Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Happily Never After, Edward Buell

3690: A Journal of First-Year Student Research Writing

Overview: “And they lived happily ever after… the end.” The typical ending to traditional fairytales forces one to wonder, what happens after the wedding bells cease to ring? What if things change and the typically rushed marriages do not pan out, or the spouse you thought you knew was not who you thought they were? The “Bluebeard” tale type presents an unusual fairytale that rarely gets attention because it contrasts the “norm” of the commonplace tale. Bluebeard, a serial murderer, lures maidens with his wealth but fails to conceal his dark past in his chamber of death. Clearly the story …