Bluebeard the First Psychopath

The story of  "Bluebeard" is another which contains cruelty and violence. His psychopathic behavior and outright gruesome killings has made the character a detestable and mostly unknown character. Most parents steer clear of Bluebeard because of the overt violence displayed in every version. No matter which version you read, Bluebeard is the same psychopathic character. In Charles Perrault's 1697 version, Bluebeard marries and tells her that she is allowed to go in any room except for the one locked in the far side of the house. He leaves for a business trip and she promptly disobeys him. Upon opening the door, the wife is terrified and appalled to see the bodies of Bluebeard's previous lovers. The wife picks up the fallen key from the bloody floor and scrambles to lock the door and leave the sickening room. She goes to clean the bloodied key and fins that the blood will not come off. She panics and chooses to hide the key from her husband. When Bluebeard returns, and finds the blood on the key, he tells his wife that she must die. He allows her to say her prayers before he kills her. When he finally goes to cut off her head, the wife's two brothers arrive and kill Bluebeard. Had the brother's not arrived, Bluebeard would have brutally murdered his wife. The woman would have become another of the bodies in that room and the cycle would have continued to his next wife. Bluebeard would have continued killing his wives until one refused to succumb to her curiosity. Therefore, parents stay away from the twisted story of Bluebeard. Parents choose to read stories like "Cinderella," "Little Red Riding Hood," and "Snow White" where the violence isn't as obvious to children. The stepmother's cruelty is overlooked in "Cinderella" and the focus is changed to the prince who saves Cinderella. In "Little Red Riding Hood" the sexual suggestions are changed and morphed into a story of a naive girl who is tricked by a cruel wolf.  The stepmother's cruelty in"Snow White" is overshadowed by the idea of  "true loves kiss." Each tale has elements of sexual and violent themes that are overshadowed by the happily ever after. Unlike these tales, "Bluebeard" does not sugar coat the violence. "Bluebeard" boldly portrays the violence instead of hiding it.

http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/bluebeard/index.html

Perrault, Charles. “The Annotated Bluebeard.” SurLaLune Fairy Tales: The Annotated Bluebeard, SurLaLune, www.surlalunefairytales.com/bluebeard/index.html. Accessed 11 Apr. 2017.