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Feminist Interpretation In Charles Perrault's 'Bluebeard'

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There is perhaps nothing as terrifying as realizing that your dark suspicions about someone ended up being correct. Actually, something more terrifying is having that horrible realization and having no method of escape. Charles Perrault’s “Bluebeard” is a story of intuition and feminine curiosity, but the tale can also be read through a feminist lens and taken as an examination of the oppressive attitude and potential danger that men can pose to women. This can be seen through how the tale treats women, how the story represents men, and through examining the actual events of the story when compared to the supposed moral. Perrault’s “Bluebeard” has quite a bit to say about gender relations, even though the views of the author may be distinctly different from a more feminist interpretation. There are several female characters in Bluebeard, though the one with the most potential for examination is the younger sister who marries the titular character. His wife is never given a name, and she, along with her sister, is described only as “perfect beauties” (Perrault 144). She, at least at first, and many other women are repulsed by Bluebeard. While he may be wealthy and appears to be kind, he “had the misfortune of having a blue beard, which made him look so ugly and frightful that women and girls alike fled from the sight of him” (Perrault 144). The young bride is obviously someone who is focused on the attractiveness of her partner, but she actually manages to overcome this and
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