One of the elements of horror in Perrault’s version was Bluebeard’s past - his numerous wives who disappeared and were nowhere to be found. This made an eerie impression on the women of the town, especially his future wife, whom was disgusted by this. Her initial concern is the foreshadowing of her almost death, in which Bluebeard’s true colors come to surface. In comparison to Thackeray’s “Bluebeard’s Ghost,” the wife loves her husband that much more because of the death of his wives. As she tries to prove to her sister Anne through the family Bible, that all of Bluebeard’s wives died of natural causes, she reaffirms her love for her deceased husband. She even implores Anne, stating that “Every one of the women are calendared in this delightful, this pathetic, this truly virtuous and tender way; and can you suppose that a man who wrote such sentiments could be a murderer, miss?” Although it is seen as “horror” in the Perrault version, Bluebeard’s six previous wives in the Thackeray story showcases the “hero” Bluebeard truly is.
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That's interesting. I was more drawn to the more traditional parts of horror, but you make good points about how his past effects the story. How would you say the past, or rather lack of a good back story, effects the Grimm's "The Robber Bridegroom?"
ReplyDeleteI feel like the fact that the Grimm's lacks the backstory is much more typical of a fairy tale. I wouldnt really consider Thackeray's version a fairy tale as it is a more developed story as it details the past and bring's in other chararacters like Mr. Sly and Captain Blackbeard. The fact that Grimm's lacks this element of the past makes it fit in better with Grimm's other fairy tales.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Chester, "The Robber Bridegroom," is one in which eeriness is felt by the future wife as well, although there is really no explanation in Grimms tale as to why she feels this way. All the readers know is that she doesn't feel as though she should towards someone she is to marry. Although her intuition is correct, this lack of a "good back story," which is apparent in many Grimms tales, leads the readers to question her clairvoyant nature, as well as many aspects in other Grimms stories that don't really seem to have a solid foundation. All I can really comment on here is that due to the lack of development in some of these fairy tales versus the solid development in Perrault and Thackeray's versions, that it is hard to make a sufficient interpretation of many elements that the Grimms bring into the story due to their incompleteness.
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