Background
Queen Red Riding Hood is the well-known fairy tale character from the story Red Riding Hood about a little girl that goes out into the woods to visit her grandmother and is attacked by a wolf.[1]
Red Riding Hood in 'A Treasury of Classic Fairytales'
At the start of The Land of Stories series, she is a grown woman and elected queen of the Red Riding Hood Kingdom.
Appearance and Personality
"She was showing too much skin, wearing too much makeup, and was dressed too well for the middle of the day."[2]
Red is described as a very beautiful young woman with bright blue eyes and blonde hair. She pays a lot of attention to her appearance - wearing big gowns, too much make up and expensive jewelry, especially in the first book. She is very beautiful, being dedicated to looking her best throughout the day. But, being in a large dress while being kidnapped twice in one day isn't the best idea.
Red claims she was an "emotional eater" as a child[3]. Her grandmother reminisces about her always turning up at her house with empty baskets, having eaten all the snacks inside by herself; growing larger especially fast as a result, and she had to make her new clothes so often that she decided to make her the red cloak she was famous for. Being a little overweight and wearing a brightly colored hood made her an easy and yummy target for the Big Bad Wolf. She has been afraid of wolves ever since, until she adopts Clawdius, who she originally thinks is a puppy, but adopts him anyway after finding out that he's actually a wolf, and trains him to behave well.[4]
She is elected to be queen after the C.R.A.W.L. Revolution at a very young age (though she later admits that her only competitor was the Third Little Pig, who declined the function).[5] A slightly different version of the events around the revolution are described in Queen Red Riding Hood's Guide to Royalty.
She has a weird basket obsession and hoards them in one room in her castle. Red is described as self-obsessed young woman (She even named a kingdom after herself). She often displays jealousy and has very little insight. She is used to luxury life and very often seems ignorant to other people’s struggles. This changes as the series progresses and she starts to pay more attention, shouldering more responsibility in ruling her kingdom, such as founding the House of Progress to make ruling fairer. Unfortunately, her citizens still find this unsatisfying and choose Little Bo Peep to rule them instead.
In spite of the seriousness of the situations she sometimes finds herself in, Red never fails to be sarcastic. A prime example is when she and Froggy chase after Little Bo Peep, and Red jokes that Little Bo has 'lost her sheep'. Red's jealousy often leads to rude comments from her; she is antagonistic towards people who challenge her authority and can nurse a very long grudge. She is initially disliked by the twins, but eventually, they learn that she is somewhat deserving her title as queen. Alex even comes to view her as family; the twins becoming her friends as she helps them. Red can be humorous in her own right, especially with the comments she makes; together with Conner, she is one of the most sarcastic characters in the series.
Though she has a materialistic attitude, Red is brave enough to venture forth in an attempt to save the world from Ezmia in The Enchantress Returns. Ultimately, she chooses to give up her kingdom to Ezmia when the Evil Enchantress threatens to kill every single one of her citizens. It can be seen that despite everything and how she prioritizes herself at all times, she loves her kingdom and its people very much. In A Grimm Warning, Red is devastated when the citizens do not re-elect her — although her distress could also be attributed to her losing her wealth, home and title. Despite not being re-elected, Red is the one who demands to be taught how to fight, willing to fight by her people's side instead of dying in hiding.
Froggy is the only one who views her arrogance and self-importance as her strength of character instead of bad traits. His unfailing devotion eventually leads her to choose him over Jack in The Enchantress Returns. However, Red also seems to judge on appearance, for example when she refuses to hold Froggy's hand when he is a frog, and is shocked when he chooses his frog form as a permanent one. When Froggy is elected as the new king of the Bo Peep Republic, she enthusiastically and spontaneously proposes to him, showing that she isn't afraid to take charge of their relationship—and that she really wants her wealth and title as queen back.
Red is quite the feminist. In A Grimm Warning, she strongly advises Alex to not let Rook lead her so easily, insisting that Alex must take charge on their date.
Despite all her flaws, Red is a loyal and steadfast friend. She is sympathetic and emotional, crying when Little Bo Peep was killed, showing that she is not as hateful as she seems.
When she sees herself in the Mirror of Truth, her reflection is the same as it would be in a normal mirror, symbolizing that she has nothing to hide.[6]
She learns a valuable lesson in Beyond the Kingdoms when the Lost Boys ask her why she expected other people to help her save Charlie (rather than save him herself). This gives her the courage to try and find him.
Relationships
Family
Red Riding Hood was born as a normal village girl. Not much is known about her parents. True to the classical fairy tale, Red’s mother is mentioned have sent her over to her granny‘s house with a basket.
As queen, her grandmother helps her and does most of the decision-making until around the time of The Enchantress Returns, when her grandmother retires and Red takes over ruling the kingdom herself, aided by Froggy. In the course of A Grimm Warning, Red is deposed and replaced by Little Bo Peep (and Red declares Bo her 'new nemesis[7]').
In Queen Red Riding Hood's Guide to Royalty (see also: Extras), she claims her parents mistreated her and didn't believe she was really elected Queen at first. As a grown woman, she writes that she sees her parents "practically never" except on the third Sunday of every month when they share an awkward dinner.[8]
Red Riding Hood has six sons, the Lost boys who she and Froggy adopted.
Love Interests
In The Wishing Spell, she is in love with Jack and "proposes" to him every week.[9] However at the end of the book when Froggy is turned back into a human it is indicated Red is developing a crush on him as she blushes and thinks he could be "husband material".
As per The Enchantress Returns, it is revealed not long after the events of The Wishing Spell Red and Froggy[10] started dating. Froggy was turned back into a frog by the Fairy Godmother which Red is not happy about. It is worth noting she still seems to carry a tiny bit of a torch for Jack[11]. When she thinks she is about to die, however, she chooses Froggy to hold on to.[12] She tells Froggy that she chooses him and when the Enchantress is defeated they share a kiss.
At the end of A Grimm Warning, she spontaneously "proposes" to Froggy when she finds out he is the new elected king of her former kingdom, exclaiming she'll be queen again if they marry.[13]
In Beyond the Kingdoms, they are set to be married, but the wedding is interrupted by Morina, who forces Froggy to come away with her, leaving Red heartbroken. When Red finds him, he has been captured inside a magic mirror and tells her the spell is permanent.
In Queen Red Riding Hood's Guide to Royalty, she writes how her relationship with Froggy nearly turned into a scandal in her kingdom. She addressed the rumor before it could escalate, reminding her subjects that "love is love, regardless of age, color, gender and yes, species", and is very proud of herself for being such an inspiration to everyone.[14]
About finding Froggy, she says: "I found true happiness with someone who was the opposite of what I was looking for. He's not the definition of perfection, but he is perfect to me."[15]
Friends
She and Goldilocks used to be friends. When they were both younger, Red wrote her a letter pretending to be Jack, luring her to the house of three dangerous bears in hopes of scaring her away from Jack's attentions. This almost got Goldilocks killed.[16] Red eventually apologizes, which Goldilocks grudgingly accepts, though not before slapping her in the face. In The Enchantress Returns, they work together to help the twins, but still clearly bear each other ill will.
"I thought after helping me escape you had changed," Goldilocks said. "But apparently I was wrong." "I thought helping you would make me feel better, but I suppose I was wrong too," Red admitted and sheepishly glanced over at Jack." [17]
In A Grimm Warning, they reconcile and Red attends Goldilocks' wedding. Red is not very pleased Goldie stole one of her dresses to get married in but as she doesn't make a huge fuss about, it can be gleaned she is secretly happy Goldilocks is getting married in that dress.[18] Later, Red asks Goldie to give her and the other queens fighting lessons because she wants to defend her (former) kingdom.[19] They form a sort of friendship.
"We made up once she gave me back the diamond necklace she stole from me. She thought it was just a joke, I thought it was an act punishable by death, blah blah blah...but we reconciled and here I am."[20]
Red asks Goldilocks to be 'matron of honor' at her wedding in Beyond the Kingdoms. Goldilocks knows her well enough to recognize the pose she strikes (a finger to her lips) when she is about to ask for a favor. Goldilocks is the first to come and help Red when Froggy leaves her, suggesting that she cares about Red more than she lets on. [21]
Her other friends are the Bailey twins. In the first two books, Red seems to feel that Alex and Conner are nothing but trouble and she has been forcefully coerced into helping them—something which she is extremely angry about, to have her authority challenged so in her own castle. In A Grimm Warning, she has warmed to them and offers Alex dating-advice and loans from her wardrobe, and it is implied that they visit each other every now and then. Alex views her as the closest thing she can get to an older sister. Alex makes her dress for her wedding to Froggy using magic.[22]
Others
Red has a handmaiden, who has a rather suspicious attitude towards Alex and Conner.
She calls the people of her kingdom "Hoodians". [23]
In The Enchantress Returns, she finds an abandoned wolf cub and, thinking it is a puppy, adopts it and calls him Clawdius. When finding out he is a wolf, she initially rejects him, but later decides to let go of her distrust of wolves and tries to raise him as a "friendly pet".[24]
In Beyond the Kingdoms, Mother Goose's pet gander Lester saves her life during the cyclone in The Land of Oz.[25]
Red has an ambivalent attitude towards the other Queens of the Land of Stories. When she tells the Lost Boys their stories, she alters the endings of each fairy tale and lets them all die tragic fictional deaths.[26]
Story
1. The Wishing Spell
The Thornbush Pit Goldilocks almost pushed Red into
When Goldilocks finds out it was Red who lured her to the Three Bears, causing her to be almost killed and then outlawed, she kidnaps her and means to throw her in the Thornbush Pit. Before she can do so, Red is taken by the Huntress and lead to the Evil Queen. In the battle that follows, Red is nearly eaten by the wolf Malumclaw, who seeks revenge for the death of the Big Bad Wolf, his father. A cannonball kills him and saves Red; she then falls off a collapsing tower but is rescued by Froggy. When Froggy's true identity is revealed, Red sees him as husband material.
2. The Enchantress Returns
Red sneaks the twins into a gathering of the Happily Ever After Assembly, and joins their quest to assemble the Wand of Wonderment. While she does not join every single part of the way (in a fighting capability), she provides the material to build the HMS Granny, joins the twins to talk to the Wicked Stepmother, and stalls Ezmia's attempts to take over the kingdoms.
3. A Grimm Warning
Red shows Alex the House of Progress, which she has founded as a council of representatives of her kingdom. In between making decisions for her citizens, Red and Alex talk about Rook. Little Bo Peep arrives to challenge Red's claim on the throne. There is to be a new election. Bo Peep challenges Red to a debate before the election. It doesn't go well for Red. She loses the election and her throne and is evicted from the castle. When the threat of the Grande Armée becomes real, Red goes into hiding on the secret path along with the other royals. When she sees the destruction the army has wreaked upon a town, she realises she wants to be able to fight and asks Goldilocks for fighting lessons. The royals are ambushed and captured. After the battle, in which Red fights alongside the other queens, Bo Peep flees and Froggy and Red try to find her. When Froggy is elected the new king of her former kingdom, she spontaneously 'proposes' to him, exclaiming she'll be queen again if they marry.
4. Beyond the Kingdoms
Red and Froggy's wedding day has arrived and Red is freaking out. As she is about to lose it over her dress, Alex turns up and improves it with magic. Just before Red and Froggy are wed, Morina arrives and threatens to harm Red unless Froggy comes with her. He sees no other way but to do so, leaving Red at the altar. When Alex and Conner announce their plan to travel after the Masked Man, Red decides to join them to distract herself from her heartbreak. She comes along to Oz and Neverland, where the others make her stay with the Lost Boys to guard the book the others travel into. She protests against this arrangement at first, but then finds life at Neverland with her "adopted" children rather pleasant. When she tells them her story, they question her and Froggy's love, because she hasn't tried to find him. This rouses Red into action, and she and the lost boys travel back to the Land of Stories and find Froggy. They are unable to help him, and Red is crushed with heart ache.
5. An Author's Odyssey
Red appears in the first chapter. The Princes Charming ask her if anything has been done to try and rescue Froggy from Morina. She tells them he was put in a magic mirror and it is impossible to save him. Later, Alex and Conner return to The Land of Stories in need of people to watch over Conner's story characters, Red happily volunteers after being stuck in the mines for too long. Conner's characters are sneaked into Saint Andrews Children's Hospital where Bob and Charlotte work as their house is getting too crowded. Red is very offended that there is a painting in the hospital based off her fairytale but they painted her as a brunette. Red mistakes Auburn Sally as a character Conner based on her, but in fact, Auburn Sally was based on Goldilocks and Charlotte. Some people discover the characters and Charlotte has to pretend they are performers. Red plays Trollbella in a play they put on for the patients of the hospital.
Extras : Queen Red Riding Hood's Guide To Royalty
Red's guide is part of a box set titled Adventures from the Land of Stories: The Mother Goose Diaries and Queen Red Riding Hood’s Guide to Royalty and is written by Chris Colfer. The box set was published on November 24th, 2015. It is an accompanying short to the Land of Stories series, in which "the young queen gives us her take on politics, government, health, love, and of course, what it means to be royalty."
For more information, see the book page.
Quotes
"Forgive me, I don't mean to be rude," Red said to the twins. "It's just every time I see you two I'm heartbroken, kidnapped, or homeless."[27]
“If you all will please excuse me,” Red said and headed out of the courtyard. “I think I’m going to lie down for a minute. My life has suddenly become a Shakeyfruit play.”[28]
"Thank you for joining me today, Hoodians! I wish you all peace and poverty!" -"Prosperity, my dear. Prosperity!" Froggy corrected her.[29]
"Hoods have always suited me so well, and motherhood is no exception."[30]
"Once you start looking down on people it's hard to look at them any other way again."[31]
"There's a thin line between 'in love' and 'insane'- and I crossed it many times. But looking back, had I not experienced all those awful things I would never have met Charlie, so in the long run it was all worth it."[32]
"Men are natural-born leaders and it's our job as women to rid them of that animalistic trait. If you let him lead the first walk, soon he'll be leading the whole relationship."[33]
[upon being forced to share a carriage with Little Bo Peep] "Will someone please put me back inside the wolf's stomach?"[34]
"I refuse to sit back and watch this Grand Armée destroy everything we love so much. If I die, I don't want to die in a cozy carriage or throne room, I want to die fighting alongside our people."[35]
"Clawdius! Get off the heir of magic right now!"[36]
"We're like sisters- the kind of sisters who have almost killed each other at one point in time."[37]
References
- ↑ First published by Charles Perrault.
- ↑ TLOS I, ch 10, p 216
- ↑ TLOS II, ch 15, p. 247
- ↑ TLOS II, ch 18, p. 306
- ↑ TLOS II, ch 12, p. 181
- ↑ TLOS IV, ch 26, p. 365
- ↑ TLOS III, ch 18, 307
- ↑ Queen Red Ridinghood'S Guide to Royalty, ch 1, p. 21
- ↑ TLOS I, ch 10, p. 216
- ↑ TLOS II; ch 11, p. 162
- ↑ TLOS II, ch 17, p. 286
- ↑ TLOS II, ch 26, p. 455
- ↑ TLOS III, ch 31, p. 467
- ↑ Queen Red Riding Hood's Guide to Royalty, ch 6, p. 66
- ↑ Queen Red Riding Hood's Guide to Royalty, ch 6, p. 64
- ↑ TLOS I, ch 17, p. 336 - see also Goldilock's character page for more info.
- ↑ TLOS II, ch 14, p. 228
- ↑ TLOS III, ch 4
- ↑ TLOS III, ch 21, p. 343
- ↑ TLOS III, ch 4, p. 78
- ↑ TLOS IV, ch 6 p 95
- ↑ TLOS IV, ch 8, p. 120
- ↑ TLOS II, ch 15 p. 243
- ↑ TLOS II, ch 20, p. 356
- ↑ TLOS IV, ch 11, p. 174
- ↑ TLOS IV, ch 23, p. 318
- ↑ TLOS II, ch 11, p. 170
- ↑ TLOS II, ch 15, p 248
- ↑ TLOS II, ch 15, p. 244
- ↑ TLOS II, ch 18, p. 305
- ↑ TLOS II, ch 19, p. 331
- ↑ TLOS III, ch 4, p. 80
- ↑ TLOS III, ch 6, p. 121
- ↑ TLOS III, ch 18, p. 309
- ↑ TLOS III, ch 21, p. 343
- ↑ TLOS III, ch 6, p. 117
- ↑ TLOS IV, ch 6 p 95
