The Monstrous Masculine? Embodying Bluebeard and his Wives in Chaplin, Chabrol, Nothomb and Breillat

Abstract

Charles Perrault’s 17^th century fairy tale Bluebeard recounts the story of a wealthy man who secretly murders his wives.  Three kinds of corporeality mark the tale: the titular character’s blue beard, a sign of his difference and ugliness; the beauty of the young neighbour who becomes Bluebeard’s final wife;  and the bodies of his wives hidden behind a closet door.  While Perrault’s fable had two morals—one about feminine resilience and the other a warning about feminine curiosity—modern retellings, both cinematic and literary, have chosen different thematic emphases.  This paper will argue that the question of corporeality—and its link to genre—is one feature which distinguishes the modern versions from Perrault’s fable.  The particular element of corporeality on which I will focus is that of monstrosity.  Barbara Creed, in relation to horror films, has written about the monstrous feminine, which draws on Kristeva’s concept of the abject, linked to the female and in particular maternal body, that which disturbs borders, rules.  But does a monstrous masculine also exist?  If so, Bluebeard would be a good place to start, as Bruno Bettelheim describes him as “the most monstrous and beastly of all fairytale husbands.”  This paper will look at the uses to which Bluebeard is put in this set of 20^th and 21^st century retellings. It will argue that Bluebeard’s monstrosity undergoes a kind of slippage, rendering him something closer to an homme fatal figure, and it will question why this transformation might have taken place.

About the Speaker

Joe Hardwick is a lecturer in the School of Languages and Cultures at the University of Queensland where he teaches French cinema, literature, cultural studies and language.  He is currently conducting research on the homme fatal in French cinema.