Beauty and the Beast
We come now to Beauty and the Beast. I must confess I have a fondness for the more
direct, reconstructed
version of the story by Jacobs, but we’ll go with the classical story.
Also, I want to point out that none of these stories has Gaston, which is a
true tragedy (No one fights like Gaston. No one. . . .)
Beastly Qualities
The Beast
is obviously physically grotesque, as is commented by Beauty several times in
the story, but that is the only physical description. The story leaves it up to
the imagination of the reader as to what the (a?) Beast truly looks like. But
the most interesting idea is that the nature of a beast is in dispute within
the story. The sisters are actually beastly in their behavior and pride. Their
husbands are likewise beastly. Beauty’s behavior sets the standard for
beautiful behavior, which is universally attractive, despite financial
conditions. Likewise, the Beast has beautiful behavior but not appearance. The
readers are encouraged to draw the inference not only about the nature of what
is beautiful, looking beyond physical appearance, but that true beasts are
reflected in actions.
Without Cause
The fairy
responsible for the curse is simply wicked. No reason is given as to why the
prince was cursed, which is very odd. Fairies are not known for randomly
handing out curses—especially ones with a loophole to get out of it. This feels
like a great oversight on the part of the taletellers as the most ready
explanation at hand is that the prince once had the same beastly qualities as
the sisters, and was being punished for them until he could set aside his
beastly nature to become loved by a beauty. Of course, all of this is reported
through the prince, so it is quite possible that there was a cause for the
curse, it simply goes unsaid by the prince.
The Value of The Rose
The Beast
is quite clear that he values his roses “beyond any thing in the universe,” but
no explanation is given as to why. He also does not mind the merchant’s
presence until the roses become threatened. There’s not enough evidence to say whether
the roses are magical (as the one is in the Disney version), but the Beast has
strong ties to them. They are, universally, a physical representation of
beauty, which the Beast is obsessed with until the arrival of Beauty, whose
beauty surpasses that of the roses. Even after she leaves, he returns to these
roses over and over again, proving that the Beast has an obsession not just
with Beauty, but the concept of beauty.
Love Sick
Without
Beauty, the beast wastes away. He is literally sick and dying because she is
not near him. This is most likely an emotional attachment rather than a magical
one. As far as can be determined, there are no magical connections that the
story shows us, so instead we have this as a truly lovesick moment. The Beast
has emotionally tied himself to Beauty so strongly, that now he cannot live
without her.
Selfish Beast
Though the
Beast turns out to have noble qualities, he is ultimately selfish, exchanging
the roses and the merchant’s life for Beauty. He knows that she is his chance
to rid himself of the fairy’s curse. Every move he makes is calculated to
induce her into marrying him, which he asks her to do every day. The curse does
not stipulate that Beauty must love him, only that she consents to marry him.
The entire time, Beast was attempting to kindly coerce Beauty into marrying him
so he could get out of his curse.