SOURCE:“The Animal-Groom Cycle of Fairy Tales,” in The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales, Alfred A. Knopf, 1986, pp. 277-310.

In the following excerpt, from a work originally published in 1976, Bettelheim argues that “Bluebeard” teaches lessons about sexual morality and forgiveness, noting that the tale is Perrault's original narrative and not a retelling of a specific prior story.

Bluebeard is the most monstrous and beastly of all fairy-tale husbands. Actually this story is not a fairy tale, because with the single exception of the indelible blood on the key which gives away the fact that Bluebeard's bride has entered the forbidden room, there is nothing magical or supernatural in the story. More important, there is no development of any of the characters; although evil is punished in the end, this in itself makes neither for recovery nor for consolation. “Bluebeard” is a story invented...