The Bluebeard by Charles Perrault

The Bluebeard or sometimes Blue Beard is a fairy tale about a wealthy nobleman with a blue beard who has a horrible secret. He was married several times but all his wives disappeared and nobody knows what happened to them. People guess something very bad happened to them yet nobody is able to prove anything. Being extremely rich and powerful the Bluebeard is able to stay untouched by any accusation and is still a respectful member of society. When he remarries again, his bride already knows something is wrong with him but tries her luck because his charm and wealth dazzled her. Soon after the wedding day he must leave the castle and gave her the keys to all the rooms with a catch: she must not open one of the rooms.

You can imagine what happened after that  …

Here we go with some interesting facts about The Bluebeard:

1. Story of Bluebeard is full of symbols: color blue stands for his cold nature and alienation, his beard represents his power, the castle is full of  mirrors as symbols of wealth and search for the truth, blood stands for passion and represents live force as well, the most powerful is, of course, a key representing the power and a trap at the same time.

2. Story written by Charles Perrault is associated with several legends of serial killers: one of them was Gilles de Montmorency-Laval, Baron de Rais, who was accused of killing children in 15th century (there are rumors about more than 40 victims, but some say he was just framed for political reasons), other Conomor, early king of Brittany from 4th century who killed three wives before he married Trephine, who later became a saint, there is also a Scottish legend about Sir John Cathcart, convicted murderer, whos screams could still be heard around Carleton Castle…

3. We can easily find more stories related to woman’s curiosity (Eve and Lot’s wife from Bible, Pandora and Psyche from Greek mythology, even Snow White who couldn't resist the witch's gifts or Briar Rose, more known as Sleeping Beauty, got into trouble because of curiosity …) and of course there are dozens of variations of Bluebeard all over the world where her brother or sister (these versions are even more numerous) rescue the heroine.

A lot of amusing material to study, right?