Beauty? and the Beast

I’ve had a long-time fascination with the Beauty and the Beast story. I am intrigued by the classic Hans Christian Anderson tale and have devoured other versions such as Robin McKinley’s Beauty and Susan Wilson’s clever modern retelling by the same name.  While it’s not my favorite, Disney’s Belle and  her love of books (wouldn’t that library be the best gift ever?) delighted me in both the movie and play. I even tried the recent young adult novel Beastly, which turned out to be a clever concept, but disappointing read. I’m sure I’ll watch the movie once it hits Netflix Watch Instantly, however. 

I’ve often wondered what it is exactly that so intrigues me about this tale. Is it Belle’s inherent goodness and self-sacrifice, combined with a strong will and sense of self? Do I have a thing about tortured souls like the beast? Is there something about the idea that he truly changes from the inside out, unable to depend on his appearance at all? How about the concept that she helps him discover the good in himself and their love truly seems built on real friendship and admiration, rather than the trite love at first sight?

I think it’s a bit of all of these. If I”m being honest with myself, it also probably has to do a bit with that secret hope we all harbor that someone extraordinarily beautiful or handsome – a person who seems out of our reach – could love us despite our obvious defects – weight, an over sized nose, big hips, bad skin, etc. In a culture obsessed with outward beauty, we all want to believe that a beast can win over a beauty with kindness, intelligence, sincerity, and a good sense of humor.

As a result, we see the scenario of the geek winning over the beauty queen, the big girl marrying the handsome and wonderful bachelor, and the plain everyman dating the supermodel repeatedly. This makes for satisfying viewing, but it’s also a bit twisted. If we’re all longing to have someone see past our flaws, why are we so desperately seeking the flawless? How is it that we so eagerly root for a protagonist who is drooling over the handsome guy or gal they barely know across the room rather than wondering why they are so shallow?

Perhaps I’m over thinking things a bit. I mean, I don’t feel guilty that I married up in the gene pool. I hope my children grow up to be attractive, as well as kind, intelligent, and good people. But I don’t want an obsession with appearance to make them self-conscious or prevent them from building meaningful relationships with a myriad of people. I hope they learn to discover how getting to know someone can literally make them more attractive, what you love about them creating a whole picture that de-emphasizes their flaws.

I suppose in my version of Beauty and the Beast, the main characters are like Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester or Rebecca and Maxim DeWinter. None of these characters are renowned for their beauty, but are magnetically drawn together. They intrigue one another because of their flaws, strengths, insecurities, and mysteries. I guess I always imagine that Beauty is lovely because she’s strong and good and the beast’s looks irrelevant because she already sees beyond them.