WEBVTT - The Robber Bridegroom 0:00:08.245 --> 0:00:09.165 School of Humans. 0:00:13.045 --> 0:00:21.885 This episode discusses sensitive topics. Please listen with care. My 0:00:22.045 --> 0:00:26.085 name is Miranda Hawkins. Welcome to the Deep Dark Woods. 0:00:27.125 --> 0:00:40.605 Today's episode is ATU nine fifty five or the Robber Bridegroom. 0:00:40.885 --> 0:00:42.885 Once upon a time there was a miller who had 0:00:42.885 --> 0:00:46.405 a beautiful daughter. When she came of age, he wished 0:00:46.485 --> 0:00:49.805 that she was provided for and well married. He thought, 0:00:50.125 --> 0:00:53.205 if a respectable suitor comes and asks for her hand 0:00:53.245 --> 0:00:58.165 in marriage, I will give her to him. Not long afterwards, 0:00:58.165 --> 0:01:01.245 a suitor came who appeared to be very rich. And 0:01:01.285 --> 0:01:03.765 because the girl, however, did not like him as much 0:01:03.765 --> 0:01:06.605 as a bride should like her bride, she did not 0:01:06.725 --> 0:01:10.005 trust him, and whenever she saw him or thought about him, 0:01:10.085 --> 0:01:14.245 she felt within her heart a sense of horror. One 0:01:14.285 --> 0:01:17.325 time he said to her, you are engaged to marry me, 0:01:17.405 --> 0:01:20.805 but you have never once paid me a visit. The 0:01:20.885 --> 0:01:25.125 girl replied, I don't know where your house is. Then 0:01:25.165 --> 0:01:29.565 the bridegroom said, my house is out in the dark woods. 0:01:30.245 --> 0:01:32.245 Looking for an excuse, she said she would not be 0:01:32.325 --> 0:01:36.685 able to find the way there. The bridegroom said, next 0:01:36.845 --> 0:01:39.645 Sunday you must come out to me. I have already 0:01:39.645 --> 0:01:42.925 invited guests. I will make a trail of ashes so 0:01:42.965 --> 0:01:50.805 that you can find your way through the woods. When 0:01:50.885 --> 0:01:52.805 Sunday came and it was time for the girl to 0:01:52.845 --> 0:01:56.325 start on her way, she became frightened, although she herself 0:01:56.365 --> 0:02:00.405 did not know exactly why. In order to mark the path, 0:02:00.565 --> 0:02:03.965 she filled both her pockets full of peas and lentils. 0:02:05.205 --> 0:02:07.285 At the entrance of the forest, there was a trail 0:02:07.325 --> 0:02:10.965 of ashes, which she followed, but at every step she 0:02:11.045 --> 0:02:13.445 threw a couple of peas on to the ground to 0:02:13.525 --> 0:02:17.365 the right and to the left. She walked almost the 0:02:17.405 --> 0:02:19.845 whole day until she came to the middle of the woods, 0:02:20.045 --> 0:02:23.805 where it was the darkest, and there stood a solitary house. 0:02:25.325 --> 0:02:27.365 She did not like it because it looked so dark 0:02:27.405 --> 0:02:31.765 and sinister. She went inside, but no one was there. 0:02:32.805 --> 0:02:40.685 It was totally quiet. Suddenly a voice called out, turn back, 0:02:40.805 --> 0:02:44.685 turn back, you, young bride. You are in a murderer's house. 0:02:46.965 --> 0:02:48.925 The girl looked up and saw that the voice came 0:02:48.925 --> 0:02:50.965 from the bird, which was hanging in a cage on 0:02:51.005 --> 0:02:54.445 the wall. It cried out again, turn back, turn back, you, 0:02:54.445 --> 0:02:59.485 young bride, You are in a murderer's house. The beautiful 0:02:59.485 --> 0:03:02.565 bride went from one room to another, walking through the 0:03:02.605 --> 0:03:05.285 whole house, but it was empty, not a human soul 0:03:05.645 --> 0:03:11.285 to be found. Finally she came to a cellar. A 0:03:11.485 --> 0:03:15.805 very old woman was sitting there, shaking her head. Could 0:03:15.805 --> 0:03:18.245 you tell me, said the girl, if my bridegroom lives here? 0:03:20.205 --> 0:03:25.205 Oh you poor child, replied the old woman, Where did 0:03:25.205 --> 0:03:25.965 you come from? 0:03:26.645 --> 0:03:28.445 You are in a murderer's den. 0:03:29.365 --> 0:03:31.885 You think you are a bride soon to be married, 0:03:31.925 --> 0:03:35.325 but it is death that you will be marrying. Look, 0:03:36.085 --> 0:03:38.645 they made me put a large kettle of water on 0:03:38.725 --> 0:03:42.605 the fire. When they have captured you, they will chop 0:03:42.645 --> 0:03:45.245 you to pieces without mercy, cook you and eat you, 0:03:45.885 --> 0:03:49.125 for they are cannibals. If I do not show you 0:03:49.245 --> 0:03:55.245 compassion and save you, you are doomed with this. The 0:03:55.325 --> 0:03:57.965 old woman led her behind a large barrel where she 0:03:58.005 --> 0:04:01.005 could not be seen. Be quiet as a mouse, she said, 0:04:01.285 --> 0:04:03.565 do not make a sound or move, or all will 0:04:03.565 --> 0:04:06.645 be over for you. Tonight, when the robbers are asleep, 0:04:06.805 --> 0:04:11.845 we will escape. I have long waited for an opportunity. 0:04:11.965 --> 0:04:14.885 This had scarcely happened. When the godless band came home, 0:04:18.205 --> 0:04:21.965 they were dragging with them another maiden. They were drunk 0:04:22.005 --> 0:04:26.125 and paid no attention to her screams and sobs. They 0:04:26.165 --> 0:04:29.725 gave her wine to drink, three glasses full, one glass 0:04:29.725 --> 0:04:33.045 of white, one glass of red, and one glass of yellow, 0:04:33.285 --> 0:04:37.485 which caused her heart to break. Then they ripped off 0:04:37.485 --> 0:04:39.885 her fine clothes, laid her on the table, chopped her 0:04:39.925 --> 0:04:44.965 beautiful body in pieces, and sprinkled salt on it. The 0:04:45.005 --> 0:04:48.285 poor bride behind the barrel trembled and shook, for she 0:04:48.325 --> 0:04:50.885 saw well what fate the robbers had planned for her. 0:04:52.325 --> 0:04:54.325 One of them noticed a gold ring on the murdered 0:04:54.325 --> 0:04:57.805 girl's little finger. Because it did not come off, he 0:04:57.885 --> 0:05:02.205 took an axe and chopped the finger off, but it 0:05:02.245 --> 0:05:05.125 flew into the air and over the barrel, falling right 0:05:05.205 --> 0:05:09.645 into bride's lap. The robber took a light and looked 0:05:09.685 --> 0:05:13.645 for it, but could not find it. Then another one said, 0:05:13.845 --> 0:05:17.005 did you look behind the large barrel, But the old 0:05:17.005 --> 0:05:19.525 woman cried out, come and eat. You can continue looking 0:05:19.525 --> 0:05:22.165 in the morning. That finger won't run away from you. 0:05:23.525 --> 0:05:27.565 Then the robbers said the old woman's right. They gave 0:05:27.645 --> 0:05:31.725 up their search and they sat down to eat. The 0:05:31.765 --> 0:05:34.485 old woman poured a sleeping potion into their wine, so 0:05:34.525 --> 0:05:36.965 that they soon lay down in the cellar and fell 0:05:37.005 --> 0:05:42.405 asleep snoring. When the bride heard them snoring, she came 0:05:42.445 --> 0:05:44.885 out from behind the barrel and had to step over 0:05:44.965 --> 0:05:47.605 the sleepers, for they lay all in rows on the ground. 0:05:48.925 --> 0:05:50.965 She was afraid that she might awaken one of them, 0:05:51.045 --> 0:05:55.445 but God helped her and she got through safely. The 0:05:55.525 --> 0:05:58.045 old woman went upstairs with her, opened the door, and 0:05:58.085 --> 0:06:00.285 they hurried out of the murderers down as fast as 0:06:00.325 --> 0:06:06.085 they could. The wind had blown away the trail of ashes, 0:06:06.125 --> 0:06:08.765 but the peas and lentils had sprouted and grown up 0:06:08.965 --> 0:06:12.005 and showed them the way in the moonlight. They walked 0:06:12.045 --> 0:06:15.885 all night, arriving at the mill the next morning. Then 0:06:16.445 --> 0:06:20.165 the girl told her father everything just as it had happened. 0:06:23.325 --> 0:06:26.445 When the wedding day came, the bridegroom appeared. The miller 0:06:26.485 --> 0:06:30.725 had invited all his relatives and acquaintances. As they sat 0:06:30.765 --> 0:06:33.445 at the table, each one was asked to tell something. 0:06:34.885 --> 0:06:39.165 The bride sat still and said nothing. Then the bridegroom 0:06:39.245 --> 0:06:42.365 said to the bride, come, sweetheart, don't you know anything? 0:06:42.805 --> 0:06:47.005 Tell us something like the others have done. She answered, 0:06:47.565 --> 0:06:50.645 then I will tell about a dream. I was walking 0:06:50.645 --> 0:06:53.005 alone through the woods when finally I came to a 0:06:53.085 --> 0:06:57.325 house inside there was not a single human soul. But 0:06:57.445 --> 0:06:59.285 on the wall there was a bird in a cage. 0:06:59.365 --> 0:07:03.405 It cried out, turn back, turn back, you young bride, 0:07:03.485 --> 0:07:07.085 You are in a murderer's house. Then it cried out 0:07:07.085 --> 0:07:10.965 the same thing again, Darling, it was only a dream. 0:07:12.885 --> 0:07:16.125 Then I went through all the rooms. They were all empty, 0:07:16.125 --> 0:07:20.085 and there was something so eerie in there. Finally I 0:07:20.125 --> 0:07:23.045 went down into the cellar, and there sat a very 0:07:23.125 --> 0:07:27.925 old woman, shaking her head. She answered, alas, poor child, 0:07:28.525 --> 0:07:32.645 you have gotten into a murderer's den. Your bridegroom does 0:07:32.725 --> 0:07:35.125 live here, but he intends to chop you to pieces 0:07:35.165 --> 0:07:37.965 and kill you. And then he intends to cook you 0:07:38.085 --> 0:07:44.805 and eat you. Darling, it was only a dream. After that, 0:07:44.845 --> 0:07:48.045 the old woman hid me behind a large barrel. I 0:07:48.085 --> 0:07:51.005 had scarcely hidden myself there. When the robbers came home, 0:07:51.485 --> 0:07:54.765 dragging a girl with them. They gave her three kinds 0:07:54.765 --> 0:07:59.245 of wine to drink, white, red, and yellow, which caused 0:07:59.245 --> 0:08:04.005 her heart to stop beating. Darling, it was only a dream. 0:08:06.165 --> 0:08:08.765 After that, they took off her fine clothes and chopped 0:08:08.765 --> 0:08:12.605 her beautiful body to pieces on a table, then sprinkled 0:08:12.645 --> 0:08:17.765 salt on it. Darling, it was only a dream. Then 0:08:17.805 --> 0:08:19.725 one of the robbers saw that there was still a 0:08:19.805 --> 0:08:23.045 ring on her finger. Because it was hard to get 0:08:23.045 --> 0:08:25.725 the ring off, he took an axe and chopped off 0:08:25.765 --> 0:08:28.565 the finger. The finger flew through the air behind the 0:08:28.645 --> 0:08:32.565 large barrel and fell into my lap. And here is 0:08:32.605 --> 0:08:37.285 the finger with the ring. With these words, she pulled 0:08:37.285 --> 0:08:39.365 out the finger and showed it to every one who 0:08:39.405 --> 0:08:42.765 was there. The robber, who had during this story become 0:08:42.805 --> 0:08:45.605 white as chalk, jumped up and tried to escape, but 0:08:45.685 --> 0:08:48.325 the guests held him fast and turned him over to 0:08:48.365 --> 0:08:53.245 the ports. Then he and his whole band were executed 0:08:53.445 --> 0:09:04.645 for their shameful deeds. 0:09:05.805 --> 0:09:08.565 The Robber Bridegroom isn't as well known as the other 0:09:08.645 --> 0:09:11.645 tales we've talked about in the show. It was never 0:09:11.685 --> 0:09:15.565 picked up by Walt Disney or rewritten for a younger audience. 0:09:16.165 --> 0:09:19.885 In fact, it wasn't even popular during the Grimm's time. 0:09:21.565 --> 0:09:24.885 This story wasn't included in their eighteen twenty five collection 0:09:25.965 --> 0:09:29.085 that was the year their tales began to gain popularity, 0:09:29.725 --> 0:09:33.245 and this story hasn't been found in collections targeted at 0:09:33.325 --> 0:09:39.405 children past nineteen sixty. Although the underlying theme is about marriage, 0:09:39.445 --> 0:09:43.405 some folklorists don't view The Robber Bridegroom as a fairy tale, 0:09:43.925 --> 0:09:49.525 but rather as a horror story. The Robber Bridegroom is 0:09:49.565 --> 0:09:52.405 one of the most violent tales by the Grim Brothers, 0:09:52.885 --> 0:09:56.685 which is impressive considering all of the violence we've already 0:09:56.765 --> 0:10:02.925 encountered from Cinderella's stepsisters cutting off their feet, Rumpelstilskin splitting 0:10:02.965 --> 0:10:06.405 in half, Little Red and her grandmother getting devoured by 0:10:06.405 --> 0:10:06.845 a wolf. 0:10:07.765 --> 0:10:08.485 And if you are. 0:10:08.405 --> 0:10:11.445 Reading this grim story in a book, it becomes even 0:10:11.525 --> 0:10:14.445 more horrific with the illustrations. 0:10:15.845 --> 0:10:18.765 Fairy tales come with illustrations, and we often see that 0:10:18.925 --> 0:10:23.165 moment where all the characters are together being chosen as 0:10:23.405 --> 0:10:26.445 an illustrative moment, the moment to illustrate in a story. 0:10:27.365 --> 0:10:29.765 This is folklorist doctor Len McNeil. 0:10:30.725 --> 0:10:33.885 And when we think about this scene in the house 0:10:34.005 --> 0:10:36.285 in the middle of the woods, our young heroine is 0:10:36.325 --> 0:10:40.405 hiding behind some boxes and there is just straight up 0:10:40.725 --> 0:10:44.365 butchery and debauchery happening in the same room as her. 0:10:44.405 --> 0:10:47.165 A woman is being murdered, she's being chopped up. Body 0:10:47.205 --> 0:10:50.765 parts are literally flying around the room. We can picture 0:10:51.085 --> 0:10:54.245 the bloody scene and the moment they go looking and 0:10:54.285 --> 0:10:56.245 the old woman comes in and says no, no, no, no, 0:10:56.645 --> 0:10:59.685 Come and eat like everyone's there together, right, and we 0:10:59.765 --> 0:11:03.445 have it all encapsulated, the violence, these bad people, the victim, 0:11:03.765 --> 0:11:07.125 the girl hiding, the tension, woman trying to distract them. 0:11:07.165 --> 0:11:10.005 Like that moment just brings all of these things together, 0:11:10.085 --> 0:11:11.965 and it's really visceral. 0:11:13.245 --> 0:11:17.845 Clearly, the robber bridegroom is incredibly violent, with a gruesome 0:11:17.965 --> 0:11:22.405 murder and cannibalism, and doctor McNeil says there's a specific 0:11:22.525 --> 0:11:25.725 reason why the Grims did that. It was to make 0:11:25.765 --> 0:11:30.685 it extremely obvious that these men, including the future husband, 0:11:30.965 --> 0:11:31.565 are evil. 0:11:32.765 --> 0:11:38.645 Fairy tales, by definition, are understood to be fairly simplistic structurally. 0:11:38.885 --> 0:11:41.565 These are some of the defining characteristics of these tales 0:11:41.605 --> 0:11:45.085 is that they don't have long, ornate passages that describe 0:11:45.085 --> 0:11:47.845 in detail various things. So if you want something to 0:11:47.925 --> 0:11:50.925 have an impact, you have to make it pretty stark. 0:11:51.325 --> 0:11:55.645 We need our readers or listeners to know that these 0:11:55.725 --> 0:12:00.845 bad guys are bad, like they are not oh ambiguously bad, 0:12:00.885 --> 0:12:03.805 They're not just sort of selfish and mean. These are 0:12:03.805 --> 0:12:05.685 the worst of the worst. That story has been being 0:12:05.765 --> 0:12:09.245 told for literal thousands of years about whoever it is 0:12:09.285 --> 0:12:12.005 that we want to be able to hate without nuance, 0:12:12.605 --> 0:12:17.005 and it's really interesting to see that motif crop up, 0:12:17.485 --> 0:12:19.605 so that we don't have to think, we don't have 0:12:19.645 --> 0:12:24.085 to complicate these people, we can just hate them. 0:12:24.405 --> 0:12:28.125 Another element that increases the suspense and horror of the 0:12:28.205 --> 0:12:31.445 story is that the merchant's daughter has to march into 0:12:31.565 --> 0:12:34.885 her fate, despite the feeling of an ease she has. 0:12:35.405 --> 0:12:38.365 She has to marry this man her father found for her, 0:12:38.805 --> 0:12:42.085 and she has to go see her future husband's house. 0:12:43.165 --> 0:12:46.885 Similarly to how she couldn't escape without the old woman's help, 0:12:47.325 --> 0:12:52.085 she can't escape the will of the men in her life. 0:12:52.365 --> 0:12:55.965 One of the tropes that we see here is how 0:12:56.085 --> 0:12:59.045 powerless women are at the hands of men. So her 0:12:59.045 --> 0:13:02.885 father encouraging her towards this marriage that she just does 0:13:02.925 --> 0:13:06.165 not feel good about, and then her husband to be 0:13:06.925 --> 0:13:10.765 encouraging her to make choices that her gut tells her 0:13:10.805 --> 0:13:12.565 do not feel good. Yeah, my house is in the 0:13:12.605 --> 0:13:14.245 middle of the woods. You should see it before we 0:13:14.285 --> 0:13:18.365 get married. Walk there alone at night through the forest. 0:13:18.485 --> 0:13:24.405 It'll be fine. All of these things are going against instinct. 0:13:24.525 --> 0:13:28.805 I think that we know historically that men making deals 0:13:28.805 --> 0:13:31.805 with other men about marriage is an incredibly common practice 0:13:31.845 --> 0:13:34.845 around the world, so a woman's father and a woman's 0:13:34.885 --> 0:13:37.965 future husband would often negotiate the terms of her marriage 0:13:37.965 --> 0:13:41.445 without her involvement at all, so that's not particularly surprising. 0:13:41.485 --> 0:13:45.085 Here we do have the fairy tale elements of come 0:13:45.125 --> 0:13:48.805 into the woods, go against your instinct, put yourself in danger, 0:13:48.845 --> 0:13:52.485 and clearly he has no good intent here at all. 0:13:52.805 --> 0:13:56.885 We get sort of that tension of a woman ostensibly 0:13:56.925 --> 0:14:02.045 behaving in a societally appropriate way, but knowing something is wrong. 0:14:03.365 --> 0:14:07.285 The Robbert Bridegroom is a disturbing indeed, and some people 0:14:07.605 --> 0:14:10.965 even consider it a Gothic story instead of a simple 0:14:11.005 --> 0:14:15.325 fairy tale. In the time of Mary Shelley and Edgar 0:14:15.365 --> 0:14:20.725 Allan Poe, the word German evoked feelings of darkness and ominousness, 0:14:21.205 --> 0:14:24.325 and that's when the Robber Bridegroom entered the world. But 0:14:24.445 --> 0:14:27.845 let's look at the fairy tales. The Robber Bridegroom is 0:14:27.885 --> 0:14:32.205 one of many stories that features a murderous husband, and 0:14:32.285 --> 0:14:45.525 in one tale type, he's a serial killer. As with 0:14:45.645 --> 0:14:48.885 their other stories. The brothers Grim heard the Robber Bridegroom 0:14:49.045 --> 0:14:52.565 from Marie Hasenflug, one of the sisters who was a 0:14:52.565 --> 0:14:54.725 descendant of French Huguenots. 0:14:55.445 --> 0:14:56.165 One tale that. 0:14:56.165 --> 0:15:00.045 Is closely related to the Robber Bridegroom is Bluebeard. It's 0:15:00.085 --> 0:15:04.485 a different tale type ATU three twelve, but it could 0:15:04.565 --> 0:15:09.005 have possibly better the inspiration for the Robber Bridegroom. The 0:15:09.125 --> 0:15:12.285 Grims wrote their own version of blue Beard and included 0:15:12.285 --> 0:15:15.165 it in their first edition, but then they decided that 0:15:15.205 --> 0:15:19.085 the tale was too French and not authentically German enough 0:15:19.165 --> 0:15:23.885 for them to include in future editions. It was very 0:15:23.925 --> 0:15:27.045 similar to the tale by Charles Perraut, which was published 0:15:27.045 --> 0:15:32.085 in sixteen ninety seven. There's a rich man who is 0:15:32.165 --> 0:15:35.205 unlucky to have a blue beard, which makes him so 0:15:35.605 --> 0:15:36.685 ugly that. 0:15:36.645 --> 0:15:38.245 All the ladies run from him. 0:15:38.685 --> 0:15:42.085 But one of his neighbors has two beautiful daughters, and 0:15:42.165 --> 0:15:45.245 he asks to have one of them as his bride. 0:15:45.485 --> 0:15:48.445 The two sisters sent him back and forth between the two, 0:15:49.165 --> 0:15:53.845 neither one wanting him for his ugliness. Another reason neither 0:15:53.925 --> 0:15:56.605 sister wants to marry him is they know he has 0:15:56.685 --> 0:16:00.805 been previously married several times, but no one knows what's 0:16:00.925 --> 0:16:02.165 happened to those wives. 0:16:03.845 --> 0:16:04.485 To win their. 0:16:04.325 --> 0:16:08.525 Affection, Bluebeard decides to host the mother daughters and some 0:16:08.605 --> 0:16:10.605 of their friends and other neighbors at one of his 0:16:10.685 --> 0:16:16.445 country homes. The time is filled with parties, hunting, fishing, dancing, mirth, 0:16:16.525 --> 0:16:17.165 and feasting. 0:16:18.205 --> 0:16:19.685 Everything goes so well. 0:16:19.965 --> 0:16:22.965 The youngest daughter decides a blue Beard isn't so bad 0:16:23.005 --> 0:16:23.925 after all. 0:16:24.005 --> 0:16:25.685 And that he is quite the gentleman. 0:16:26.725 --> 0:16:29.845 When everyone returns home, blue Beard and the youngest daughter 0:16:29.925 --> 0:16:34.445 are married. A month later, blue Beard announces he has 0:16:34.485 --> 0:16:37.965 to leave for six weeks to attend to important business. 0:16:38.405 --> 0:16:41.285 He tells her to keep herself entertained while he's gone 0:16:41.605 --> 0:16:45.405 by inviting her friends to the country house. He hands 0:16:45.445 --> 0:16:45.885 her a. 0:16:45.765 --> 0:16:46.605 Set of keys. 0:16:46.965 --> 0:16:50.765 One key unlocks great wardrobes where he keeps his best furniture, 0:16:51.325 --> 0:16:54.445 Another unlocks where he keeps his gold and silver plates, 0:16:55.445 --> 0:16:59.805 another to his gold, silver, and jewels, and finally the 0:16:59.925 --> 0:17:03.645 smallest key, which opens a little closet on the ground floor. 0:17:04.405 --> 0:17:07.765 He tells her she can open anything she wants except 0:17:07.925 --> 0:17:11.605 for the small closet. If she does, she should expect 0:17:11.605 --> 0:17:16.085 his just anger. She promises to do as he says. 0:17:16.525 --> 0:17:19.045 Then he gets into his coach and leaves. 0:17:22.165 --> 0:17:22.325 Her. 0:17:22.325 --> 0:17:24.885 Neighbors and friends didn't wait for an invite to go 0:17:24.925 --> 0:17:25.925 to the country. 0:17:25.525 --> 0:17:26.765 House with the new wife. 0:17:27.205 --> 0:17:30.005 They had been waiting for her husband to leave before 0:17:30.205 --> 0:17:32.125 visiting because they were still. 0:17:31.885 --> 0:17:33.045 Frightened of his beard. 0:17:34.365 --> 0:17:38.285 As a new wife begins unlocking everything, everyone is beside 0:17:38.285 --> 0:17:42.365 themselves with the treasures for each finery surpasses the one 0:17:42.405 --> 0:17:46.165 before it, but the new bride can't wait and heads 0:17:46.165 --> 0:17:48.405 to the little door before the rest of the party. 0:17:49.165 --> 0:17:52.005 She thinks a moment about her husband's warning, but the 0:17:52.045 --> 0:17:57.125 temptation is too strong. She opens the door. It takes 0:17:57.125 --> 0:18:00.405 a minute because all the windows are shut, but after 0:18:00.485 --> 0:18:04.525 a few moments she realizes the floors are covered in 0:18:04.565 --> 0:18:07.805 clotted blood. The room is filled with the bodies of 0:18:07.845 --> 0:18:14.885 Bluebeard's previous wives. Terrified, she drops the key. After somewhat recovering, 0:18:15.165 --> 0:18:18.165 she picks the key back up and locks the door again. 0:18:19.365 --> 0:18:22.005 The new wife notices there is blood on the key, 0:18:22.525 --> 0:18:25.245 but no matter how much she tries to wipe it off, 0:18:25.645 --> 0:18:30.485 the blood remains, for it's a magical key. Bluebeard returns 0:18:30.485 --> 0:18:33.765 from his journey that same evening. He had received letters 0:18:33.765 --> 0:18:36.605 while on the road informing him his business matters were 0:18:36.605 --> 0:18:40.045 concluded to his advantage. His new wife does all she 0:18:40.085 --> 0:18:43.045 can to convince him she's happy of his early return. 0:18:44.165 --> 0:18:48.045 The next morning, he asks for the keys, her hands 0:18:48.045 --> 0:18:53.045 tremble so much he already knows she didn't obey. He 0:18:53.205 --> 0:18:56.285 asks why the small key isn't among the rest. She 0:18:56.445 --> 0:19:00.405 replies she does not know. He then pushes her to 0:19:00.445 --> 0:19:01.565 retrieve the key. 0:19:01.565 --> 0:19:02.285 Which she does. 0:19:03.165 --> 0:19:06.285 When he asks why there's blood on the key, she cries, 0:19:06.485 --> 0:19:11.445 paler than death. I do not know, you do not know, 0:19:11.805 --> 0:19:15.525 replies blue Beard. I very well know you went into 0:19:15.565 --> 0:19:16.805 the closet, did you not? 0:19:17.685 --> 0:19:18.645 Very well? Madam? 0:19:19.125 --> 0:19:21.325 You shall go back and take your place among the 0:19:21.405 --> 0:19:25.485 ladies you saw there. The new wife begs blue Beard 0:19:25.525 --> 0:19:29.765 to spare her, but he refuses. Pirot writes, she would 0:19:29.805 --> 0:19:33.325 have melted a rock, so beautiful and sorrowful was she, 0:19:34.005 --> 0:19:36.165 But blue Beard had a heart harder. 0:19:35.885 --> 0:19:36.605 Than any rock. 0:19:37.765 --> 0:19:40.285 The new wife convinces blue Beard to give her time 0:19:40.365 --> 0:19:44.085 to pray before he kills her. He concedes and gives 0:19:44.125 --> 0:19:47.845 her half a quarter of an hour. The new wife 0:19:47.925 --> 0:19:50.325 calls up to her sister Anne, who is still at 0:19:50.325 --> 0:19:53.525 the country house. She asks Anne to climb to the 0:19:53.525 --> 0:19:55.685 top of the tower to see if her brothers are coming. 0:19:56.325 --> 0:19:59.725 They had made plans to arrive that day, and if 0:19:59.765 --> 0:20:02.445 Anne does see them, to give them a sign to 0:20:02.565 --> 0:20:06.125 make haste. Three times is Anne and see a cloud 0:20:06.165 --> 0:20:09.885 of dust, and three times it's not her brother's. On 0:20:10.005 --> 0:20:13.645 the fourth look, Anne sees two horsemen, but there's still a. 0:20:13.565 --> 0:20:14.405 Great way off. 0:20:15.445 --> 0:20:19.005 Blue Beard has no more patience and balls so loudly 0:20:19.365 --> 0:20:22.565 that his distressed wife comes down and throws herself at 0:20:22.565 --> 0:20:25.805 his feet. He uses one hand to grab her hair 0:20:25.845 --> 0:20:28.405 and hold her head back, while the other hand holds 0:20:28.405 --> 0:20:32.485 a sword poise to strike her head off. As he's 0:20:32.525 --> 0:20:35.365 about to kill her, there's such a loud knocking at 0:20:35.405 --> 0:20:38.925 the gate that Bluebeard stops. The gate opens and the 0:20:38.965 --> 0:20:43.925 two horsemen enter. Blue Beard recognizes it's his wife's two brothers, 0:20:44.485 --> 0:20:47.605 one who is a dragoon and the other a musketeer, 0:20:48.285 --> 0:20:51.245 and so he turns to flee to safe himself. But 0:20:51.365 --> 0:20:54.325 do two brothers catch him and run their swords through him, 0:20:54.685 --> 0:21:00.965 leaving his body where he dies. Since blue Beard has 0:21:01.085 --> 0:21:04.405 no heirs or mistress, all his fortune goes to his 0:21:04.445 --> 0:21:07.605 new wife. She uses part of it to marry her 0:21:07.645 --> 0:21:10.165 sister Anne to a young gentleman who has been in 0:21:10.165 --> 0:21:13.645 love with Anne for a while now. She uses another 0:21:13.685 --> 0:21:17.165 part to buy captain's commissions for her brothers, and the 0:21:17.205 --> 0:21:20.765 rest she uses to marry herself to a worthy gentleman, 0:21:21.165 --> 0:21:27.525 who in time makes her forget blue Beard. Perrot's morals 0:21:27.565 --> 0:21:32.045 are a bit heavy handed in this tale. He writes, curiosity, 0:21:32.245 --> 0:21:35.205 in spite of its appeal, often leads to deep regret, 0:21:36.165 --> 0:21:39.645 to the displeasure of many a maiden, Its enjoyment. 0:21:39.325 --> 0:21:40.205 Is short lived. 0:21:40.685 --> 0:21:45.205 Once satisfied, it ceases to exist, and always costs dearly. 0:21:46.005 --> 0:21:49.605 Apply logic to this grim story, and you will ascertain 0:21:49.885 --> 0:21:53.765 that it took place many years ago. No husband of 0:21:53.845 --> 0:21:56.845 our age would be so terrible as to demand the 0:21:56.885 --> 0:22:00.645 impossible for his wife, nor would he be such a 0:22:00.725 --> 0:22:04.925 jealous malcontent. For whatever the color of her husband's beard, 0:22:05.245 --> 0:22:07.085 the wife of today will let. 0:22:07.005 --> 0:22:08.725 Him know who the master is. 0:22:11.445 --> 0:22:15.245 On one hand, Perrot scolds women for their curiosity. On 0:22:15.325 --> 0:22:21.845 the other hand, he warns against controlling jealous husbands. Robbers 0:22:21.845 --> 0:22:25.325 with colorful beards aren't unusual, though, and appear in several 0:22:25.365 --> 0:22:29.165 other tales. Switching back to at U nine fifty five, 0:22:29.725 --> 0:22:33.645 there's a Lithuanian tale published in eighteen fifty seven titled 0:22:33.885 --> 0:22:37.565 green Beard in the City. There is a wealthy merchant 0:22:37.565 --> 0:22:40.845 with a beautiful daughter. The girl says she will only 0:22:40.845 --> 0:22:43.965 marry a man with a green beard. In the woods 0:22:44.005 --> 0:22:48.805 surrounding the city, twenty four robbers live together. The handsome 0:22:48.845 --> 0:22:51.965 captain says he wants to marry this girl, so he 0:22:52.125 --> 0:22:56.245 finds the dye to turn his beard green. After coloring 0:22:56.285 --> 0:22:59.445 his beard, the captain rides into the city and courts 0:22:59.485 --> 0:23:03.245 the merchant's daughter. She likes him so much that he 0:23:03.325 --> 0:23:06.485 spends the night. The next day, plans are made for 0:23:06.525 --> 0:23:09.285 her to visit him at his large mansion in the woods. 0:23:09.965 --> 0:23:14.045 He gives her directions, which she follows on horseback. The 0:23:14.085 --> 0:23:17.165 path becomes too narrow, so she dismounts her horse and 0:23:17.205 --> 0:23:21.045 continues on foot. Soon she comes upon a small house 0:23:21.165 --> 0:23:23.005 with two lions chained. 0:23:22.765 --> 0:23:25.765 Near the door. When she realizes. 0:23:25.365 --> 0:23:28.805 They're not doing anything, she goes inside. 0:23:28.845 --> 0:23:29.525 She enters her. 0:23:29.525 --> 0:23:32.285 Room with beds and flint locks hanging on the walls. 0:23:32.925 --> 0:23:36.885 Flintlocks are guns that use the striking of flint to fire. 0:23:37.925 --> 0:23:40.125 In the next room is a table with a bird 0:23:40.205 --> 0:23:43.605 in a cage hanging from the rafter. The little bird 0:23:43.685 --> 0:23:46.445 asks how she got in and tells her that robbers 0:23:46.485 --> 0:23:50.205 live there. The bird also warns if she tries to 0:23:50.325 --> 0:23:53.005 leave now, the lions will eat her, so she needs 0:23:53.005 --> 0:23:55.645 to hide under the bed until the robbers get drunk 0:23:55.725 --> 0:23:58.965 and pass out. Then as she leaves, she can throw 0:23:59.005 --> 0:24:00.485 a piece of cake to each. 0:24:00.325 --> 0:24:01.365 Lion and run away. 0:24:02.205 --> 0:24:05.125 The girl follows the bird's advice and crawls under the bed. 0:24:05.765 --> 0:24:08.925 When the robbers come home, one says it smells of 0:24:09.045 --> 0:24:12.525 human flesh, but the bird makes excuses and the robbers 0:24:12.525 --> 0:24:16.885 stop asking questions. The robbers have brought home a girl 0:24:16.925 --> 0:24:20.845 with them. First they eat dinner, then they chop the 0:24:20.885 --> 0:24:25.205 other girl into pieces, starting with her fingers. The finger 0:24:25.245 --> 0:24:28.005 with the ring flies out of the carnage and lands 0:24:28.045 --> 0:24:31.005 beside the girl hiding under the bed. She puts it 0:24:31.045 --> 0:24:35.405 in her pocket. After the robbers drink themselves to sleep, 0:24:35.645 --> 0:24:38.245 the girl comes out from under the bed, feeds the 0:24:38.245 --> 0:24:41.445