Bluebeard

Pictured: Not Ed
("He's no mere blockhead" (206))

I think I liked Bluebeard’s Egg the most. I mean, the ending was much less of an end than the other stories, where the villain is chopped to pieces or set on fire or anything like that, but I kind of like the mysterious end. It makes you think, certainly more than the other tales do. I also found it the funniest story of them all, mostly because of the 8 million times Sally calls Ed stupid. I guess this is not one of those marriages where you marry the other person cause they mentally stimulate you. Seriously, she calls him “Edward Bear, of little brain” (page 206, and a nice reference to Winnie-the-Pooh), mentions “his monumental and almost energetic stupidity” (206) and “Ed’s colossal and endearing thickness” (206), and straight-up says “He is just so stupid” (206). That’s just on ONE PAGE, and that’s not even all the examples on that page. I just find it hilarious that she spends several paragraphs saying “Ed is stupid” over and over again.

Then of course there’s the plot twist that maybe Ed is not so stupid after all, although maybe I should have seen that coming. You can’t be stupid if you’re a heart surgeon, after all, and it’s usually suspicious when the narrative tries to insist on something (in this case, the stupidity of Ed).

I also liked Marylynn, although I think her name is spelled weird. But, you know, she’s valid. You don’t need a man, Marylynn, your life is better without one! Having two female characters that interacted was also nice, as opposed to the other stories that sometimes included multiple female characters but who never interacted. Okay, I liked Marylynn at the beginning anyway. The end was… suspicious, for sure. But, like Sally, I wonder whether there was actually anything going on or if she was just seeing something.

I think I enjoyed Bluebeard’s Egg the best because it was the most masterfully written, purposefully crafted to be unclear and confusing. And while I often find that very frustrating, I also appreciate Margaret Atwood’s skill in writing it.