Red Riding Hood’s age is never
given, yet we know she is old enough that her mother felt confident in allowing
her to trudge through the woods alone to her grandmother’s house. An estimate
of 10-12 years old would not be outrageous. Certainly, she would be able to
know how to get to Grandmother’s house without getting lost along the way.
This is
only an estimate, but fits with the circumstances, though the age could be up
or down by a year or two. This age in the story is not the same age as we would
treat it, today. Though Perrault and the brothers Grimm published the story
well past the Middle Ages, the story was known well before then. Enough
variations of this story exist from Germany, France, and Italy to reliably
state that this was a tale known throughout all of Europe, likely for hundreds
of years. This would place the story well before the Italian Renaissance,
firmly in the Middle Ages.
Not only is
this world full of natural dangers from untamed forests and wildernesses, it is
rife with outlaws and bandits who prey on travelers. Furthermore, there is the
threat of the plague. The black death ravaged Europe several times through the
centuries, driving down life expectancies. The age of what was considered
marriageable—an adult—was quite young.
For girls, especially, this was an age where they first
experienced tangible proof of their adulthood: menstruation. After their first
bleeding, they are a woman and fit to be married as they can now bear children.
This can range from as early as age 8 to 15. This would put Red within the
range of being marriageable. The story is full of imagery focusing on the color
red—symbolic of blood and passion—and picking flowers. Together, these are a
subtle clue to the deflowering of a virgin.