BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve, 1740

“They had hardly finished their meal when the noise of the rich beast’s footsteps was heard approaching, and Belle clung to her father in terror, which became all the greater when she saw how frightened he was.”

Obsession, entrapment, and a message for young girls amounting to “you’ll learn to love him”: this is no Disney love story. A lost merchant stumbles upon a grand palace, with a banquet left for him by an unseen owner. As he leaves, he plucks a rose for his beloved youngest daughter, Belle, and is confronted by a hideous beast who only releases him on the condition that he sends Belle back.

The beast lavishes food, clothes and gifts upon Belle, and asks her to marry him every night, being refused every time. She begs to be allowed to visit her family for one week, and he permits it, as long as she takes an enchanted mirror which allows her to see what is going on at the castle. Her jealous sisters persuade her to stay, hoping to anger the beast, but when Belle looks in the mirror, she discovers the beast is dying of heartache. She rushes back, weeps and announces her love for him, whereupon he turns into a handsome prince.

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