Beauty and the Beast

“Quite as much alive to the reverses that had just overwhelmed her family as any of her sisters, by a strength of mind which is not common in her sex, she concealed her sorrow, and rose superior to her misfortunes.”

These lines are part of the introduction to Beauty’s character. As noted, she has a very different reaction to the misfortunes and subsequent move to the country. Though she’s as aware of the situation as her sisters are, she doesn’t dwell on how it worsens her life and chooses to accept what has happened. The phrase “which is not common in her sex” refers to the belief at the time that women didn’t possess the same mental fortitude as men and were considered delicate creatures prone to fits of emotion. The use of the phrase here separates Beauty from her sisters, suggesting they fit the mold of the time. In addition, the phrase told readers of that time that Beauty is not what they might typically expect from a female character.

“Statues were seen here and there, regardless of order or symmetry—some were in the middle of the road, others among the trees—all after the strangest fashion; they were of the size of life, and had the color of human beings, in different attitudes, and in various dresses, the greatest number representing warriors.”

In this passage, the merchant arrives at the Beast’s castle for the first time. The narrative later reveals that the statues are people that the fairy froze in place as part of her effort to help the prince break the curse. Since the fairy who cast the curse stipulated that no one could know about it, the helpful fairy turned the castle’s inhabitants to statues to keep them from learning of the curse or spreading news of its existence. Most of the statues are soldiers, suggesting that the kingdom had a sizeable and powerful army. The way the statues are distributed in no discernable pattern means that the people had no warning and were turned to statues in the middle of whatever activity they were performing.

“‘Is it possible that I could think of extending my days at the expense of those of my daughters? Can I have the barbarity to lead one to him, to see him, no doubt, devour her before my eyes?’

But all at once, interrupting himself, he cried, ‘Miserable wretch that I am, what have I to fear?’”

These lines are spoken by the merchant as he makes his way home after his initial encounter with the Beast. They’re part of a soliloquy—a literary device in which a character speaks to themself and reveals information about themself or their situation. In this soliloquy, the merchant recaps the events at the Beast’s castle and the choice he must make to return or send one of his children to be killed. In the first section of dialogue, he debates the choice, asking himself what kind of father could sacrifice one of his children to save his life. Through the merchant’s cutting off his own speech, the author shows that he has changed his thoughts, and the second part of the dialogue leads into a decision being made. By asking himself what he has to fear, the merchant concludes that his fate can’t be changed—either he’ll return to die, or one of his children will take his place with full knowledge of what they’re committing to.

“‘I was certain,’ exclaimed the eldest, ‘and I was saying, this very moment, that she would be the only one whose commission you would execute. At this time of the year, a rose must have cost more than you would have had to pay for us all five together; and, judging from appearances, the rose will be faded before the day is ended. Never mind, however, you were determined to gratify the fortunate Beauty at any price.’”

In this passage, the merchant has returned home from the Beast’s castle and presented Beauty with the requested rose. The eldest sister speaks for all five of the elder sisters, expressing their jealousy and annoyance that none of their gifts were retrieved. The eldest’s focus on how much the rose must have cost shows how the sisters view the world only in terms of money. The merchant hasn’t yet revealed where he got the flower, and the sister doesn’t consider that the rose might have come from a garden. She wants to believe that the merchant spent his money on Beauty because doing so allows the sisters to continue disliking Beauty for being the merchant’s favorite (as well as for her being beloved by all who meet her).

“‘I think,’ said she to her father, ‘that it will be better to empty these trunks, and to fill them with coin, which you can give to your children according to your pleasure. By this means you will not be obliged to confide your secret to any one, and your riches will be possessed by you without danger. The advantage that you would derive from the possession of these jewels, although their value might be more considerable, would be attended by inconvenience. In order to profit by them you would be forced to sell them, and to trust them to persons who would only look on you with envious eyes. Your confidence in them might even prove fatal to you, whilst gold pieces of current coin will place you,’ continued she, ‘beyond the reach of any misfortune, by giving you the means of acquiring land and houses, and purchasing rich furniture, ornaments, and precious stones.’”

This passage comes after Beauty and the merchant return to the Beast’s castle. The Beast has instructed them to pick out gifts for the rest of their family, as well as something for the merchant to take home. Here, Beauty offers the merchant sound advice for making the most of this acquired fortune. This show of intelligence from a woman was meant as a subversion against society at the time. In addition to being thought of as weaker emotionally, women were seen as less intelligent and unable to learn like men did. Beauty’s understanding of the best way to hide this fortune and spend it wisely so as not to be swindled shows that she’s as smart as the merchant—perhaps smarter. The narrative later reveals that the merchant heeded her advice and profited from doing so—proof that Beauty knows what she’s talking about here.

“‘Following thy counsel, I will hide my wealth from the world, and even from my children. If they knew me to be as rich as I shall be, they would torment me to abandon my country life, which, however, is the sole one wherein I have found happiness, and not experienced the perfidy of false friends, with whom the world is filled.’”

These lines of dialogue are part of the merchant’s response to Beauty’s financial advice in the previous quotation. Here, he agrees to follow her advice because it makes sense—more proof of Beauty’s intelligence. The remainder of the quote provides a rare glimpse into the merchant’s character and a comment on society life at the time. While the merchant didn’t intend to move to the country, he found he likes being away from the city because the trappings of society filled his life with false friends who are interested in someone only while that person has money and means. The moment the merchant lost his fortune, his so-called friends abandoned him, and he doesn’t want to go back. He knows, though, that Beauty’s sisters would pressure him to restore their family to its former status, so he decides to lie to them.

“She praised the monkeys, and, caressing them, said she should like some of them to follow her and keep her company. Instantly two tall young apes, in court dresses, who appeared to have been only waiting for her orders, advanced and placed themselves with great gravity beside her. Two sprightly little monkeys took up her train as her pages. A facetious baboon, dressed as a Spanish gentleman of the chamber, presented his paw to her, very neatly gloved, and accompanied by this singular cortège, Beauty proceeded to the supper table. During her meal the smaller birds whistled, in perfect tune, an accompaniment to the voices of the parrots, who sang the finest and most fashionable airs.”

These lines come during Beauty’s exploration of the castle. The narrative later reveals these animals as spirits that were enchanted to present themselves to her, but at this point Beauty knows them only as wonders within the castle walls. Barbot De Villeneuve likely used these animals to comment on society. The birds represent performers, and the parrots, capable only of repeating phrases, symbolize the repetitive life of the upper class. The monkeys are like well-trained servants who jump to attention at the first command. The one dressed as a gentleman of the chamber refers to a position in the Household branch of the English monarchy who did the bidding of the Lord Chamberlain and saw to the needs of the royalty.

“She saw the Monster on a throne all blazing with jewels; he called to her and invited her to sit beside him. A moment afterwards, the Unknown compelled him precipitately to descend, and seated himself in his place. The Beast regaining the advantage, the Unknown disappeared in his turn. He spoke to her from behind a black veil, which changed his voice, and rendered it horrible.”

In this passage, from one of Beauty’s many dreams, the unknown refers to the prince, while the monster is the Beast. This dream is one of the scenes that most strongly foreshadow that the prince and the Beast are the same person. The Beast’s sitting upon a jeweled throne shows that he is in fact royalty, and the prince’s taking his place foreshadows the curse being broken. The veil behind which the Beast speaks is a manifestation of the curse: Removing the veil would break the spell and allow all to be seen as it truly is. In addition, these lines speak to the various parts of a person. While the prince is kind toward Beauty while he is the Beast, part of him is implicitly ugly, which further implies that the curse only brought this ugliness to the surface.

“So delightful a life ought to have perfectly contented her, but we weary of everything. The greatest happiness fades when it is continual, derived always from the same source, and we find ourselves exempted from fear and from hope. Beauty had experienced this. The remembrance of her family arose to trouble her in the midst of her prosperity. Her happiness could not be perfect as long as she was denied the pleasure of informing her relations of it.”

Beauty has spent days exploring the castle and discovering its many wonders, such as the magic mirror. While these things initially brought her great enjoyment, their novelty has worn off, and she grows tired of having the same experiences day after day. This boredom has led her to consider asking the Beast to visit the merchant’s family, which she does shortly after this. The passage itself speaks to how imprisonment, even when pleasant, can’t sustain anyone for long. Prison doesn’t refer only to a cell with bars. The trapped feeling that Beauty experiences here comes because she feels stagnant within her never-changing environment. Her realization that her happiness means less because her family doesn’t know about it connotes the idea that people base their feelings on the thoughts and opinions of others. Beauty wants to tell her family that she lives well because they believe she’s suffering or dead, and letting them know she’s happy will alleviate her sorrow by extension.

“‘It is much better to have an amiable husband than one whose only recommendation is a handsome person. How many girls are compelled to marry rich brutes, much more brutish than the Beast, who is only one in form, and not in his feelings or his actions?”’”

The merchant says this to Beauty after she returns home and tells him about her experiences with the Beast—his kindness and the gift of all the wonders in his castle. The merchant’s words highlight the theme Appearances Versus Reality. He urges Beauty not to judge either the Beast or the prince on looks alone because external appearances don’t always tell the complete truth. The fact that this message comes from a father figure is commentary on the world in which Barbot De Villeneuve lived. Rather than being a father eager to marry his daughter off to the first eligible man, the merchant puts the choice of a match in Beauty’s hands, offering advice only. The merchant reflects Barbot De Villeneuve’s desires for a world in which marriage is more than a financial transaction.

“She awoke several times, but on falling asleep again no cupids fluttered round her couch. In a word, instead of a night full of sweet thoughts and innocent pleasures, which she had counted on passing in the arms of sleep, it was to her one of interminable length and endless anxiety. She had never known any like it in the Palace of the Beast, and the day, which she at last saw break with a mingled feeling of satisfaction and impatience, came opportunely to relieve her from this weariness.”

These lines come during the first night Beauty spends while visiting her family. She has become accustomed to meeting the prince in her dreams, but when she’s away from the castle, he doesn’t appear, likely because she’s too far away for the fairy’s magic to affect her. Beauty’s increasing agitation shows that she’s more comfortable at the castle than she is among the merchant’s family, which foreshadows both that she’ll break the Beast’s curse and that she’s not truly related to the merchant and his children. She sees the arrival of daylight with satisfaction yet impatience—impatience because she’s anxious for the night to be over and satisfaction because it means that she can pass the time in other ways while hoping the prince will return the following night.

“In the midst of her miserable reflections she perceived that she was seated in that very avenue in which, during the last night she had passed under her father’s roof, she had dreamed she saw the Beast expiring in some strange cavern. Convinced that chance had conducted her to this spot, she rose and hurried towards the thicket, which she found was not impenetrable.”

Beauty has returned to the castle after dreaming that the Beast lay almost dying. After not seeing him at their usual dinner appointment, she searches for him, and the fairy’s magic likely drives her arrival at this place in the garden to break the curse. Beauty didn’t dream of the prince during her two-month stay with the merchant, but after those two months, she saw the Beast and fairy in her dreams, which convinced her to return to the castle. Why these dreams found her while the others couldn’t is unclear. The Beast/prince might have reached her all along but may have been too heartbroken to do so or didn’t want to ruin her time with her family. Alternatively, the magic might not have been powerful enough to break through the Beast’s willingly granting Beauty time away, and only after the two months were up could the fairy send Beauty dreams.

“She spoke to him, in the hope of awaking him from the trance into which he seemed to have been thrown by some wonderful power. Not stirring at her voice, she shook him by the arm. This effort was equally ineffectual, and only served to convince her that he was under the influence of enchantment, and that she must await the end of the charm, which it was reasonable to suppose had an appointed period.”

In this passage, Beauty has found the unconscious Beast but is unable to wake him through normal means. She automatically concludes that his sleep is enchanted, which suggests that magic and spells are commonplace and expected in the story world. Alternatively, Beauty might have come to expect inexplicable magic from the castle and believe that the Beast’s spell, like others, follows certain rules. Beauty initially decides to wait for the spell to end, showing her tendency to follow perceived rules. After this segment, she renews her efforts to wake the Beast, implying that she’s no longer content to follow rules if it means losing something that matters to her.

“Their conversation, confused and unconnected, their protestations a hundred times repeated, were to them more convincing proofs of love than the most eloquent language could have afforded.”

These lines come at the end of Chapter 6, after the queen has given Beauty and the prince permission to wed. The confused and repeated nature of the conversation between them reinforces the point that while they’ve known each other for some time, their limited interactions mean that they’re still largely strangers. They’re unsure exactly how to approach one another, so they stumble over their words in the hopes of saying what they mean. This stilted conversation speaks to the power of emotion. Although they struggle to find the right words, the way that each speaks and the repeated declarations of their love is enough to express how they feel. Unlike Beauty’s sisters, Beauty and the prince don’t need expensive gifts to appreciate that they’re special or that someone cares for them.

“I was sadly embarrassed by this proposition. I knew enough of the world in my own country, to be aware that amongst the wedded portion of the community the happiest were those whose ages and characters assimilated, and that many were much to be pitied who, marrying under opposite circumstances, had found antipathies existing between them which were the source of constant misery.”

This dialogue is part of the prince’s story of his past and curse. He refers to the fairy who—although much older than he is—expressed interest in marrying him. The prince’s knowledge of marriage is more commentary from Barbot De Villeneuve. Through the prince, the author expresses her belief that marriage is most happy and successful between two people who are close in age and share similar views. By having the prince express such sentiment, she turns the reality of society around, placing a young man in the position of facing marriage to a cruel older woman. She likely does so to appeal to any male readers by showing them the difficult circumstances women faced and their lack of options for escaping such a life. Having these ideas come from a male character gives them weight they may not have had coming from Beauty, given that readers of the time may have dismissed Beauty’s philosophy of marriage as the soft thoughts of a female.

“The Fairy was surprised at the exclamation of the Queen. Her self-love concealed from her all that was actually horrible in her person, and she calculated that her power sufficiently compensated for the loss of a few charms of her youth.”

Here, the prince tells of the fairy’s reaction after the queen refuses to permit the fairy and prince to marry. The fairy’s reaction symbolizes the lies people tell themselves. Rather than understanding the queen’s objections, the fairy is taken aback because she doesn’t see the flaws in herself that the queen does. The fairy’s ego and esteem for herself keep her from noticing the less desirable parts of her personality, and the author likely meant this as a commentary on most men of the time, especially those of the higher classes who were told repeatedly that they were perfect and never had reason to question this truth. The fairy believes that her power makes up for her ugliness, which shows how people misjudge themselves and the opinions of others. The least of the queen’s objections is the fairy’s appearance, yet the fairy believes that this is the main cause for the queen’s rejection, again because she’s unwilling or unable to see the flaws in her personality. The fairy believes that enough power should make up for any flaws, another comment on how people in the higher classes used their money and influence to get what they wanted.

“The time you had passed in this Palace rendered my condition more insupportable than it had been previously, because I felt I was the most miserable of all men, without the hope of making it known to you.”

This passage from the prince’s retelling focuses on the time after Beauty came to the castle. Before she arrived there, he found living as a beast difficult but manageable because he had no immediate hope of breaking the curse. When Beauty arrives and he develops feelings for her, the curse becomes unbearable because he desperately wants it broken so that he can be with his love. The prince’s change of heart reflects how hope can lead to ruin if people let it. Without hope, people don’t think of the future and how things might be better. When people have hope, it offers the possibility to focus on making things better and not being happy until they do.

“Beauty, my liege, and perhaps the Prince, are the only persons present who are not acquainted with the laws of the Fortunate Island. It is necessary I should explain those laws to them. The inhabitants of that island, and even the King himself, are allowed perfect liberty to marry according to their inclinations, in order that there may be no obstacle whatever to their happiness.”

These lines are part of the fairy’s telling of events in Chapter 8. Here, she explains Beauty’s origins and how she was born of royalty. She doesn’t name the location of the Fortunate Island, but it may derive from the Fortunate Isles (or Isles of the Blessed) of Greek mythology—a place somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean where the heroes of Greek myth resided, also known as the Elysian Fields within Elysium (where Greek heroes went in the afterlife). In Beauty and the Beast, the Fortunate Island is a place of equality and justice inhabited by humans and the occasional fairy. Barbot De Villeneuve may have given it the name “Fortunate” because it best describes the people who live there. Like the Elysium of Greek myth, the island in the novel is an ideal. For Greek heroes, Elysium offered everything they could want. For the people of the author’s world, the island gave the freedom to live and marry as people wished, not as society dictated.

“‘For our laws expressly forbid our union with those who have not as much power as ourselves, more especially when we have not arrived at that age when we are privileged to exercise our authority over others, and enjoy the right of presiding in our turn. Previous to that time we are subordinate to our elders, and that we may not abuse our power, we have only the liberty of disposing of our hands in favor of some spirit or sage whose knowledge is at least equal to our own. It is true that after that period we are free to form what alliance we please; but it is seldom that we avail ourselves of that right, and never without scandal to our order. Those who do are generally old fairies, who almost always pay dearly for their folly; for they marry young men, who despise them, and, although they are not punished as criminals, they are sufficiently punished by the bad conduct of their husbands, on whom they are not permitted to avenge themselves.”

These lines from the fairy’s retelling explain the laws that govern the fairies lives and partnerships—and provide further social commentary. The fairies aren’t permitted to seek out relationships with those of a different power level than theirs until they’re old enough to make informed decisions, which is Barbot De Villeneuve’s criticism of girls being married off to much older men when they’re too young to understand what they’re being promised to. Once fairies are old and powerful enough, they may do as they wish, but—as with people—most don’t claim this right earlier, realizing that it’s best to live in a way that suits them and not one that brings additional, unnecessary challenges. The older fairies who marry younger men represent how the very establishment of a wedded union abuses women. With no power to break an alliance, women of the time were punished twice—first by being married off and second by being helpless against the antics of their husbands.

“It is a law amongst us that we must be a thousand years old before we can dispute the power of the ancient fairies, or at any rate we must become serpents. The perils which accompany the latter condition cause us to call it the Terrible Act. The bravest amongst us shudder at the thought of undertaking it. We hesitate a long time before we can resolve to expose ourselves to its consequences; and without the urgent motive of hatred, love, or vengeance, there are few who do not prefer waiting for time to make them Elders than to acquire their privilege by that dangerous transformation, in which the greater number are destroyed.”

In this passage, the fairy offers additional context to how the power of the fairies works. Fairies’ power naturally increases as they age, but they can expedite the process by turning into a serpent, which comes with enough dangers that many choose not to pursue this route. Barbot De Villeneuve uses this explanation to comment on the shifting power within society. People who take their time and work hard are more likely to build a stable foundation on which they can rise through class ranks. By contrast, those who engage in risky financial endeavors may gain great wealth and power faster but are equally more likely to lose everything suddenly. In the novel’s last chapter, Beauty’s fairy-mother appears in the castle, explaining that she gained power quickly by becoming a serpent. She seems to have experienced no ill effects, which is fortunate, and the fact that she undertook the transformation suggests that she believed her plight was worse than any dangers posed by becoming a serpent.

“This is the way it happened. They were all out hunting, when their horses, suddenly uniting themselves as in one squadron, galloped off with them at such speed to the Palace that all their efforts to stop them were perfectly useless.”

Here, the merchant, his 11 children, and the suitors of his five daughters have all arrived at the castle at the precise moment Beauty hoped they’d be there. Their arrival is likely a product of magic, as the fairy is unsurprised by their appearance shortly before this excerpt and their horses all seemed to be enchanted. The fact they were all together when the spell took hold suggests the convenience of happy endings in early fairy tales. Rather than working toward a natural progression of events to make everything perfect for the final scenes, fairy tales of the time used coincidental happenstance to achieve a happy ending.

“The father and his sons were enchanted at these wonderful tidings, while the sisters felt a painful jealousy, but they endeavored to conceal it under the mask of a gratification which deceived no one. The others, however, feigned to believe them sincere. As to the lovers, who had been rendered inconstant by the hope of possessing Beauty, and who had only returned to their first attachments on their despairing to obtain her, they knew not what to think.”

This passage brings closure to the merchant and his family and show how these secondary characters experienced no change since earlier in the book. The merchant and his sons still care for Beauty and are glad for her happiness. Her sisters remain bitter and jealous, which finding suitors hasn’t changed. This is partly because their suitors would still rather have Beauty than them, which is more commentary on matches. Being forced into relationships with suitors that don’t love them leads the sisters to carry forward their negative emotions. The sisters will likely become like the older fairies of the previous chapter—trapped in loveless unions, punished by the poor conduct of their husbands, and powerless to change their situations.

“Enraptured with the scenes around them, entranced by the pleasure of loving and expressing their love to each other, they had entirely forgotten their royal state and the cares that attend it. The newly-married pair, indeed, proposed to the Fairy that they should abdicate, and resign their power into the hands of any one she should select; but that wise being represented to them clearly that they were under as great an obligation to fulfill the destiny which had confided to them the government of a nation as that nation was to preserve for them an unshaken loyalty.”

Beauty and the prince have married and spent some time away from the cares of governing to celebrate their marriage. The first lines speak to the power of emotion to make us forget our responsibilities. Beauty and the prince are so happy with one another that they don’t want to return to the castle. Their new love doesn’t allow them to realize that life encompasses more than being with one another. The fairy is a voice of responsibility, reminding Beauty and the prince of their obligation to the kingdom. The final lines connote the unspoken contract between rulers and the people over whom they preside. Rulers have a duty to do right by their people, and if they don’t fulfill their end of this contract, the people have the right to be displeased and, possibly, revolt. If the rulers do well, the people often remain loyal, and if they rise up against the government for no discernable reason, the government has a right to protect itself and the citizens in its care. As a whole, this passage shows the balance inherent in a nation.