La Belle et La Bête

"...and their happiness -- as it was founded on virtue -- was complete."

Beauty and The Beast

"For who could learn to love a beast?"

It's a tale as old as time, or really as old as this fairytale published in 1740. Its plot put an emphasis on virtue and learning to see past external appearance. Initially written as over 100 pages by Madame Gabrielle–Suzanne de Villeneuve, the more well-known version, which is included here, was trimmed and reprinted by Jeanne-Marie LePrince de Beaumont in 1756. The original version addressed many issues concerning wives in mid-eighteenth century French society, such as forced marriages to unloving men, while the revision refocused the plot on virtuous men and women coming together in virtuous marriages. Sure, Beauty stands out among her sisters because she reads, but she really sets herself apart because she does all the housework and only avoids a marriage to stay and help her father, not because she doesn't want it.

This 1991 film is an adaptation of the edited version of the fairytale. It inadvertently hits more on the original criticism of forced, unloving marriages than the 1756 reprint with the creation of a Gaston character. He represents the antithesis of everything Belle doesn't want for her future, being a "little wife" to an unloving and self-absorbed man. She actively avoids marriage because of what it represents, a restriction on her dream to find "adventure in the great wide somewhere". Marriage in her provincial town means a life as a worn-out housewife and mother, but to her surprise, falling in love with the Beast is her longed-for adventure. She escapes from a miserable life at the cost of her status in society.

Characters

The Beast is kind and gentle already. He doesn't learn a lesson from his transformation. The reason for his transformation into a beast is not given.

The Beast

The Beast was transformed to match his ugly interior, and carries the main character arc of the film as he learns to be a decent person and show compassion for others.

Beauty initially cannot see past the Beast's hideous exterior to recognize the loving man inside. Her virtue is her defining quality.

Beauty/Belle

Belle is set apart from her town as she refuses to conform to their social norms. She longs for an adventure which she finds by saving her father and subsequently falling for the Beast.

The enchanted objects of the castle are not a part of this story. The castle itself is enchanted and behaves magically, but there are no personified objects present.

Enchanted objects

In the film, the servants were turned into castle objects and these characters act as the primary source of comedy. They also provide support to the Beast and motivate him to break the spell.

The sisters are the antagonist of the fairytale. They are selfish and vain. Their lack of virtue sets Beauty apart from them.

Sisters v. Gaston

While Gaston is the villain of the film as he tries to murder the beast, he is also a symbol of everything Belle despises and contains all the qualities the Beast learns to correct.

Father/Maurice

In the fairytale, Beauty's father isn't ostracized from the town, but she does still have to take care of him. Saving him and taking his place is her motivation for being in the Beast's palace.

Maurice is brilliant and clueless, and Belle elects to take his place on her own merit without being offered the trade. Maurice is also shunned by his town as different than them.