Welcome to day six of The Horror of Fairytales Week here at White Rose of Avalon, my Darlings. Today’s post is about Bluebeard and the horrors faced by his wife, all of his wives, for that matter! Now, this story is one of the most obviously horror-centric of those I will be covering this week. Some people may not even consider this one a fairytale, but I had to include it because it is certainly a very unsettling folktale! To further prove my point, the most famous version of the story was written by the iconic fairytale author Charles Perreault. Now, without further ado, let’s look at the horrors faced by the wives of Bluebeard!
The story of Bluebeard is about a man who marries a new wife at the beginning of the tale. The story is really about Bluebeard’s new wife, as she is the protagonist of the story, much like the new wife being the protagonist of Daphne de Maurier’s novel Rebecca (which can be argued takes some inspiration from this tale, except there is only one previous wife in that book).
Early on in the story, Bluebeard’s wife is left home when he is off traveling. The wife is told that there are areas of the castle that are off-limits to her. Of course, she quickly becomes lonely and bored in the castle without Bluebeard there. This leads her to begin exploring the expansive castle and grow increasingly curious about the areas she had been told were off-limits to her. After all, don’t we all grow more curious when we are told something is off-limits to us for some reason?
Soon enough, the wife goes into the rooms that she was never supposed to enter. Inside this off-limits area, the wife makes a truly horrific discovery. The reason this area was off-limits is that Bluebeard did not want his new wife to know what had happened to his previous wives. There is a reason that the name Bluebeard is synonymous with a man who kills his wife, even used colloquially as a shorthand for that in many a true crime documentary! In the original tale, Bluebeard had killed each of his wives in turn and hidden the bodies in a wing of his castle that he had as off-limits to his new wife. Each of his six previous wives’ bodies is strung up in a room full of carnage!
Of course, the new wife is scared, but at least she finds out the truth when Bluebeard is not there. However, Bluebeard does arrive home unexpectedly and attempts to kill his new wife. As luck would have it, she is able to trick him into giving her a moment for one last prayer before her death. That prayer time was just long enough for her brothers to arrive and kill Bluebeard, saving her life!
The tale of Bluebeard is one that is full of terror for the new wife, reflecting a common fear of being with a new husband in an era full of arranged marriages. Of course, this tale takes those anxieties to the extreme. I will note that I interpret the tale as one to teach us to trust our own instincts. Bluebeard’s new wife knew there was something wrong in that castle, and she took the opportunity of Bluebeard being away and investigated against his wishes. Her anxiety and curiosity served to be her saving grace!
I hope you have enjoyed this short exploration of the horror of the fairytale Bluebeard. What is the most upsetting thing about this tale for you? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Note on Image: The image at the top of the post is an amazing illustration of Bluebeard’s dead wives by an artist on DeviantArt! I found the picture on https://www.deviantart.com/worgue/art/Bluebeard-s-Wives-301471298.
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Further Reading
- Bluebeard by Charles Perreault