Blue Beard (Perrault)
Short summary
France, fairy tale times. A wealthy man with a blue beard sought to marry one of two beautiful sisters. Both initially refused due to his frightening appearance and mysterious past wives.
After a lavish party at his country estate, the younger daughter agreed to marry him.
Blue Beard left on business, giving his wife all keys but forbidding her to enter one small room. Overcome by curiosity, she opened it.
At first she saw nothing, for the windows were closed, but after a few moments she perceived dimly that the floor was entirely covered with clotted blood, and that in this were reflected the dead bodies of several women that hung along the walls.
Her brothers arrived just as Blue Beard was about to kill her, slaying him instead.
Detailed summary
Blue Beard
A wealthy man owned magnificent houses, gold and silver plate, tapestries, and gilded coaches, but his blue beard made him so ugly and frightful that women and girls fled at the sight of him.
Among his neighbors lived a lady of high degree with two beautiful daughters. Blue Beard asked for one daughter's hand in marriage, leaving the choice to their mother. Both girls objected, passing his proposal between them, unable to accept a man with a blue beard. They were also disturbed that he had married several wives before, and no one knew what became of them.
To become better acquainted, Blue Beard invited both daughters, their mother, and friends to his country house for eight days of constant entertainment—picnics, hunting, fishing, dances, and dinners. The younger daughter began to think his beard was not so very blue after all, and that he was quite agreeable. Upon returning to town, their marriage took place.
After a month, Blue Beard announced he must travel on business for six weeks. He gave his wife keys to storerooms, strongboxes, and all apartments, encouraging her to enjoy herself and invite friends. However, he forbade her from entering one small room at the end of a long passage, warning her seriously:
You may open everything, you may go everywhere, but I forbid you to enter this little room. And I forbid you so seriously that if you were indeed to open the door, I should be so angry that I might do anything.
After Blue Beard departed, neighbors and friends eagerly visited to see the house's splendors, having been too frightened to come while he was present. They admired the magnificent tapestries, furniture, and mirrors in the storerooms. The wife, however, derived little pleasure from these riches, being impatient to inspect the forbidden room.
So overcome with curiosity was she that, without reflecting upon the discourtesy of leaving her guests, she ran down a private staircase, so precipitately that twice or thrice she nearly broke her neck
Opening the door with trembling hands, she initially saw nothing in the darkened room. Then she perceived the floor covered with clotted blood, reflecting the dead bodies of several women hanging along the walls—all Blue Beard's previous wives, their throats cut. Terrified, she dropped the key, which became stained with blood.
Despite washing and scrubbing, the blood would not disappear from the key—it was bewitched. When removed from one side, it reappeared on the other. Blue Beard returned that evening, claiming his business had concluded. The next morning, he demanded the keys, immediately noticing the missing key to the forbidden room.
When she finally brought the bloodstained key, Blue Beard knew what had happened. Despite her tears and pleas for forgiveness, his heart remained harder than stone. He declared she must die immediately. She begged for time to pray, and he granted her fifteen minutes. Alone, she called to her sister Anne to watch from the tower for their brothers, who had promised to visit.
Repeatedly, the desperate wife called up to the tower, asking if Anne saw anything coming. First Anne saw only dust and grass, then a flock of sheep, finally two horsemen in the distance—their brothers, one a dragoon and one a musketeer. As Blue Beard prepared to strike with his cutlass, the brothers burst through the gate on horseback.
Blue Beard tried to flee but the brothers caught him before he reached the stairs. They killed him with their swords. Having no heirs, Blue Beard's wife inherited all his wealth. She used portions to arrange her sister Anne's marriage to a young gentleman she loved, purchased military commissions for her brothers, and married a worthy man who helped her forget her terrible ordeal.
Moral
The tale concludes with two moral lessons. The first warns ladies against prying into forbidden matters, calling it the silliest of sins that brings swift trouble. The second observes that this old tale reflects bygone days when husbands ruled as kings, noting that in modern times, regardless of a man's beard color, wives now have their say in matters.