Title: Revenge of the mutilated wives : Bluebeards in Margaret Atwood's novels
Source document: Brno studies in English. 2021, vol. 47, iss. 2, pp. 87-103
Extent
87-103
-
ISSN0524-6881 (print)1805-0867 (online)
Persistent identifier (DOI): https://doi.org/10.5817/BSE2021-2-7
Stable URL (handle): https://hdl.handle.net/11222.digilib/144878
Type: Article
Language
License: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International
Notice: These citations are automatically created and might not follow citation rules properly.
Abstract(s)
The article examines revenge strategies in Margaret Atwood's novels that draw inspiration from Bluebeard-type fairy tales. This fairy tale type is named after Charles Perrault's "Bluebeard", and includes related tales such as the Grimms' "The Robber Bridegroom" and "Fitcher's Bird". Variations on this family of plots appear throughout Atwood's oeuvre, most prominently in The Robber Bride, The Blind Assassin, and The Testaments. The key elements – curiosity, the bloody chamber, the blood-stained key, the tell-tale egg, and the chopped-up bodies in a bowl of blood – are invoked in new combinations with new associations to complicate the victim-oppressor hierarchy. This paper argues that in Atwood's revisions of Bluebeardian themes, she challenges traditional conceptions of the Bluebeardian predator. By rewriting fairy tales in a creative manner, Atwood explores not only the importance of surviving the violent attacks, but also the survivors' revenge strategies: from self-harm to bearing witness and making public accusations of the Bluebeardian oppressors. By sharing their stories, Atwood's protagonists can take control of their lives and resist aggressors' attempts to silence them or transfer guilt to them for their curiosity.
References
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[2] Atwood, Margaret ([1972] 1998) Surfacing. New York: Anchor.
[3] Atwood, Margaret ([1976] 1982) Lady Oracle. London: Virago.
[4] Atwood, Margaret ([1979] 1980) Life Before Man. Toronto: Seal.
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[18] Atwood, Margaret (2019) The Testaments. London: Chatto & Windus.
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[20] Barzilai, Shuli (2017) How Far Would You Go? Trajectories of Revenge in Margaret Atwood's Short Fiction. Contemporary Women's Writing 11(3), 316–335. Accessed on 8 Mar 2020. https://doi-org.ezproxy.muni.cz/10.1093/cww/vpx029. | DOI 10.1093/cww/vpx029
[21] Goldner, Limor, Rachel Lev-Wiesel, and Simon Guy (2019) Revenge Fantasies After Experiencing Traumatic Events: Sex Differences. Frontiers in Psychology 10, 1–9. Accessed on 31 Jan 2020. DOI 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00886. |
[22] Golwitzer, Mario, Markus Denzler (2009) What makes revenge sweet: Seeing the offender suffer or delivering a message? Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 45, 840–844. Accessed on 3 Apr 2020. doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2009.03.001 | DOI 10.1016/j.jesp.2009.03.001
[23] Grace, Sherrill E. (1984) Courting Bluebeard with Bartók, Atwood, and Fowles: Modern Treatment of the Bluebeard Theme. Journal of Modern Literature 11(2), 245–262. Accessed on 3 Apr 2020. https://www-jstor-org.ezproxy.muni.cz/stable/3831246.
[24] Grobbink, L. H., Derksen, J. J., and van Marle, H. J. (2015). Revenge an analysis of its psychological underpinnings. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology. 59, 892–907. Accessed on 5 Apr 2020. DOI 10.1177/0306624X13519963. |
[25] Haase, Donald (2004) Fairy Tales and Feminism: New Approaches. Detroit: Wayne State University Press.
[26] Hermansson, Casie E. (2009) Bluebeard: A Reader's Guide to the English Tradition. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi.
[27] Lillie, M., & Strelan, P. (2016) Careful what you wish for: Fantasizing about revenge increases justice dissatisfaction in the chronically powerless. Personality and Individual Differences 94, 290–294. Accessed on 3 Apr 2020. DOI 10.1016/j.paid.2016.01.048. |
[28] Oates, Joyce Carol (1992) Dancing on the Edge of the Precipice (Interview dated May 21, 1978). In: Margaret Atwood: Conversations. Ed. Earl G. Ingersoll, 69–73. London: Virago.
[29] Stein, Karen F. (2003) Talking Back to Bluebeard: Atwood's Fictional Storytellers. In: Margaret Atwood's Textual Assassinations: Recent Poetry and Fiction, ed. by Sharon Rose Wilson, 154–173. Columbus: Ohio State University Press.
[30] Stein, Karen F. (2011) The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood as a Modern 'Bluebeard.' In: 21st Century-Gothic: Great Gothic Novels since 2000, ed. by Daniel Olson, 32–42. Lanham: Scarecrow Press.
[31] Tatar, Maria (2004) Secrets Beyond the Door: The Story of Bluebeard and His Wives. New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
[32] Wilson, Sharon Rose (2008) Myths and Fairy Tales in Contemporary Women's Fiction: From Atwood to Morrison. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
[33] Wilson, Sharon Rose (2008a) Margaret Atwood and the Fairy Tale: Postmodern Revisioning in Recent Texts. In: Contemporary Fiction and the Fairy Tale, ed. by Stephen Benson, Detroit: Wayne University Press.
[34] Wilson, Sharon Rose (1993) Margaret Atwood's Fairy-Tale Sexual Politics. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi.
[35] Wilson, Sharon Rose. ed. (2003) Margaret Atwood's Textual Assassinations: Recent Poetry and Fiction. Columbus: Ohio State University Press.
[36] Zipes, Jack, ed. (2000) The Oxford Companion to Fairy Tales. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
[2] Atwood, Margaret ([1972] 1998) Surfacing. New York: Anchor.
[3] Atwood, Margaret ([1976] 1982) Lady Oracle. London: Virago.
[4] Atwood, Margaret ([1979] 1980) Life Before Man. Toronto: Seal.
[5] Atwood, Margaret ([1985] 1996) The Handmaid's Tale. London: Vintage.
[6] Atwood, Margaret ([1988] 2001) Cat's Eye. London: Virago.
[7] Atwood, Margaret ([1993] 2002) The Robber Bride. London: Virago.
[8] Atwood, Margaret ([1996] 2009) Alias Grace. London: Virago.
[9] Atwood, Margaret ([2000] 2003) The Blind Assassin. London: Virago.
[10] Atwood, Margaret ([2003] 2004) Oryx and Crake. New York: Anchor.
[11] Atwood, Margaret ([2015] 2016) The Heart Goes Last. New York: Anchor.
[12] Atwood, Margaret (1984) "Writing the Male Character." In: Second Words: Selected Critical Prose. Boston: Beacon Press.
[13] Atwood, Margaret (1990) "Articulating the Mute". In: Margaret Atwood: Conversations. Ed. by Ingersoll, Earl, 191-220. Princeton: Ontario Review Press.
[14] Atwood, Margaret (2005) "Spotty-Handed Villainesses." In: Writing with Intent: Essays, Reviews, Personal Prose, 1983-2005, 125-139. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers.
[15] Atwood, Margaret (2008) Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth. Toronto: House of Anansi Press.
[16] Atwood, Margaret (2009) The Year of the Flood. Toronto: Doubleday, 2009.
[17] Atwood, Margaret (2013) MaddAddam. London: Bloomsbury.
[18] Atwood, Margaret (2019) The Testaments. London: Chatto & Windus.
[19] Barzilai, Shuli (2005) The Bluebeard Syndrome in Atwood's Lady Oracle: Fear and Femininity. Marvels & Tales 19(2), 249–273. Accessed on 31 Jan 2020. https://doi. org/10.1353/mat.2005.0020. | DOI 10.1353/mat.2005.0020
[20] Barzilai, Shuli (2017) How Far Would You Go? Trajectories of Revenge in Margaret Atwood's Short Fiction. Contemporary Women's Writing 11(3), 316–335. Accessed on 8 Mar 2020. https://doi-org.ezproxy.muni.cz/10.1093/cww/vpx029. | DOI 10.1093/cww/vpx029
[21] Goldner, Limor, Rachel Lev-Wiesel, and Simon Guy (2019) Revenge Fantasies After Experiencing Traumatic Events: Sex Differences. Frontiers in Psychology 10, 1–9. Accessed on 31 Jan 2020. DOI 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00886. |
[22] Golwitzer, Mario, Markus Denzler (2009) What makes revenge sweet: Seeing the offender suffer or delivering a message? Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 45, 840–844. Accessed on 3 Apr 2020. doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2009.03.001 | DOI 10.1016/j.jesp.2009.03.001
[23] Grace, Sherrill E. (1984) Courting Bluebeard with Bartók, Atwood, and Fowles: Modern Treatment of the Bluebeard Theme. Journal of Modern Literature 11(2), 245–262. Accessed on 3 Apr 2020. https://www-jstor-org.ezproxy.muni.cz/stable/3831246.
[24] Grobbink, L. H., Derksen, J. J., and van Marle, H. J. (2015). Revenge an analysis of its psychological underpinnings. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology. 59, 892–907. Accessed on 5 Apr 2020. DOI 10.1177/0306624X13519963. |
[25] Haase, Donald (2004) Fairy Tales and Feminism: New Approaches. Detroit: Wayne State University Press.
[26] Hermansson, Casie E. (2009) Bluebeard: A Reader's Guide to the English Tradition. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi.
[27] Lillie, M., & Strelan, P. (2016) Careful what you wish for: Fantasizing about revenge increases justice dissatisfaction in the chronically powerless. Personality and Individual Differences 94, 290–294. Accessed on 3 Apr 2020. DOI 10.1016/j.paid.2016.01.048. |
[28] Oates, Joyce Carol (1992) Dancing on the Edge of the Precipice (Interview dated May 21, 1978). In: Margaret Atwood: Conversations. Ed. Earl G. Ingersoll, 69–73. London: Virago.
[29] Stein, Karen F. (2003) Talking Back to Bluebeard: Atwood's Fictional Storytellers. In: Margaret Atwood's Textual Assassinations: Recent Poetry and Fiction, ed. by Sharon Rose Wilson, 154–173. Columbus: Ohio State University Press.
[30] Stein, Karen F. (2011) The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood as a Modern 'Bluebeard.' In: 21st Century-Gothic: Great Gothic Novels since 2000, ed. by Daniel Olson, 32–42. Lanham: Scarecrow Press.
[31] Tatar, Maria (2004) Secrets Beyond the Door: The Story of Bluebeard and His Wives. New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
[32] Wilson, Sharon Rose (2008) Myths and Fairy Tales in Contemporary Women's Fiction: From Atwood to Morrison. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
[33] Wilson, Sharon Rose (2008a) Margaret Atwood and the Fairy Tale: Postmodern Revisioning in Recent Texts. In: Contemporary Fiction and the Fairy Tale, ed. by Stephen Benson, Detroit: Wayne University Press.
[34] Wilson, Sharon Rose (1993) Margaret Atwood's Fairy-Tale Sexual Politics. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi.
[35] Wilson, Sharon Rose. ed. (2003) Margaret Atwood's Textual Assassinations: Recent Poetry and Fiction. Columbus: Ohio State University Press.
[36] Zipes, Jack, ed. (2000) The Oxford Companion to Fairy Tales. Oxford: Oxford University Press.