Bluebeard

Fairy tales often feature archetypical female characters, such as the maiden, the witch, the crone, and the “jezebel.” Such figures act (or don’t act) in broadly predictable ways; the witch, for example, is an active but malign force, whereas the maiden is frequently a passive figure. Though it seems to begin with a passive young female protagonist, “Blue Beard” is unusual in proceeding to explore female agency through the young bride. Though influenced by the patriarchal ideology of his era, Perrault was more invested in fairness toward women than his contemporaries, countering a literary rival’s deeply misogynistic poems with his early verse tale “Griselidis.” The “Blue Beard” story arc takes the heroine from vulnerability to agency, despite the more traditional, sexist traits also present throughout.

The young bride’s societal position initially curtails her ability to exercise her own will. Unmarried and (presumably) without money of her own, her early choices are largely reactive—e.g., her acceptance of Blue Beard. That said, this choice casts doubt on the wisdom of even this limited female agency. The young bride is so dazzled by Blue Beard’s show of wealth and entertainment that she marries him—putting herself in his power—despite her initial misgivings. This decision, motivated by shallow considerations, nearly results in her death and is only set right by the actions of her male relatives. The young bride’s curiosity about the little room similarly paints woman’s agency in an unflattering light; the story describes it as a “temptation […] so great she could not conquer it” (73), implying that the young bride is not only foolish but also weak-willed and thus in some sense not a free agent at all. Inquisitiveness seems to be solidified as a particularly female weakness by the first moral, which claims that “in spite of a maiden’s wishes / [curiosity]’s a fruitless pleasure” (77).

However, the verse form may be intended to render the moral tongue-in-cheek. Arguably, the young bride’s inexperience is what causes her to make such poor choices; she has no way of knowing better. The story’s exploration of female agency thus overlaps with its interest in hidden knowledge, with the young bride behaving much more wisely after she has uncovered her husband’s secret. Moreover, the bride’s decision to open the door to the little room and learn her husband’s secret ultimately pays off both personally and societally: A killer receives justice, and the bride inherits his fortune. It is notable too that while a young woman’s beauty often saves her in folk tales, this heroine’s loveliness has no effect on Blue Beard. Instead, she helps herself through her quick-thinking in sending Sister Anne to look for her brothers.

From one angle, the heroine of Perrault’s tale is therefore an investigator whose actions stop an evil man from committing future violence. From another perspective, the young bride simply acts as all of the wives before her did, making her interchangeable with them. In other versions of the “Blue Beard” story like “Fitcher’s Bird” and “The Robber Bridegroom,” the wife character saves herself, yet Perrault makes it clear that his story’s protagonist only avoids the fate of the previous wives thanks to her brothers’ intervention. However, the fact that the young bride must rely on her family ties for deliverance perhaps speaks more to the restrictions society places on female agency than the desirability of that agency. Certainly, the final paragraph of the story places the young bride in the position of having the most power. By inheriting her monstrous husband’s wealth, she can provide for Sister Anne’s future as well as her brothers’ and her own. This question of the extent to which women can and should exercise agency is at the core of “Blue Beard” and has sparked many scholarly debates over the meaning of Perrault’s tale.