In the Grimms' Bluebeard there is the scene of horror that greets the young bride's eyes of all the previous wives hanging from the walls, a pool of blood underneath which means that the killing is fresh. Another creepy part to the Bluebeard stories is that he is not recognized as a monster, but maintains a regular appearance as a nobleman (usually) who is married. In contrast to the Beauty and the Beast stories, the Beast's physical appearance is threatening, but he is able to fall in love, and he has a gentle soul. Bluebeard, however, looks like a man, but on the inside is a monster, unable to feel or respond to any kind of love.
In Georges Melies film we watched in class Wed. March 17, the film seems innocent enough with lively music, and the characters never actually speak, but I found the image of the hanging women disturbing. While the entire movie seemed to be very surreal, the dead women seemed very real in contrast to the rest of the movie, as if something out of a horror movie today.
Perhaps all the gruesome stuff that has happened in other stories doesn't seem so horrible because I can't see it happening today, but Bluebeard is probably one of the fairytales that doesn't exactly fit the category.
I think you are very right that the most frightening part of these Bluebeard stories are that they seem to be rather realistic, especially when compared to fairy godmothers, talking animals, and dresses made of all furs, skins, or the moon's light. Further, the story of Bluebeard is one of very ordinary curiosity and disobedience; the woman merely seeks to find what lies behind her husband's secret door-- something that any of us, really, could wonder about and seek to find.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to look at this story as an opposite to Beauty and the Beast. I had noted how Beauty overcomes the Beast's ugliness and repulsiveness because he is a good man on the inside, and likewise how this woman accepts Bluebeard because of his riches in spite of his uncanniness. Yet, your idea of Bluebeard being a beast on the inside had not occurred to me. He could very well be a beast or magical sorcerer, but it is made even more unpleasant and horrifying to imagine he is simply human.