Bluebeard's Daughter

I just finished rereading Bluebeard's Daughter (1940) by Sylvia Townsend Warner. It's a strange little short story that moves Perrault's Bluebeard story from France to the Middle East and continues the story based on assumption that Bluebeard only killed his insufferable wives and had a daughter by his third. She, it seems, died in childbirth. The girl moves with the last bride to the city, becomes a ward of Bluebeard's solicitor, and eventually returns to his castle when she marries. From there, she and her new husband both become obsessed with learning what's behind "the fifth closet" of the secret rooms and this obsession nearly drives them apart. Luckily, after falling over a cliff in their coach and each abandoning the other (or so they think) with an elderly shepherdess, they individually return to the castle where the husband breaks down the door, breaks his collarbone, and they make up. Then they become astronomers. Seriously, I couldn't make this one up if I tried.

Joking aside, it's a strange little tale. My interpretation rereading it the second time through is that it's one of those stories that skirt the line of satire so closely, it sometimes bobbles over the line into just plain weird.

Perhaps after reading more of Ms. Townsend's work, my opinion will be altered. More to come later, but first I need to head out to a join birthday party at a bowling alley. Hopefully I can beat my personal best score of 75!