fun for me. Unfortunately it also ate up a big chunk of my allotted time, so I had to drop some anecdotes I’d planned to use. Still, I was able to make my point about how sensibilities have changed, and we’ve changed familiar stories with them. (Don’t even get me started on what Disney did to the story of Hercules.)
In the original story, not only does the wolf convince Little Red Riding Hood to get undressed and climb into bed with him, he devours both Little Red and her grandmother. There’s no rescue, and nobody but the wolf lives happily ever after.
Later versions of the tale try to make it less scary. Most include a rescuer, usually a huntsman or woodsman, who cuts open the wolf and saves Grandma. The little girl never gets eaten, nor does she climb into bed with a wolf. In one version that I read, even the wolf lives.
So, would you read your little girl a story about a child and her grandmother getting eaten by a ferocious wolf? I don’t think many of us would. We especially don’t want to read a child a story in which the child dies and never comes back to life (as opposed to some tales of children who die then have adventures in the afterlife in which they earn the right to return to their former lives).
Life was hard for most people in days gone by, and they’re still hard for a lot of people in industrial nations, but even more so in developing countries. There’s poverty, infant mortality, and starvation. Even the United States, one of the wealthiest countries on Earth, a country facing a problem of an increasingly obese population, there are children whose most pressing concern is finding something to eat that day.
But do our stories need to reflect that reality? Or are they an escape? Should they be a refuge for kids in a dangerous world?
Folk tales were often cautionary tales, warning of life’s dangers and sometimes suggesting ways to avoid those dangers, or triumph over them. Many of these tales, like the best Tex Avery cartoons, work on two frequencies: Child and adult. The best stories can be enjoyed by children, while the adults get the in-jokes and coded messages. In Little Red Riding Hood, it is widely believed that the wolf is code for a male sexual predator, whom proper young ladies should be careful not to trust. They certainly shouldn’t get into bed with them! The message to young ladies is, men are dangerous, don’t trust them.
Are those messages still valuable today? Sure. It’s always good to be cautious. But I would take issue with the old story’s assertion that to a woman all men are categorically dangerous. It goes back to a belief, even in modern, post-feminist revolution times, that women are sexual gatekeepers. It’s up to us to protect the womb and insure that offspring are legitimate, the product of sanctioned unions with their husband. Prior to that, a woman who has lovers is “that kind of a girl”. It’s stupid and ignorant, but it’s true. But here is where caution comes into play: Don’t have unprotected sex. Don’t have sex with people you don’t know. You could get a disease, or pregnant, or both.
The speech was a mix of seriousness and humor. I ended with humor, counting down some handy safety tips for the modern folk tale heroine:
Top 5 Safety Tips For the 21st Century Little Red Riding Hood
5. Familiarize yourself with Grandma’s face and voice before heading out to bring her a basket of goodies.
4. If an animal speaks to you, that wasn’t a chewable vitamin your mother gave you this morning.
3. Just because you solved the mystery it doesn’t mean the murderous intruder will spare you because you’re so clever.
2. If your mother sends you alone through a forest known to harbor wolves, go instead to the neighbor’s house and call Children and Family Services.
1. To a large, wild carnivore you are food. Full stop.
I got a lot of laughs and had a great time. I’d forgotten how much I love just telling stories. I realized while preparing this speech that I have so many bits of mythology and folk tales crammed into my head. I’ve been studying mythology and legends since second grade when our teacher read us the first part of Beowulf, unedited (if memory serves). I don’t remember any of us being traumatized by Grendel’s arm getting ripped off and nailed to the roof, or Beowulf hunting down and murdering Grendel’s mother. Afterward, I went directly to the school library and asked for a book of mythology. They gave me one about Greek myths. Next, Roman. Finally, I got one filled with stories that sounded like Beowulf: Norse mythology! I’ve been reading the stuff ever since.
A guest at the Toastmasters meeting suggested I volunteer as a story teller, at the library or at a school. That sounds like fun! I’ll think look into it.
This post also appears on my personal blog, “Rather Silly Blog“.
