Comparing Belle's Beauty And The Beast

Most modern fairytales are expected to have happy endings and be appropriate for children, nonetheless, in past centuries most were gruesome. Consequently, fairytales have been modified throughout time. The stories “Beauty and the Beast” by Jeanne-Marie LePrince de Beaumont and “The Summer and Winter Garden” by Jacob and Wilherm Grimm share similarities and differences. The two stories are distinct because of the peculiar year they have been written in. LePrince de Beaumont’s story is written in London of 1783 and Grimm’s in Germany of 1812. At the time, wealthy people in London, were educated and had nannies who would read to their children; whereas, in Germany, the Grimm brothers created their own interpretation into a short story.

The fairytale “Beauty and the Beast” by Jeanne-Marie LePrince De Beaumont was produced in France in 1756. The story is about a wealthy merchant with six children, three boys and three girls. With the story’s primary focus on the girls, we learn that the youngest of the daughters, named Beauty, was admired for her kindness and well behaved manners. Due to Beauty being the town favorite, her sisters grew jealous and hated her. When Beauty’s father falls in debt with a Beast, her father sends her off to live with the Beast. In the end, Beauty gets to know the Beast and accepts to be his wife. Although, Beauty and the Beast have their ‘happily ever after’, social and economic complications hindered their relationship.

The story of the Beauty and the Beast is well known amongst all ages. Though the story they portray in the Disney version is much different than what they have portrayed it in France. La Belle et la Bête has been produced twice, once in 1946 and again in 2014. These two movies tell the same story but in very different ways. The perception of this story has changed between the different time periods.

In Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Belle is misunderstood, kind, and perceptive. Belle is shown to be misunderstood when she is walking through the streets, reading her book. The other townspeople remark, “that girl is strange, no question” (Beauty and the Beast). With the simple act of reading a book, the townspeople are quick to cast her out. At no point do any of the townspeople learn more about her to fully understand her. Even though she is misunderstood, Belle is also kind. After being taken prisoner at the castle, she helps the beast relearn several basic life skills, like how to use utensils and how to read. After reading him Romeo and Juliet, Beast makes the request that she read it again. She turns it back on him and asks him to read. When he hesitates, she realizes that he has forgotten how, and she says, “Here, let me help you” (Beauty and the Beast). Through helping him instead of questioning or taunting him, she shows the kind and

Seger states that in fairy tales "an old woman, a dwarf, a witch, or a wizard helps the hero . . . The hero achieves the goal because of this help, and because the hero is receptive to what this person has to give" (173). Conversely, Beast is helped by the very damsel he imprisons. Belle is a normal woman, not a witch or a wizard; she has no special powers and is not old or dwarfish in any way. Also, Beast is extremely reluctant to accept any help from her. In the Disney version of the story, Belle tries to teach Beast how to control his temper and be more compassionate and loving. Beast is not receptive at all to this help throughout the story, but still manages to defeat the curse left on him by a self revelation. He decides after Belle's departure from his castle to learn to love and be kindhearted. Although her help may have had an impact on his transformation, it was the mere presence of her and his own self conscience that ultimately helped him conquer his relentless curse. This is quite different from what Seger illustrates in her hero myth theory.

The first character to be discussed is Belle, in the original book. An author online even states “The original Beauty and the Beast Story is not what you expect” ( S. Paul). What is unique about Belle in the book is that she is the youngest of six children, which is never shown in the movie. Her father is not an inventor either, but is a very wealthy merchant who loses his fortune. The whole family in the original was forced to move to the country, where they had to live much more simple. Belle is a very special girl though, with very jealous older sisters of her beauty but also the fact that she is able to not be miserable in such a simple lifestyle.

“Beauty and The Beast” is a classic well known romantic Disney movie that depicts the gender role of men and women in society. The film is based upon a smart young female protagonist named Belle who is imprisoned by a self-centered young prince after he has been turned into a beast. They both learn to love each other in the end and throughout the film there are several examples shown portraying the roles of gender. In the film the main characters Gaston and the Beast portray themselves as rude, conceited and more important than the woman even though the main character Belle is a woman whom is considered odd, yet smart, and unrelated to most women in society.

This is a tale of self-discovery, personal growth and the fact that Belle will not allow The Beast to objectify her. In the traditional story, Beauty and the Beast, we are forced to see Beauty and Beast as conflicting characters; Beauty is feminine, innocent, gentle and beautiful, while Beast is masculine, experienced, wild and ugly. The original story suggests that the characters were polar opposites and had irreconcilable differences. Carter's characters are less defined. In the story of Beauty and the

The story of Beauty and the Beast is a very well known one. There has been a variety of versions and re-tellings made over the years. The original story “La Belle et la Bête” was published in 1790, and a real-life adaptation is set to be released in 2017. As one can see, it is truly “A tale as old as time.” For me, Beauty and the Beast has always been one of my favorite stories. As a child, the Disney animated movie was one of my favorites along with Belle being my favorite princess. Throughout the years, I have come across many different versions of the story that I have loved as well. One version that I came across a few years ago was “Beastly.” It was both exciting and nostalgic to experience my favorite story in a new setting with different

Belle was kind to the Beast, and then she found her prince. It took courage to look into the eyes of someone that took away everything and see the good.

The Beauty and the Beast, retold by Disney, is about Belle and her father, who live together in a rural French village, where Belle is courted by handsome but egocentric Gaston (XXXX). Belle finds Gaston repugnant, and the villagers find Belle to be a strange girl who reads too much. When Belle’s father disappears she searches for him and finds him a captive of the Beast, who discovers her while she is trying to free her father. She bravely offers herself as an alternative hostage and the Beast accepts. As his prisoner, Belle befriends the Beast’s household of anthropomorphized objects. Unbeknown to Belle, the Beast and his staff are all the victims of a witch’s curse that has transformed them. Excited at the prospect of their release from

Beauty’s role in beauty and the beast glorifies her as a sweet girl who can find light in any darkness. She prefers to move forward in life rather than sulk in misery. Being such a positive female character allows her to fall in love with a man who is not of the society standards of handsome, name Beast. She was more intent on focusing on what he had to offer as a person. Karen Rowe states in “Feminism and Fairy Tales” “such alluring fantasies gloss the heroine's inability to act self-assertively, total reliance on external rescues, willing bondage to father and prince, and her restriction to hearth and nursery” (Rowe). The heroine being beauty in this case, doesn't have opinions or rights because her character wasn't created to. Rowe believes that fairytales have paved the way for our expectations towards what women and men should be doing and what romance is. Rowe argues that “These "domestic fictions" reduce fairy tales to sentimental clichés, while they continue to glamorize a heroine's traditional yearning for romantic love which culminates in marriage” (Rowe). Beauty’s character found herself in these “sentimental cliches” with her

There are many different versions of Beauty and the Beast; It is a magical story of unconditional love. It teaches children that beauty is much more then skin deep. In this assignment I am to compare two, Beauty and the Beast stories; one by the renowned, famous Grimm Brothers as presented by Disney. The other called Beastly by the modern author Alex Flinn. The two versions have many similarities but still quite a few differences.

Lyon”. Carter retells the well-known fairytale “Beauty and the Beast,” but her version is far from “classic.” It is a tale of self-discovery and rejection of female objectification. In the beginning of Carter’s retelling of the classic fairy tale “Beauty and the Beast,” Beauty is seen as a penniless, helpless girl, whom the rich, powerful and world-weary Beast forces to live in his house. When her father uses her as payment for his debt to the Beast she becomes an object. However, she rapidly becomes the more active, experienced, and adventurous character. Throughout the story, Beauty proves herself to be more than just a traditional fairy tale heroine, but in the beginning, she conforms to the paradigm. Just like many of Carter’s heroines, she must start within to be able to then break free from the restrictions and assumptions of patriarchal society. In the words of da Silva, “The daughter is conscious of her annihilation in the patriarchal society but she doesn’t have autonomy to overcome it.” Even though Beauty finds enjoyment in reading fairy tales while living with the Beast, it is as though despite living in a modern world with telephones and cars, Beauty wants to believe in the conventional “happily ever after.” By comparing Beauty to the immaculate snow upon which she gazes Carter emphasizes Beauty’s femininity, innocence, and virginity. By associating Beauty

The version of Beauty and the Beast by Jeanne- Marie LePrince De Beaumont tells a compelling story of a young women making sacrifices for her family, and finding love through these sacrifices. Beauty and the Beast is a fairytale meant to educate young children on the importance of family, and that life is full of making sacrifices; while also teaching children to appreciate what is on the inside, and not just on the outside. The protagonist of the tale is Beauty. Beauty is a caring, family- oriented, strong, loyal girl whom everyone in the town adores. She kept to herself, but would do anything for anyone, especially her father. With many opportunities to get married, Beauty stayed loyal to her father, until she realized she was in love with Beast. When the family lot their fortune men still proposed to Beauty, even though she did not have money. Beauty politely turned them down; “She told them that she could not bring herself to abandon her poor father in his distress and that she would go with him to the country in order to comfort him and help him with his work.” (32)