Exceptionally Rich Story Observation

Assignment: “Bluebeard’s Egg” Observations

For your fourth observation this semester, write an observation on Margaret Atwood’s retelling of a Buebeard-type story called “Bluebeard’s Egg.” The structure of this observation is basically the same as that of the observation for “The Bloody Chamber.”

“Bluebeard’s Egg” Observation Tasks

Here are the areas that I want you to look for as you read, and then think about in your writing for “Bluebeard’s Egg”:

Noticing Sally’s Character Traits or Motivations and Explanation

“Bluebeard’s Egg” is told in a pretty tight third-person point of view focused on the main character, a woman named Sally who is married to a man named Ed. The whole story is told from her point of view, so we get to know what she thinks, how she thinks, who (she thinks?) she is, and how she sees the world—and most importantly, how she sees her husband. For this part of your observation, notice and explain at least three character traits or motivations you think Sally possesses.

Noticing and Commenting on an Important Scene and Explanation

Instead of focusing on the traits of the male in the story per usual, this time I am asking you to look at a scene that you think is important. A scene in this story will essentially always take place through Sally’s recollection, so it could be her recalling a scene, or a section of her stream-of-consciousness thinking; in this story, a scene could be based on a paragraph or more depending on what you choose. See my example of a close reading of the introduction if that helps (don’t write about the introduction since I already did). Here are some ideas for scenes you might first notice, and then explain what you notice (there are MANY more options—this is an exceptionally rich story):

• Sally’s description of Ed being “stupid” on p157-158
• Sally and her friend Marylynn’s chat on p159-160 about previous marriages and Sally’s thoughts on Marylynn in the same section
• Sally’s thoughts on her job, 160-162
• Sally remembering the time when Ed looks at Sally’s heart through a medical imaging machine, p164-166
• Sally remembering she, Ed, and the kids playing Monopoly, p168-169
• Sally’s thoughts on writing Ed into her own fairytale retelling, p169-174 (you could pick and choose from this section)
• Sally seeing Ed and Marylynn together at the party (near the end of the story), p175-177
• The final paragraph of the story

For this part of the observation, combine in the first paragraph under your bold header the scene that you notice, and your basic commentary on it. That is, introduce the scene—in other words, locate it in the story/give it some context—describe what happens in the scene (paraphrase/summary); then, in your “explanation,” explain why you think the scene is important, and what it might potentially mean.

Commenting on the Story: What Do You Think It Means? How did Atwood’s Retelling Expand on and Complicate the Original Version? and Explanation

In the final section of your “Bluebeard’s Egg” Observation, offer your first stab at commentary on the story, or in other words, your first stab at a critical interpretation. Your essay for Unit 2 will ask you to choose one of the Bluebeard retellings, and to explain how the author’s retelling works to change or nuance the meaning of the story in ways that you see as significant. To that end, in your commentary section for this observation, comment on what you see as one of the most important ways “The Bloody Chamber” adds to the Bluebeard folktale. “Adds to” might not be quite right—you could think of Carter’s story in different ways in relation to the original: it might add to it, expand on certain things about it, bring certain latent or hidden themes to the surface, change it in meaningful ways, etc. For this section of your observation, choose one important area of the story, comment on how it changes interpretation of the original tale, and explain yourself.

here is an exemple