"Beauty and the Beast" is a fairy tale written by the French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published anonymously in 1740 in La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins (The Young American and Marine Tales).
Villeneuve's original story was abridged, revised, and published by French novelist Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont in 1756 in Magasin des enfants (Children's Collection) which became the most commonly retold version. Later, Andrew Lang retold the story in Blue Fairy Book, a part of the Fairy Book series, in 1889. The fairy-tale was influenced by the story of Petrus Gonsalvus as well as Ancient Latin stories such as "Cupid and Psyche" from The Golden Ass, written by Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis in the second century AD, and "The Pig King", an Italian fairy-tale published by Giovanni Francesco Straparola in The Facetious Nights of Straparola around 1550.
Variants of the tale are known across Europe. In France, for example, Zémire and Azor is an operatic version of the story, written by Jean-François Marmontel and composed by André Grétry in 1771, which had enormous success into the 19th century. Zémire and Azor is based on the second version of the tale. Amour pour amour (Love for Love) by Pierre-Claude Nivelle de La Chaussée is a 1742 play based on de Villeneuve's version. According to researchers at a university in Lisbon, the historical antecedents of these stories originated about 4,000 years ago.
Contents
Plot
Villeneuve's original version
Source:
Chapter 1: There Was Once a Merchant
A widowed merchant lives in a mansion in a city with his twelve children: six sons and six daughters. All his daughters are very beautiful, but the youngest, Beauty, is the loveliest. Beauty is also kind and pure of heart; her elder sisters, in contrast, are cruel, selfish, and jealous of Beauty.
The merchant and his children become poor when their house burns down, and his trading ships are lost to storms or pirates. The family of thirteen is forced to move to a small cottage in the countryside and must work on a farm. While Beauty adjusts to country life with a cheerful disposition, her sisters don't and become more jealous of Beauty when neighbours come by to see her.
Two years later, the merchant hears that one of his ships has returned. Before leaving to retrieve it, he asks his children what gifts they want him to bring back for them. His oldest daughters want expensive clothes and jewellery, while Beauty asks for a rose.
When he arrives at the port six months later, the merchant is dismayed to learn that his colleagues, believing him to have died in the fire, have already sold the cargo and left him unable to buy his daughters' presents. During his trip back home, the merchant becomes lost in a vicious snowstorm and he takes shelter in a hollow tree.
Chapter 2: The Palace of the Beast
The day after the snowstorm, the merchant arrives at a palace surrounded by lifelike statues. Seeing that no one is home, the merchant sneaks in and finds tables inside laden with food and drink, which seem to have been left for him by his host. The merchant accepts this gift and spends the night there.
The next morning, the merchant is about to leave when he sees a bush of roses and remembers to give Beauty one. The merchant plucks one rose and is then confronted by his host: a hideous "Beast" who threatens to punish the merchant for stealing the flower. The merchant begs for his life, explaining the promise he had made to his youngest daughter. The Beast agrees to let the merchant go home, but only if he brings one of his daughters back to live with the Beast instead. The merchant is upset, but agrees to the bargain.
Beaumont's version
Beaumont greatly pared down the cast of characters and pruned the tale to an almost archetypal simplicity. The story begins in much the same way as Villeneuve's version, although now the merchant has only six children: three sons and three daughters, including Beauty. Unlike Villeneuve's version, Beaumont's version treats the merchant as Beauty's biological father and there is no indication of her being royalty by birth. The circumstances leading to her arrival at the Beast's castle unfold in a similar manner, but on this arrival, Beauty is informed that she is a mistress and he will obey her. Beauty still dreams of the fairy, but not the handsome stranger, and there are no other inhabitants of the castle besides herself and the Beast. Beaumont strips most of the lavish descriptions present in Beauty's exploration of the palace and quickly jumps to her return home. She is given leave to remain there for a week, and when she arrives, her sisters feign fondness to entice her to remain another week in hopes that the Beast will devour her in anger. Again, she returns to him dying and restores his life. The two then marry and live happily ever after. The entire third act of Villeneuve's version detailing the backstories of both the Beast and Beauty is eliminated completely, with the Beast simply mentioning that he was cursed by a wicked fairy. The Fairy from Beauty's dream still appears, but in this version turns Beauty's sisters into statues as punishment for their wickedness.
Lang's version
A variant of Villeneuve's version appears in Andrew Lang's The Blue Fairy Book. The Merchant's mansion is burned in a fire, along with his belongings, forcing him and his family to move to their country home in the forest. His ships are lost at sea, captured by pirates, etc., except one, which returns later. Unlike the other two versions, the sisters in Lang's story are not jealous of Beauty. Also, Lang maintained the lavish descriptions of the Beast's palace. This version in particular is one of the most commonly told, along with those of Villeneuve and Beaumont.
This version was written between 1889 and 1913, some time after the original version, so it should be considered as a later version of the story.
Analysis
The tale is classified in the Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index as type ATU 425C, "Beauty and the Beast". It is related to the general type ATU 425, "The Search for the Lost Husband" and subtypes.
In a study about the myth of Cupid and Psyche, Danish folklorist Inger Margrethe Boberg argued that "Beauty and the Beast" was "an older form" of the animal husband narrative, and that subtypes 425A, "Animal as Bridegroom", and 425B, "The Disenchanted Husband: The Witch's Tasks", were secondary developments, with motifs incorporated into the narrative.
Variants
Europe
Emmanuel Cosquin collected a version with a tragic ending from Lorraine titled The White Wolf (Le Loup blanc), in which the youngest daughter asks her father to bring her a singing rose when he returns. The man cannot find a singing rose for his youngest daughter, and he refuses to return home until he finds one. When he finally finds singing roses, they are in the castle of the titular white wolf, who initially wants to kill him for daring to steal his roses, but, upon hearing about his daughters, changes his mind and agrees to spare him his life under the condition he must give him the first living being that greets him when he returns home (note story of Jephthah and his daughter in Judges 11). This turns out to be his youngest daughter. In the castle, the girl discovers that the white wolf is enchanted and can turn into a human at night, but she must not tell anyone about it. Unfortunately, the girl is later visited by her two elder sisters who pressure her to tell them what is happening. When she finally does, the castle crumbles and the wolf dies.
Henri Pourrat collected a version from Auvergne in south-central France, titled Belle Rose (sometimes translated in English as Lovely Rose). In this version, the heroine and her sisters are the daughters of a poor peasant and are named after flowers, the protagonist being Rose and her sisters Marguerite (Daisy) and Julianne, respectively. The Beast is described as having a mastiff jaw, a lizard's back legs, and a salamander's body. The ending is closer to Villeneuve's and Beaumont's versions with Rose rushing back to the castle and finding the Beast lying dying beside a fountain. When the Beast asks if she knows that he can't live without her, Rose answers yes, and the Beast turns into a human. He explains to Rose that he was a prince cursed for mocking a beggar and could only be disenchanted by a poor but kind-hearted maiden. Unlike in Beaumont's version, it is not mentioned that the protagonist's sisters are punished at the end.
According to philologist Gianfranco D'Aronco and scholar Renato Aprile, the tale is popular in the Italian oral tradition. Christian Schneller collected a variant from Trentino titled The Singing, Dancing and Music-making Leaf (German: Vom singenden, tanzenden und musicirenden Blatte; Italian: La foglia, che canta, che balla e che suona) in which the Beast takes the form of a snake. Instead of going to visit her family alone, the heroine can only go to her sister's wedding if she agrees to let the snake go with her. During the wedding, they dance together, and when the girl kicks the snake's tail, he turns into a beautiful youth, who is the son of a count.
Asia
Beauty and the Beast (Hebrew: הַיָפָה וְהַחַיָּה, Ha-Yafáh ve-Ha-Chayyáh, Arabic: الجميلة والوحش, Al-Jamīla wa-Al-Waḥsh, Persian: دیو و دلبر, Delbar o Div, Kurdish: Bedew û Cinawir or Ciwanê û Cinawir, Turkish: Güzel ve Çirkin, Chinese: 美女 與 野獸 (traditional) or 美女 与 野兽 (simplified), Měinǚ yǔ Yěshòu, Japanese: 美女 ト 野獣 (Kanji), Bíjò to̞ Yàjū, or びじょ と やじゅう (Hiragana), Bídyò to̞ Yàdyū, Korean: 미녀 와 야수, Minyeo wa Yasu, Indonesian: Si Cantik dan Si Buruk Rupa, Tagalog: Si Maganda at ang Halimaw) is known in some different variants in Asia.
North American missionary Adele M. Fielde collected a tale from Swatow, China, titled The Fairy Serpent. In this tale, the heroine's family is visited by wasps until she follows the beast, who is a serpent. One day, the well she usually fetches water from is dry, so she walks to a spring. When the heroine returns, she finds the snake dying and revives him plunging him in the water. This turns him into a human.
In a second Chinese variant, Pearl of the Sea, the youngest daughter of rich merchant Pekoe asks for a chip of The Great Wall of China because of a dream that she had. Her father steals a chip and is threatened by an army of Tatars who work for their master. In reality, the Tatar master is her uncle Chang, who has been enchanted prior to the story, and could only be released from his curse until a woman consented to live with him in the Great Wall.
North America
William Wells Newell published an Irish American variant simply titled Rose in the Journal of American Folklore. In this version, the Beast takes the form of a lion.
Marie Campbell collected a version from the Appalachian Mountains, titled A Bunch of Laurela Blooms for a Present, in which the prince was turned into a frog.
Joseph Médard Carrière collected a version in which the Beast is described having a lion's head, a horse's back legs, a bull's body, and a snake's tail. Like the end of Beaumont's version, Beauty's sisters are turned into stone statues.
In a variant from Schoharie, New York, collected by Emelyn Elizabeth Gardner with the title The Rosy Story, the heroine is named Ellen. The character that demands the youngest daughter is a headless man, but the Beast-like figure is a large toad.
Folklorist Fanny Dickerson Bergen published a fragmentary variant from Ohio, with the title The Golden Bird, which is the object the youngest daughter asks for.
Mexican linguist Pablo González Casanova collected a version from the Nahuatl titled Cizuanton huan yolcatl (Spanish: La doncella y la fiera), in which after returning to her family's home, the heroine finds the beast dead on the ground. The girl falls asleep by his side, and she dreams of the beast, who tells her to cut a specific flower and spray its water on his face. The heroine does so, and the beast turns into a beautiful young man.
South America
Lindolfo Gomes collected a Brazilian version titled A Bela e a Fera in which the deal consists of the father promising to give the Beast the first living creature that greets him at home. The heroine later visits her family because her eldest sister is getting married.
Broader themes
Harries identifies the two most popular strands of fairy-tale in the 18th century as the fantastical romance for adults and the didactic tale for children. Beauty and the Beast is interesting as it bridges this gap, with Villeneuve's version being written as a salon tale for adults and Beaumont's being written as a didactic tale for children.
Commentary
Tatar (2017) compares the tale to the theme of "animal brides and grooms" found in folklore throughout the world,
pointing out that the French tale was specifically intended for the preparation of young girls in 18th century France for arranged marriages.
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.
Hamburger (2015) points out that the design of the Beast in the 1946 film adaptation by Jean Cocteau was inspired by the portrait of Petrus Gonsalvus, a native of Tenerife who suffered from hypertrichosis, causing an abnormal growth of hair on his face and other parts, and who came under the protection of the French king and married a beautiful Parisian woman named Catherine.
Modern uses and adaptations
The tale has been notably adapted for screen, stage, prose, and television over many years.
Literature
The Scarlet Flower (1858), a Russian fairy-tale by Sergey Aksakov.
Beauty and the Beast ... The Story Retold (1886), by Laura E. Richards.
Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast (1978), by Robin McKinley.
"The Courtship of Mr. Lyon" (1979), from Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber, based on Madame Le Prince de Beaumont's version. "The Tiger's Bride" in the same book is a variant of the tale.
Beauty (1983), a short story by Tanith Lee, a science fiction retelling of Beauty and the Beast.
Fashion Beast, a 1985 screenplay by Alan Moore, adapted into a graphic novel in 2012.
"A Grain of Truth" (1993), a short story by Andrzej Sapkowski in The Last Wish.
Lord of Scoundrels (1995), by Loretta Chase, a Regency romance and retelling of Beauty and the Beast.
The Fire Rose (1995), by Mercedes Lackey.
Rose Daughter (1997), by Robin McKinley.
Beauty (1997), modern retelling by Susan Wilson.
The Quantum Rose, by Catherine Asaro, a science fiction retelling of Beauty and the Beast.
Beastly (2007), by Alex Flinn, a version that sets the story in modern-day Manhattan.
Bryony and Roses (2015), by T. Kingfisher (pen name of Ursula Vernon).
Live-action feature films
La Belle et la Bête (1946), directed by Jean Cocteau, starring Jean Marais as the Beast and Josette Day as Beauty.
Beauty and the Beast (1962), directed by Edward L. Cahn, starring Joyce Taylor and Mark Damon.
Panna a netvor (1978), a Czechoslovak film directed by Juraj Herz.
Beauty and the Beast (1987), a musical live-action version directed by Eugene Marner, starring John Savage as Beast, and Rebecca De Mornay as Beauty.
Blood of Beasts (2005), a Viking period film directed by David Lister alternatively known as Beauty and the Beast.
Spike (2008), directed by Robert Beaucage, a dark version of the fairy-tale updated to modern times.
Beauty and the Beast (2009), an Australian fantasy reimagining of the tale, starring Estella Warren.
Beastly (2011), directed by Daniel Barnz and starring Alex Pettyfer as the beast (named Kyle) and Vanessa Hudgens as the love interest.
Beauty and the Beast (2014), a French-German film.
Beauty and the Beast (2017), a live-action adaptation of the 1991 Disney animated film, directed by Bill Condon, and starring Emma Watson and Dan Stevens.
Animated feature films
The Scarlet Flower (1952), an animated feature film directed by Lev Atamanov and produced at the Soyuzmultfilm.
Beauty and the Beast, a planned animated film that was to be directed by Don Bluth and distributed by Columbia Pictures. It was announced in 1984 and subsequently cancelled in 1989.
Beauty and the Beast (1991), an animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and directed by Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale, with a screenplay by Linda Woolverton, and songs by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman.
Beauty and the Beast (1992), a direct-to-video animated feature film unrelated to the preceding year's Disney release but containing similar packaging, featuring Irene Cara as the voice of Beauty, Jan Rabson as Beauty's father, and Susan Silo as Beauty's sister Alicia, Clara the Fairy Housekeeper, and the evil fairy that was Clara's sister.
Belle (2021), a Japanese animated science fantasy film written and directed by Mamoru Hosoda and produced by Studio Chizu.
Live-action television
Shirley Temple's Storybook episode "Beauty and the Beast" (1958), broadcast live and in color starring Claire Bloom and Charlton Heston.
Beauty and the Beast (1976), a made-for-television movie starring George C. Scott and Trish Van Devere.
"Beauty and the Beast" (1984), an episode of Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre, starring Klaus Kinski and Susan Sarandon.
Mansion of the Beast (1985), episode in the short-living Otherworld_(TV_series), with nods to Beauty_and_the_Beast_(1946_film) from Jean_Cocteau.
Beauty and the Beast (1987), a television series which centers around the relationship between Catherine (played by Linda Hamilton), an attorney who lives in New York City, and Vincent (played by Ron Perlman), a gentle but lion-faced "beast" who dwells in the tunnels beneath the city.
Beauty (1998), a made-for-television movie starring Janine Turner and Jamey Sheridan.
Beauty & the Beast (2012), a reworking and modernizing of the 1987 TV series starring Jay Ryan and Kristin Kreuk.
Once Upon a Time episode "Skin Deep" (2012), starring Emilie de Ravin as Belle and Eric Keenleyside as Maurice. In this show, Rumplestiltskin (portrayed by Robert Carlyle) was amalgamated with the Beast and the Crocodile from Peter Pan.
Beauty and the Beast (2014), an Italian/Spanish two-part miniseries starring Blanca Suárez and Alessandro Preziosi.
Bekaboo (2023), an Indian television series.
The Princess and the Werewolf (2023) is a Chinese television series, starring Chen Zheyuan and Wu Xuanyi in a comedic spin on the tale, where the wolf king wants to marry a sassy princess who accidentally swallowed the pearl that holds his power. 30 episodes airing 20 July – 18 August 2023.
Animated television
Tales of Magic (1976–79), anime anthology series animated by Dax International features a 10-minute adaptation.
Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theater (1987), episode Kitty and the Beast, created by Sanrio, produced by DIC Enterpr
ises and animated by Toei Animation.
Grimm's Fairy-Tale Classics episode "Beauty and the Beast (The Story of the Summer Garden and the Winter Garden)" (1988). The Beast is depicted with an ogre-like appearance.
Long Ago and Far Away (1990), an episode narrated by Mia Farrow
Britannica's Tales Around the World (1990–91), features three variations of the story.
World Fairy-Tale Series (Anime sekai no dōwa) (1995), anime television anthology produced by Toei Animation, has half-hour adaptation.
Happily Ever After: Fairy-Tales for Every Child had an episode featuring an African adaption of "Beauty and the Beast" which starred the voices of Vanessa L. Williams as Beauty, Gregory Hines as the Beast, and Paul Winfield as Beauty's Father. The Beast is depicted as having a rhinoceros head, a lion-like mane and tail, a humanoid body, and a camel-like hump where he is served by gargoyle-like servants
Wolves, Witches and Giants (1995–99), episode Beauty and the Beast, season 2 episode 12.
Stories from My Childhood, episode "Beauty and the Beast (A Tale of the Crimson Flower)" (1998), featuring the voices of Amy Irving as Beauty, Tim Curry as the Beast, and Robert Loggia as Beauty's father.
The Triplets (Les tres bessones/Las tres mellizas) (1997-2003), Catalan animated series, has a spoof of the fairy-tale in episode 22 from the third season.
Theatre
La Belle et la Bête (1994), an opera by Philip Glass based on Cocteau's film. Glass's composition follows the film scene by scene, effectively providing a new original soundtrack for the movie.
Beauty and the Beast (1994), a musical adaptation of the Disney film by Linda Woolverton and Alan Menken, with additional lyrics by Tim Rice.
Beauty and the Beast (2011), a ballet choreographed by David Nixon for Northern Ballet, including compositions by Bizet and Poulenc.
Other
A hidden object game, Mystery Legends: Beauty and the Beast, was released in 2012.
The hidden object game series Dark Parables based the main story of ninth game (The Queen of Sands) on the tale.
The narrative of the Sierra Entertainment adventure game King's Quest VI follows several fairy-tales, and Beauty and the Beast is the focus of one multiple part quest.
G5 Entertainment published a free-to-play hidden object game called Sherlock (2020), where one of the featured books is Beauty and the Beast.
Stevie Nicks recorded "Beauty and the Beast" for her 1983 solo album, The Wild Heart.
Real Life based the video for their signature hit "Send Me an Angel" on the fairy story.
Disco producer Alec R. Costandinos released a twelve inch by his side project Love & Kisses with the theme of the fairy-tale set to a disco melody in 1978.
The interactive fiction work Bronze by Emily Short is a puzzle-oriented adaptation of Beauty and the Beast.