Red Riding Hood Cartoon

This image is from one of my favorite comic strips in the newspaper: Mother Goose And Grimm. When we were told to look for a cartoon, my mind immediately went to Mother Goose and Grimm. It's a twist of Fairy Tales in the name itself. Mother Goose and The Grimm Brothers. These comics however, are not all based on Fairy Tales but I knew that someone in their archive they would have had to do Little Red Riding Hood at some point. And in fact, they had several. But I found this image to be the most profound.
The image depicts red riding hood at a bar with a martini glass in front of her. The bartender is telling her that her drink has already been paid for and we see the wolf sitting on the opposite end of the bar with a blank expression on his face.
In our society we know that if someone is to buy you a drink at a bar/club, they have an interest in you and would like to pursue something whether it be dancing, talking, drinking together, or even "hooking up". Through analysis of the story of Little Red Riding Hood, we know that the wolf is a symbol of seduction. He wanted to eat the little girl up and he did, to satisfy a hunger. In the story he uses his cunning and wit to earn the trust of the girl so he can lure her in and eat her. In this comic, he attempts to lure her in by winning her over by buying her a drink.
I really think this comic was actually well thought out due to the fact that this could be a modernized version of the classic tale. Essentially both are conveying ways of earning the trust of a pretty girl. One way was tricking her into thinking the wolf was someone she could trust (grandmother) and this comic is essentially bribery. A tactic which women of this day and age are all too familiar with and fall for much too easily. Because they crave the attention of the person who is buying them a drink. Just like Little Red craves the attention she desires from her Father.

Cartoonist: Mike Peters
URL: http://www.grimmy.com/comics.php?sel_dt=2010-01-12