Mature femininity in Carol Ann Duffy's Little Red Cap and Mrs.

Beast Carol Ann Duffy, a contemporary Scottish poet and play ri!ht, often in her concentrates on the notion of femininity. "he many female#concerned poems she has pu$lished %ary thematically, ith t o of them # Little Red Cap and Mrs. Beast, $oth ritin!

included in The Worlds Wife collection, ironically touchin! upon the su$&ect of fully# de%eloped, mature omanhood. 'hen analysed and interpreted to!ether, the t o poems' hich mi!ht $e ar!ued as

content and lan!ua!e pro%e to posses common characteristics, esta$lishin! $et een them a connection and continuity.

Little Red Cap tells the story of a youn! !irl's passa!e from childhood into adulthood, alludin! metaphorically and sarcastically to the ell#(no n Little Red Ridin!

)ood fairytale. "he tale, retold for centuries, has rarely departed from the traditional portrayal of t o $inary oppositions* the na+%e and innocent youn! !irl and the e%il, sym$olically masculine and seducti%e olf. Duffy's interpretation of the story, ho e%er,

strays from the stereotype and offers a feminist insi!ht into the title character. "he !irl, a contemporary si,teen#year#old, consciously lea%es the safety of her home, metaphorically e-ualled ith childhood, in fa%our of enterin! the oods . in the poem presented as the olf . here

mysterious and dan!erous path into an older man, of her o n ill,

omanhood. She is not the one lured in $y the

hose appeal is lar!ely $ased on his (no led!e of poetry . $ut follo s him out ell a are of her need of transition into adulthood* / made -uite sure he aif, and $ou!ht me a drin(,0

spotted me,0s eet si,teen, ne%er $een, $a$e, my first. 123#245, / cra led in his

a(e 1265.

Maturity is achie%ed $y the prota!onist not only $y sacrificin! her %ir!inity and !ainin! se,ual e,perience, $ut also throu!h accumulatin! (no led!e and partner, ith hom she is said to spend 27 years, is a man ell#ac-uainted isdom, as her ith literature.

8amiliarity

ith poetry $ecomes one of the sym$ols of her comin!#of#a!e. 8inally, she oods as an autonomous, self#confident and educated oman, ha%in! first

emer!es from the

opened the

olf

ith an a,e, an act a!ain closely related to the ori!inal de%elopment of

the story. )o e%er, completin! the act $y herself instead of $ein! sa%ed $y the huntsman, she further emphasi9es her ne ly !ained stren!th and independence. "he prota!onist of Mrs. Beast is, in contrast, a !ro n oman ith her

personality and %ie s already shaped, :o lon!er a !irl, (no in! ;her< o n mind 12=5 . She is portrayed as a stron!, independent character, ho only needs a man to satisfy her

se,ual needs and therefore stron!ly disappro%es of all the >rinces Charmin! and their demandin! attitudes. /n a fairytale#resem$lin! story she encoura!es youn! omen to

!i%e up on the >rinces and search for o$edient $easts, callin! upon a distorted story of the Little Mermaid, ho despite her painful sacrifice to earn the >rince's lo%e is in the

end dumped and for!otten. /n opposition to the unfortunate tale, the spea(er shares the most intimate details of her relationship one in char!e, the one superior, she her, ho decides here, ith the Beast. /n the relationship, she is the hen and if she needs the man. 8eelin!

ould ne%er let him treat her inade-uately, instead forcin! him to respect

ant her unconditionally and attend to her e%ery need. She concludes her illin! to $e the less in%ol%ed one in the relationship. omen, di%idin! mytholo!ical, historical and

monolo!ue $y statin! that she is

"he poem portrays t o (inds of

literature fi!ures into t o cate!ories . the successful ones and the losers. 'hat the achie%ers ha%e in common is the conscious choice they ha%e made $y choosin! inferior men, represented $y such fairytale $east characters as a D arf or a Minotaur. "he choice has allo ed them to lead a successful, unsuppressed life. ?n the other side stand the unfortunate omen, hose li%es either ended tra!ically or ere fully de%oted to the

>rinces they married* Ashputtel, Marilyn Monroe, the Diana. "he purpose of the spea(er's monolo!ue is to

i%es of )enry @/// or >rincess arn the ine,perienced readers and

ma(e them conscious of the ri!ht path to choose, so that instead of $ein! con-uered and a$andoned they $ecome the con-uerors. Both stories, o$%iously, portray a re%ersal of traditional !ender roles. "he females' portrayal offered $y Mrs. Beast is -uite comple, and detailed due to the introduction of the po(er !ame scene. "his stereotypically male acti%ity, so often appearin! as such in %arious or(s of culture, is here assi!ned to $eautiful omen, ho

pro%e no less tou!h players and drin(ers. /ronically, the Beast, althou!h $earin! such a masculinity#su!!estin! name, assumes the cultural role of a female in the poem. )e is a mere supplement, a lo%in! ser%ant and a se,ual companion, therefore a similarity to the position of the Little Red Cap olf $ecomes -uite apparent. "he Little Red Cap,

traditionally an innocent %ictim, desperately cra%es for the %illain's attention, usin! him to achie%e her o n !oal and a$andonin! him rather than $ein! a$used, that is, reducin! him to the mere role of a tool. As Duffy herself admits in an inter%ie , it $ecomes the opposite of the ori!inal fairy tale, here she fears she ill $e consumed $y the 'olfA

hereas in my poem she more or less consumes him. So itBs $ased on my o n first lo%e, first relationship. But it also loo(s at the idea of the male tradition.
As most Duffy's poems, the t o are ritten in free %erse, hich additionally

omen in poetry $ein! dominated $y

emphasi9es the !reat num$er of unpredicted, ironic t ists. )o e%er, Mrs. Beast and Little Red Cap also lar!ely correspond on the le%el of lan!ua!e techni-ues and %oca$ulary

used $y the author. >resentin! the male characters in the form of $easts, Duffy descri$es
their physical appearance ith se-uences of terms that are commonly associated

ith

animals* )e had the !runts, the !roans, the yelps,0 "he $reath of a !oat. 1Mrs. Beast, C4#
CD5, readin! his %erse out loud0in his olfy dra l, a paper$ac( in his hairy pa 1Little Red

Cap, =#65. Both the spea(ers use $old discourse, not de%oid of irony, an d refer to themsel%es

in a confident manner, in !reat contrast to the dehumani9in! their partners.

ay in

hich they spea( of

/t mi!ht $e said that the t o discussed poems hu!ely o%erlap in the matter of content and interconnect on the le%el of presented %ie s on maturity and omanhood.

'hat is more, one can $e treated as a possi$le continuation of the other, as the spea(ers' %oices in a ay mer!e into one, ith its uncommon %ie s on heterose,ual relationships

firm and un-uestiona$le. "he Little Red Cap mi!ht, therefore, $e seen as an immature, not yet fully#e,perienced incarnation of Mrs. Beast. Such a %ie confirmed $y Duffy, o n money. is humorously ith her

ho admits that ;Mrs. Beast< is Little Red Cap !ro n up,

'or(s cited* Duffy, Carol Ann. /nter%ie $y Barry 'ood. Sheerpoetry.co.uk. 377D. 'e$. 32 Ean. 372C Fhttp*00 .sheerpoetry.co.u(0ad%anced0inter%ie s0carol#ann#duffy#the# orld#s# ifeG Duffy, Carol Ann. HLittle Red Cap.H The World's Wife. 'e$. 32 Ean. 372C. Fhttp*00 .free e$s.com0carolannduffypoems0LittleI37RedI37Cap.htmG Duffy, Carol Ann. HMrs. Beast.H The World's Wife. 'e$. 32 Ean. 372C. Fhttp*00 .free e$s.com0carolannduffypoems0MrsI37Beast.htmG