Sally in "Bluebeard's Egg"

Perhaps the most interesting and complex Bluebeard tale we read was Margaret Atwood’s “Bluebeard’s Egg.” This modern interpretation of the Bluebeard tale is interesting in the greater complexity in the character of Sally, Ed’s wife. Possibly because her character is more developed, it seems harder to assign a label to Sally as either a model of self-preservation and cleverness or as a disobedient female. I would argue that she is far from a disobedient female because of the amount she depends on Ed but it is interesting to explore the level of self-preservation and cleverness in her character. The story is told from a third-person point of view that is limited to telling the reader Sally’s thoughts only, which becomes is a very important element of the story because much of Sally’s internal dialogue revolves around her inability to really know what Ed is thinking. The narrator observes, “He’s constantly developing, like a Polaroid print, new colours emerging, but the result remains the same: Ed is a surface, one she has trouble getting beneath.” The reader may therefore be biased somewhat in his opinion of her since he is only provided with Sally’s observations and interpretations. From Sally’s point of view it seems rather obvious that she sees herself as a model of self-preservation and cleverness, especially in contrast to Ed who she views as outright dumb. The narrator notes, “On good days she sees his stupidity as innocence, lamblike, shining with the light of (for instance) green daisied meadows in the sun.” However, Sally’s ability to judge Ed’s intelligence is called into question after she observes him with Marylynn in a moment that might be indicative of an affair between the two. Sally’s inability to predict or even suspect such an affair casts doubt over the truth of her opinions about Ed and her relationship with him.

Sally worries about losing Ed, who had two wives before her, however she tries to reassure herself with observations of his supposed ignorance. Sally wants to know what happened to his first two wives and the narrator explains, “But it’s also a cause for anxiety: for if he doesn’t know what happened with the other two, maybe the same thing could be happening with her and he doesn’t know about that, either.” Worries about losing Ed ignite Sally’s self-preservation instinct and throughout the tale she seems to try to consciously act in a manner that will prevent any such loss. Yet, Sally can hardly be seen as a model of self-preservation because it seems that if she really wanted to survive she should not have attached herself to Ed in a manner that almost seems unhealthy. At one point, the tale points out, “She knows she thinks about Ed too much. She knows she should stop.” If she were really a model of self-preservation, she would do just that – she would stop. Additionally, Sally’s cleverness, which the story seems to explicitly tout through its narration that includes her own self-praising thoughts, is called into question especially after the incident with Ed and Marylynn. Sally’s categorization of Ed as “Ed Egg, blank and pristine and lovely. Stupid, too,” no longer appears applicable. At the end Sally notes, “…the egg is alive, and one day it will hatch.” The moment shared by Ed and Marylynn turns Sally’s whole world upside and makes everything even less certain. This change highlights Sally’s lack of self-preservation and also lowers her self-esteem and opinion of her own intelligence. Thus, it appears that despite her fervent hopes, Sally was delusional in her belief in her ability to preserve herself through her marriage to Ed and through her cleverness.