Curiosity gives rise to hairy moments

Decapitation is a gruesome punishment for the acquisition of knowledge; yet, in the different versions of the "Bluebeard" tale, this is the cruel fate of women who learn their husbands' darkest secrets. In the earliest French version of the tale (1697), however, the young bride who discovers that her husband (with an inexplicably blue beard) has murdered his former wives escapes this fate and not only goes unpunished for her curiosity but also takes Bluebeard's riches. Not so in later German adaptations. From the 19th century and the Grimms onwards, she is marginalised in the tale and her character blackened. The idea prevails that she has to be punished for her curiosity, whereas Bluebeard becomes the centre of attention and is exculpated.

The exploration of this development is at the heart of Mererid Puw Davies's book The Tale of Bluebeard in German Literature . In applying Norbert Elias's theory of the construction of civilised modern identity, Davies demonstrates how Bluebeard can be used to examine the "process of civilisation", exemplifying her thesis through instructive readings of the different versions through the centuries. In the early texts, she finds that external force and violence are used to subjugate the wife. The treatment of the wife takes a more "refined" form in the 19th century when the abuse is mostly psychological. In the later 20th century, the symbolic order has become so inherent that the women struggle with an internalised principle of self-control.

Davies's rejection of psychoanalytic approaches is persuasive, showing how these readings treat the story ahistorically, erase gender politics from it and exonerate Bluebeard. However, her position in the feminist framework of research into these tales ( Märchen ) remains vague.

Her argument that "the Märchen is a less objective and timeless form than is popularly thought; (that) the German canon not only fails to cover the complexity and diversity of the literature in question but also favours masculinist values; and [that] many women authors do tend to handle the Blaubartmärchen  differently from canonical authors, who are more likely to be men" is argued lucidly. But I am not entirely convinced by her summary of the 20th-century material: for the increased production of German Bluebeard texts from 1905 until 1925 and again from 1968 onwards, she says that "Blaubart" is used as an outlet during periods of cultural unease or change, which fails to explain the situation before and during the National Socialist period and does not tally with the huge interest in the tale in the 19th century.

Nevertheless, the majority of her readings are perceptive and provocative. Unfortunately, the uniform structure of the book dampens the enthusiasm for reading the latter chapters. However, her considerable expansion of the corpus of Bluebeard tales to some 70 texts and operas is commendable, especially as many of them have been forgotten for more than a century. Davies also touches on a host of other questions - the patrilinearity of Herder's view of folklore and society, the reinterpretation of the ogre as female, the relationship between beards and keys; more than enough reason for her study to be read by anybody interested in German literature and culture, feminist topics, the development of a literary theme or Märchen .

Anja Hill-Zenk is a PhD researcher, University of Marburg, Germany.