I really love Christine A. Jones' Mother Goose Refigured translations as she gets into the nitty gritty of word choice. I liked how she pointed out the phrasing of the title implies the villain is "reducible to his beard." I do enjoy that all these endeavours enable a love match for the sister. There's a lot to unpick in the societal language.
The sister is a wonderful component. I think it could be fun to see this story from her point of view. One of my favorite takes on this angle is 'What the dead birds taught me' by Laura Blackwell, which you can find in Nightmare Magazine (https://www.nightmare-magazine.com/fiction/what-the-dead-birds-taught-me/). It also relies on a mash-up, one of those techniques that works incredibly well when working in the realm of fairy tales.
You know, I'm sure I was speaking to someone once who was writing from the sister's perspective - but now I can't recall who it was! It would be great. I'm off to look up 'What the dead birds taught me.'
Women take their lives in their hands when they enter a romantic relationship. Domestic violence, sometimes resulting in the woman's death, is quite common.
This is something I write about quite often in my own fiction. One of my favorites was to mash it up with The Little Mermaid and the story of Persephone and Hades. So many ways to take it. In my opinion, it's one of the best traditional tales to tackle the topic of domestic violence. So glad you agree!
What a delight to find this discussion about Bluebeard in my In-Box, when it's my current obsession for various reimagining projects, including a novella-in-progress (which I hope will be feminist Gothic in tone), a shorter story (maybe flash or longer), several poems, (one forthcoming in "Heroine's Anthology", Vol. 5) & an ekphrastic flash fic. Like the author of this essay, (was it Carina?), I find Bluebeard's story rich with possibilities for feminist exploration in various directions.
I so appreciated the researched details, & the collection of intriguing Bluebeard illustrations. Can I ask who's the author of the version of the Bluebeard story you shared? Is that Zipes or Carter's translation? I noted the references, but it wasn't always super-clear what's being referred to.
So much to comment on! I'm not sure I agreed with the the symbolic positioning of the key as phallic. From a patriarchal narrative construction, it's questionable when you consider it's the one key forbidden to her, and also often referred to as the "smallest" key on the ring. Although, certainly as the opener to the room that holds his most diabolical secret acts, if those acts are also sexualized, then certainly I see a link between the key & Bluebeard's desires and power. But I think the key can also be linked to the feminine, and explore that in my projects.
Apart from Carter's brilliant & compelling version, I'm inspired by another source not mentioned here: Clarissa Pinkola Este's insightful analysis from a feminist Jungian viewpoint in "Women who Run with the Wolves" (1992).
I intend to to revisit the commentary to comment further. Thanks again!
Hi Melissa. I put this bit together. It is probably my favorite fairy tale, which means I wanted to write about EVERYTHING! But there are constraints, and it is the end of the year. (We opened to submissions for Issue 5 today. Super busy!) The version I included in this post is the translation collected in Andrew Lang’s The blue fairy book (1889). You should be able to find the link is at the top of the translations.
One of the most wonderful thing about fairy tales, in my opinion, is that they can be read in a multitude of ways. The symbolism of keys can be found with attribution to female mythic characters such as Hecate, which could make for an interesting mashup. The material of the key can change interpretation as can the number of keys. According to Cirlot, silver is connected to psychological understanding, gold is connected to philosophical wisdom, and diamond equates to the power to act (167). This leads me to think about the role (and composition) of keys in other fairy tales. For Instance Grimm's 'The seven ravens', the key to salvation is made from bone. When the heroine loses the chicken bone key given to her by the morning star, she carves a replacement by cutting off her little finger.
In the two stories I've written on 'Bluebeard', neither centered on the keys, or even the discovery of the brides. I've always been more interested in the references to domestic violence and the silencing of women, but the different angles with which this tale can be approached shines in the many contemporary variations. I love that you are flipping expectations with the key. Sounds intriguing!
I've always been a little iffy about phallic symbolism too - it's not wrong, but it can stunt understanding of the wider meaning, if that makes sense? There's only so much you can say about a phallic symbol! I do like the relation of the key to Hecate - while Blue Beard, I confess, isn't a favourite of mine, I like reading versions which are about the women - where the women wrestle control away. I think that's why I prefer the Mr Fox tales instructing the woman to be bold. Lady Mary is brilliant. And she calls him out at the end in such a magnificent way!
One of the things I point out to my students when I teach "Bluebeard" (as well as "Mr. Fox") is that Perrault's morals rarely fit his stories. He effectively takes women's tales and forces "women should be passive objects"-type morals onto them. "Fitcher's Bird" and other tales of the same type are a good demonstration of the potential inherent in this kind of story. In "Fitcher's Bird," curiosity isn't the problem; the two older sisters die because they're too obedient, not just because they disobey. "Mr. Fox" is also great because Lady Mary effectively kills Mr. Fox with a story. Women's power turns up in these stories in all sorts of clever ways.
I've often wondered if Perrault did that to annoy the female authors? The morals so clearly don't fit and they don't fit the vibe of any of the French fairy-tale authors of the time, either. Was it simply irony? Hmm... it's been a while since I thought about all that! But yes, agree, I love Lady Mary killing with a story! And that the men *believed* her! Again in Fitcher's Bird. Women's testimony is treated with respect. They really run with it in a way that Perrault doesn't.
I really love Christine A. Jones' Mother Goose Refigured translations as she gets into the nitty gritty of word choice. I liked how she pointed out the phrasing of the title implies the villain is "reducible to his beard." I do enjoy that all these endeavours enable a love match for the sister. There's a lot to unpick in the societal language.
The sister is a wonderful component. I think it could be fun to see this story from her point of view. One of my favorite takes on this angle is 'What the dead birds taught me' by Laura Blackwell, which you can find in Nightmare Magazine (https://www.nightmare-magazine.com/fiction/what-the-dead-birds-taught-me/). It also relies on a mash-up, one of those techniques that works incredibly well when working in the realm of fairy tales.
You know, I'm sure I was speaking to someone once who was writing from the sister's perspective - but now I can't recall who it was! It would be great. I'm off to look up 'What the dead birds taught me.'
Women take their lives in their hands when they enter a romantic relationship. Domestic violence, sometimes resulting in the woman's death, is quite common.
This is something I write about quite often in my own fiction. One of my favorites was to mash it up with The Little Mermaid and the story of Persephone and Hades. So many ways to take it. In my opinion, it's one of the best traditional tales to tackle the topic of domestic violence. So glad you agree!
What a delight to find this discussion about Bluebeard in my In-Box, when it's my current obsession for various reimagining projects, including a novella-in-progress (which I hope will be feminist Gothic in tone), a shorter story (maybe flash or longer), several poems, (one forthcoming in "Heroine's Anthology", Vol. 5) & an ekphrastic flash fic. Like the author of this essay, (was it Carina?), I find Bluebeard's story rich with possibilities for feminist exploration in various directions.
I so appreciated the researched details, & the collection of intriguing Bluebeard illustrations. Can I ask who's the author of the version of the Bluebeard story you shared? Is that Zipes or Carter's translation? I noted the references, but it wasn't always super-clear what's being referred to.
So much to comment on! I'm not sure I agreed with the the symbolic positioning of the key as phallic. From a patriarchal narrative construction, it's questionable when you consider it's the one key forbidden to her, and also often referred to as the "smallest" key on the ring. Although, certainly as the opener to the room that holds his most diabolical secret acts, if those acts are also sexualized, then certainly I see a link between the key & Bluebeard's desires and power. But I think the key can also be linked to the feminine, and explore that in my projects.
Apart from Carter's brilliant & compelling version, I'm inspired by another source not mentioned here: Clarissa Pinkola Este's insightful analysis from a feminist Jungian viewpoint in "Women who Run with the Wolves" (1992).
I intend to to revisit the commentary to comment further. Thanks again!
Hi Melissa. I put this bit together. It is probably my favorite fairy tale, which means I wanted to write about EVERYTHING! But there are constraints, and it is the end of the year. (We opened to submissions for Issue 5 today. Super busy!) The version I included in this post is the translation collected in Andrew Lang’s The blue fairy book (1889). You should be able to find the link is at the top of the translations.
One of the most wonderful thing about fairy tales, in my opinion, is that they can be read in a multitude of ways. The symbolism of keys can be found with attribution to female mythic characters such as Hecate, which could make for an interesting mashup. The material of the key can change interpretation as can the number of keys. According to Cirlot, silver is connected to psychological understanding, gold is connected to philosophical wisdom, and diamond equates to the power to act (167). This leads me to think about the role (and composition) of keys in other fairy tales. For Instance Grimm's 'The seven ravens', the key to salvation is made from bone. When the heroine loses the chicken bone key given to her by the morning star, she carves a replacement by cutting off her little finger.
In the two stories I've written on 'Bluebeard', neither centered on the keys, or even the discovery of the brides. I've always been more interested in the references to domestic violence and the silencing of women, but the different angles with which this tale can be approached shines in the many contemporary variations. I love that you are flipping expectations with the key. Sounds intriguing!
I've always been a little iffy about phallic symbolism too - it's not wrong, but it can stunt understanding of the wider meaning, if that makes sense? There's only so much you can say about a phallic symbol! I do like the relation of the key to Hecate - while Blue Beard, I confess, isn't a favourite of mine, I like reading versions which are about the women - where the women wrestle control away. I think that's why I prefer the Mr Fox tales instructing the woman to be bold. Lady Mary is brilliant. And she calls him out at the end in such a magnificent way!
One of the things I point out to my students when I teach "Bluebeard" (as well as "Mr. Fox") is that Perrault's morals rarely fit his stories. He effectively takes women's tales and forces "women should be passive objects"-type morals onto them. "Fitcher's Bird" and other tales of the same type are a good demonstration of the potential inherent in this kind of story. In "Fitcher's Bird," curiosity isn't the problem; the two older sisters die because they're too obedient, not just because they disobey. "Mr. Fox" is also great because Lady Mary effectively kills Mr. Fox with a story. Women's power turns up in these stories in all sorts of clever ways.
I've often wondered if Perrault did that to annoy the female authors? The morals so clearly don't fit and they don't fit the vibe of any of the French fairy-tale authors of the time, either. Was it simply irony? Hmm... it's been a while since I thought about all that! But yes, agree, I love Lady Mary killing with a story! And that the men *believed* her! Again in Fitcher's Bird. Women's testimony is treated with respect. They really run with it in a way that Perrault doesn't.