Sunday, November 7, 2010

Week 9 Bluebeard

Out of the four versions of “Bluebeard” we read I enjoyed Charles Perrault’s tale the most.  His version was the first one I read, so the others did not captivate me as much because I had a general idea of what was going to happen.
I think this version makes more of an impression on the reader due to its more believable beginning.  Instead of capturing women with magic, as in a Brothers’ Grimm version, Bluebeard marries them in traditional fashion.  “One of his neighbors, a respectable lady, had two daughters who were perfect beauties.”  When they refuse, he throws them a party to show that even though he has a blue beard, he is still a good guy.  Eventually he proves to the youngest daughter that he is in fact a decent man and she agrees to marry him.
I also think Perrault’s version is the best because of its emphasis on the moral lesson.  Perrault uses strong language when the daughter betrays Bluebeard’s orders. “So tormented was she by here curiosity that, without stopping to think about how rude it was to leave her friends, she raced down a little staircase so fast that more than once she thought she was going to break her neck. When she reached the door to the room, she stopped to think for a moment about how her husband had forbidden her to enter and reflected on the harm that might come her way for being disobedient. But the temptation was so great that she was unable to resist it. She took the little key and, trembling, opened the door.” I italicized the words myself to show how much he focuses on the moral of resist temptations and curiosity if it is forbidden, for disobeying can lead to a bad end.
I also thought it was interesting that this was the moral.  Bluebeard murders all of his wives for their disobedience, but the focus of the story is on the disobedience rather than the murders.  Perrault downplays the monster that is Bluebeard and amplifies the disobedience of the women, making them seem just as wrong as Bluebeard.  This might be done in order to keep focus on the tales intended lesson, but it is possible that gender biases could have had an impact as well.  


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