Exploring: Beauty and the Beast

Hi everyone! So, before we begin, I just want to tell you about my obsession with fairy tales, myths, and legends. I love them. I love that they expose human emotion in a magical way, both the good and the evil. I love that they are often dark. I love the symbolism they use. They are always the books and stories I go to first, and this has been the same for my entire reading life.

So, I just finished an amazing book: A Court of Thorns and Roses, by Sarah J. Maas. And because the book was cleverly inspired by the fairy tale of Beauty and the Beast, as well as some other great fairy tales, I have become obsessed with the tale. So, today we're going to explore the myth!

Full of destiny, love, and violence, Beauty and the Beast is one of my favorite fairy tales. It was originally written by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont in 1756, but drew heavily from many other fairy tales. "East of the Sun, West of the Moon" is one of my favorite versions, starring a polar bear in place of the 'hideous beast', where the beauty must save her Prince from the clutches of a troll queen.

Even farther back, the tale of Beauty and the Beast draws heavily from the Greek myth of Eros and Psyche, where Eros and Psyche fall in love, but thanks to a cruel twist of fate, Psyche is betrothed to a hideous snake-like dragon, who nightly comes to her bed. It is too dark to see her lover, but her sisters devise a plan. They tell her to bring a candle, and when the nightly visitor arrives, she lights the candle to see what he looks like. She does just that, scaring away the beast (who is Eros, of course). Thus begins the tale of Psyche desperately trying to find Eros, so they can be reunited.

The retellings of Beauty and the Beast (and there are so many!) almost always include these things: a beast (or hideous creature), a young beautiful girl (usually the youngest of three daughters), a Prince under a spell, the girl has to leave her family because _______, she almost loses her beast husband because ______, she finds/wins him in the end and they marry.

One analysis of the tale is that it was written to explain arranged marriage. The woman sees her husband as a 'beast' because she does not know him. He is foreign and terrifying, but once she gets to know him, she finds happiness with him- and he is magically transformed into a handsome prince! Happily ever after is obtained.

I hope you found this post interesting! What is your favorite fairy tale? Leave your comments below!

-Sarah.


For more Beauty and the Beast inspired tales, check out these great stories:

Beauty by Robin McKinley
East by Edith Pattou (A "East of the Sun, West of the Moon" retelling)
The Bloody Chamber and other stories by Angela Carter
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
The Rose and the Beast: Fairy Tales Retold by Francesca Lia Block
Rose Daughter by Robin McKinley
Heart's Blood by Juliet Marillier
The Fire Rose by Mercedes Lackey