Throughout Fairytale history, there has been numerous tellings and retellings of the ‘Beauty and the Beast’ story. The mediums used to portray this evolving narrative greatly influence and affect what aspects of the tale are emphasised and how this positions the audience. Beaumont’s La Belle et La Bête, the eighteenth century version of the tale greatly differs from the Disney modern retelling through film, Gary Trousdale’s Beauty and the Beast (1991). Although the narrative of both tales may be similar, a disparity exists between them. Aspects such as the portrayals of both Beauty and Beast, the emphasis on class and the way female characters are positioned in the story differs from literary tale to screen. Much emphasis is placed upon both …show more content…
She lives a very bourgeois lifestyle, the daughter of a “rich merchant” (Beaumont 805) who, along with her two sisters, is overcome with marriage proposal due to her wealth. The figure of a woman who reads is a trait very much belonging to the Beauty character, and is possibly a representation of the students Beaumont taught, or if you will, an idealised version of them. Beaumont is creating Beauty as not only a wealthy and intelligent girl, but she is someone who holds important morals which we learn throughout the table. Beauty could possibly be read as an aspirational figure for the girls Beaumont was teaching, this becomes clearer as we explore Beauty’s actions throughout the narrative. From the outset of the tale we are given three prominent female characters that inhabit the story, Beauty and her two sisters. However, the two older sisters are used to contrast Beauty’s good character as they are “very arrogant” went to “balls, the theatre and the park” and “made fun of their younger sister, who spent most of her time reading books” (805). From the outset of the tale we are seeing two distinctive embodiments of female characters, a kind and intelligent woman versus the vain and shallow. Beaumont is perhaps demonstrating how those who do not value education and handwork can easily fall into a vain and spoilt lifestyle which affects character. Throughout the tale the motivation of Beauty’s sisters is to have her out of their lives, they refer to Beauty as “dense (and) stupid” (806) and rejoice at the prospect of her leaving their home forever. In comparison Beauty is constantly considering her sisters feelings, only requesting a rose from her father in order to not “set an example that would disparage her sisters” (807). In contrast, the two sisters view Beauty’s mindfulness as “Beauty’s wish to
Beauty and the Beast, is a tale of a young woman and young prince whose lives were changed due to their treatment of others. The young Prince was a wealthy and handsome
Giroux argues that in Beauty and the Beast, Belle teaches young women that they are responsible for controlling a man’s anger and violence, and that any woman can change an abusive man into a Prince. However many children are going to be focused on the dancing, singing furniture rather than analyzing the message Giroux interprets; that Belle is just a prop used to solve the beast’s dilemma. The age of children that will be most influenced by Disney films, are at a level of thinking where they have not begun to recognize and understand the images that Giroux describes are embedded in the Disney films.
Jeanne Marie Le Prince de Beaumont’s original story, “Beauty and the Beast” was written in the 18th century, in a time where arranged marriages were common and females were expected to do as they were told. Beauty, the main female in the novel, succumbs to the hierarchy and goes to live with the
Beauty and the Beast Despite of the happy ending in every Disney movie, many people do not realize the stereotype of gender roles played. In many of these movies, the perfect man is typically portrayed as handsome, strong, and prosperous, hence the prince. While women played the roles of being weak, sometimes underprivileged, yet charming with the portrayal of skinny waist, perfect skin, and singing voice. In addition, they were almost always strained by an evil force before being saved by a man, who at last makes her a princess.
In Angela Carter’s The Courtship of Mr.Lyon, feminist themes are portrayed through the use of symbolism. The symbols are portrayed through the plot reversal of the classic tale, The Beauty and the Beast. By portraying the beauty and the beast opposites, Carter breaks traditional gender roles typically associated with fairy tales. The Beast is fragile, vulnerable, and ultimately ends up being helpless. While Beauty proves herself to be strong willed, confident, and eventually, aware of the oppressive and objectifying society she lives in.
It is said that in the 1991 movie version of Beauty and the Beast, it sends off the wrong moral compass to young girls who watch the film. Some viewers have said that this film has made young girls believe that they can change men who treat them badly into Prince Charming and live happily ever after (Cohen). In the article “Ethics and Aesthetics in Fairytales” by L. Di Marco, he wrote, “Beauty is there but ethics should be the outcome of their “correct” choices. To be a part of a world they do not belong to, to change their own self, can bring them to harm or even annihilation”
Beauty and the Beast: What Does It Tell Us? Fairy tales are one of the most popular and enduring forms of literature that have one of the oldest known histories. They were passed down from generations to generations through storytelling; then modified into text before they became the stories that most people know and love today. Fairy tales “[present] experience in vivid symbolic form,” although they may not be targeted towards children upon creation, their exaggerated, dramatic, and even fantastic ways of describing messages allow the literature to survive through time and become favourites of many children and adults (Lurie 359). In Alison Lurie’s article, “What Fairy Tales Tell Us,” she explains how the audiences’ interpretation of fairy
Beauty and the Beast is one of the most fascinating fairytales that is told. It was written in 1756, and Jeanne-Marie de Beaumont's version of Beauty and the Beast ties a lot with gender roles and stereotypes. This version has French culture and values incorporated in this fairytale. However there's also the Disney version of this fairytale which has many changes. In that version there's a character named Gatson who fits into the gender role of an ideal man, muscular, tall, and manly.
Madame Beaumont’s telling of “Beauty and the Beast” is an extraordinary piece of literature, not only for its traditional fantastic fairy tale magic, but also for its rich underlying themes. One theme of interest is that of names, or lack thereof. Although “Beauty and the Beast” is a short piece, the reader meets many characters, eight in total. However, these characters are given no real names nor physical descriptions, referred to only by qualities they possess or a basic description of who they are. Each character has a specific part to play and a lack of names and faces allows the reader a clear picture of what each character or group is meant to represent, without any distractions of details.
Remakes have become prevalent this past decade. Beauty and the Beast is a classic story told down generations and tell the story of both the emotional and social challenges women face everyday. Their stories are similar, but it’s the small differences that truly change how the audience feels. The new Beauty and the Best expands on motives as well as backstory missing from the original and adds a modern twist to reflect the new age of empowerment for women.
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
The Disney movie that has been chosen for my analysis is Beauty and the Beast, which is about the love story between a beast and a beautiful girl. The girl in the movie Belle is an ordinary and poor girl who becomes a princess when she falls in love with the beast in the film who actually is a prince in real, but a magic spell cast over him turns him into a beast. Belle who lives in a small town is shown to be a beautiful, skilled, brave and a very caring girl. Belle is basically a nerdy introvert girl who keeps to her herself and lives with her father. She loves reading as it is shown in the movie that when she goes to the castle of the beast she wishes that she had a library this big for her to sit in and read all day long.
The story of Beauty and the Beast finds new life in this magical and imaginative retelling that’s filled with romance and adventure.
Cinderella’s appearance needs to be brought up to social standards in order for her to be ‘seen’ and ‘liked’ by the prince. Thus, Beauty and the Beast is about learning to look beyond the superficial to find the inner beauty that lies within. Appearances are unimportant to Beauty, who prefers look more inside others
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.