Bluebeard – Short story

Bluebeard – Short story

Bluebeard is a well known folktale from medieval France and the most popularized version which was written by Charles Perrault. The story is about a cruel and wealthy noble man called Bluebeard who married six times to very beautiful women all of whom have mysteriously vanished. He then marries one of his neighbours’ daughters who then attempts to avoid the fate of her predecessors.

Bluebeard - Fairy tale
Bluebeard – Fairy tale

Table of contents – Bluebeard

  1. About the author
  2. Bluebeard Story
  3. Plot, Summary and Analysis – Bluebeard
  4. Questions and Answers – Bluebeard
  5. Bluebeard Short Story – Worksheets PDF
  6. Bluebeard Short Story –PDF

 

About the author – Charles Perrault

Charles Perrault, born in 12 January 1628, was an eminent French author who laid the foundations for a new literary genre, the fairy tale. He is best known for his tales “Little Red Riding Hood“, “Cinderella”, “Puss in Boots”, “Sleeping Beauty”, and “Bluebeard”. He was very famous and some of his old stories influenced the Brothers Grimm over 100 years later. Charles was an influential figure in the world of literature in the 17th-century.

 

Other famous short stories which you can read

  1. The steadfast tin soldier
  2. Lamb to the slaughter
  3. The little match girl
  4. The goblin and the grocers
  5. The handsomest drowned man in the world
  6. The princess and the pea

 

Bluebeard – Intoduction

There was, some time ago, a gentleman and a noble man who was very rich and was known to all as Bluebeard for he had a bright blue beard. He had many a fine town house and country houses. All of his dishes and plates were all of gold or silver. Why, his rooms were hung with damask and his chairs and sofas were covered with the richest silks, and all of his many carriages were all gilt with gold in a grand style.

But it happened that this gentleman had a blue beard. This made him so very frightful and ugly, that none of the ladies would ever venture to go into his company.

Blue beard and his seven wives
Blue beard and his seven wives

Now there was a certain lady of rank, who lived very near him, and had two daughters, both of them of very great beauty. Blue Beard asked her to bestow one of them upon him for a wife, and left it to herself to choose which of the two it should be.

But both the young ladies again and again said they would never marry Blue Beard; yet, to be as civil as they could, each of them said, the only reason why she would not have him was, because she was loath to hinder her sister from the match, which would be such a good one for her.

Still the truth of the matter was, they could neither of them bear the thoughts of having a husband with a blue beard; and besides, they had heard of his having been married to several wives before, and nobody could tell what had ever become of any of them.

 

Favour gained

As Blue Beard wished very much to gain their favour, he asked the lady and her daughters, and some ladies who were on a visit at their house, to go with him to one of his country seats, where they spent a whole week, during which they passed all their time in nothing but parties for hunting and fishing, music, dancing, and feasts.

No one even thought of going to bed, and the nights were passed in merry-makings of all kinds. In short, the time rolled on in so much pleasure, that the younger of the two sisters began to think that the beard which she had been so much afraid of, was not so very blue, and that the gentleman who owned it was vastly civil and pleasing.

Soon after their return home, she told her mother that she had no longer any dislike to accept of Blue Beard for her husband; and in a very short time they were married.

About a month after the marriage had taken place, Blue Beard told his wife that he should be forced to leave her for a few weeks, as he had some affairs to attend to in the country. He desired her to be sure to indulge herself in every kind of pleasure, to invite as many of her friends as she liked, and to treat them with all sorts of dainties, that her time might pass pleasantly till he came back again.

 

The locked closet

“Here,” said he, “are the keys of the two large wardrobes. This is the key of the great box that contains the best plate, which we use for company”

“This key belongs to my strong box, where I keep my money, and this belongs to the casket, in which are all my jewels.”

“Here also is a master-key to all the rooms in the house”

Bluebeard marriage
Bluebeard marriage

He paused and then said, “I have but one condition. This small key belongs to the closet at the end of the long gallery on the ground floor. I give you leave to open, or to do what you like with all the rest except this closet. This, my dear, you must not enter, nor even put the key into the lock, for all the world. If you do not obey me in this one thing, you must expect the most dreadful punishments.”

She promised to obey his orders in the most faithful manner; and Blue Beard, after kissing her tenderly, stepped into his coach, and drove away.

 

Curiosity

When Blue Beard was gone, the friends of his wife did not wait to be asked, so eager were they to see all the riches and fine things she had gained by marriage; for they had none of them gone to the wedding, on account of their dislike to the blue beard of the bridegroom.

As soon as ever they came to the house, they ran about from room to room, from closet to closet, and then from wardrobe to wardrobe, looking into each with wonder and delight, and said, that every fresh one they came to, was richer and finer than what they had seen the moment before.

At last they came to the drawing-rooms, where their surprise was made still greater by the costly grandeur of the hangings, the sofas, the chairs, carpets, tables, sideboards, and looking-glasses; the frames of these last were silver-gilt, most richly adorned, and in the glasses they saw themselves from head to foot.

In short, nothing could exceed the richness of what they saw; and they all did not fail to admire and envy the good fortune of their friend. But all this time the bride herself was far from thinking about the fine speeches they made to her, for she was eager to see what was in the closet her husband had told her not to open.

So great, indeed, was her desire to do this, that, without once thinking how rude it would be to leave her guests, she slipped away down a private staircase that led to this forbidden closet, and in such a hurry, that she was two or three times in danger of falling down stairs and breaking her neck.

 

Death

When she reached the door of the closet, she stopped for a few moments to think of the order her husband had given her, and how he had told her that he would not fail to keep his word and punish her very severely, if she did not obey him.

But she was so very curious to know what was inside, that she made up her mind to venture in spite of everything. She then, with a trembling hand, put the key into the lock, and the door straight flew open.

As the window shutters were closed, she at first could see nothing; but in a short time she saw that the floor was covered with clotted blood, on which the bodies of several dead women were lying.

These were all the wives whom Blue Beard had married, and killed one after another. At this sight, she was ready to sink with fear, and the key of the closet door, which she held in her hand, fell on the floor.

When she had a little got the better of her fright, she took it up, locked the door, and made haste back to her own room, that she might have a little time to get into a humour to amuse her company; but this she could not do, so great was her fright at what she had seen.

 

The stained key

As she found that the key of the closet had got stained with blood in falling on the floor, she wiped it two or three times over to clean it; yet still the blood kept on it the same as before. She next washed it, but the blood did not move at all.

She then scoured it with brick dust, and after with sand, but in spite of all she could do, the blood was still there; for the key was a fairy who was Blue Beard’s friend; so that as fast as she got off the blood on one side, it came again on the other.

Early in the same evening Blue Beard came home, saying, that before he had gone far on his journey he was met by a horseman, who was coming to tell him that his affair in the country was settled without his being present; upon which his wife said everything she could think of, to make him believe she was in a transport of joy at his sudden return.

The next morning he asked her for the keys: she gave them to him; but as she could not help showing her fright, Blue Beard easily guessed what had been the matter.

“How is it,” said he, “that the key of the closet upon the ground floor is not here?”

“Is it not?” said the wife, “then I must have left it on my dressing-table.”

“Be sure you give it me by and by,” replied Blue Beard.

After going a good many times backwards and forwards, as if she was looking for the key, she was at last forced to give it to Blue Beard.

 

Punishment

He looked hard at it, and then said: “How came this blood upon the key?”

“I am sure I do not know,” replied the poor lady, at the same time turning as white as a sheet.

“You do not know?” said Blue Beard sternly, “but I know well enough. You have been in the closet on the ground floor! Very well, madam: since you are so mighty fond of this closet, you shall be sure to take your place among the ladies you saw there.”

His wife, who was almost dead with fear, now fell upon her knees, asked his pardon a thousand times for her fault, and begged him to forgive her, looking all the time so very mournful and lovely, that she would have melted any heart that was not harder than a rock.

But Blue Beard only said, “No, no, madam; you shall die this very minute!”

“Alas!” said the poor trembling creature, “if I must die, give me, as least, a little time to say my prayers.”

“I give you,” replied the cruel Blue Beard, “half a quarter of an hour: not a moment longer.”

When Blue Beard had left her to herself, she called her sister; and after telling her, as well as she could for sobbing, that she had but half a quarter of an hour to live;

“Prithee,” said she, “sister Anne,” (this was her sister’s name), “run up to the top of the tower, and see if my brothers are not in sight, for they said they would visit me to-day, and if you see them, make a sign for them to gallop on as fast as ever they can.”

 

The brothers

Her sister straight did as she was desired; and the poor trembling lady every minute cried out to her: “Anne! sister Anne! Do you see anyone coming?”

Her sister said, “I see nothing but the sun, which makes a dust, and the grass, which looks green.”

In the meanwhile, Blue Beard, with a great scimitar in his hand, bawled as loud as he could to his wife, “Come down at once, or I will fetch you.”

“One moment longer, I beseech you,” replied she, and again called softly to her sister,

“Sister Anne, do you see any one coming?”

To which she answered, “I see nothing but the sun, which makes a dust, and the grass, which looks green.”

Blue Beard now again bawled out, “Come down, I say, this very moment, or I shall come to fetch you.”

“I am coming; indeed I will come in one minute,” sobbed his wretched wife.

Then she once more cried out, “Anne! sister Anne! do you see any one coming?”

“I see,” said her sister, “a cloud of dust a little to the left.”

“Do you think it is my brothers?” said the wife.

“Alas! no, dear sister,” replied she, “it is only a flock of sheep.”

“Will you come down, madam?” said Blue Beard, in the greatest rage.

“Only one single moment more,” said she.

And then she called out for the last time, “Sister Anne! sister Anne! do you see no one coming?”

“I see,” replied her sister, “two men on horseback coming; but they are still a great way off.”

“Thank God,” cried she, “they are my brothers; beckon them to make haste.”

Blue Beard now cried out so loud for her to come down, that his voice shook the whole house.

 

Inheritance

The poor lady, with her hair loose, and all in tears, now came down, and fell on her knees, begging him to spare her life.

But such was his rage, he stopped her, saying, “All this is of no use, for you shall die,” and then, seizing her by the hair, raised his scimitar to strike off her head.

The poor woman now begged a single moment to say one prayer. “No, no,” said Blue Beard, “I will give you no more time. You have had too much already.”

And again he raised his arm. Just at this instant a loud knocking was heard at the gates, which made Blue Beard wait for a moment to see who it was.

The gates now flew open, and two officers, dressed in their uniform, came in, and, with their swords in their hands, ran straight to Blue Beard, who, seeing they were his wife’s brothers, tried to escape from their presence.

But the two officers were swift and they pursued and seized him before he had gone twenty steps, and plunging their swords into his body he fell down dead at their feet.

The poor wife, who was almost as dead as her husband, was not able at first to rise and embrace her brothers. But she soon came to herself; and, as Blue Beard had no heirs, she found herself the owner of his great riches.

She gave a part of his vast fortune as a marriage dowry to her sister Anne, who soon after became the wife of a young gentleman who had long loved her. Some of the money she laid out in buying captains’ commissions for her two brothers, and the rest she gave to a worthy gentleman whom she married shortly after, and whose kind treatment soon made her forget Blue Beard’s cruelty.

 

Summary and Analysis – Bluebeard

The story starts off with the introduction of the titular character Bluebeard and all of his fortunes. He is shown to be a wealthy nobleman who has been married six times to beautiful women who have all mysteriously vanished.

When he visits his neighbour and asks to marry one of his daughters, he hosts a wonderful banquet and shows off that he is a wonderful man and has immense wealth. The youngest daughter decides to be his wife and goes to live with him in his luxurious palace.

One day Bluebeard announces that he must leave for the country and gives the palace keys to his wife. He strictly forbids her to enter one underground chamber lest she suffer his wrath. When he leaves, she is overcome with the desire to see what the secret room holds, and opens it.

She discovers that the room is filled with the murdered corpses of Bluebeard’s previous six wives. In her hurry, she drops the key which becomes blood stained. She tries many methods to wipe the blood stain off the key, but the key is magic and the stain can’t be removed.

When Bluebeard returned, he finds the key to be bloody and knows what she has done. He says that he must now kill her as a punishment, but she asks for one last prayer with her sister Anne.

Then, as Bluebeard is about to deliver the fatal blow, Anne and the wife’s brothers arrive and kill him saving her

The story examines the old adage, “curiosity kills the cat”. It also delves into the fatal effects of curiosity which women are long perceived to have. Bluebeard himself gives his wife the keys to the room thus acting the part of the devil. His wife becomes the victim which is lured by the devil.

The story also has two contrasting interpretations. Some literature scholars and historians interpret the short story Bluebeard as a narration created to preach obedience to young wives. A second school of thought and perhaps the more accepted understanding of the tale is that this narrative was made to encourage women not to unquestioningly follow patriarchal rules and to think for themselves.

 

Moral of Bluebeard:

The moral of the short story, Bluebeard, is based on the two interpretations present in the analysis detailed above. The story’s moral is that wives must unquestioningly obey their husbands. Alternatively, the moral of the story bluebeard is that women should not blindly follow patriarchal rules and to think for themselves.

 

Questions and Answers – Bluebeard – Set 1

  1. Who are the main characters in Bluebeard?
    • The main characters in the story are the rich and noble aristocrat called Bluebeard and his seventh wife.
  2. Who is the author of the story Bluebeard?
    • Bluebeard is popularized immensely across the world by the work of the brothers Grimm but it was originally written in French by Charles Perrault.
  3. Why was he called bluebeard?
    • He is called blue beard since he has dyed his beard blue according to everyone who knows him.
  4. Why did the youngest daughter agree to marry bluebeard?
    • Bluebeard did not have one of his legs. It is assumed that the toymaker either ran out of metal to cast one more leg or just wanted to make a soldier special and different from the rest. The second is more likely as the soldier is able to stand very stable despite having only one leg.
  5. Explain the message conveyed by Bluebeard story convey?
    • The message conveyed is that one must be steadfast to one’s love and also be honourable and never falter in duty when faced with peril.

 

Questions and Answers – Bluebeard – Set 2

  1. What is the meaning of Bluebeard?
    • The team bluebeard and bluebearding both got included in the dictionary thanks to the story bluebeard! The dictionary defines bluebeard as a man who marries and kills one wife after another.
  2. What does the key symbolize in Bluebeard?
    • In the story, bluebeard gives a set of keys to his new wife. It symbolizes a mystery to be solved to be on the path of knowledge. In this story, the key symbolizes the knowledge which the bride seeks
  3. What is the conflict in Bluebeard?
    • Bluebeard has an interesting conflict between fidelity in marriage and blind trust. As a wife, she should have trusted her husband. As a wife, she should have the right to know everything about her husband’s life.
  4. What was Bluebeard inspiration?
    • It is not fully clear on the origins of the story. The most accepted origin is that the inspiration behind bluebeard was the murderer Gilles de Rais. Gilles was a French nobleman and aristocrat who raped, tortured, and murdered children during the 1400’s.

 

Blue beard – Questions and Answers – Set 3

  1. Who is the hero in Bluebeard?
    • The protagonist is the seventh wife of blue beard although it can be argued that she had to be saved in the end.
  2. How does the story Bluebeard present curiosity?
    • The story Bluebeard presents curiosity in an unusual fashion. On one hand, it can be used to say that curiosity kills the cat. On the other hand, curiosity is the only reason she got the upper hand and managed to escape her death.
  3. What is Bluebeard’s secret?
    • He had murdered all six of his wives.
  4. Is Bluebeard a Grimm fairy tale?
  5. What is the moral lesson of the Bluebeard?
    • The story’s moral is that wives must unquestioningly obey their husbands as marriage is based on trust. Alternatively, the moral of the story bluebeard is that women should not blindly follow patriarchal rules and to think for themselves.

 

Questions and Answers – Set 4

  1. How many wives did Bluebeard have?
    • He had six wives who he killed and married a seventh wife.
  2. Is Bluebeard a killer?
    • It is shown in the short story that bluebeard killed all his six wives and wanted to kill his seventh.
  3. What did Bluebeard do to his wife?
    • He murders all of his previous six wives and nails their corpses to the wall.
  4. Who saves Bluebeard’s most recent wife from death?
    • The youngest wives’ brothers save her by killing Bluebeard.
  5. What is the conclusion of Bluebeard?
    • Bluebeard is about to kill his seventh wife when the two officers came in with their swords in their hands and ran straight to Blue Beard. He tries to escape but the two officers are swift and they seized him and kills him.

 

Questions and Answers – Set 5

  1. What happens at the end of bluebeard?
    • The wife finds out that she was the owner of his great riches. She gave a part of his vast fortune to her sister. Some of the money she gave to buying captains’ commissions for her two brothers, and the rest she gave to a worthy gentleman whom she married shortly after, and whose kind treatment soon made her forget Blue Beard’s cruelty.
  2. Who is Bluebeard’s seventh wife?
    • Bluebeard’s seventh wife is the youngest daughter of his neighbour.
  3. Who is the villain in Bluebeard?
    • The main antagonist in the short story is bluebeard himself.
  4. What is Bluebeard real name?
    • While it is not known for sure who this story is based on, it is believed that this story is loosely based on the life ofg the French aristocrat and murderer Gilles de Rais
  5. What is the moral of the story bluebeard?
    • The moral of the short story, Bluebeard, is based on the two interpretations present in the analysis detailed above. The story’s moral is that wives must unquestioningly obey their husbands. Alternatively, the moral of the story bluebeard is that women should not blindly follow patriarchal rules and to think for themselves.

 

Bluebeard – Short story – Worksheet PDF

You can download a free PDF copy of Bluebeard worksheet right below. This has a lot of questions and answers on Bluebeard.

 

Bluebeard – Short story – PDF

Bluebeard is a well known folktale from medieval France and the most popularized version which was written by Charles Perrault. This story is now one of the best known stories in the world and is included into the high school curriculum of many countries. Thus it is read by hundreds of thousands of people across the world. You can download a free PDF copy of Bluebeard story right below.

 

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