The Bloody Chamber

          "The Bloody Chamber" is a short story by Angela Carter that is based on the fairy tale "Bluebeard." It is a more detailed account of the tale with a twist. The wife is still a young girl who becomes attracted to a wealthy mysterious man. She follows the tale of opening that one door he asked her not to and she also drops the key in the dead wives blood. This room is filled with torture equipment instead of only the bodies like in "Bluebeard." The husband presses the key on her forehead which leaves a red heart brand. As soon as he was about to kill her, the girl's mother rides in on a horse and shoots the husband dead. This story by Carter both upholds and subverts the female gender stereotypes. It upholds the patterns because they make the girl disobey orders like Eve did from the beginning. She is also subordinate since the husband thought he can punish her in anyway he thought necessary. The girl was not able to save herself, but instead waited on someone to come and rescue her. This is where the story subverts from the typical female stereotypes. It was not a prince, brother or the blind friend that saved the girl from her pending doom. It was her mother taking charge, riding a horse and carrying a gun. We see a strong female character that was described through out the story as defeating man eating beasts etc. Although the girl had to be saved, she was saved by another woman; which subverts and upholds the patterns of women in fairy tales.  

Bluebeard

          The tale of "Bluebeard" is one that can scare and intrigue someone at the same time. Why is his beard blue? Why did he kill his wives? Why marry again and how did he get all of that money? These are some of the questions i think of when i read this fairy tale. Bluebeard is a wealthy and odd man who wanted to marry again. He gave his wife a set of keys and talked about one a little too much that she was not allowed to use. However, human curiosity kicked in and she could not help but run to open that mysterious door. She found the other dead wives and her husband caught her. The wife is then saved just in time by her brothers before Bluebeard beheads her. This is the version of "Bluebeard" by Charles Perrault that upholds the stereotypical role of females. The wife is a pretty souvenir for Bluebeard and she is awarded with anything she wants. They also try to show the woman as disobedient like with little red riding hood, Eve, and Pandora. Bluebeard got away with killing several of his wives and sees this as a suitable punishment for disobedience. The wife also upholds the typical gender roles since she had to be saved by her brothers. She did nothing to save herself but kept waiting for them to come and save her. The male rescue team and the wealthy reward for being pretty is a pattern present in many fairy tales.