Setting

Physical setting

The short story “The Werewolf” by Angela Carter was published in 1979. In the text, the author never mentions a particular date – except for the fact that the events take place in winter (l. 26) – which makes the story timeless, a feature which is typical for fairy-tales. This idea is reinforced by the fact that the entire story is a reinterpretation of the classic European fairy-tale “Little Red Riding Hood”. The physical setting is described in detail in the first section. The events take place in a “northern country” (l. 1), where the weather is “cold” (l. 1) and where “wild beasts” (l. 2) live in the forests. It is also mentioned that “no flowers grow” (l. 13) in this unfriendly environment. Consequently, the people inherit the traits of the landscape: “they have cold weather, they have cold hearts” (l. 1).

An important part of the physical setting is the graveyard, which is connected to the community’s beliefs in supernatural beings. The graveyard is portrayed in a dark and even grotesque manner: “At midnight, especially on Walpurgisnacht, the Devil holds picnics in the graveyards and invites the witches; then they dig up fresh corpses, and eat them. Anyone will tell you that.” (ll. 15-18)

Another significant part of the physical setting is the fore...