Two girls in our class began their discussion this way today and it was so funny, because I think we all tend to do this at times. As humans, we have a natural ability or tendency to see things from different perspectives and analyze both sides of an issue. This may be what makes us unique from other animals. We mentioned in class today that we are animals and have basic animal reactions, but I think we have more qualities of reason and empathy than other animals. We look for the reason behind why someone did something, and whether or not they should be considered guilty or just misguided. In "Bluebeard" by Charles Perrault, there is really no way to defend Bluebeard. He killed his former wives and hung them in a bloody chamber. He was guilty of murder. He also seemed to want to tempt the new wife by offering her the key to that room while saying that she must not go in there. If you really wanted to keep something secret from your spouse, you wouldn't point it out, make a big mystery about it, and dangle the key in her face like a carrot for a donkey. He knew that she would be curious and he wanted to test her obedience. This is another reason we should not defend Bluebeard. He purposely set up a test of loyalty for his wife, to see if she was trustworthy. But it is a bit ironic that he was a horrific murderer who had killed more than one woman, and he feels he has the right to test her trustworthiness and honesty. What about his own trustworthiness or honesty? What is that old saying about people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones? That may be an understatement when it comes to Bluebeard.
But if I absolutely had to defend Bluebeard for some reason, I would pose the arguement that he was a victim of society. After all, he had a physical problem that he couldn't help and for which people made fun of him. The story says that he had a blue beard, "which made him look so ugly and frightful that women and girls alike fled at the sight of him" (Perrault's tale 144). Most of us have been teased about something regarding our looks sometime in grade school, and so we might be able to sympathize with Bluebeard's plight. Some kids that are teased alot turn out to be mean or deviant. We could say that this happened to him. Poor fellow, he couldn't get away from his flaw because his name was even "Bluebeard", which must have constantly called attention to the bad physical attribute. Girls didn't just reject him gently because he wasn't a super cool dude...they ran away from him screaming! This reminds me of our feelings for Grendel in the famous medieval tale of "Beowulf." He is a horrific murderous monster, but he is an outcast from society and not allowed in with the other folks who are singing and making merry. He is a descendant of Cain, so everyone fears and rejects him. But we tend to think that he can not help where he came from, and society made him respond with anger and hatred because of the way they treated him. I think there is a whole book written about the tale from Grendel's perspective which I hope to read someday. But back to Bluebeard...he probably did hate women because they were so mean to him. He sought revenge on something that had caused him so much pain and rejection. Should we try to understand him or feel sorry for him?
My answer to this query would be "no!" If we all decided to kill somebody every time we felt hurt or rejected, there would be few of us humans left in the world. He needed to quit worrying about it and go on and do something good with his life! I don't buy the belief in our society that there is an excuse for every bad behavior. So, I guess I'm really not defending Bluebeard!
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