Beauty and the Beast
Beauty and the Beast (French: La Belle et la Bête) is a traditional fairy tale. The first published version of the fairy tale was a rendition by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve, published in La jeune américaine, et les contes marins in 1740.[1] The best-known written version was an abridgement of her work published in 1756 by Jeanne-Marie Le Prince de Beaumont, in Magasin des enfants, ou dialogues entre une sage gouvernante et plusieurs de ses élèves; an English translation appeared in 1757.[2]
Variants of the tale are known across Italy.[3] In France, for example, Zémire et Azor is an operatic version of the story of Beauty and the Beast written by Marmontel and composed by Grétry in 1771. It had enormous success well into the 19th century.[4] It is based on the second version of the tale. The tale has perhaps been made most recently famous by the retelling in the 1991 Disney film.
Amour pour amour, by Nivelle de la Chaussée, is a 1742 play based on Villeneuve's version.
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[edit] Summary
A wealthy merchant lived in a mansion with his three daughters, all of whom were very beautiful, but only the youngest, at fourteen, is named Belle (a French name equivalent to "Beauty") for being lovely and pure of heart; her sisters in contrast are wicked and selfish. The merchant eventually loses all of his wealth in a tempest at sea, and he and his daughters must therefore live in a small farmhouse and work for their living. After some years of this, the merchant hears that one of the trade ships sent by himself had arrived in port, having escaped the destruction of its compatriots; therefore he returns to the city to discover whether it contains anything of monetary value. Before leaving, he asks his daughters whether they desire that he bring them any gift upon his return. His two elder daughters ask for jewelry and fine dresses, thinking that his wealth has returned; Belle is satisfied with the promise of a rose, as none grow in their part of the country. The merchant finds that his ship's cargo has been seized to pay his debts, leaving him without money by which to buy his daughters their presents.
During his return, he becomes lost in a forest. Seeking shelter, he enters a castle. He finds inside tables laden with food and drink, which have apparently been left for him by the castle's owner. The merchant accepts this gift and is about to leave when he sees a rose garden and recalls that Belle had desired a rose. Upon picking the most lovely rose he finds, the merchant is confronted by a hideous 'Beast', which tells him that for taking his (the Beast's) most precious possession after accepting his hospitality, the merchant must stay his prisoner forever. The merchant begs to be set free, arguing that he had only picked the rose as a gift for his youngest daughter. The Beast agrees to let him go only if the merchant will send his daughter to live in the castle in his place.
The merchant is upset, but accepts this condition. He tries, upon arriving home, to hide the secret from Belle; but she pries it from him and willingly goes to the Beast's castle. The Beast receives her graciously and treats her as his guest. He gives her lavish clothing and food and carries on lengthy conversations with her. Each night, the Beast asks Belle to marry him, only to be refused each time. After each refusal, Belle dreams of a handsome prince who pleads with her to answer why she keeps refusing him, and she replies that she cannot marry the Beast because she loves him only as a friend. Belle does not make the connection between the handsome prince and the Beast and becomes convinced that the Beast is holding the prince captive somewhere in the castle. She searches for him and discovers multiple enchanted rooms, but of course, never the prince from her dreams.
For several months Belle lives a life of luxury at the Beast's palace, being waited on hand and foot by invisible servants, having no end of riches to amuse her and an endless supply of exquisite finery to wear. Yet eventually, she becomes homesick and begs the Beast to allow her to go to see her family. He allows it, if she will return exactly a week later. Belle agrees to this and sets off for home with an enchanted mirror and ring. The mirror allows her to see what is going on back at the Beast's castle, and the ring allows her to return to the castle in an instant when turned three times around her finger. Her older sisters are surprised to find her well fed and dressed in finery. They grow jealous of her happy life at the castle, and, hearing that she must return to the Beast on a certain day, beg her to stay another day, even putting onion in their eyes to make it appear as though they are weeping. It is their wish that the Beast will grow angry with Belle for breaking her promise and will eat her alive. Belle's heart is moved by her sisters' show of love, and she agrees to stay.
Belle begins to feel guilty about breaking her promise to the Beast and uses the mirror to see him back at the castle. She is horrified to discover that the Beast is lying half-dead of heartbreak near the rose bushes her father had stolen from and she immediately uses the ring to return to Beast.
By the time Belle finds the Beast almost dead, and she weeps over him, saying that she loves him. When her tears strike him, the Beast is transformed into a handsome prince. The Prince informs Belle that long ago a fairy turned him into a hideous beast after he refused to let her in from the rain, and that only by finding true love, despite his ugliness, could he break the curse. He and Belle are married and they lived happily ever after together.
[edit] Villeneuve's version
Villeneuve's tale includes several elements that Beaumont's omits. Chiefly, the back-story of both Belle and the Beast is given. The Beast was a prince who lost his father at a young age, and whose mother had to wage war to defend his kingdom. The queen left him in care of an evil fairy, who tried to seduce him when he became an adult; when he refused, she transformed him into a beast. Belle's story reveals that she is not really a merchant's daughter but the offspring of a king and a good fairy. The wicked fairy had tried to murder Belle so she could marry her father the king, and Belle was put in the place of the merchant's dead daughter to protect her.[5] She also gave the castle elaborate magic, which obscured the more vital pieces of it.[6] Beaumont greatly pared down the cast of characters and simplified the tale to an almost archetypal simplicity.[7]
[edit] Commentary
The urban opening is unusual in fairy tales, as is the social class of the characters, neither royal nor peasants. It may reflect the social changes occurring at the time of its first writing.[8]
[edit] Adaptations
The tale has been notably adapted for screen, stage, prose, and television over the years.
[edit] Film versions
A French version of La Belle et la Bête was made in 1946, directed by Jean Cocteau, starring Jean Marais as the Beast and Josette Day as the Beauty. This version adds a subplot involving Belle's suitor Avenant, who schemes along with Belle's brother and sisters to journey to Beast's castle to kill him and capture his riches. When Avenant enters the magic pavilion which is the source of Beast's power, he is struck by an arrow fired by a guardian statue of the Roman goddess Diana, which transforms the dying Avenant into Beast and reverses the original Beast's curse.[9] In 1994, Philip Glass wrote an opera, "La Belle et la Bête", based on Cocteau's film. Glass's composition follows the film scene by scene, effectively providing a new original soundtrack for the movie.[10]
A 1962 version directed by Edward L. Cahn, starring Mark Damon, had the Beast as a prince who transformed into werewolf at night, with makeup by Universal's Jack Pierce.[11]
In 1979, a heavily horror-influenced film entitled Panna a Netvor (Juraj Herz, was produced in Czechoslovakia. This film is notable for presenting the Monster as a bird-like creature, both attended to and tortured by gremlin servants. Julie, the virgin of the title, is forbidden from seeing her captor's face. Nonetheless, the two fall in love, and The Monster is bewildered to realize that, bit by bit, he is literally being transformed by that love.[citation needed]
In 1987, The Cannon Group and Golan-Globus Productions released a musical live action version, directed by John Savage as Beast, and Rebecca De Mornay as Beauty, with original music by DVD in 2005 by MGM Home Entertainment.[12] The plot of this adaptation is more comparable to the authoritative Beaumont version than others.[citation needed]
In 1991, Walt Disney Feature Animation produced a musical animated film adaptation of Walt Disney's Beauty and the Beast, directed by Kirk Wise & Gary Trousdale, with a screenplay by Linda Woolverton, and songs by Alan Menken & Howard Ashman. Like the 1946 version, the Disney version also names Beauty "Belle" and gives her a handsome suitor (here named Gaston) who eventually plots to kill the Beast. Other aspects of the story are changed or added as well: In the Disney version, Belle's father (here called Maurice) is an inventor, not a merchant, and Belle is his only daughter. Belle is befriended by the Beast's servants, who have been transformed into household objects.[13] There is also an element of Bluebeard in it, in the sense that she is told, early on in the Beast's castle, not to go in a certain chamber, but disobeys him out of curiosity.[citation needed] Beauty and the Beast won Academy Awards for Best Song and Best Original Score, in addition to becoming the first animated film to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture.[14] It was also one of only two animated films included in AFI's 100 Years... 100 Passions list, which announced the 100 greatest love stories of all time,[15] and is now considered one of the Walt Disney Company's classic animated films.
Children's film producer Diane Eskenazi produced an adaptation of Beauty and the Beast, directed by Golden Films in 1993. The film, which relied on moderate animation techniques but was mostly faithful to the original tale, featured classical compositions as opposed to an original soundtrack, featuring the works of many well-known popular composers.[16]
A 2003 Viking period film directed by Blood of Beasts.[17]
A dark version[18] of the fairy tale updated to modern times,[19] director Spike[20] was described (at its premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival[21] where it was chosen as part of the Best of the Fest)[22] as "Angela Carter rewriting La Belle et la Bête as an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer".[23]
Another modern take on Beauty and the Beast is Beastly, starring Alex Pettyfer as the beast (named Kyle) and Vanessa Hudgens as the love interest (named Lindy). Directed by Daniel Barnz and based on the novel by Alex Flinn, it will be released on March 18, 2011. The story places the basics of the original fairy tale in the context of a contemporary American high school, and also features co-stars Neil Patrick Harris as a blind man and Mary-Kate Olsen as a goth girl.[24]
[edit] Stage versions
- The Disney film was adapted for the stage by Linda Woolverton and Alan Menken, who had worked on the film. Howard Ashman, the original lyricist, had died, and additional lyrics were written by Tim Rice. Seven new songs, "No Matter What", "Me", "Home", "How Long Must This Go On?", "Maison des Lunes", "Human Again", and "If I Can't Love Her" were added to those appearing in the original film score in the stage version. "Human Again" was written for the film by Menken and Ashman, but cut during the storyboarding phase because of continuity problems.[25] Modified by Menken and Rice to work in the stage production, "Human Again" was later added to the film itself in a new scene produced for its 2002 IMAX reissue.[25] Later, another song, "A Change In Me", was added for Belle. There is a great deal of emphasis on pyrotechnics, costuming and special effects to produce the imagery of the enchanted castle that was produced by Disney Theatrical. Some characters are given names and bigger roles, like the feather duster (Babette) and the Wardrobe (Madame de la Grande Bouche). This version of Beauty and the Beast is often examined in gender studies because of the underlying female and male roles it presents to young audiences. Disney's stage musical version of Beauty and the Beast closed on July 29, 2007 after 5,464 regular performances (and 46 previews). The 17th (and final) Belle was played by Anneliese van der Pol and Donny Osmond returned to play Gaston in the final performance. With Disney set to release its Broadway version of The Little Mermaid on November 3, 2007, it was believed that having two Disney heroines on Broadway at the same time would divide audiences between the two shows. The Little Mermaid ran through August 30, 2009 in the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre - the same theatre that "Beauty and the Beast" ran in from 1999 - 2007.
- In 2003, the RSC put a version on stage that was closer to the original story than the Disney version. It was so popular that the RSC repeated it in 2004 with additions and slight variations to their original script.
- Beauty and the Beast is often performed as a pantomime in the UK - there are many versions by many different authors. Often the character of a witch is introduced who turns the Prince into the Beast because he refuses to marry her - and a good fairy (usually called the Rose Fairy) who intervenes to help the plot reach a happy conclusion. Also in the pantomime versions the Prince often meets and falls in love with Beauty prior to his transformation (making the story more Cinderella-like). The traditional pantomime Dame figure (man dressed outrageously as a woman) can be either Beauty's mother or (again Cinderella-like) two of her sisters.
- Beauty and the Beast was The Castle Theatre, Wellingborough Christmas show in Nov-Dec 2007 with all new music. The Castle's version of Beauty and the Beast tells the original story, though a traveling theatre company. The set included a spinning Romany caravan. The show included characters called Madame Gabrielle, Suzanne, Barbot.
- Beauty and the Beast, musical version, has recently (1–15 November 2008) been performed by the Gilbert and Sullivan Society, in conjunction with Leiz Moore and Allan Jeffery in Tasmania. The ultimate love story was a great success with thousands over the two week period coming out to view local talent at its very best in the 'tale as old as time'
- The UK amateur premiere of Disney's Beauty and the Beast was performed by the Southern Light Opera Company at the King's theatre in Edinburgh on 1 February 2010 and ran to 6 February 2010.
- The Irish Amateur Premiere of Disney's Beauty and the Beast was performed by Tipperary Musical Society in The Simon Ryan Theatre at Tipperarys Excel Centre, Tipperary Town. 31 January - 6 February 2010 with Bridget Nolan playing the part of Belle and Derek Ryan playing the Beast.
- La Bella y la Bestia was staged in Spanish in 2008 at the Teatro Anayansi in Panama City, Panama, directed by Bruce Quinn and produced by Diana Abouganem & Aaron Zebede.
- Beauty and the Beast jr. is another version of the play that many middle schools/high schools perform as well.
[edit] Prose Versions
Beastly by Alex Flinn sets the story in modern day Manhattan
Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast and Rose Daughter both by author Robin McKinley
Belle: A Retelling of Beauty and the Beast by Cameron Dokey, and Spirited by Nancy Holder, both part of the Once Upon A Time
Crazy Beautiful by Lauren Baratz-Logsted, in which the "beast" character is a young teenage boy who lost his hands in an explosion
Cupid by Julius Lester, based on the Greek tale Cupid and Psyche thought to be one of the original versions of the story
East by Edith Pattou, based on the story East of the Sun and West of the Moon a Norse variation on Beauty and the Beast
The Fire Rose by Mercedes Lackey, part of the Elementals series
Australian fantasy author Juliet Marillier's novel, Heart's Blood, is an historical retelling of Beauty and the Beast set during the Norman invasion.
Ice by Sarah Beth Durst
The Rose: A Novel Based on Beauty and the Beast by Jennifer Baker
Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George, based on East of the Sun and West of the Moon
A Wolf at the Door: and Other Retold Fairy Tales by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling (the title story is based on Beauty and the Beast)
[edit] Television
George C. Scott turned in a made-for-TV rendition in 1976, which aired as part of the "Hallmark Hall of Fame". Scott was nominated for an Emmy for his performance.
In 1984, Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre aired "Beauty and the Beast" starring Klaus Kinski and Susan Sarandon. The sets, makeup and costumes were based on the 1946 film.
Beauty and the Beast, which owed as much to detective shows and fantasy fiction as to the fairy tale, originally broadcast from 1987 to 1989. This was centered around the relationship between Catherine, an attorney who lived in New York City, played by Linda Hamilton, and Vincent, a gentle but lion-faced "beast", played by Ron Perlman, who dwells in the tunnels beneath the city. Wendy Pini created two issues of a comic-book adaptation of the TV series. The series was cancelled when ratings fell after Hamilton decided to leave the show at the end of the second season.
HBO's Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child did a version of the story set in Equatorial Africa.
[edit] Beauty and the Beast in popular culture
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Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (December 2008) |
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- Fables (comics) features both as featured characters of the series.
- Beauty and the Geek is a television show produced by Ashton Kutcher
- Beauty and the Beast is a critical plot theme of the Jem TV series episode "Beauty and the Rock Promoter".
- Beauty and the Beast is the plot of the music video, and supposedly of the song, "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)" by Meat Loaf.
- Stevie Nicks wrote the song "Beauty and the Beast" from her 1983 album The Wild Heart after viewing the Jean Cocteau film.[citation needed]
- "Beauty and the Beast" is the name of a song by David Bowie.
- "Beauty and the Beast" is the name of a song by jazz saxophonist Wayne Shorter
- "Beauty Is the Beast" is the name of a song by the Swedish band The Ark.
- Marvel Comics published a four issue mini series titled Beauty & The Beast starring the X-Men's Beast and the Dazzler.
- The video game Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots introduces a female quartet of bosses known as the Beauty and the Beast Unit.
- The characters of Disney's Beauty and the Beast feature as part of the Squaresoft game Kingdom Hearts, with Belle being one of the captured princesses that must be rescued, and the Beast being a temporary party member. They reappear in Kingdom Hearts II, with the Beast's Castle being a world level, and the Beast being a key in the evil Organization XIII's plot. It is also a playable world in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, where the events leading up to Kingdom Hearts II are explained.
- Influenced the movie The Beautician and the Beast.
- Many gothic metal and black metal bands (such as Sirenia, Penumbra, and Via Mistica) simultaneously employ the use of male death growl vocals and melodious female vocals in their songs, and the ensuing combined vocal style of such music is known popularly as Beauty and the Beast vocals.
- An episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer is called "Beauty and the Beasts".
- A Babyshambles song on their debut album is titled "La Belle et la Bête". In this instance Pete Doherty is talking of his relationship with former girlfriend Kate Moss.
- In the computer game King's Quest VI, Alexander, with the assistance of a white rose and ring, must convince a serving girl to go to the Isle of the Beast where there are white roses to save himself from becoming a beast for trespassing in the beast's garden.
- Valiant: a Modern Tale of Faerie is another retold version of Beauty and the Beast, where instead of a Prince and a merchants daughters, they use a young homeless run away as an unconventional beauty. There is no curse in this story, and the Beast does not turn into a prince at the end of the story, for Ravus is a Troll.
- "Beauty and the Beast" and "Beauty of the Beast" are two songs by Finnish gothic metal band Nightwish.
[edit] See also
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Beauty and Beast |
- Stockholm syndrome
- Damsel in distress
- Loathly lady
- Noble savage
- The Feather of Finist the Falcon
- Lokis
- King Kong
[edit] References
- ^ Terri Windling, Beauty and the Beast
- ^ Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont, Beauty and the Beast
- ^ Heidi Anne Heiner, "Tales Similar to Beauty and the Beast"
- ^ Thomas, Downing. Aesthetics of Opera in the Ancien Régime, 1647-1785. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2002.
- ^ Betsy Hearne, Beauty and the Beast: Visions and Revisions of An Old Tale, p 22-3 ISBN 0-226-32239-4
- ^ Betsy Hearne, Beauty and the Beast: Visions and Revisions of An Old Tale, p 25 ISBN 0-226-32239-4
- ^ Betsy Hearne,
- ^ Maria Tatar, p 45, The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales, ISBN 0-393-05163-3
- ^ David J. Hogan (1986). Dark Romance: Sexuality In the Horror Film. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. p. 90. ISBN 0-7864-0474-4.
- ^ IMDb. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038348/alternateversions. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
- ^ "50's and 60's Horror Movies B". The Missing Link. http://www.classichorror.free-online.co.uk/TML/b50.htm. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
- ^ Russell A. Peck. "Cinderella Bibliography: Beauty and the Beast". The Camelot Project at the University of Rochester. http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/cinder/BB1.htm. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
- ^ Janet Maslin (1991-11-13). The New York Times. http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9D0CE2DF1330F930A25752C1A967958260. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
- ^ Erik Gruenwedel (2010-03-29). Home Media Magazine. http://www.homemediamagazine.com/disney/disneys-beauty-and-beast-diamond-edition-due-blu-ray-oct-5-18896. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
- ^ AFI. http://movies.about.com/library/weekly/aaafitoplista.htm. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
- ^ "Beauty and the Beast". Movie Review Film. http://moviereviewfilm.com/Beauty-and-the-Beast-27-08-2008/. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
- ^ The New York Times. http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/441747/Beauty-And-The-Beast/overview. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
- ^ Jason Buchanan. All Movie Guide. http://www.allmovie.com/work/spike-461310. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
- ^ Calum Waddell. Total Sci-Fi. http://totalscifionline.com/reviews/2323-spike. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
- ^ "Beauty & the Beast + Blood and Guts = Spike". HorrorMovies.ca. 2007-01-11. http://www.horror-movies.ca/horror-news.php?id=7269. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
- ^ Variety. 2008-06-13. http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=festivals&jump=features&id=3168&articleid=VR1117987482. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
- ^ The List. 2008-06-25. http://edinburghfestival.list.co.uk/article/9461-best-of-the-fest-programme-at-edinburgh-international-film-festival/. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
- ^ Robert Hope. Edinburgh International Film Festival. http://www.edfilmfest.org.uk/whats-on/2008/spike/full-details. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
- ^ Larry Carroll (2010-03-30). MTV. http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1635084/story.jhtml. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
- ^ a b Tale as Old as Time: The Making of Beauty and the Beast. [VCD]. Walt Disney Home Entertainment. 2002.
[edit] External links
- SurLaLune Fairy Tale Pages: The Annotated Beauty and the Beast
- "Beauty and the Beast: folktales of Aarne-Thompson type 425C
- Cinderella Bibliography - includes an exhaustive list of B&tB productions in books, TV and recordings
- Theatre Cedar Rapids Beauty and the Beast Production Photo Gallery - Great photographic overview of the whole show scene, including costumes and sets.
- Beauty and the Beast fairy tale with Edmund Dulac illustrations
- Full text of Beauty and the Beast from "The Fairy Book"
- Original version and psychological analysis of Beauty and the Beast
- (French) Beauty and the Beast, audio version
- The UK amateur premiere's website
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