After watching the silent film in class today, one image that stuck with me was that of the imp jumping from the pages of the book to tempt the heroine into entering the forbidden room. The inclusion of the imp in the story, along with the fairy godmother-type character, changes it into something more than just a moral tale about picking the right sort of husband. Now the Bluebeard tale has become a classic battle of good vs. evil.
The two forces counter each other. The imp makes the key grow bigger. The fairy godmother shrinks it. Bluebeard and his wife are now secondary characters. Or maybe a better word to describe them is puppets. Their actions are not their own. They are merely pawns in a bigger game.
So how are we to understand this take on the tale? What is the new moral? Perhaps it is something more along the lines of there is good and evil in all of us. The bride gives into the evil urges by opening the door but she is saved by listening to her good side, shown by the fairy godmother. Bluebeard does not listen to the fairy godmother (nor is he visited by her since he is so far gone) and dies for his sins. The imp claims his soul, not bothering to protect him like the fairy godmother did for the bride.
So be nice and good and fair at all times! That way when you marry a psychopath, it'll all work out in the end.
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I thought this was an interesting addition to the Bluebeard formula as well. Rather than giving the audience the chance to appoint blame to the wife and/or Bluebeard, the director of this film throws it right at us; it is clear that the wife was tempted by the evil imp and protected by the fairy godmother-esque figure. Like you said, the wife and Bluebeard are no longer pivotal characters with their own free will, but rather pawns in the greater battle of good v. evil.
ReplyDeleteBecause of this addition, it is far more of a fairy tale than the typical horror story that more closely defines Bluebeard stories. Fairy tales aren't meant to be left open for interpretation, which is the case for most Bluebeard stories (was the wife in the wrong for opening the forbidden door? is female curiosity a positive or a negative quality? etc.). In this movie, the director (other than for cinematic/entertainment purposes) gave the movie a more fantastical feel with the addition of both the imp and the fairy godmother. You are correct; now we, as the audience, do indeed know that we will be protected should we marry the psychopath as long as we are nice, good, and fair.
The inclusion of an imp and fairy godmother figure also struck me as fascinating. The Bluebeard tales, with all their horror and gruesomeness, don't exactly lend themselves to such elements of almost Disney-like fantasy. Thus, the addition of these mystical creatures situates the tale more in the realm of the classic fairy tale. It also removes agency from Bluebeard and his wife, who become mere passive players, fated to sit and watch the clash between good and evil underway.
ReplyDeleteMy other impression is that the filmmaker--similar to Walt Disney--was most concerned with presenting a cinematic spectacle, and inserting elements of magic into an otherwise unfantastical tale would enable him to do this.
I also found this aspect of the imp/devil interesting because it does seem to take away from the female character and highlight the outside forces that many feel plague our everyday lives. There seems to have been no free will for the wife and in turn taking away her power as a character in the mini-film which further highlights the imp and the fairy god-mother figure.
ReplyDeleteYou defiantly have a point. Bluebeard and his wife seem to act as a vehicle for this on going battle between the godmother and imp, ie good vs evil. I think that this take on the tale adds a whole other layer of depth to tale absent in other versions. It is a very successful way to tell the story of Bluebeard with all its details while still situating the narrative in a larger context, which allows the viewer to connect/relate to it more.
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