Dangerous Liaisons: Demon Lovers and Defiant Damsels

The flipside to fairy tale romances, and the fantasy of living happily ever after with a stranger, are encounters with beasts who cannot be romantically redeemed and who offer death, rather than deliverance, to the women they become involved with. Murderous suitors have become popularised in various tales, presented as duplicitous figures who have killed former partners and have no qualms about doing so again. ‘Bluebeard’ (ATU 312) is a familiar text in this regard; its serial-killing husband is exposed by a wife who narrowly avoids becoming his next victim and manages to put an end to his crimes. This chapter examines contrasting versions of the tale and the way various female protagonists face the same perilous situation, evaluating the attributes that enable their survival. The attraction of such tales is the sense of dread evoked, the mystery that unfolds and the plot turns involved — all conspicuous elements of the thriller. We are invited to identify with characters who are often marked by a degree of naïveté, and experience the thrill of witnessing their ordeal, as well as applauding their eventual triumph. The fact that extreme danger is located at the hands of suitors and spouses is particularly notable, provoking imperilled females to utilise considerable resources when they realise the true nature of the men in their lives and work to expose and undermine them.