Le petit chaperon rouge et ses transpositions – une lecture féministe

This thesis examines how certain contemporary rewritings (1980-2024) of Little Red Riding Hood transform representations of femininity and female agency in relation to the hypotexts of Charles Perrault and the Brothers Grimm. It is based on a French-language corpus composed of five works intended for various audiences, ranging from children to adults: Le Petit Chaperon qui n’était pas rouge (2014), Dracula contre le petit Chaperon rouge (1985), Mémoires d’outre-contes. Le Petit Chaperon rouge (2024), Billy Chaperon (2013), and Le Petit Chaperon rouge. Les Contes interdits (2018). The analysis draws on two complementary theoretical frameworks. On the one hand, Gérard Genette’s concept of hypertextuality makes it possible to study the relationships of transformation between texts. On the other hand, the narrative program and the actantial model proposed by Julien Greimas serve to highlight the dynamics of power at work in the narratives. This structural approach is then enriched by a feminist reading based on Simone de Beauvoir and Judith Butler in order to examine gender norms and their reproduction or contestation. The results show that the rewritings in the corpus mainly operate through thematic transpositions. They shift the traditional cautionary tale toward narratives in which heroines occupy active positions more frequently. Unlike the versions by Perrault and Grimm, where femininity is often associated with passivity, vulnerability, or dependence on male figures, several contemporary texts grant their protagonists greater autonomy and agency. However, this evolution is neither linear nor absolute. Female agency sometimes remains constrained by external forces, male helpers, or structures inherited from the hypotexts. Thus, these rewritings do not entirely dismantle gender norms but rather contribute to their redefinition by opening up new possibilities for the representation of femininity.