Beauty and the Beast and Learning to Be Gentle
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From Kinuko Craft’s Beauty and the Beast book.
Although it seems I never have the time to work on it (and other writers with full time jobs and hobbies may relate), I am working on a novel, and that novel is a version of Beauty and the Beast, my favorite fairy tale. Because of this, different scenes I have planned for the story keep playing out in my head if I start to daydream or when I drift off to sleep. And since I want to make this my own personal “ideal” version of the story, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about what it is that makes a good Beauty and the Beast tale.
The other day, an image popped into my head of my hyper-masculine Beast sitting in a forest meadow with his Beauty, as she places a crown she has made of ivy and oak leaves carefully around his horned forehead. And it got me thinking about how all of my favorite versions of the tale include a moment or a slow transition towards soft masculinity for the beastly character.
In the best versions of Beauty and the Beast, the change in him is not just one of learning how to love, even though that is often the aspect of the story given the most attention. It is also him realizing that even the most base, strong and closed-off of people can open themselves to gentleness. There’s a reason why the “Something There” scene in Disney’s version is a fan favorite (and my second favorite scene in my favorite film): there’s something about seeing the roaring, powerful, fill-a-room-with-rage Beast bent low to the snow, covered in gentle songbirds that just brings joy to the heart.
It’s important also to note that even though Beast is drawn to Belle’s gentleness, it is not just her external calm “taming” an otherwise wild creature that occurs in the story. Beast is not just gentle when he is around her, but is able to see the gentler side within. He is able to accept his more vulnerable side and go through an internal transformation because of her influence.
Concept art from Gans’ film. The castle itself is exquisite.
Likewise, as I started to think about this aspect of the story and its important lesson, it dawned on me as well that this is one of the main reasons why the 2014 French Christophe Gans film, though arguably the most visually stunning, (with my favorite castle of all the film versions) is not my favorite. Beast in this film has no strong character arc. He starts out (as seen in flashbacks) as a pompous and arrogant jerk, and throughout the film, we never once get to see a significantly memorable scene where he learns how to be softer, more sensitive and kind. Because of that, it is hard to really believe the love between the two characters at all. I think in particular of a scene where Beauty is running away from the castle, and Beast chases after her and pins her down to the ice, trying to kiss her. When they both fall through the ice, he saves her, but his behavior consistently is more toxically masculine, more like Gaston than Beast. This Beast treats Beauty like game to hunt, and has not learned a single thing from her time with him.
Beast acting very Beastly indeed from the Gans film.
As I continue to nail down the framework of my novel, and prioritize the lessons and the atmosphere it will convey, I would be curious to know. What are some aspects of the Beauty and the Beast story for you that you love the most? What are scenes or threads of plot that you consider mandatory to a good retelling? And what would you change about the classic story if you could?
