The Real Story That Inspired 'Beauty and the Beast' Is Actually Pretty Creepy
The new live-action version of Beauty and the Beast is already the biggest box office hit of the year, which is no big surprise given all the hype the film received as Disney fans prepared to see their favorite fairytale characters come to life. If you've spent a lifetime obsessing over Belle and her Beast, you're certainly not alone-but do you know the real story behind the classic fairytale?
Of course, there are naysayers that like to bring up the disturbing Stockholm Syndrome allusions in the 1991 cartoon and its recent adaptation, but the original fairytale that inspired the two recent film adaptations is even more disturbing.
French novelist Madame Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve wrote La Belle et La Bête in 1740 to explore the issues surrounding the marital rights of women in the eighteenth century. Written during a time when women did not have the freedom to choose their spouse, Belle's captivity served as a very obvious metaphor for the way in which women had no choice about who they married.
There are many differences between Disney's films and Villeneuve's fairytale, but a few key points stand out the most-and explain why Disney didn't stick to the original story.
1. The rose is not magical-and it's the cause of Belle's imprisonment.
In Villeneuve's story, Belle asks her father to bring her back a rose from his business trip. On his way home, he gets lost and finds his way to the Beast's castle, where he indulges in the hospitality he's presented with. When he stops to pick a rose for Belle as he leaves, the Beast becomes angry and takes him captive. However, after hearing that the merchant has daughters (he has six children in Villeneuve's tale), the Beast agrees to let him go in exchange for one of them (almost like in the live-action movie). Belle volunteers and begins her life in captivity.
2. LeFou and Gaston do not exist.
Two of our favorite villains were actually completely made up by Disney. In the original story, the real villains are Belle's evil sisters-who are extremely jealous of her beauty and approach to life. At one point in the story, they actually plot to have their sister eaten by the Beast.
3. There is no magical furniture.
The most charming characters in the movie-Lumiere, Mrs. Potts, and Cogsworth-also had no place in Villeneuve's tale. In the original story, Belle lives completely alone with the Beast, isolated from the outside world, as all his servants have been cursed and turned into statues. (Remember how we said it was symbolism for 18th century marriage?) However, she did have the company of a lot of birds and monkeys-which is possibly even creepier than befriending a talking clock.
4. Belle does not fall in love with the Beast overnight.
In both movie versions, Disney makes it seem like Belle and her captor practically fall in love overnight after the exchange of a few library books and a shared meal.The original story was much more realistic. The Beast asks Belle to marry him every night, wanting to break the spell-but she continuously denies him. After a long time, the prince appears in Belle's dreams in his true form and hints that he is the Beast. He tells her, "Judge not by thine eyes, and, above all, abandon me not, but release me from the terrible torment which I endure." Unfortunately, she doesn't really get it and remains in love with the man in her dreams, not understanding that he's the Beast.
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