Full Synopsis

In the Hall of Bluebeard’s Castle, Bluebeard enters with his bride, Judith, who tells him of her love for him. As she explores his castle, she asks why it is in darkness. He tells her that it is closed to the sunlight and is always dark. Judith finds seven locked doors, and asks that they be opened; her husband warns her that it could be dangerous for her to know what is behind them. She persuades him to give her the key to the first door and, when she opens it, is horrified to discover Bluebeard’s torture chamber. He asks if she is afraid, but she denies this. She requests the key to the second door and opens it to reveal Bluebeard’s armoury. 

Judith persists on her demands to see behind the remaining doors, and Bluebeard finally agrees to give her three more keys, but warns her not to ask any questions about what she finds. As she opens each door, she discovers Bluebeard’s treasury, his secret garden, and his vast realm. She now insists that her husband give her the last two keys. He reluctantly hands her the key to the sixth door, which reveals a lake of tears, but refuses to give up the final key. Judith demands to know about the women he has loved before her and, when he will not answer, becomes convinced that they are behind the last door. 

Finally Bluebeard gives up the key to the seventh door, and as Judith opens it, three women silently enter the hall. Judith is overwhelmed by their beauty, and Bluebeard tells her that these are the brides of his morning, noon and evening. As they return to the seventh room, Bluebeard crowns Judith as the bride of his night, the most beautiful of all his wives, and she joins them in silence. As the door closes, Bluebeard is obscured in the darkness of his castle. 

The Woman is in a state of expectation and apprehension. It soon becomes apparent that, as she distractedly speaks to herself, she is waiting for a man. She discovers something in the darkness, which she at first perceives to be a body, but then realizes it is a tree-trunk. Frightened, she grows more anxious, as the man she is looking for is not to be found. Suddenly, she finds a dead body, and realizes, to her horror, that it is the man she has been waiting for. Is she hallucinating? She calls for help, but there is no response to her cries. Hoping that the man is still alive, she attempts to revive him. She speaks to him as if he can comprehend, and angrily accuses him of infidelity to her. She then asks herself what she is to do with her life, now that her lover is dead.