"The Company of Wolves"

"Every wolf in the world now howled a prothalamion outside the window as she freely gave the kiss she owed him."

Of the three tales we read, "The Company of Wolves" was my favorite. In the beginning of this particular telling of Little Red Riding Hood, the heroine comes across as very naive and virginal, the opposite of the wolf, who is "carnivore incarnate." Had the heroine retained her purity and defeated the wolf, I would have found this story trite and bland. But the fact that she chooses of her own volition to recognize her blooming sexuality and use it to save her life gives the story a new twist. The heroine of this version succumbs to her inherent instincts, willingly allying herself to the wolf in a "savage marriage ceremony" in order to avoid being devoured, and in the end is as much a predator as the wolf, feeding on his insecurity and owning her new identity as a savage, instinctual creature. To me, this line embodied both the motive of her choice and its inevitable consequences.