Bluebeard forbids his wife to enter a small room in the chateau. From a 19th-century illustration by Gustave Doré

Bluebeard is the title character in a famous fairy tale about a violent nobleman and his over-curious wife. It was written by Charles Perrault and first published in 1697. Bluebeard the title character in a 1697 fairy tale by Charles Perrault. ... Image File history File links Gustav_Doré_Bluebeard. ... Image File history File links Gustav_Doré_Bluebeard. ... Doré photographed by Felix Nadar. ... A fairy tale is a story, either told to children or as if told to children, concerning the adventures of mythical characters such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, giants, and others. ... This article is about the French author. ...

There was once a man who had fine houses, both in town and country, a deal of silver and gold plate, embroidered furniture, and coaches gilded all over with gold. But this man was so unlucky as to have a blue beard, which made him so frightfully ugly that all the women and girls ran away from him.

One of his neighbors, a lady of quality, had two daughters who were perfect beauties. He desired of her one of them in marriage, leaving to her choice which of the two she would bestow on him. Neither of them would have him, and they sent him backwards and forwards from one to the other, not being able to bear the thoughts of marrying a man who had a blue beard. Adding to their disgust and aversion was the fact that he already had been married to several wives, and nobody knew what had become of them.

Bluebeard, to engage their affection, took them, with their mother and three or four ladies of their acquaintance, with other young people of the neighborhood, to one of his country houses, where they stayed a whole week.

The time was filled with parties, hunting, fishing, dancing, mirth, and feasting. Nobody went to bed, but all passed the night in rallying and joking with each other. In short, everything succeeded so well that the youngest daughter began to think that the man's beard was not so very blue after all, and that he was a mighty civil gentleman.

As soon as they returned home, the marriage was concluded. About a month afterwards, Bluebeard told his wife that he was obliged to take a country journey for six weeks at least, about affairs of very great consequence. He desired her to divert herself in his absence, to send for her friends and acquaintances, to take them into the country, if she pleased, and to make good cheer wherever she was.

"Here," said he," are the keys to the two great wardrobes, wherein I have my best furniture. These are to my silver and gold plate, which is not everyday in use. These open my strongboxes, which hold my money, both gold and silver; these my caskets of jewels. And this is the master key to all my apartments. But as for this little one here, it is the key to the closet at the end of the great hall on the ground floor. Open them all; go into each and every one of them, except that little closet, which I forbid you, and forbid it in such a manner that, if you happen to open it, you may expect my just anger and resentment."

She promised to observe, very exactly, whatever he had ordered. Then he, after having embraced her, got into his coach and proceeded on his journey.

Her neighbors and good friends did not wait to be sent for by the newly married lady. They were impatient to see all the rich furniture of her house, and had not dared to come while her husband was there, because of his blue beard, which frightened them. They ran through all the rooms, closets, and wardrobes, which were all so fine and rich that they seemed to surpass one another.

After that, they went up into the two great rooms, which contained the best and richest furniture. They could not sufficiently admire the number and beauty of the tapestry, beds, couches, cabinets, stands, tables, and looking glasses, in which you might see yourself from head to foot; some of them were framed with glass, others with silver, plain and gilded, the finest and most magnificent that they had ever seen.

They ceased not to extol and envy the happiness of their friend, who in the meantime in no way diverted herself in looking upon all these rich things, because of the impatience she had to go and open the closet on the ground floor. She was so much pressed by her curiosity that, without considering that it was very uncivil for her to leave her company, she went down a little back staircase, and with such excessive haste that she nearly fell and broke her neck.

Having come to the closet door, she made a stop for some time, thinking about her husband's orders, and considering what unhappiness might attend her if she was disobedient; but the temptation was so strong that she could not overcome it. She then took the little key, and opened it, trembling. At first she could not see anything plainly, because the windows were shut. After some moments she began to perceive that the floor was all covered over with clotted blood, on which lay the bodies of several dead women, ranged against the walls. (These were all the wives whom Bluebeard had married and murdered, one after another.) She thought she should have died for fear, and the key, which she, pulled out of the lock, fell out of her hand.

After having somewhat recovered her surprise, she picked up the key, locked the door, and went upstairs into her chamber to recover; but she could not, so much was she frightened. Having observed that the key to the closet was stained with blood, she tried two or three times to wipe it off; but the blood would not come out; in vain did she wash it, and even rub it with soap and sand. The blood still remained, for the key was magical and she could never make it quite clean; when the blood was gone off from one side, it came again on the other.

Bluebeard returned from his journey the same evening, saying that he had received letters upon the road, informing him that the affair he went about had concluded to his advantage. His wife did all she could to convince him that she was extremely happy about his speedy return.

The next morning he asked her for the keys, which she gave him, but with such a trembling hand that he easily guessed what had happened.

"What!" said he, "is not the key of my closet among the rest?"

"I must," said she, "have left it upstairs upon the table."

"Fail not," said Bluebeard, "to bring it to me at once."

After several goings backwards and forwards, she was forced to bring him the key. Bluebeard, having very attentively considered it, said to his wife, "Why is there blood on the key?"

"I do not know," cried the poor woman, paler than death.

"You do not know!" replied Bluebeard. "I very well know. You went into the closet, did you not? Very well, madam; you shall go back, and take your place among the ladies you saw there."

Upon this she threw herself at her husband's feet, and begged his pardon with all the signs of a true repentance, vowing that she would never more be disobedient. She would have melted a rock, so beautiful and sorrowful was she; but Bluebeard had a heart harder than any rock!

"You must die, madam," said he, "at once."

"Since I must die," answered she (looking upon him with her eyes all bathed in tears), "give me some little time to say my prayers."

"I give you," replied Bluebeard, "half a quarter of an hour, but not one moment more."

When she was alone she called out to her sister, and said to her, "Sister Anne" (for that was her name), "go up, I beg you, to the top of the tower, and look if my brothers are not coming. They promised me that they would come today, and if you see them, give them a sign to make haste."

Her sister Anne went up to the top of the tower, and the poor afflicted wife cried out from time to time, "Anne, sister Anne, do you see anyone coming?"

And sister Anne said, "I see nothing but a cloud of dust in the sun, and the green grass."

In the meanwhile Bluebeard, holding a great saber in his hand, cried out as loud as he could bawl to his wife, "Come down instantly, or I shall come up to you."

"One moment longer, if you please," said his wife; and then she cried out very softly, "Anne, sister Anne, do you see anybody coming?"

And sister Anne answered, "I see nothing but a cloud of dust in the sun, and the green grass."

"Come down quickly," cried Bluebeard, "or I will come up to you."

"I am coming," answered his wife; and then she cried, "Anne, sister Anne, do you not see anyone coming?"

"I see," replied sister Anne, "a great cloud of dust approaching us."

"Are they my brothers?"

"Alas, no my dear sister, I see a flock of sheep."

"Will you not come down?" cried Bluebeard.

"One moment longer," said his wife, and then she cried out, "Anne, sister Anne, do you see nobody coming?"

"I see," said she, "two horsemen, but they are still a great way off."

"God be praised," replied the poor wife joyfully. "They are my brothers. I will make them a sign, as well as I can for them to make haste."

Then Bluebeard bawled out so loud that he made the whole house tremble. The distressed wife came down, and threw herself at his feet, all in tears, with her hair about her shoulders.

"This means nothing," said Bluebeard. "You must die!" Then, taking hold of her hair with one hand, and lifting up the sword with the other, he prepared to strike off her head. The poor lady, turning about to him, and looking at him with dying eyes, desired him to afford her one little moment to recollect herself.

"No, no," said he, "commend yourself to God," and was just ready to strike.

At this very instant there was such a loud knocking at the gate that Bluebeard made a sudden stop. The gate was opened, and two horsemen entered. Drawing their swords, they ran directly to Bluebeard. He knew them to be his wife's brothers, one a dragoon, the other a musketeer; so that he ran away immediately to save himself; but the two brothers pursued and overtook him before he could get to the steps of the porch. Then they ran their swords through his body and left him dead. The poor wife was almost as dead as her husband, and had not strength enough to rise and welcome her brothers.

Bluebeard had no heirs, and so his wife became mistress of all his estate. She made use of one part of it to marry her sister Anne to a young gentleman who had loved her a long while; another part to buy captains' commissions for her brothers, and the rest to marry herself to a very worthy gentleman, who made her forget the ill time she had passed with Bluebeard.

Moral:

 Curiosity, in spite of its appeal, often leads to deep regret. To the displeasure of many a maiden, its enjoyment is short lived. Once satisfied, it ceases to exist, and always costs dearly. 

Another moral:

 Apply logic to this grim story, and you will ascertain that it took place many years ago. No husband of our age would be so terrible as to demand the impossible of his wife, nor would he be such a jealous malcontent. For, whatever the color of her husband's beard, the wife of today will let him know who the master is. 

Analysis

Although best known as a fairy tale, the character of Bluebeard is believed to have been based on the 15th-century Breton nobleman and serial killer, Gilles de Rais. The Bretons are a distinct celtic ethnic group located in the region of Brittany in France. ... Serial killers are individuals who have a history of multiple slayings of victims who were usually unknown to them beforehand. ... Gilles de Rais Gilles de Rais (also spelled Retz) (September 10, 1404 – October 26, 1440) was a French noble, soldier, and one time brother-in-arms of Joan of Arc. ...

Another possible source stems from the Life of St. Gildas, written five centuries after his death in the sixth century. It describes a nobleman, Cunmar the Accursed, marrying a noblewoman, Triphine. She is warned by the ghosts of his dead wives that he murders his wives when they become pregnant. Pregnant, she flees; he catches and beheads her, but St. Gildas miraculously restores her to life, and when he brings her to Cunmar, the walls of his castle fall down. Cunmar is a historical figure, known locally as a werewolf, and various local churches are dedicated to Saint Triphine and her son, Saint Tremeur.^[1] For other uses, see Ghost (disambiguation). ...

Others regard both origins as unlikely and point to the blue beard as a symbol of his other worldly origins.^[2]

In no version of the tale is it made clear why the first wife was killed; she could not have entered the door and seen a wife he murdered.^[3]

According to the Aarne-Thompson system of classifying fairy tale plots, the tale of Bluebeard is type 312.^[4] Another such tale is The White Dove, an oral French variant.^[5] The type is closely related to Aarne-Thompson type 311, the heroine rescues herself and her sisters, in such tales as Fitcher's Bird, The Old Dame and Her Hen, and How the Devil Married Three Sisters. The tales where the youngest daughter rescues herself and the other sisters from the villain is in fact far more common in oral traditions than this type, where the heroine's brother rescues her. Other such tales do exist, however; the brother is sometimes aided in the rescue by marvelous dogs or wild animals.^[6] Antti Amatus Aarne (1867 - 1925) was a Finnish folklorist, who developed the initial version of what became the Aarne-Thompson classification system of classifying folktales, first published in 1910. ... The White Dove is a French fairy tale collected by Gaston Maugard in Contes des Pyrénées. ... Fitchers Bird is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, tale number 46. ... The Old Dame and Her Hen is a Norwegian fairy tale collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe in Norske Folkeeventyr. ... How the Devil Married Three Sisters is an Italian fairy tale collected by Thomas Frederick Crane in Italian Popular Tales. ... The youngest son hero of Boots Who Ate a Match With the Troll confronts a troll. ...

Some European variants of the ballad Lady Isabel and the Elf Knight, Child ballad 4, closely resemble this tale. This is particularly noteworthy among some German variants, where the heroine calls for help, much like the calls to Sister Anne in Bluebeard, and is rescued by her brother.^[7] Lady Isabel and the Elf Knight (Child Ballad #4), is the English representative of a very large class of European ballads, most frequently known under the title Halewyn (or some variant). ... The Child Ballads are a collection of 305 ballads from England and Scotland, and their American variants, collected by Francis James Child. ...

While the story was regularly reprinted in fairy tale collections up until the 1950s, its popularity then greatly diminished as it was deemed less and less appropriate for children to read.^{[citation needed]} As the pivotal element of the story involves the discovery of the dead wives, Bluebeard was harder to tone down for younger audiences, a factor which no doubt greatly contributed to its decline.^{[citation needed]}

Adaptations

Literature

• Andrew Lang included a variant in Blue Fairy Book.

• The character of Florian de Puysange in James Branch Cabell's novel The High Place is based on Bluebeard.

• In 1979, Angela Carter published an updated version of the Bluebeard story, the eponymous story in her collection, The Bloody Chamber. Carter sets the story sometime between the World Wars, and writes a first person narrative from the perspective of the young wife. Her revision has feminist undertones that bring out the story's latent themes of domestic violence and predatory sexuality, and rescues its heroine from bland fairy-tale passivity. Other feminist interpretations are given by Suniti Namjoshi in her short story "A Room of His Own".

• Donald Barthelme also wrote a characteristically brief, surreal parody of the tale, set in 1910. Published first in The New Yorker, it was included later in the collection Forty Stories.

• Francesca Lia Block writes of a modern Bluebeard, in her fairy-tale anthology, Rose and The Beast, in this version however, the girl goes because of an invitation to a party rather than being invited to live with Bluebeard (here: a young, handsome, and successful photographer), the story is also modernised however, and along with many other subtle changes the heroine is openly shown the forbidden closet. Also, Block establishes quickly that the girl must find her own escape; no sister or brothers are present to help her.

• Edna St. Vincent Millay's poem "Bluebeard" is an adaptation of the story with a different ending. She describes his secret chamber as "an empty room, cobwebbed and comfortless" representative of his need for privacy. The girl is recast as a selfish character who, by violating Bluebeard's trust and refusing to allow him any secrets, proves herself unworthy of his love. In the end, Bluebeard merely leaves, abandoning the girl to her own greed.

• Neil Gaiman includes a poem titled The Hidden Chamber, based on the Bluebeard story in his collection of short works, Fragile Things

• Clarissa Pinkola Estes uses the myth of Bluebeard in Chapter 2; "Stalking the Intruder: The Beginning Initiation" in her book Women Who Run with the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype ISBN 0-345-40987-6

• Kurt Vonnegut's novel Bluebeard (1988), is named Bluebeard, because the main character (Rabo Karabekian) owns a potato farm on the outskirts of his property which he nailed shut when his wife died. Throughout the entire book, while Rabo tells his life story, Circe Berman continually tries to find out what is in the Potato Barn. Rabo compares the potato barn to Bluebeard, and tells the basic plot of the children's story Bluebeard. Rabo was offer 3 million dollars for what was in the Barn sight unseen, because an article leaked out claiming that he was holding a piece of art in the barn to make it more valuable when he died, and it was released. (Rabo claims this is untrue).

• In L. M. Montgomery's The Blue Castle, the heroine is told, before marrying the hero, that she must not go into a room in his house. She calls it "Bluebeard's Chamber" thereafter, although assuring him that she doesn't care if there are dead wives in there, as long as they are really dead.

• In Stephen King's novel The Shining (1977), this story is recounted by the main character Jack Torrance. It is also alluded to in King's short story "I Know What You Need".

• Bluebeard: The Play by Charles Ludlam is a comic melange of Grand Guignol and Theater of the Ridiculous.

• In Charlotte Brontë's Victorian novel Jane Eyre, Jane comments in Chapter 11 that the third floor of Thornfield is "looking, with its two rows of small black doors all shut, like a corridor in some Bluebeard's castle."

• Bluebeard is also - in a slightly altered form - adopted in the Dungeons & Dragons Ravenloft accessory Darklords.

• Bluebeard is the subject of the play by Maeterlink, Ariane et Barbe-Bleue, set as an opera by Paul Dukas (1907)

• Béla Balázs wrote the libretto for Béla Bartók's opera, Duke Bluebeard's Castle (1911-1917).

• Bluebeard is also a character in the Vertigo series Fables by Bill Willingham.

• Margaret Atwood uses the tale as the basis of a short story in the collection entitled Bluebeard's Egg.

• Neil Gaiman's books of short stories, Smoke and Mirrors and Fragile Things, both contain stories based on the Bluebeard tale.

• Bluebeard is a secondary character in the play Saint Joan by George Bernard Shaw, in which he is identified as Gilles de Rais, aged 25

• Alice Hoffman's novel Blue Diary is a variant of the Bluebeard story.

• Joyce Carol Oates' short story "Blue-Bearded Lover" tells the story of a woman who is supposedly Bluebeard's bride following the bride from the famous story. Unlike the typical heroine of the fairytale, this young woman remains naïve and obedient, and ends up mothering Bluebeard's children.

• Jack Brennan refers to the Bluebeard legend in Larry Niven's novel Protector when he asks Roy Truesdale not to open any doors on the artificial planetoid Kobold.

• In Seamus Heaney's poem "Blackberry-Picking" the poet likens the experience of blood from the thorns of blackberry bushes to Bluebeard's fairytale, stating 'Our hands were peppered / With thorn pricks, our palms sticky as Bluebeard's.'

For the former National Basketball Association player, see Andrew Lang (basketball). ... Rumpelstiltskin from The Blue Fairy Book, by Henry J. Ford Andrew Langs Fairy Books are a twelve-book series of fairy tale collections. ... James Branch Cabell photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1935 James Branch Cabell (April 14, 1879 - May 5, 1958) was an American author of fantasy fiction and belles lettres. ... Angela Carter (May 7, 1940 – February 16, 1992) was an English novelist and journalist, known for her post-feminist magical realist and science fiction works. ... The Bloody Chamber is an anthology of short fiction by Angela Carter. ... First-person narrative is a literary technique in which the story is narrated by one or more of the characters, who explicitly refers to him or herself in the first person, that is, I. The narrator is thus directly or indirectly involved in the story being told. ... Feminism is a social theory and political movement primarily informed and motivated by the experience of women. ... “Domestic disturbance” redirects here. ... Suniti Namjoshi is an Indian writer and poet, many of whose works explore issues of gender and sexual orientation. ... Donald Barthelme (April 7, 1931 - July 23, 1989) was an American author of short fiction and novels. ... For other uses, see New Yorker. ... Forty Stories collects forty of Donald Barthelmes short stories, several of which originally appeared in The New Yorker. ... Francesca Lia Block (born January 3, 1962 in Los Angeles, California) is the author of many highly original young adult books, most famously the Weetzie Bat series. ... Edna St. ... Neil Richard Gaiman (IPA: ) (born November 10, 1960[2]) is an English author of science fiction and fantasy short stories and novels, graphic novels, comics, and films. ... The US cover of Fragile Things Fragile Things: Short Fictions and Wonders is a collection of short fiction by Neil Gaiman. ... Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Ph. ... Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. ... For the fairy tale character, see Bluebeard. ... Lucy Maud Montgomery (November 30, 1874 - April 24, 1942) was a Canadian author, best known for a series of novels beginning with Anne of Green Gables. ... The Blue Castle is a novel by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery, who is best known for her novel Anne of Green Gables. ... For other persons named Stephen King, see Stephen King (disambiguation). ... For other uses of this term, see Shining. ... John Daniel Jack Torrance is a fictional character, the protagonist in the 1977 novel The Shining by Stephen King. ... I Know What You Need This page meets Wikipedias criteria for speedy deletion. ... Charles Ludlam (April 12, 1943 in Floral Park, New York - May 28, 1987) was an American actor and playwright. ... Promotional poster for a Grand Guignol performance This article is about the Paris theatre. ... Charlotte Brontë (IPA: ) (April 21, 1816 – March 31, 1855) was an English novelist and the eldest of the three Brontë sisters whose novels have become enduring classics of English literature. ... Image:Cg Charles Dickens is still one of the best known English writers of any era. ... This article is about the Victorian novel. ... This article is about the role-playing game. ... This article is about Dungeons & Dragons Campaign setting. ... Ariane et Barbe-Bleue (Ariane and Bluebeard) is an opera in three acts by Paul Dukas. ... Paul Abraham Dukas (October 1, 1865-May 17, 1935) was a Parisian-born French composer and teacher of classical music. ... Béla Balázs (August 4, 1884, Szeged – May 17, 1949, Budapest), born Herbert Bauer, was a Hungarian-Jewish film critic, aesthete, writer and poet. ... Bartok redirects here. ... A Kékszakállú herceg vára, (commonly referred to by its English name, Bluebeards Castle) is a one-act opera by Hungarian composer Béla Bartók. ... Vertigo logo Vertigo is an imprint of comic book and graphic novel publisher DC Comics. ... Fables is a Vertigo comic book series created and written by Bill Willingham. ... Bill Willingham (born December 1956 in Fort Belvoir, Virginia) is an American writer and artist of comic books. ... Margaret Eleanor Atwood, OC (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian writer. ... Neil Richard Gaiman (IPA: ) (born November 10, 1960[2]) is an English author of science fiction and fantasy short stories and novels, graphic novels, comics, and films. ... The cover of Smoke and Mirrors Smoke and Mirrors is a collection of short fiction by Neil Gaiman. ... The US cover of Fragile Things Fragile Things: Short Fictions and Wonders is a collection of short fiction by Neil Gaiman. ... Saint Joan is the title of: a 1923 play by George Bernard Shaw a 1957 movie (based on the play) directed by Otto Preminger Saint Joan of Portugal was a Princess of Portugal, daughter of Afonso V of Portugal. ... George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856–2 November 1950) was an Irish dramatist, literary critic, and socialist. ... Gilles de Rais Gilles de Rais (also spelled Retz) (September 10, 1404 – October 26, 1440) was a French noble, soldier, and one time brother-in-arms of Joan of Arc. ... Alice Hoffman (born March 16, 1952) is an American novelist and young-adult and childrens writer, best known for her 1995 novel Practical Magic, which was adapted for a 1998 film of the same name. ... Joyce Carol Oates (born June 16, 1938) is an American author and the Roger S. Berlind 52 Professor in the Humanities with the Program in Creative Writing at Princeton University, where she has taught since 1978. ... Jack Brennan is a fictional character in Larry Nivens Known Space universe, from the novel Protector. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Protector is a 1973 science fiction novel by Larry Niven, set in his Known Space universe. ... Elroy Truesdale is a fictional character in the Known Space universe created by Larry Niven. ...

See also

• Heer Halewijn
• The Robber Bridegroom
• L.P.Hartley's - The Go-Between - Bluebeard's chamber

Heer Halewijn (also known as Van Here Halewijn and in English The Song of Lord Halewijn) is one of the oldest Dutch folk songs with ancient subject matter to be recorded. ... The Robber Bridegroom is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, tale number 40. ...

References

External links

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Blue Beard

• Legendary Scottish bluebeard Sir John Cathcart
• SurLaLune Fairy Tale Pages: Heidi Anne Heiner, "The Annotated Bluebeard"
• Variants
• "Bluebeard and the Bloody Chamber" by Terri Windling
• Leon Botstein's concert notes on Dukas' Ariane et Barbe-bleue
• Glimmerglass Opera's notes on Offenbach's Barbe Bleue, the Bluebeard fairy tale in general, and operetta in the time of Offenbach.
• A Shakespeare reference