The Seven Wives of Bluebeard | Page 8

this; he would have liked to keep
his wife always to himself, but he did not take exception to the affection which she felt
for this young gentleman, as she had told him that he was her foster-brother.
Charles Perrault relates that a month after having contracted this union, Bluebeard was
compelled 10 make a journey of six weeks' duration on some important business. He does
not seem to be aware of the reasons for this journey, and it has been suspected that it was
an artifice, which the jealous husband resorted to, according to custom, in order to
surprise his wife. The truth is quite otherwise. Monsieur de Montragoux went to Le
Perche to receive the heritage of his cousin of Outarde, who had been killed gloriously by
a cannon-ball at the battle of the Dunes, while casting dice upon a drum.
Before leaving, Monsieur de Montragoux begged his wife to indulge in every possible
distraction during his absence.
"Invite all your friends, madame," he said, "go riding with them, amuse yourselves, and
have a pleasant time."
He handed over to her all the keys of the house, thus indicating that in his absence she

was the sole and sovereign mistress of all the seigneurie of Guillettes.
"This," he said, "is the key of the two great wardrobes; this of the gold and silver not in
daily use; this of the strong-boxes which contain my gold and silver; this of the caskets
where my jewels are kept; and this is a pass-key into all the rooms. As for this little key,
it is that of the Cabinet, at the end of the Gallery, on the ground floor; open everything,
and go where you will."
Charles Perrault claims that Monsieur de Montragoux added:
"But as for the little Cabinet, I forbid you to enter that; and I forbid you so expressly that
if you do enter it, I cannot say to what lengths my anger will not go."
The historian of Bluebeard in placing these words on record, has fallen into the error of
adopting, without verification, the version concocted after the event by the ladies
Lespoisse. Monsieur de Montragoux expressed himself very differently. When he handed
to his wife the key of the little Cabinet, which was none other than the Cabinet of the
Unfortunate Princesses, to which we have already frequently alluded, he expressed the
desire that his beloved Jeanne should not enter that part of the house which he regarded
as fatal to his domestic happiness. It was through this room, indeed, that his first wife,
and the best of all of them, had fled, when she ran away with her bear; here Blanche de
Gibeaumex had repeatedly betrayed him with various gentlemen; and lastly, the porphyry
pavement was stained by the blood of a beloved criminal. Was not this enough to make
Monsieur de Montragoux connect the idea of this room with cruel memories and fateful
fore bodings?
The words which he addressed to Jeanne de Lespoisse convey the desires and
impressions which were troubling his mind. They were actually as follows:
"For you, madame, nothing of mine is hidden, and I should feel that I was doing you an
injury did I fail to hand over to you all the keys of a dwelling which belongs to you. You
may therefore enter this little cabinet, as you may enter all the other rooms of the house;
but if you will take my advice you will do nothing of the kind, to oblige me, and in
consideration of the painful ideas which, for me, are connected with this room, and the
forebodings of evil which these ideas, despite myself, call up into my mind. I should be
inconsolable were any mischance to befall you, or were I to bring misfortune upon you.
You will, madame, forgive these fears, which are happily unfounded, as being only the
outcome of my anxious affection and my watchful love."
With these words the good seigneur embraced his wife and posted off to Le Perche.
"The friends and neighbours," says Charles Perrault, "did not wait to be asked to visit the
young bride; so full were they of impatience to see all the wealth of her house. They
proceeded at once to inspect all the rooms, cabinets, and wardrobes, each of which was
richer and more beautiful than the last; and there was no end to their envy and their
praises of their friend's good fortune."
All the historians who have dealt with this subject have added that Madame de

Montragoux took no pleasure in the sight of all these riches, by reason of her impatience
to open the little Cabinet. This is perfectly correct, and as Perrault has said: " So urgent
was her curiosity that, without considering that it was unmannerly