The Seven Wives of Bluebeard

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About this book

The narrator questions accounts of Bluebeard, recalling a school of comparative mythology that identified his seven wives with the Dawns and his brothers-in-law with the morning and evening Twilight. The narrator says that suspicions about Bluebeard grew from reported circumstances that failed to satisfy a craving for logic and lucidity.

Pierre de Lespoisse is described as a drunkard and gambler whose only known means of earning a living were pleasing ladies and winning at cards. The narrator rejects the report that the little cabinet’s key was flecked with blood, while acknowledging that blood had flowed inside at a remote time.

About the author

Anatole France

Anatole France (1844-1924) was a French novelist and Nobel laureate celebrated for his irony, elegance, and skeptical wit. He was one of the most admired French writers of his era.