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Bluebeard
The story of Bluebeard is a famous one, although not as often retold as some of the happier stories like "Cinderella" or "Sleeping Beauty." One of the reasons for this is that the story of "Bluebird" does not end happily, nor does it allow the hearer to vicariously imagine him or herself saved from a life of poverty or despair. Fairy tales were told not only to entertain but also to instill wisdom and teach the listener important lessons about proper behavior. The concept was that if a young person, particularly a young female, emulated the behaviors of the virtuous characters in these stories, then perhaps they too would be saved from a miserable life of destitution and depression. This tale, then, is an advisory both about who you choose to marry and about the dangers of disobeying your husband. Critics have argued about what the purpose of this story might be and how we should interpret this story as modern readers. Two critics with decidedly opposing perspectives on the Bluebeard tale are Andrea Dworkin in Woman Hating and Allison Lurie in Don't Tell the Grown Ups.
A wealthy, but fearsome man desires to marry. Finally, he finds a willing young lady who is won over by his seeming generosity and wealth. In her new home, the wife is furnished with all she could desire (Opie). The home they share is filled with opulence and grandeur and the wife is allowed to share in all of it. In return for this splendor, Bluebeard orders her not to open his...
This, of course, is something she is unable to do. Inside she sees the remains of the former wives of Bluebeard who also were unable to heed his demand not to look inside. The bride in the Opie version of the story does not die. Instead her brothers come and save her at the moment just before Bluebeard would cut off her head. She inherits all his money and it is supposed that she lives happily ever after, but the story begs the reader to ask how someone could go on after the horrors this young woman witnessed in that cupboard.
In the Dworkin piece, the author states that people are born to a certain gender. This gender has nothing to do with the physical differences between the sexes, but is concerned with the sociological stereotypes that people are supposed to embrace when they belong to either the group of females or males. Popular culture is one way in which society reinforces gender, exemplified by the fairy tale (Dworkin 34). The husband is in reality, according to this critic, an avatar for the father figure in the female protagonists life. Female is subservient to male and it is up to her to obey her husband just as she would her father. Women are supposed to be passive. Any woman who does not do as she is told is inherently flawed and needs to be punished by the male in her life.
This piece works with the story of Bluebeard. The bride is to be…
Works Cited:
Dworkin, Andrea. "Onceuponatime: The Roles." Woman Hating. New York: Dutton. 1974.
Print.
Lurie, Alison. "Folktale Liberation." Don't Tell the Grown Ups. Little Brown. 1990. Print.
Opie, Iona and Peter. "Bluebeard." The Classic Fairy Tales. New York: Oxford UP. 1974. Print.
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