Bluebeard

The titular character of Perrault’s story, Blue Beard is the first figure to be introduced by the tale, receiving a full paragraph explaining his situation before the reader even hears of the young bride. Calling him “the poor fellow” (70) for having an alarming blue beard, the text initially implies that he will be a sympathetic character, especially given that many fairy tales emphasize the necessity of seeing past ugliness to find virtue.

This narrative trickery continues as the heroine decides Blue Beard is “an exceedingly agreeable man” (71) who is “particularly anxious that [his wife] should enjoy herself thoroughly” (71) while he is away on business. His granting of his keys to his new bride could be construed as generous and trusting—until the discordant note regarding the little room: “I forbid you so seriously that if you were indeed to open the door, I should be so angry that I might do anything” (71-72). It is through the contents of the prohibited room that Blue Beard is revealed as the antagonist of the tale. Though he has dominion over his curious wife, in accordance with the moralistic justice of fairy tales, he is ultimately killed for his violent crimes.

As “Blue Beard” offers no insight into this character’s motivations or thoughts apart from anger at his bride’s disobedience, he remains a mysterious malevolent figure. Contemporary audiences equated him with the werewolf figure of myth, and scholars have suggested he was inspired by the historic figure of Gilles de Rais (1405-1440), executed for his serial killings of children. The eponymous blue beard has also been connected to “exoticism” and Orientalism, with many illustrators of the 18th and 19th centuries portraying Blue Beard as a man from a foreign country rather than as a European gentleman. In general, he symbolizes the animalistic side of masculine behavior (with the eroticism that often entails) and the dangers of Patriarchal Control.

Sister Anne is a flat secondary character who appears only briefly in the last third of “Blue Beard,” but plays a crucial role. She is the only named woman in the story, which the text highlights, interrupting the young bride’s dialogue beginning “Sister Anne” with “for that was her name” (75). The significance of the name Anne may be that it introduces a Christian element to the story, given that the mother of the Virgin Mary is Saint Anne. Additionally, Anne is a variation on the Hebrew name Hannah, which means “grace.”

“Sister” is always appended to “Anne” by the narrative, drawing attention to the familial relationship and its importance. Her presence in the castle is unexplained, although the reader can assume she was a member of the party that arrived in Blue Beard’s business absence and simply never left, suggesting she represents loyalty and steadiness. This interpretation is encouraged by the fact that in the end, Sister Anne marries “a young gentleman with whom [she] had been for some time in love” (77). She also serves as lookout for her sibling, effectively extending the trapped heroine’s physical senses by acting as her eyes and thereby overcoming one aspect of the young bride’s physical disempowerment.

Sister Anne’s presence allows for the literary device of repetition at the climactic moment of the story, which increases tension. She acts as interlocutor for the young bride, and to some degree stands in for the reader in that her final exclamation of “Heaven be praised” (76) upon seeing their brothers channels the reader’s own relief that salvation may be at hand.