Curiosity Killed the Wife - Almost

The story of Bluebeard takes us on the journey of young girl reluctantly entering a new phase of life as a bride.

It's hard to say if she is attracted to Bluebeard's personality or wealth but the young girl agrees to marry Bluebeard only after spending time at his country estate. Once married, Bluebeard gives his new young wife a test of sorts, perhaps to prove her obedience and loyalty, by going away and leaving her with a set of keys to all the rooms in his home. He tells he must leave for business and that she should invite over friends and entertain, to show them all the rooms but to be certain she doe not go into the room in the basement. This room is forbidden and little to his wife's knowledge the small key which unlocks the door is enchanted.

The wife decides to go through the room, but while her guests are admiring the riches she is overtaken by curiosity and goes down to the small room only to find that sometimes it's best to do what you're told. Upon find the corpses for Bluebeard previous wives, the new wife drops the key which becomes stained with blood. This stain cannot be removed no matter how much she wipes it.

When Bluebeard returns home the wife tries to hide the fact that she was in the room and now knows his secret. All of his previous wives have been murdered by him and she is next. Or is she?

This new wife is very clever in that she finds a way to bide her time, knowing her brothers are on their way to visit. As Bluebeard is ready to kill her she asks for time to pray, to make peace with herself but really it is to delay her fate and hope her brothers make it in time to save her, which they do.

Charles Perrault's Bluebeard leaves us with a moral: "Curiosity, in spite of its appeal, often leads to deep regret. To the displeasure of many a maiden, its enjoyment is short lived. Once satisfied, it ceases to exist, and always costs dearly.

Simply put curiosity killed the cat and here almost the wife, but we have seen this story of curiosity and temptation leading to the downfall of women.

Genesis 2-3 the Creation and Fall of Man we find Eve, Mother of all, tempted by the serpent to eat from the Tree of Knowledge, though God has told both Adam and Eve that if they do they will die. Eve not only gives into her temptation, after the serpent tells her this is not true but she also feeds Adam from the tree opening their eyes and giving them both knowledge. They as well are discovered and punished for disobeying the Lord's command.

Was Bluebeard an attempt to reiterate the Bible's message? The (anonymous) wife gives into her temptation and her life is threatened but in the end she is not only saved but rewarded with Bluebeard's wealth once her brothers kill Bluebeard instead. Though the stories can be compared in that they are both stories of temptation winning over a woman's curiosity I do not think it was an attempt to repeat the message.

In the end Adam & Eve were punished for Eve's actions, Bluebeard's wife however threatened with punishment was in the end saved by her brothers and rewarded. I don't think this story truly even portrays Perrault's moral because her curiosity was satisfied she gained wealth and ended up marrying someone better.

The Psychology of Fairy Tales

Why do we read fairy tale to our children if we know that they can be frightening? Fairy tales help children develop, yes, I know that is hard to believe and the feminist of the world are screaming as I write this but fairy tales can be beneficial in the development of our children. Teaching children not just the evil gender roles pushed by society, but they teach children about the challenges of life. Let's face it, life is not all peaches and cream; there are many thorn laden roses in the world & children need to learn how to overcome the jabs of these thorns.

Bruno Bettelheim suggests, in his book The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning andImportance of Fairy Tale, that fairy tales help to guide children toward “self-identification” allowing them a chance to reduce fears and discomforts in their world while learning problem solving skills and understanding that one can overcome challenges if they work hard.  

These tales from Snow White, Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Hansel & Gretel, and Bluebeard all show us a happy ending once our heroins have surpassed some type of challenge and only then will things go right. Fairy tales teach children the virtue of patience, all good things come to those who wait but they also teach them that waiting is not enough. We must take action and use our minds to achieve our goals and not be afraid to occasionally stray from the path. One thing I've noticed with all these tales is that happy endings only come to the "beauty" that must fight or go against what is expected of her before she gets her prince charming.

Once we set a plan in motion we must follow it through to the end because we all have our evil witches, ogres and wolves in our lives, challenges we face everyday but still we beat out these evil and have a better life for them just like in the fairy tales we grew up with.