Bluebeard Story

The story of Bluebeard by Charles Perrault revolves around a man named Bluebeard. At the story's beginning, he is looking for a bride. However, despite being wealthy and successful, he proves unsuccessful because though he got married, he tried to kill his wife and got killed in return. This story is an example of a man’s viciousness and how he could never get a woman’s love because of his wrong way of living. His killing at the end of the story shows that sin never leaves anyone behind. It is something that comes back to haunt till one lives.

Bluebeard Grabbing his Wife’s Hair

Bluebeard Castle Story

A lady from the neighbourhood of Bluebeard had two beautiful daughters. He proposed to marry either of them, leaving it to the lady to decide which one it would be. Neither of the girls agreed to marry him because of his repelling beard. Their distaste for him was furthered as he had married several times already, and nobody knew what had become of his previous wives.

To grow more acquainted with the girls, Bluebeard took them, their mother, a few of their closest friends, and a few of the young residents of their neighbourhood to one of his country seats for a week. Upon their return, the younger sister married BlueBeard.

At the end of one month, he told his wife that he had to leave to make a journey that would take at least six weeks and that she could amuse herself as she liked during his absence. Before leaving, he left her three keys - one for the store rooms containing gold and silver chests, one for the caskets containing all the money, and the little one for a closet that she was not to enter at any cost.

The neighbours came running into the castle of Blue Beard as soon as he was gone. They ran through all the rooms, wardrobes, and corridors, taking in the wealth and beauty they were radiating. In the meantime, Bluebeard's wife grew curious about the closet thinking what was in the closet that her husband forbade her to enter?

Initially, she could sense nothing unusual as the windows were closed. But soon, she realised the floor was covered with clotted blood, and pinned against the walls, were the bodies of Blue Beard's wives, with their throats slit.

After overcoming her initial shock, she locked the door. She rushed to her chambers to calm down, after which she tried to get the blood off the key but failed to do so even after several attempts. Upon his return, Bluebeard asked his wife to hand the keys over. However, unwillingly, she did the same. He realised immediately that she had disobeyed him and told her that she would meet the same fate as that of his previous wives. She pleaded for him to give her some time to pray, and he allowed her to do the same.

She begged her sister to climb the tower and look out for their brothers, who were supposed to come and see her that day. She cried out repeatedly to her sister Anne, but every time her sister responded with the same answer, her brothers were nowhere to be seen. At last, Blue Beard grew impatient and bellowed so loudly that the castle seemed to shake. His wife was forced to come downstairs to him. He grabbed her by the hair, raised his cutlass, and was about to incapacitate her when somebody knocked on the castle doors.

Two horsemen rushed in as soon as the doors were opened. Her brothers, and as BlueBeard tried to flee, put their swords through him. The wife was too weak to lift herself off the floor and greet her brothers and remained on the floor, exhausted from the ordeal.

Bluebeard did not leave behind any heirs, and his property and money went to his wife, who utilised a part of it in her sister Anne's marriage with a man who had loved her for a long time. She married a man who was worthy of her and helped her forget her terrible experience with Blue Beard.

Moral of the Story

The moral of the story is: “Tit for tat.”

Summary

In the Bluebeard story pdf we see that BlueBeard, a wealthy man, had a history of bad marriages where all his previous wives mysteriously vanished. But in the BlueBeard story, no one knew where his wives were. When he married again and tried to kill his wife after finding out that he slit his previous wives’ throat, he was captured and killed. This Bluebeard story pdf shows that we should never walk on the path of sin because it ruins us at the end of the day. Bluebeard who killed his previous wives thinking all of them were physically weak, could take nothing, could not even leave an heir to take care of his accumulated wealth. This shows that a simple and sinless life is one of the most beautiful things to have.