Plot summary, “Bluebeard” by Charles Perrault in 5 Minutes - Book Review

Bluebeard, 1697, a French folktale by Charles Perrault, tells the story of a wealthy man with a hideously ugly blue beard who marries then murders a series of wives. Despite its horrific subject matter, Bluebeard has become a part of the Western cultural lexicon, even inspiring entries in Merriam-Webster's dictionary. For instance, a bluebeard is defined by Merriam-Webster as a man who marries and kills one wife after another. Bluebeard is described as a man who had fine houses, both in town and country, a deal of silver and gold plate, embroidered furniture, and coaches gilded all over with gold. However, despite his immense wealth, Bluebeard struggles to meet women because they naturally retreat from his frightfully ugly blue beard. Also at issue for women is the fact that Bluebeard has been married many times in the past, but nobody knows what precisely happened to his wives. Hoping to marry once again, Bluebeard vies for the affections of the two beautiful daughters of a noblewoman who lives nearby. In an attempt to woo them, he invites the daughters to a week-long party at one of his country homes, along with a number of other young ladies of local repute. The party is a huge success, by any measure. The attendees hunt, fish, and feast all day, laughing and drinking all night. Nobody sleeps even once during the Amidst all this revelry, the younger of the two beautiful daughters began to think that the man's beard was not so very blue at all, and that he was a mighty civil gentleman. Almost immediately after the conclusion of the party, Bluebeard and the younger daughter marry. A month later, Bluebeard departs on one of his regular business trips. He advises his wife to entertain herself in his absence, leaving behind keys to all of the rooms in the house, so that she might find plenty of fine things to wear. He also leaves behind a key to a small closet on the ground floor, which he specifically forbids her from opening. Should she disobey this order, the wife will invite his just anger and resentment. The wife agrees to his terms, and they bid each other adieu. After Bluebeard leaves, the wife's friends quickly descend on the house, eager to marvel at all of the riches on display. Nevertheless, while her friends gasp at the sight of fine furniture and opulent trinkets, the wife's mind becomes fixated on the forbidden closet on the ground floor. Unable to shake this obsession, the wife leaves her guests and runs down a back staircase to the closet in question. Her hands trembling, the wife unlocks the closet door and enters a dark room. After adjusting her eyes to the darkness, the wife realizes that the floor is covered in blood. Looking more closely, she notices the dead bodies of several women. Shocked by such grisly sight, the wife accidentally drops the key into a puddle of clotted blood. After quickly retrieving the key, she exits the closet and locks the door behind her. Over the next several hours, the woman tries in vain to wash the blood off the key. After finding it virtually impossible to clean, she concludes that the key must be magical. She realizes then that Bluebeard is certain to know that she disobeyed his orders. Upon Bluebeard's return, he asks his wife for the set of keys he left behind. After noticing that the closet key is missing, he asks her to retrieve it. Struggling for an explanation, the wife finally relents and delivers to Bluebeard the blood-stained closet key. Knowing exactly what happened, Bluebeard proclaims that she must die at once. His only mercy is to give her a half a quarter of an hour to say her prayers. Once alone, she calls upon her sister next door to climb the tower of the estate and look out to see if their brothers are on the way to save her. The sister, whose name is Anne, sees nothing but clouds of dust and a flock of sheep on the horizon. The wife, knowing her brothers planned to visit her that day, tries to stall Bluebeard's murderous rage for as long as possible, in the hope that her brothers may come in time to save her. However, when the wife's time for prayer has passed, Bluebeard demands that she accept her punished. He unsheathes a saber and yells to his wife that she must come down, or else he will come to her. Finally, the wife sees her brothers approach on horseback. Unfortunately, she can no longer forestall Bluebeard's murderous intentions. Instead, she throws herself at Bluebeard's feet, hoping in vain to inspire pity in her husband. It is to a veil, however, and Bluebeard lifts the saber above her head, announcing, you must die. At the last second, the brothers rush into the house, stabbing Bluebeard with their swords. Now a rich widow, the wife uses Bluebeard's money and standing to secure a husband for Anne, Captain's commissions for her brothers, and a new husband for herself, whose worthiness makes her forget about Bluebeard's monstrous behavior. Over the years, Bluebeard has inspired countless other artists in film, television, theater, and poetry. I hope you enjoy dead this video, leave a like if you did and be sure to subscribe thank you.