Oh my! Ruby!

I would like to start off by saying that I think that ABC’s Once Upon a Time is a great show that does a wonderful job of capturing fairy tale characters. Everything from their costumes to their cast is purposeful and reflects back to some aspect of the “original” tale. Although you will not find the overall plots in a Grimm’s book, you will find many of the characters subplots and storylines reflected in there. I will be posting more on this in my “fairy tales” section of my blog so check that out at a later date!

So without further adue here is Once Upon a Time’s rendition of Little Red Riding Hood: Ruby.

I would like to just focus on Storybrooke’s Ruby first. Is it possible to have found a more perfect actress to play the part? And let's not forget to mention the outfits- scandalous and sexy. Ruby is no one’s damsel in distress, she is a powerful woman and she knows it too.

Now I know what you are all thinking, well isn’t Little Red Riding Hood supposed to be this innocent pure little girl? Why would they dress her in such scandalous clothing? Why wouldn’t they make her younger? And too respond to all of these questions, I would say read read read! I do not just mean read the Grimm’s Little Red Cap or Charles Perrault’s Little Red Riding Hood. I mean read into all the stories- analyzing them between the lines. There are sexual undertones to each story. Yes, yes, Little Red is pure. But these stories are about sex, and you better believe it that there is a hidden strip tease and sexual encounter in the stories as well. Little Red Riding Hood is not a little girl, but is a girl become a women, if you catch my drift. So to put it in perspective: she is a teenager, who has gone through puberty, still pure, but ready to let's just say “mingle”. These are cautionary tales to remind young girls to not fall prey to lustful, degenerate men who are looking to "pounce" on women to satisfy their sexual desires. So did ABC do a good job on Ruby’s costume design? In my opinion 100% yes. She’s wearing that little white apron, and yes it is short, but she doesn’t mind one bit.

Now let’s take a step back from her image and discuss her awesome kickass personality. I cannot help but think of Tanith Lee’s Wolfland when I see Ruby’s beginning transformation both in Storybrooke as well as back home. I realize I am making reference to several texts in this post, but the purpose of this post is to just highlight the qualities of Ruby that can be found within these texts. In short, Tanith Lee’s Wolfland is about a woman who gains power over her abusive husband by becoming a wolf and welcoming the wolves back to their land. I mention this tale because of the feelings expressed as Anna’s granddaughter encounters the wolves in the story. They are feelings of complete embodiment and power. She is drawn to the wolves and is attracted to their beastly qualities- their cries, their howls. However, at the same time she is scared and wishes to go back home. This remindes me so much of Ruby who is both scared and proud of her wolf like qualities when she first learns that she is turning. However, as she embraces the wolf within her, she is strong and self-disciplined. Ruby is a wolf, and an awesome one at that!

So in short is Ruby amazing? Yes! Thank you Once Upon a Time for making Ruby great!

Character Information

Ruby: aka “Red”- both human and wolf

Family tree:

Gender: female

Occupation: Waitress at Granny’s, Sherif’s assistant

Counterpart: Little Red Riding Hood

Actress: Meghan Ory

#onceuponatime