Blue Beard

Today’s fairy tale was that of Blue Beard, who in Charles Perrault’s version of the tale was a hugely rich man who had only the finest horses along with many other riches. He was however cursed with a Blue Beard that left him feared and isolated, unable to find a wife.

This tale was another classical moral based fairy tale by Charles Perrault, specifically targeted at women. The main moral at play does seem quite universal this time, applying much the same way today as it did in the 17th century when Perrault’s tale first came about. He once again leaves us with his details on the moral at the end of the tale, explaining that curiosity can lead to serious regrets, and then leaves us with yet another moral saying that from a sensible point of view a story like this would no longer happen and that the original tale took place many years ago. While his tale was quite gory and brutal at times, and can seem exaggerated in its cruelty, I feel as though a story similar to this could very well take place today. Especially in today’s overly materialistic world, an unsuspecting or naive woman could be lured into terrible things through a keen rich man’s cunning.

The Grimm Version of the story seems again based heavily on the Original by Charles Perrault. While the moral of the tale seems much in line with that of Perrault’s tale. The Grimm brothers once again change the tale, and eliminate certain details to suit the story to their liking. The portrayed Bluebeard as a sorcerer who would disguise himself as a poor man to capture his "girls" as they were called in the story. While they weren’t his wives in the Grimm version of the tale, the sorcerer still killed his women in equally terrifying ways, and the Grimm brothers don’t fail to emphasize on the gory aspect to this, painting a gruesomely bloody picture with chopped up bodies and blood filled basins.

While many elements of the tale were once again tweaked by the Grimm Brothers to create there version of Charles Perrault’s tale, they follow a very similar framework of events that leads the much related moral of these tales. Perrault’s version does seem to come across as more moral oriented and appears more specific in its flow of events, with the Grimm version seeming a bit dull and underdeveloped, using very basic magic to bring two of the girls back to life. Overall I found the Perrault version of the tale better to read and more clear in its vision.