Revisiting Charles Perrault’s Iconic “Bluebeard” Serial Killer in Modern French Variants

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This account of different versions of 'Bluebeard' works towards a clear conclusion concerning this tale's adaptability to different cultural contexts. Where this conclusion is stated as such near the end on p. 14, some earlier indication of this same conclusion might usefully be given nearer the beginning, to strengthen the line of argument overall. Outlined below are some suggestions concerning localized matters of expression. Generally, please check the page-formatting for the passages in quotation.

p. 1, l. 25: supposedly > who supposedly

p. 2, l. 38: his time > this time

p. 3, l. 72: *most* > *must* - please check accuracy of the quotation

p. 4, fn. 8: seventeenth century > seventeenth-century [compound adjective]; full length > full-length [compound adjective]

p. 4, ll. 125-6: tongue in cheek > tongue-in-cheek [compound adjective]

p. 5, l. 156: containing moral > containing the moral

p. 6, l. 167: make an interesting point > makes an interesting point

p. 6, l. 178: a barbaric > that of a barbaric

p. 6, l. 189: one-dimensionality > the one-dimensionality

p. 6, l. 201: right violations > rights violations

p. 6, l. 206: right violations > rights violations

p. 7, l. 210: statista > Statista

p. 8, l. 236: un uneducated > uneducated 

p. 8, l. 264: characters characters > characters, characters

p. 8, l. 280: no to > not to

p. 9, l. 312: paralyzing him > paralyzes him - please check accuracy of the quotation

p. 9, l. 321: Ben Jelloun's tale > Ben Jelloun's tale,

p. 9, l. 324: al > all

p. 10, l. 334: adaption > adaptation

p. 10, l. 337: lead > led

p. 10, l. 338: Marie Catherine > Marie-Catherine

p. 10, l. 341-6: add closing speech marks [e.g. "I am a monster."]

p. 12, l. 398-400: tangled sentence - reword from 'as the' to 'and leaders'

p. 12, l. 402: an extremely gifted senior > is an extremely gifted senior [?]

p. 12, l. 415: his > him

p. 12, l. 417: is adorns > adorns

p. 12, l. 418: composite > composite,

p. 12, l. 419: 'is an' - delete [?]

p. 12, l. 420: delete repetitions in this line

p. 12, l. 426: showing > shown - please check accuracy of the quotation

p. 12, l. 431: sphinx > Sphinx

p. 13, l. 438: socializes with Paul > socializes with him

p. 13, l. 443: evinced - word choice?

p. 13, l. 465: and that > that

p. 14, l. 473: nor cry > or cry

p. 14, l. 474: is short > is a short

p. 14, l. 476: delete space before 'is'

p. 14, l. 477: ending but > ending. But

p. 14, l. 478: right > rite

p. 14, l. 479: conspirational > conspiratorial

p. 14, l. 486: post Arab Spring > post-Arab Spring [compound adjective]

p. 14, l. 494: 'the same amounts' - delete 'amounts'

p. 14, l. 502: sentence unclear from 'that leads to . . . '

p. 14, l. 510: serial killer figure > serial-killer figure [compound adjective]

p. 14, l. 511: she argues > Kelen argues

p. 14, fn. 17: sentence unclear from 'Though King' to 'gender equality'

p. 14, fn. 17: given women > giving women - please check accuracy of the quotation

p. 15, l. 515: our life in hand > our own lives [delete 'in hand']

 

Comments on the Quality of English Language

Please see suggestions above concerning localized matters of expression - the suggestions themselves pertain to 'Quality of English Language'

Author Response

Humanities Reviewer 1

 

 

Response to Reviewer 1 Comments
1. Summary
Dear colleague, thank you very much for taking the time to review this manuscript and for your insightful comments and suggestions. Please find the detailed responses below and the corresponding revisions/corrections highlighted in the re-submitted files.

1. I announced the conclusion on page one to strengthen the line of argument overall:

These modern adaptations of “Bluebeard” illustrate Elliott Oring’s ideas about comparison and cultural context (see Oring 1986), that is how tales evolve over time to fit different cultural contexts and their adaptability to different cultural contexts, in particular contemporary Morocco. A discussion of various French contemporary versions with a special emphasis of Tahar Ben Jelloun’s Moroccan retelling of “Bluebeard” open avenues for cross-cultural dialogue, highlighting how this tale evolves to fit different cultural contexts and continues to resonate in unique ways today. (line 16-21)

1. 1, l. 25: supposedly > who supposedly – added ‘who” : a commander who supposedly fought
2. 2, l. 38: his time > this time – changed ‘his’ to ‘this’ : ‘gender inequalities prevalent at this time’
3. 3, l. 72: *most* > *must* - please check accuracy of the quotation: changed ‘most’ to ‘must’ : ‘the other must obey’
4. 4, fn. 8: seventeenth century > seventeenth-century [compound adjective]; full length > full-length [compound adjective] : changed to ‘seventeenth-century absolutist France’
5. 4, ll. 125-6: tongue in cheek > tongue-in-cheek [compound adjective] – changed to tongue-in-check
6. 5, l. 156: containing moral > containing the moral – added ‘a’ : “containing a moral”
7. 6, l. 167: make an interesting point > makes an interesting point – changed ‘make’ to ‘makes’: Tournier makes an interesting point
8. 6, l. 178: a barbaric > that of a barbaric changed ‘depicts the villain’s beard as a barbaric, regressive, and deeply misogynist fundamentalist, the beard in this tale is a symbol of virility, power and religiosity.’ to ‘depicts the villain as a barbaric, regressive, and deeply misogynist fundamentalist. The beard in this tale is a symbol of virility, power and religiosity.
9. 6, l. 189: one-dimensionality > the one-dimensionality: added ‘the’ : ‘by the one-dimensionality of their characters’
10. 6, l. 201: right violations > rights violations: changed to ‘human rights violations’
11. 6, l. 206: right violations > rights violations: changed to ‘human rights violations’
12. 7, l. 210: statista > Statista: changed to ‘Statista’
13. 8, l. 236: un uneducated > uneducated : changed to ‘he is an uneducated, wealthy’
14. 8, l. 264: characters characters > deleted characters and reformulated: “In Berber folktales, cats—the sons of lions— are magical beings: they are iâssassen, that is guardians of domestic order and guarantors of fertility (Lacoste-Dujardin 60)”
15. 8, l. 280: no to > not to – changed to ‘admonishes her not to give the key'
16. 9, l. 312: paralyzing him > deleted paralyzing him, changed to” “… the cat attacks and claws his throat with its paws” (this is not a quote)
17. 9, l. 321: Ben Jelloun's tale > Ben Jelloun's tale, - added comma: ‘Ben Jelloun’s tale,’
18. 9, l. 324: al > all – changed ‘al’ to ‘all’ – ‘all the citizens’
19. 10, l. 334: adaption > changed to ‘adaptation’
20. 10, l. 337: lead > led – changed lead to ‘led’
21. 10, l. 338: Marie Catherine > Marie-Catherine – changed to ‘Marie-Catherine’
22. 10, l. 341-6: add closing speech marks [e.g. "I am a monster."] - added four missing closing speech marks
23. 12, l. 398-400: tangled sentence - reword from 'as the' to 'and leaders': changed sentence to:

“Set in rural twenty-first century France, Cécile Coulon’s short story “The Boarding School” (Le Pensionnat) takes place in a remote boarding school situated in the middle of the woods. At this prestigious institution, 150 boys from aristocratic families are trained to become future politicians and leaders.”

1. 12, l. 402: an extremely gifted senior > is an extremely gifted senior: changed to” Paul is an extremely gifted senior”
2. 12, l. 415: his > him: changed to “his classmates worship him”
3. 12, l. 417: is adorns > adorns – changed ‘is adorns’ to ‘adorns’
4. 12, l. 418: composite > composite, - changed ‘composite marvellous’ to ‘composite, marvelous’
5. 12, l. 419: 'is an' – deleted and changed sentence to:” The Sphinx is a composite, marvelous and enigmatic supernatural being that adequately characterizes Bluebeard/Paul in this adaptation”
6. 12, l. 420: delete repetitions in this line – deleted following sentence: “A fabulous being composed of several parts composed of several parts of the human being.”
7. 12, l. 426: showing > shown - please check accuracy of the quotation - Checked quote an changed to “It is shown contemplating the rising sun and seems to embrace both heaven and earth in its meaning.”
8. 12, l. 431: sphinx > Sphinx: changed ‘sphinx’ to ‘Sphinx’
9. 12 footnote 17 (now footnote 16): changed sentence to: The political agenda of King Mohammed VI (popularly referred to as M6) includes gender equality. However,much work still needs to be done to improve the lives of Moroccan women and to alter their subaltern status in society. As Ennaji explains: “Thus, although state feminism succeeded in givingwomen access to education, health, and employment, it did not really challenge the negative social attitudes toward women, who are still regarded as dependent on men.” (100)
10. 13, l. 438: socializes with Paul > socializes with him – changed ‘socializes with Paul’ to ‘socializes with him’
11. 13, l. 443: evinced - word choice? Replaced with “eliminated”
12. 13, l. 465: and that > that: changed ‘it appears and that’ to ‘it appears that’
13. 14, l. 473: nor cry > or cry – changed ‘nor cry’ to ‘or cry’
14. 14, l. 474: is short > is a short : changed ‘is short’ to ‘is a short story’
15. 14, l. 476: delete space before 'is' – deleted space before is: —is
16. 14, l. 477: ending but > ending. But – changed ‘ending but’ to ‘ending. But’
17. 14, l. 478: right > rite – changed to ‘rite of passage’
18. 14, l. 479: conspirational > conspiratorial : changed to : in this conspiratorial logic’
19. 14, l. 486: post Arab Spring > post-Arab Spring [compound adjective] : changed to ‘women’s post-Arab spring”
20. 14, l. 494: 'the same amounts' - delete 'amounts' : deleted ‘amounts’ : the same as their male counterparts
21. 14, l. 502: sentence unclear from 'that leads to . . . ' changed to: “The invisible world leads humans to salvation and immortality, while the worldly path—our earthy reality— leads us to the bloody chamber, death, and damnation (Kelen 95-96).”
22. 14, l. 510: serial killer figure > serial-killer figure [compound adjective] : changed to ‘serial-killer figure’
23. 14, l. 511: she argues > Kelen argues : changed ‘she argues’ to ‘Kelen argues’
24. 15, l. 515: our life in hand > our own lives [delete 'in hand'] : changed to ‘our own lives’

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This is an intriguing examination of cross-cultural "Bluebeard" retellings, analyzing the tales' messages about gender, power, and evil. It is a well-organized essay, though I found the concluding paragraphs to be uneven, as special attention was given to some authors but not others. I also would have appreciated more of a summary of how the notion of evil was covered in each retelling, since this seemed to be the whole point of the paper, but was only briefly discussed in the paper's conclusion.

I also would have liked to see a little more reasoning as to why the (very old and archaic-sounding) Samber translation was used. Christine A. Jones has an excellent new translation of Perrault's tales, for instance, which focuses on utilizing language in the way Perrault would have done so: full of irony, wit, and so on.

The section on the Moroccan retelling of "Bluebeard" was especially fascinating, though as a reader with some familiarity with the region, I did have a couple of questions/suggestions. First, might it be worth emphasizing that the issues with illiteracy tend to be heightened for women? In my understanding, this inequality is one of the foundations for maintaining patriarchy, since an illiterate population is easier to control. Second, footnote 12 on page 7 says the sexually explicit language is only possible because the text is written in French and not in Arabic...might it make sense to cite a source for that, as it's not common knowledge among Western readers? (I'm aware that many Arabic-speaking countries with Islamic governments have strict censorship laws, but given the explicit sexual descriptions in Arabic-language texts like The Thousand and One Nights, I did not think there was a taboo against any sexual writing in the Arabic language)

...although, speaking of the Thousand and One Nights, might it make sense to link Bluebeard's sexual voraciousness followed by beheading with that of King Shahrayar?

Another reference I would strongly suggest incorporating, even if only as a brief reference, is Anne Duggan's book Salonnières, Furies, and Fairies: The Politics of Gender and Cultural Change in Absolutist France, which covers "Bluebeard" from page 155 onward.

Overall this is a well-written and well-researched essay on a topic that remains relevant in many cultural contexts: gender-based violence, and stories thereon. I think strengthening the final argument and incorporating some of the suggested sources will make it a more well-rounded paper.

Comments on the Quality of English Language

Some further proofreading is necessary; see below.

Author Response

Humanities Reviewer 2

Bottom of Form Top of Form Author's Reply to the Review
Dear colleague, thank you very much for taking the time to review my manuscript and for your insightful comments and suggestions. Please find the detailed responses below and the corresponding revisions/corrections highlighted in the re-submitted files.   Edits made - As you suggested, I replaced Samber’s translation of the tale with Christine A. Jones’s translation (lines 53-55 and lines 92-115)

-I deleted comma between ‘epitomizes’ and ‘patriarchy' (line 21)I tried to catch grammatical errors, but there's one in the second sentence (there should be no comma after "epitomizes")

-in footnote one, I changed quotation marks to single: ‘original’ and ‘power to enchant’

-line 242 deleted “un” “ He is an undeducate,d wealthy,…”

-line 288, changed ‘no’ to ‘not’: “He expressly admonishes her not to…”

-note 17: changed to Though the political agenda of King Mohammed VI…

-line 406: changed to “… takes place, as the title indicates, a remote, elite…”

-line 409: changed to “This Bluebeard figutre, called Paul” to “Paul is an extremely gifted senior.”

-line 48: started a new paragraph: “In Perrault’s tale…”

-I deleted footnote 12

-I cited Anne E. Duggan’s book Salonnières, Furies, and Fairies: The Politics of Gender and Cultural Change in Absolutist France, see lies 530-536

-I added a sentence emphasizing that the issues with illiteracy tend to be heightened for women (see lines 503-505)

-I added a reference to The Arabian Nights in footnote 10: ¹² Bluebeard‘s sexual voraciousness recalls the wife-killing sultan King Shariar in The Arabian Nights (see Haddawy 1995). 

-I strengthened the conclusion and the final argument, see lines 532-572.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx