Survival, Setting, and Song: Looking at Bluebeard in a Contemporary Light

written by Sarita Donaie

Stealing the treasures in Bluebeard's castle, Gustave Dore

Most people know Bluebeard as the French folkloric story that involves the courtship between a robust and wealthy man, famous for his blue beard, and a youthful woman tragically claimed to be Bluebeard’s wife. However, Clarissa Pinkola Estés, female author of Women Who Run With the Wolves, and Joanna Newsom, female folk singer and songwriter, have fascinating stories to tell in their version of Bluebeard. Estés focuses on domestic violence that impacts young women who are left with no other choice but to use marriage as a means to live comfortably. Newsom takes on the role of Bluebeard’s victim, giving any folklore enthusiast a wonderful and powerful glimpse into the world of a young woman forced to marry for stability.

As both women are placed into uncomfortable roles within the Bluebeard story, the reader must remember that a woman’s success depends entirely on the sanity of the man she is forced to share the world with. Bluebeard is not just a story that tackles the societal pressures of marriage but challenges to survival that women face.

To save my readers the trouble of having to search for the Bluebeard story, I will use Estés’ book, Women Who Run With the Wolves, as a reference to create a summary of Bluebeard: Bluebeard was a rather large bachelor who happened to court the three daughters of his neighbor. After one failed attempt at a private picnic, two of the three daughters, the oldest and middle daughters, were not impressed by Bluebeard’s advances. The youngest, third daughter, who found some interest in Bluebeard, allowed him to continue courting her, and they soon got married. The younger daughter eventually moved in with Bluebeard, who lived far away from her family and older sisters. 

Living with Bluebeard offers her a beautiful, relaxing life, and his wife is given a very particular rule regarding his house keys. One particular key was never to be used to open a specific door within the home. Bluebeard seriously discouraged any door opening, stating, “the one with the scrollwork on top, do not use” (Estés 39). After Bluebeard departed from the home, the older sisters of Bluebeard’s young wife came to visit. The sisters, unaware of the serious nature of Bluebeard’s warnings, ventured throughout the home to find the door to unlock using the key he instructed to remain unopened. To their surprise, the three sisters were frightened to discover the door, and displayed inside the room were the bloody, grotesque remains of his previous wives. Bluebeard had murdered and dismembered the bodies. Beyond frightened, the sisters hid away as Bluebeard returned home to his young wife. Bluebeard’s wife’s guilty admission confirmed that she had used the key to open the door and she had disobeyed him. His young wife had found and unlocked the door, revealing his disturbing secret. However, due to his young wife’s plea for some time to make “peace with God”, she was able to ask her sisters to call upon their brothers to come and kill Bluebeard, saving the youngest sister. Thus, the end of Bluebeard’s murderous and brutal killings of his wives came to an end. 

Films like Joker (2019) and Kill Bill: Volumes 1 & 2 (2003-2004) use the sanity of the male characters to control whether their female victims will survive. The Joker’s storyline surrounds the character’s society and the inability to be respected and cared for within that society. Therefore, he becomes harsh and evil to those in worse situations than him, realizing that the patriarchal system preys on the weak. Terrorizing those who wronged the Joker, making women his prime target, the Joker depicts the product of a failed society that still seemingly teaches its citizens that the pain they endure is a result of their society neglecting those that need help the most. Bluebeard falls into a patriarchal society similar to that of Joker, where obedience and submission decide the fate of vulnerable people.

Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill films (2003-2004) are another excellent example of  woman’s happiness, safety, and those she loves, being targeted by one particular man with all the power. He has so much power that he can control others. The film depicts a deeply hurt woman, Beatrix Kiddo, in search of the man who took everything from her. However, as Bluebeard goes, the female protagonist who almost became Bluebeard’s victim chooses a different method of revenge, one that does not leave her fighting her abuser alone. Unlike Tarantino’s Kill Bill, Bluebeard’s young wife relied on the help of her family, specifically her older sisters and brothers. 

While I would love to dissect why Tarantino chose to create Beatrix Kiddo as a lone survivor, the real point that I’m trying to make is how Bluebeard-esque patriarchy is depicted so much within entertainment. Now mischaracterized under the woman-empowerment trope, women are harmed, and the audience should be questioning why such violent depictions are connected. Through Estés, Women Who Run With the Wolves, she discloses that Bluebeard represents the “deeply reclusive complex which lurks at the edge of all women’s lives, watching, waiting for an opportunity to oppose her” (Estés 43). “All women’s lives’” (Estés 43) echoes in my head as a disturbing reminder that the harsh society surrounding most women doesn’t genuinely care about them. In relation to the Bluebeard trope seen within entertainment, the criticism is that women are forced to accept their society as the only other option is death. 

The Kill Bill films and Joker depict the characters’ lives surrounding the antagonists as they attempt to control some sense of their reality. Bluebeard removed his wife from her family and used that to determine if she could be groomed to obey him. Such grooming also impacted Beatrix Kiddo and Bill’s relationship, as she once believed he was her protector and lover. The Joker also used his proximity to Sophie to maintain his weird parasocial relationship, thus making him unhealthy and infatuated with her beyond her control. I mention the term grooming due to the opinion that Bluebeard’s wife is depicted as much younger than him. 

From my first glance at the Bluebeard tale, I instantly understood the obsession with its lore. However, while people were engrossed in the brutality of Bluebeard’s terrible murders of his past wives, I found it interesting that Bluebeard’s wife’s youth played a significant role in their relationship. Joanna Newsom’s song, “Go Long,” diverts the Bluebeard story entirely from the abuser, allowing the listener to perceive the victim’s thoughts more deeply. Newsom’s beautiful ballad powerfully creates an argument similar to Estés’ novel, Women Who Run With the Wolves, as she addresses the significance of being Bluebeard’s wife. The loneliness and isolation seem to be related closely to Bluebeard’s home, as Newsom states, 

    "When you leave me alone
    in this old place of yours...
    What a woman does is open doors
    And it is not a question of
    locking or unlocking."

The issues related to loneliness and isolation seem to partner dangerously with age; within Newsom’s song, she repeatedly emphasizes upon the ancientness of the setting she now occupies. Similar settings are depicted within Joker and the Kill Bill films as the concept of loneliness plagues the victims with the Bluebeard trope. By positioning herself in Bluebeard’s wife’s place, Newsom observes that loneliness is apparent in the vast luxuries of Bluebeard’s home. However, the films I’ve mentioned don’t have those similar luxuries, as the brutality displayed within those films isn’t hidden but affects the lives of everyone around the victims. This thoroughly explains why the sisters and brothers of Bluebeard’s wife immediately came to her rescue and understood that even being one-minute late risks the possibility of saving their younger sibling from being another victim. 

The hostile environment observed in Joker and the Kill Bill films are best depicted as obstacles that are designed to prevent women from escaping the harsh society that they endure. No one cared about how the Joker may have targeted a single mother with a parasocial relationship that she had no knowledge of. However, they cared that he symbolized the harm that may befall those who are weak and/or happen to be a woman. When Bill orders the other assassins to kill Beatrix Kiddo, they obey and attempt to remain in good graces with Bill by ensuring her death.

What the Bluebeard trope incorporates is how men use a woman’s life to highlight their brutal nature and how far they are willing to harm. Newsom’s song perfectly encapsulates the timid yet powerful voice, paired with an even more powerful diction, that details the point of view of Bluebeard’s wife and how societal hostility can affect your environment. Newsom’s soft singing voice enhances how quiet, isolated, and haunting Bluebeard’s home is: walking alone in the lavishly large home of a crazed killer feels so much more surreal and eerie when unsure if you might be his next victim.

Estés, Clarissa Pinkola, author. Women Who Run with the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype. New York: Ballantine Books, 1992. 

Newsom, Joanna. “Go Long.” Genius.com. https://genius.com/Joanna-newsom-go-long-lyrics.

Edited by Akshara Nair