The annotations for the Bluebeard fairy tale are below. Sources have been cited in parenthetical references, but I have not linked them directly to their full citations which appear on the Bluebeard Bibliography page. I have provided links back to the Annotated Bluebeard to facilitate referencing between the notes and the tale.
1. Blue: The deepest color, "blue is the most insubstantial color and
seldom occurs in the natural world except as a translucency. It
is considered empty, or austere, pure, and frosty. It is also
the coldest color. Indifferent and unafraid, centered solely
upon itself, blue is not of this world: it evokes the idea of
eternity, calm, lofty, superhuman, inhuman even" (Chevalier
1982). Many of these symbolic qualities of blue apply well to
Bluebeard who is cold with his murderous nature. His blue beard
causes people to fear him as an unnatural color for a beard or
most things in the natural world.
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2. Beard: A beard or hair has many symbolic meanings. First of all, it
is often connected with magical powers. It is also considered a
sign of invulnerability, like the Bible figure of Samson. In
connection with Bluebeard, hair is "the sign of the animal in
the human, and all that means in terms of our tradition of
associating the beast with the bestial" (Warner 1994). With all
of these meanings in mind, Bluebeard's beard shows that he has
great power and is bestial in nature. The fact that the beard is
also blue emphasizes his unnatural and magical qualities.
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3. Bluebeard: The name of this tale and character varies between both
"Bluebeard" or "Blue Beard." I am allowing the majority to rule
on which version I use and thus using "Bluebeard." This version
is a better translation of the French version "La Barbe-bleu"
which connects the two words with a hyphen. Personally, I prefer
"Bluebeard" since it implies a given name better than the
separated "Blue Beard."
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4. Seats: According to Webster's Dictionary, a "seat" is a "country
mansion" (Webster's 1990). In his translation, Jack Zipes
chooses "country estates" instead (Zipes 1989).
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5. Six weeks: In the time before cars and airplanes, trips to other towns
were often expected to last for months between time for
traveling and visiting or performing business at the
destination.
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6. Keys: The keys in this story have many symbolic meanings. First, a
key is a symbol of power and/or wealth. Keys are used to lock
away what is valuable. A key provide access to goods which are
locked away to anyone who possesses it. Often in folktales, a
key symbolizes a mystery to be solved "on the road to
enlightenment and revelation" (Chevalier 1982). In this context
the key represents a mystery to the bride which must be solved.
Bluebeard gives her the key to give her access and power in her
new home. The privilege is double-edged for he forbids her
access to one room conveying his lack of trust in her.
Essentially, the key is a trap in this tale, for use of the
forbidden key will bring a death sentence. We must also remember
that the wife will use the key to open the forbidden chamber and
thus she will receive a revelation about the true nature of her
husband. Finally, the key is also a phallic symbol which is
often emphasized in illustrations as overly sized. The wife is
flirting with sexual knowledge and perhaps promiscuity by
accepting the key from her husband (Warner 1994).
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7. Wardrobes: A wardrobe is a piece of furniture or room in which clothing
is usually kept (Webster's 1990).
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8. Caskets: A casket is a "small box, usually of some valuable material
and fine workmanship, especially for holding letters or jewels"
(Webster's 1990).
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9. Apartments: An apartment is a room in a palace,
an appartement in French (Webster's 1990).
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10. Closet: A closet is a "recess built into a room and shut off with a
door, or a small room for storing things." As an adjective, the
word also means "secret or undisclosed" (Webster's 1990). The
irony of Bluebeard's great secret being hid in the "closet" is
more apparent to us in modern times with the usage of "closet
homosexual." However, this usage was not implied in the original
writing or interpretation although such a meaning would add to
the possible interpretations of the story.
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11. Gallery: Gallery is a long narrow room or corridor (Zipe's choice)
often used for exhibiting pictures in stately homes (Webster's
1990).
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12. My just anger and resentment: Bettelheim addresses this aspect of the story in his
interpretation of the tale. He considers Bluebeard's anger to be
just since his wife betrays him, but the extreme nature of his
anger is where Bluebeard's fault is found. He states: "The story
tells that although a jealous husband may believe a wife
deserves to be severely punished--even killed--for this, he is
absolutely wrong in such thoughts" (Bettelheim 1975). This
translation from Andrew Lang's The Blue Fairy Book reflects the Victorian attitude towards infidelity and the
resulting anger. Zipes' modern translation uses: "My anger will
exceed anything you have ever experienced" (Zipes 1989).
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13. Looking-glasses: A looking-glass or mirror has many symbolic meanings of truth
and representation of a person's heart, but in this case the
mirror is most significant as a symbol of wealth. In the past,
mirrors were expensive and a luxury reserved for the wealthy.
The fact that Bluebeard owns many with intricate and costly
frames that are large enough to give a full reflection of a
person from head to toe shows that he is extremely wealthy and
thus powerful (Chevalier 1982).
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14. Curiosity: Curiosity is a common theme in fairy tales and literature.
Some critics consider the central theme of this story to be a
caution against female curiosity. According to Bettelheim, this
story "presents in the most extreme form the motif that as a
test of trustworthiness, the female must not inquire into the
secrets of the male" (Bettelheim 1975). Although Perrault did
not add the subtitle, many later versions of the story have
added subtitles such as "The Effects of Female Curiosity" or
"The Fatal Effects of Female Curiosity" (Warner 1994). The theme
of curiosity's danger is best known in the story of Pandora's
box in which all of the evils of the world were released when a
box was opened by Pandora or her husband, depending on the
version of the story (Murphy 1996). Finally, the classic story
of Cupid and Psyche, with which many fairy tales share
story elements and themes, contains a cautionary theme against
curiosity, too. Your can read more about Cupid and Psyche on the Other Fairy Tales Similar to Bluebeard page.
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15. Broken her neck: In The Bloody Chamber, Angela Carter describes the
different ways in which each wife was killed by torture. The
wife is sentenced to be beheaded in her story as will the wife
in the traditional tale (Carter 1979). This phrase provides a
nice piece of foreshadowing of what may come to the wife for her
disobedience. She almost has her neck "broken" immediately
before her indiscretion and once again soon after she commits
her transgression. You can read more about The Bloody Chamber, on the Bluebeard Themes in Art page.
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16. Disobedient: Connected to the curiosity themes, this story warns readers
or listeners of the effects of disobedience. The wife will be
threatened with death by her husband for her disobedience. She
will later repent of her transgression. The positive results of
her repentance will be discussed in future notes.
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17. Temptation: Temptation is related to the curiosity and disobedience
themes in the story. For some critics, the tale is a cautionary
one against woman's innate wickedness that leads to the betrayal
and ultimate destruction of her husband. This theme is once
again present in the story of Pandora's box. It also alludes to
the temptation story in the Garden of Eden in which Eve partakes
of the forbidden fruit and thus gains knowledge forbidden by God
the Father (Warner 1994). Christine Daae contends that the tale
does not warn "against the moral consequences of sex, but of the
practical consequences." In the days when childbearing was a
principle cause of death, a husband essentially killed his wife
by making her pregnant. In this way, Bluebeard is a story of
everyday life (Daae 1998).
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18. Blood: Blood is rich with symbolic meanings. Blood is passion and
the medium of life. That is has been so carelessly allowed to
collect on the floor shows Bluebeard's total disrespect for
life. Even in ritual sacrifice great care is taken to keep blood
from spilling on the ground (Leach 1949). Bluebeard has no such
concerns and the murders he has committed have no resemblance to
blood sacrifices or any other ritual. The abundance of blood
verifies that the bodies within the chamber are of real women
who died as their blood was loosed from their bodies. The image
is quite horrific.
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19. Stained with blood: Bettelheim believes that the stained key confirms the wife's
sexual infidelity since it is an ancient motif for a terrible
sin, usually murder, but of which sexual defloration is another
possible meaning. The key represents the male sexual organ which
will be stained with blood when the hymen is broken. The blood
is permanent since defloration is an irreversible event
(Bettelheim 1975). Beyond Bettelheim, the key has undoubtedly
become stained from the sin of the wife however extreme a sin it
might appear to the reader.
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20. Sand: Sand was a common abrasive cleaner in past centuries. The
fact that not even soap or sand will remove the stain confirms
that it is permanent. Some cultures use sand for ritual ablution
since it "flows like water and burns like fire" (Chevalier
1982).
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21. Magical: The magical key is the only fantastical element of the story,
excepting the blue hue of Bluebeard's hair. Some critics state
that the story is not a true fairy tale due to its lack of
magical or supernatural elements with the sole exception of the
key (Bettelheim 1975).
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22. Speedy return: The speedy return of Bluebeard confirms that his trip was a
ruse to give him the opportunity to test his wife's
faithfulness. Bettelheim thinks that a sexual indiscretion has
taken place in Bluebeard's absence (Bettelheim 1975).
Undoubtedly the wife has disobeyed her husband, but the extent
of her disobedience or betrayal is not apparent beyond the fact
that she opened the door to the forbidden room. It is sure that
Bluebeard counted on his wife's betrayal and set up the trap to
quickly confirm it.
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23. Repentance: The first religious allusion in the story, this fairy tale
also imparts the message that repentance and forgiveness are
dynamic terms. The wife is disobedient, but she repents of her
sin (out of fear, perhaps, but the emotion is called repentance
all the same). Next she receives mercy, although not from her
husband who dies for his inability to forgive her for her
transgressions.
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24. Rock: The metaphor comparing Blue Beard's heart to a rock is a
simple allusion to his impenetrable and unforgiving nature.
Ironical comparison also exists with the reference to repentance
in the previous lines. Jehovah is called the "Rock of Israel"
but he is also capable of forgiveness while Bluebeard is not
(Chevalier 1982). The metaphor ultimately shows that Bluebeard
is worthy of destruction in his pride and immaleable nature
while the wife is capable of repentance and mercy.
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25. Prayers: The religious themes in the story cannot be overlooked. The
wife has transgressed her husband's orders and repented. Her
husband has refused to accept her repentance, but apparently her
God does for she is spared the death sentence her unmerciful
husband has placed upon her. The prayers are also a common way
of making peace before death such as in the Last Rites. The wife
does not know if she will be spared, so she prays. We cannot be
sure how much she depends on her prayers since she uses the
alloted time to seek help from her brothers.
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26. Anne: Anne has a name as does Bluebeard, but the wife does not.
Anne is the only character to have a name which is not
descriptive of her role (wife) or physical appearance
(Bluebeard). The greatest significance of the name is the
possible allusion to Saint Anne and/or Anne of Austria, Queen of
France, mother of Louis XIV. Queen Anne's devotion to Saint
Anne, the legendary mother of the Virgin Mary, gave rise to the
cult of Saint Anne in the 1600s. Saint Anne was popular and
known as a miracle worker among the French. She was declared a
patron saint to Brittany as a result and was thus a well-known
figure to its inhabitants (Warner 1994).
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27. "Anne, sister Anne, do you see anyone coming?": This refrain is alluded to in literature on occasion. The
line and its variations is the most often quoted line from the
fairy tale. Also note the gender bias in the story since the
wife does not expect her sister to save her from Bluebeard and
may not have informed her sister of the danger she is in. The
wife relies on her brothers to arrive and bring about her rescue
in time to spare her life.
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28. Sabre: The sabre is an interesting element in this translation.
(Zipes uses "cutlass" in his translation.) Either weapon leads
to the frequent portrayal of Bluebeard as a Turk or other
stereotypical "infidel" to explain his terrible behavior.
Bluebeard often wears turbans in illustrations, although not in
the Dore illustrations seen here, to enhance the image (Warner
1994).
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29. Alas! no: The pattern of three often appears in fairy tales. This is
Anne's third answer which should be different to fulfill the
pattern. The answer is different, but it does not bring relief
with a positive reply. More suspense is built instead by having
only sheep appear which have no potential capability of rescuing
the wife from her fearsome husband.
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30. Dragoon: A dragoon is a "mounted infantryman armed with a carbine
which is a short, light rifle" (Webster's 1990). However, this
soldier also wields a sword to kill Bluebeard.
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31. Musketeer: A musketeer is a soldier armed with a musket which was a
portable firearm used by infantrymen during the 16th through
19th centuries (Webster's 1990). This soldier, like his brother,
wields a sword to kill Bluebeard.
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32. Heirs: The fact that Bluebeard has no heirs except his surviving
wife suggests that he was incapable of allowing those near him
to live long. It also makes it possible for his wife to inherit
the estate, since ownership of property was rare and discouraged
through primogeniture (estate to the firstborn son) and
entailment. These practices were meant to keep wealth,
especially lands, within in the family and to keep property from
leaving the family through marriage (Pool 1993). In the end, the
wife inherits the entire property and is thus able to live
happily ever after.
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33. Loved her a long while: Perrault and many of his female contemporaries who wrote
fairy tales championed women's issues, such as arranged and/or
loveless marriages. The fact that Anne is able to marry a man
who has loved her a long time implies they were unable to marry
due to poor fortune. Now that her sister has money, Anne and her
lover are able to marry for love, a rare and appealing idea at
the time this story was first recorded. The situation of Anne's
marriage emphasizes the happy ending as well as the ideology of
Perrault (Zipes 1989). The fact that Anne had a previous lover
also suggests why she was not attracted to Bluebeard as her
sister was.
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34. Buy captains commissions: Buying military commissions was a common practice in past
centuries. The price of commissions tended to be high and
insured that the wealthy and powerful remained in control of the
military. "The purchase system meant that an officer literally
had an investment in his regiment. When he left the service the
only way he could make some money, especially in prepension
days, was to sell the commission to someone else" (Pool
1993).
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