Historical Criticism on the Little Red Cap.
Little Red Cap is rather similar to the modern version of Little Red Ridding Hood except written by the Grimm brothers. The Grimm brothers, two 19th-century German scholars and brothers, were leaders in the study of philology and folklore. Their names were Jacob Ludwig Karl Grimm (1785-1863) and Wilhelm Karl Grimm (1786-1859) (Zipes 12). They both were born in Hanau, Germany and they were educated at the University of Marburg. Jacob was primarily a scientific philologist, having become interested at the university in medieval literature. Wilhelm was more of a textual and literary critic. Germany during this time was far from being united as a whole, there were many conflicts including; Prussia, under Frederick II, challenged the military might of Austria, Napoleon I brought the end of the declining Holy Roman Empire and there were revolutions amongst the states, which caused many changes throughout the Grimm brothers lives.
The Grimm brothers grew up in Hanau, Germany with their six other brothers and one sister. Their father did what every typical man did back in the 1800s; he went to work to provide food for his family while his wife stayed home with the children. In Little Red Cap the mother was the one that sent Little Red Cap to grandmother's house not her father because he was probably at work. Even today the so-called proper family is still viewed by many as a traditional family but more and more women are working and supporting their own families. Having been so influenced by their mother the Grimm brothers developed a love for fairy tales just like the ones she used to tell them and their brothers and sisters at bedtime. .
Around 1806 influenced by the folk poetry collections of Clemens Brentano and Achim von Arnim the Grimm brothers began to collect folktales (Zipes 23). Working together collecting folktales and attending the same university brought the brothers closer together.
