Kurt Vonnegut's Bluebeard was written in 1988 and describes the late years of fictional Abstract Expressionist painter Rabo Karabekian, who first appeared, rather briefly, in Breakfast of Champions. He has a secret tucked away in the potato barn on his Long Island estate. It takes the arrival of a young woman, Circe Berman, author of the "Polly Madison" books for teenagers, to make Karabekian reveal his life story. This story begins with his family's exodus from Armenia, their arrival in California, his youth in New York City, and eventually to his place in the art world and his final retirement.
One of Vonnegut's later novels, the final revelation of Karabekian's secret is one of the most moving moments in all of Vonnegut's work.
Circumstances of the novel bear rough resemblance to the fairy tale story of Bluebeard popularized by the Brothers Grimm. Karabekian mentions this relationship several times during the novel.
Bluebeard is the title character in a famous fairy tale about a violent nobleman and his all too curious wife.
Although Bluebeard was a wealthy aristocrat and a man of considerable importance in society, he was feared among the people for his wild blue beard and his menacing behaviour.
No sooner than they were married however, Bluebeard announced he would leave the country on business for six weeks, and when the day of his departure had come, he entrusted to his wife the keys to all the rooms in the chateau, including one small chamber that she was forbidden to enter.
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