Rotkäppchen

The wolf in European folklore

What position does the wolf hold within European folk traditions, and how is he shaped within Germanic folklore in particular?

The uncanny and the domestic space

How does the tale transform the grandmother’s house from a place of safety into one of horror? In what ways does the wolf’s use of disguise produce a sense of Das Unheimliche - the unsettling of what should feel familiar?

Food as care and remedy

What is the significance of cake and wine as gifts of care, particularly in a context where food could function as a form of medicine? How does the tale frame nourishment as both practical and symbolic?

The village and forest as moral landscape

How does the tale map moral meaning onto physical space? In what ways do the village and the forest come to represent safety and danger, order and threat?

Books