Is it Mr. Rochester or Bluebeard?

The tale of “Bluebeard” is a French folktale written by Charles Perrault. Bluebeard was a wealthy man but was given a curse of a blue beard. This flaw of his turned away any and all women. This did not put a damper on his quest to find a wife. He continued to search and was married to the youngest daughter of one of his neighbors. His wife began to see past his blue beard and realized he was a true gentlemen. A month after the wedding ceremony, Bluebeard notified his wife he was to go on a journey for six weeks. He delivered her the keys to every room in the house and advised her not to open the closet at the end of the hall. Bluebeard’s wife could not overcome her curiosity, and she opened the door to the closet. Inside, she found the corpses of Bluebeard’s prior wives. His wife was horrified. Bluebeard returned home to find his wife unfaithful. Bluebeard’s consequence for his wife defying him was her death. In a turn of events, the wife’s brothers came to visit and were able to apprehend Bluebeard and cause his death.

One cannot help but relate the story of Bluebeard as they read the novel, Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre foreshadows the similarities between these two readings in the passage:

“Mrs. Fairfax stayed behind a moment to fasten the trap-door: I, by dint of groping, found the outlet from the attic, and proceeded to descend the narrow garret staircase. I lingered in the long passage to which this led, separating the front and back rooms of the third storey: narrow, low, and dim, with only one little window at the far end, and looking, with its two rows of small black doors all shut, like a corridor in some Bluebeard’s castle” (Bronte, pg. 101).

This quote from the book symbolizes the room in the attic as the closet in Bluebeards. Later, the book shares with its’ readers what was kept away in the attic. There was a women named Bertha. Bertha was the wife of the owner of the house, Mr. Rochester. Bertha became insane which led to her seclusion in the attic. Similarly, Bluebeard kept his past wives in the closet. Once a wife of Bluebeard disrespects his authority, he murders her and conceals her in the closet. The women in both readings are punished when they do not follow the rules of society.

Bluebeard and Mr. Rochester struggle with the attainment of a wife. These men have in common that they are not fancied by women. Bluebeard has a hideous blue beard but he goes about getting women by showing off his luxurious home. Mr. Rochester is old and ugly as exhibited when Mr. Rochester askes Jane, “Am I hideous, Jane?” and she replies, “Very, sir: you always were, you know.” (Bronte, pg. 409). He tries to get the attention of Jane by making her jealous being surrounded by other women. Both men struggle with finding a wife that loves them for who they truly are and sees past their faults.

At the end of the book, both men are punished but in different ways. Bluebeard’s fate was in the hands of his wife’s brothers. During his mission to kill his own wife, her brothers entered the home just in time to save the life of their sister but put an end to Bluebeard’s. He finally got what he deserved after murdering his wives. Mr. Rochester faired a little better than Bluebeard. One day, Mr. Rochester’s wife escaped her confinement and set fire to his house. Mr. Rochester stepped in and began to get everyone out of the house. He went back to save his insane wife, but instead she jumped to her death. On his way out, the house began to fall and he was struck with an object. This caused the amputation of one of his arms, the removal of one of his eyes, and the loss sight in both eyes. His reason for being “punished” was due to the fact he was trying to marry Jane Eyre while he was stilled married.

In the end, the women of both readings, Bluebeards’ current wife and Jane Eyre, survive. The women end on their own terms. Bluebeard’s wife inherits Bluebeard’s estate because he has no heirs. She uses this gift to, “marry her sister Anne to a young gentlemen who had loved her a long while: another part to buy captains’ commissions for her brothers, and the rest to marry herself to a very worthy gentleman, who made her forget the ill time she had passed with Bluebeard” (Perrault). In “Jane Eyre”, Jane had left Mr. Rochester and started to live a life of her own. The beginning of her journey was a struggle. She finally found a family that took her in and they turned out to be relatives of hers. She was put in charge of her very own school. A relative of hers died and she inherited money as well. Jane was an independent women and did not lean on a man to survive. It was her choice to go back to Mr. Rochester. It is a good example of true love since Jane is not with him because of his wealth or looks.

In conclusion, the folktale, “Bluebeard” and the novel, Jane Eyre share similar plots. These readings are representations of women overcoming the limitations they have put on them just because they are women. These women become free of outside rule. Bluebeard’s wife lives happily with her new found wealth and husband. Jane now seems to hold a higher power over Mr. Rochester. Due to injuries from the fire, Mr. Rochester began to live through Jane. Jane was his eyes and helped him get around. Jane Eyre portrays parallel events to that in the folktale, “Bluebeard”.