Bluebeard! What a change from Cinderella. I wish I had had this class last year because I would have known the story of Bluebeard and would not have missed a test question in my British Contemporary Novels class! We studied "The Bloody Chamber" by a contemporary author named Angela Carter. The test question was something like: "which fairy tale does this story remind us of?" The correct answer was "Bluebeard" and I know why now...The Bloody Chamber is extremely similar to Perrault's version of the tale. I had not read or really heard of Bluebeard prior to that time. I'm glad for the opportunity to read the 1697 version of Bluebeard and compare it to Carter's version. Her version is longer and goes in to more detailed description of the man this girl was to marry and their erotic wedding night. She seemed to fear him yet be attracted to him all at the same time. Like in the Perrault version, she was told not to enter the special room while he was gone away on business. In his "bloody chamber" was not only blood and the bodies of his former wives, but there was an Iron Maiden. This contraption was a large wood and iron structure. like a big coffin, with metal spikes coming out that pierced and killed the victim. Carter's representation of her Bluebeard character was very dark and cruel, as well as being murderous like in all the original Bluebeard tales. Another difference between Perrault's version and Carter's copy-cat version is the way in which she is rescued. In Perrault's tale, she anxiously awaits the arrival of her brothers. They finally come and, in good fairytale style, slay the enemy and rescue the lady. But I love the ending in Angela Carter's tale. Sensing something is amiss with her daughter when she spoke to her on the phone, as only mothers can do, she rushes to her castle. Riding across the water on a fast steed, hair whipping about her face and skirts flying behind her, the mother reaches her daughter just in time and kills the evil husband. Girl power! The moral of this tale...never mess with a mom's children because she will go to hell and back to save them.