Bluebeard - The Retelling of an Old Fable

Never again would they mistake power for wisdom, nor obedience for safety.

There was, and there was not, a man with a blue beard who took a young woman as his apprentice. His knowledge inspired her, though whispers warned of those who had come before. He granted her the keys to his vast estate, telling her she could open any door—except one. This story has been told before. We know how this ends.

At first, she obeyed. She studied under him, eager to learn, but as days passed, curiosity gnawed at her. Why forbid knowledge in a house built on it? When her sisters visited and saw her unease, they asked, “Why should one door remain closed?” Encouraged by their words and her own growing suspicion, she unlocked it.

Inside, she found the bloodstained remains of his former apprentices—all of them women. Horror-stricken, she dropped the key, and when she picked it up, she saw that it was stained with blood that would not wash away.

Bluebeard returned and saw the blood-stained key—the mark of her defiance. Enraged, he moved to strike her down. But her sisters had stayed. Together, they outwitted him, delaying his wrath until help arrived. In the end, Bluebeard fell, and his estate became theirs.

The sisters did not mourn him. Instead, they took what he had hoarded—his riches, his knowledge, his secrets—and forged their own paths. Never again would they mistake power for wisdom, nor obedience for safety.

© 2025 Sarah Dooley. Story and images by the author. All rights reserved.