Comparing "Bluebeard" to "The Castle of Murder"

There are several versions of the “Bluebeard” story in which a wife’s curiosity leads her to somehow disobey her husband’s rules, and she must find a way to save herself from being killed by her husband. When comparing “Bluebeard” and “The Castle of Murder”, it is interesting to note the similarities and differences between the two stories. In both tales, the men must leave the castle to finish some business, but they give the women all their keys. Both girls receive some type of aid: the wife in “Bluebeard” receives help from her sister and brothers, and the wife in “The Castle of Murder” receives help from an old woman. With this helper’s guidance and knowledge, they are able to escape death. Additionally, both girls drop the key into the blood and cannot remove the stains, which serves as evidence that they entered a forbidden place and now have knowledge of the husband’s deeds.

At the start of the tales, there are minor, but significant, details that are different. First of all, Bluebeard is actually a king (which is interesting in itself and a detail I overlooked at first) and in the other story the husband is a rich nobleman. In “Bluebeard”, the girl immediately fears the king because of his blue beard and feels uncomfortable. However, the girl in “The Castle of Murder”, is said to have “gladly agreed to ride off with him” (619). It is not until he asks whether she has any doubts about marrying him that she begins to feel uneasy. In “Bluebeard”, the king specifically tells the girl that she may go anywhere in the house except the one forbidden room, and she will die if she disobeys him. In “The Castle of Murder”, the nobleman gives her all his keys and tells her she can go anywhere around the castle. When she reaches the cellar, which is essentially the forbidden room that he never verbally forbid her to enter, she finds an old woman scraping intestines. We learn that the girl has unknowingly disobeyed her husband because the old woman says he will know the girl has been in the cellar when he and the old woman are the only ones allowed to enter.

“The Castle of Murder” seems like it is going to be another version of “Bluebeard”, but in the middle of the tale it shifts more towards “The Robber Bridegroom” when a helper warns the girls to escape while they can. Later, they are able to publically reveal the true nature of their husbands at a party. In the end, the husband is punished for his deeds and the wife receives all of his wealth and lives happily ever after.

In my opinion, “The Castle of Murder” seems to be a combination of “Bluebeard” and “The Robber Bridegroom”. So here are a few questions I had when reading and comparing these stories:

Why would the Grimm brothers omit “The Castle of Murder” and “Bluebeard” from the collection, but keep “The Robber Bridegroom”? Why was it ultimately decided that both stories should be omitted, as opposed to keeping one?