Fairy tales have been told and rewritten many times throughout history and each author gives their own interpretation to the original story. “Bluebeard” is a story with many different versions, each with its own unique characteristics and style. A commonly known "Bluebeard" story written by Charles Perrault is interesting to compare with a version written by Donald Barthelme because the content of each seems so different from each other, but when examined more closely, the two actually have similarities. In comparison to Perrault's version of "Bluebeard", Barthelme's more recent story incorporates a similar basic plot and uses the same adult themes, however, by modernizing the story, it ultimately revises our understanding of the fairy tale genre itself. These two versions of “Bluebeard” follow the same plot: a rich husband showers his wife with gifts, but then forbids her to enter a certain room, leaving a mystery as to what lies behind the door. Perrault's version begins with two sisters, both of whom have no interest in a man named Bluebeard. To impress women, Bluebeard organizes a long party, at the end of which his younger sister falls in love with him, and the two get married. Before leaving on a trip, he tells her that she can explore anywhere she wants in their house except the small closet. Then he gives her the key to the closet and leaves. The wife's temptation gets the better of her, and she enters the forbidden closet only to find the bloody corpses of all of Bluebeard's ex-wives. Upon his return, her husband finds blood on the key and threatens to kill her, but she immediately enlists the help of her sister to alert her two brothers, who are just in time to save her. Barthelme's version begins differently, as Bluebeard is a...... means of paper ......as he first appears, because when you look at the stories closely, the once drastic changes suddenly they don't seem so drastic anymore. This idea that the changes we make in our lives may not be much different from the past is a common universal experience. Even though it may seem like we are experiencing completely new things in our lives, in reality we are simply continuing on the same path as before. The saying “history repeats itself” is not just a figure of speech, but a common principle, even in fairy tales. Works Cited Barthelme, Donald. "Bluebeard." The New Yorker June 16, 1986: 32-35. Print.Byatt, A.S. "Happily Ever After." The Guardian 3 January 2004, Culture section. Web.Tolkien, JRR "On Fairy Tales". Web.Warner, Marina. "Bluebeard's Brides: The Dream of the Blue Chamber." Via Grande. 1st ed. vol. 9. Ben Sonnenberg, 1989. 121-30. Press.