Analysis Of 'Bluebeard' By Charles Perrault

In the folktale “The Blue Beard” written by Charles Perrault, conforms to both Dworkin’s and Lurie’s representations of fairy tale heroines. Perrault states, “The fatal effects of curiosity, particularly female curiosity, have of course long seen the subject of report” (133). Andrea Dworkin author of “Women Hating” and Alison Lurie author of “Don’t Tell the Grown-Ups” explain their different views regarding the heroines in fairy tales.

Atwood challenges conventional values and beliefs through the focalisation of its protagonist, allowing the reader to access her consciousness, her innermost emotions and thoughts. In contrast to the original Bluebeard, the notion and importance of specific gender roles are blurred in Bluebeard's Egg. Atwood juxtaposes masculinity with Bluebeard's symbolism, which becomes evident in the scene of the conversation between Marylnn and Sally, where Marylnn describes why Sally chose Ed for a husband: "…The kind in which the clever and witty heroine passes over the equally clever and witty first-lead male, who's helped solve the crime, in order to marry the second-lead male, the stupid one, the one who would have been arrested and condemned and executed if it hadn't been for her cleverness." Sally is presented as the intellectually active character of the couple, while Ed is portrayed as an "innocent half-wit" who must be protected from himself; outwardly demonstrating the shift in gender discourse that fairy tales have brought about with postmodern adaptions of the literary

Fairy Tales are known for their rich symbolism. The story, “Blue Beard” by Charles Perrault is a much darker fairy tale that readers are not used to. The story is about a mass murderer. Blue Beard is a wealthy man. His wives keep disappearing. One day, his current wife enters a room off-limits to her as she is so overtaken with curiosity. In the room, she uncovers the dead bodies of his past wives whom Blue Beard killed for entering the room. Though she does not say anything, Blue Beard learns of her discovery. He is intent on killing his wife, but her brothers appear and kill Blue Beard, leaving his wife the sole heir to Blue Beard's massive fortune. The story represents a much darker fairytale where Perrault connected Blue Beard’s beard to

The tradition of telling fairy tales to children effects not only the listener but also the reader. Maria Tatar, in her book Off with Their Heads!, analyzes how fairy tales instill and reaffirm cultural values and expectations in their audience . Tatar proposes that fairy tales fall into three different tale-types: cautionary tales, exemplary stories, and reward- and- punishment tales. These three types portray different character traits as desirable and undesirable. Due to the tale’s varying literary methods it can change the effectiveness of the tale’s pedagogical value. In Tatar’s opinion, all of these tales are similar in the way they attempt to use punishment, reward, and fear to encourage or discourage certain behaviors. In the cautionary fairy tale “The Virgin Mary’s Child”, the use of punishment and fear to discourage certain behaviors is enhanced by the Christian motifs and values employed by the tale. These literary devices encourage the audience to reflect on and internalize the lessons that are presented in the fairy tale.

The Tough Princess by Waddell is a children’s book that can be considered part of the fairy tale genre, shown through its inclusion of stereotypical conventions. It can also be classified as a fractured fairy tale – which is a tale that has been retold or created in order to give a different view on the original plot. The original review of the book by Child Education, suggests that the book “breaks all the conventions of the traditional fairy tale and is all the more fun for that”. Within this essay, I will be discussing to which degree this is accurate, in terms of subverting all of the conventions and whether the reasoning behind he subversion is simply for comedic effect, or not.

There is nothing more precious and heartwarming than the innocence of a child. The majority of parents in society want to shield children from the bad in life which is appreciated. Within human nature exists desires of inappropriate behavior; envy, deceit, selfishness, revenge, violence, assault and murder. The most well-known fairy tales depict virtue and the evil in life. Even more important, the form and structure of fairy tales suggest images to the child by which he can structure his daydreams and with them give a better direction to his life. (Bettelheim).

Fairy tales have been told for years and have been adjusted as authors see fit to portray their particular message or create a more applicable story for a new culture or era. At times, these tales remain true to their purpose even when written in different. By specifically evaluating the purpose, moral, and characters within two versions, Brothers Grimm’s titled “Briar Rose” and Charles Perrault’s “Sleeping Beauty in the Wood,” an understanding of their relevance can be distinguished. These versions of Sleeping beauty act as one of these tales though “many…have done their best to make her story go away” (Tartar). Although written in an earlier era, Brothers Grimm’s “Briar Rose” and Charles Perrault’s “Sleeping Beauty in the Wood” work effectively on a modern teenage and young adult audience evident in the similar purpose through their tale’s distinct morals and character portrayal.

It provides only a cursory look at ATU’s tale classification and feminist fairy tale theory, focusing more on tale content. With four versions of a widely dispersed tale closely linked to other tale types, such as ATU 312 “Bluebeard,” a more comprehensive anthology is needed in further research, as in the case of Paul Delarue’s look at hundreds of “Bluebeard” tales, both oral and collected. A deeper analysis of Atwood’s longer text would also improve this analysis, although core aspects were discussed. Overall, this comparative work of early and contemporary variations of “The Robber Bridegroom” explores several recurring elements: power sources (narrative, magical, and physical), dreams and storytelling as key plot points, fox imagery, and female roles as narrators, heroines, and villains. While the early versions emphasize female heroism, typically depicting women in isolation with male family members, contemporary variations feature female camaraderie, for the heroines and villains.

"Bluebeard's Egg" is Margaret Atwood's short fairy tale retelling of the Bluebeard tales. Atwood is a writer who reveals an awareness of women's identity. In her fairy tale, she introduces the theme of heroine's identity struggling in her relationships between her and Ed, Sally's husband. Sally is a woman who attends a college for taking night courses and to keep her busy, and she thinks her husband, Ed is dull and stupid. However, Ed is always in the center of her life, and so she is described to be insecure in her marriage. Later, in the main part of the story, Sally's identity becomes more uncertain after she witnessed an affair between Ed and her best friend, Marylynn. Unlike she used to think Ed as idiotic, the story seems to represent

Reading fairy tales or seeing them represented has become part of an everyday routine for children. As Baker-Sperry states, “Through interaction that occurs within everyday routines (Corsaro 1997), children are able to learn the rules of the social group in which they are a part” (Baker-Sperry 717-718). For example, through Red Riding Hood, children learn to listen to their parents and to be wary of strangers. Some of these messages are harmful though; not all girls have to be naive and weak while boys are predacious wolves. Not everyone has to play the role that society assigns them.

Throughout time, double standards have always been present in every type of situation and every type of literature; they are even present in children’s fairytales. Though fairytales were intended for adults, they were soon transformed to entertain children; and double standards of men and women are still present in today’s variations of the tales despite the changes made to them. There are many types of double standards presented in a variety of ways. One of those standards is who can and who cannot marry royalty despite the fact that they are not royalty themselves. This double standard can be seen in such tales as “Cinderella”, “Diamonds and Toads”, “Jack the Giant Killer”, and “Tom Thumb”.

In a society unbridled with double standards and set views about women, one may wonder the origins of such beliefs. It might come as a surprise that these ideals and standards are embedded and have been for centuries in the beloved fairy tales we enjoyed reading as kids. In her analytical essay, “To Spin a Yarn: The Female Voice in Folklore and Fairy Tales”, Karen Rowe argues that fairy tales present “cultural norms which exalt passivity, dependency, and self-sacrifice as a female’s cardinal virtues.” Rowe presents an excellent point, which can be supported by versions of the cult classics, “Cinderella” and “Snow White”. Charles Perrault’s “ The Little Glass Slipper” and the Brothers Grimm’s “ Snow White” exemplify the beliefs that

However, few realize that there are many communal ideas imbedded in the plots that often go unrecognized. Fairy tales, more often than not, highlight a multitude of social aspects which might seem inappropriate for children. Constantly evolving, fairy tales, as indicated by Yolen and Zipes, illustrate the sexist views of the dominating class, the societal beliefs as they change throughout history as well as the community’s values especially during crisis.

As we grow up, we hear fairy tales and we read them into our lives. Every word and every image is imprinted into our minds. The fairy tales we read are never abandoned. They grow with us and our dreams become molds of the many morals and happily ever afters fairy tales display. We tell children fairy tales when they go to sleep and they read them in school and we even have them watch Disney adaptions that reinforce them further. Generally, they were everywhere while we grew up and they continue to be present while children are growing up now. But what influence do these stories have? We casually expose our children to these tales, but in some cases they can have particularly, harmful personal effects on them, although there is nothing completely or visibly “bad” about them or about the characters in them. Before we divulge our youth to these stories, we should assess their substance and see what sort of effect they may be having on them. They have received so much scrutiny and have been studied by many. Recognizing fairy tales effects on the minds of children is vital in their development. This paper will focus on the underlying messages that the average person wouldn’t recognize in these everyday stories. There’s a modern distort with fairy tales because while they still are widely popular with the youth, they influence children’s self images, outlooks on reality and expectations for their futures, especially for young women.

Throughout “Blue Beard,” gender roles played a crucial part of the fairytale. Young women during this time desired to be married or forced into marriage at an early age. Although Blue Beard was so “frightfully ugly that all the women and girls an away from him” (290), yet the woman’s mother allowed her daughter to marry a man such as Blue Beard. In addition, he had married several wives before her, and nobody knew what became of them yet no one questioned his agenda. Furthermore, the woman was flourished with the riches of life that Blue Beard had to offer that it blinded the fact he was suspicious, “everything succeeded so well that the youngest daughter began to think the master of the house not to have a beard so blue, and that he was a mighty civil gentleman” (290). The symbol of the key, Blue Beard handed her represents the blindness of the woman during this time, allowing themselves to be distracted by Blue Beard’s possessions