Prompt 8 - Question 2: Cleverness

In the Grimm's "Fitcher's Bird," after two wives from one family are killed, it seems as though the main point might be to teach females a lesson to never disobey males. However, when the third daughter turns out to be a heroine, themes of self-preservation and cleverness are apparent. She starts out by "[putting] the egg in a safe place," which is a smart action to take, in and of itself (149). Then, when she finds her sisters all cut up in the forbidden room, instead of panicking, she puts them back together and brings them back to life. When the sorcerer returns and he thinks she hasn't been in the room because she's clever and tricked him, "he no longer had any power over her and had to do her bidding" (150). This line is imperative in seeing the hand off of power and how the wife used her cleverness and strength to give herself the upper hand. From here, the "sorcerer" is referred to as the "bridegroom," and he does exactly as he is told. In some versions, the bride is rescued by her brothers, but in this Grimm's version, she disguises herself as "a strange bird that not a soul would recognize," and gets herself out of that dreadful house (150). Her clever idea shows some parallels with power again because in the beginning, when he is the tricky one, the sorcerer disguises "himself as a poor man" (148). Clearly, this version of Bluebeard is one that delivers a reading of powerful, smart women.