Angela Carter Beauty And The Beast

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The media of a time, whether stories, movies or music, generally reflect the thoughts and issues of that time. In all the variations of “Beauty and the Beast”, by Janne-Marie LePrince de Beaumont and Angela Carter, the father “gives” his daughter to a beast. Each author either embraces or rejects the idea of fathers giving away their daughters by examining the reasons for arranged marriages and the effect it has on both the daughters and their fathers. LePrince de Beaumont rejects arranged marriages by almost mocking the idea, while Carter seems to embrace the thought. Jeanne-Marie LePrince de Beaumont’s take on “Beauty and the Beast” is a pretty simple story. A single merchant father of six kids loses his fortune. He meets the Beast when …show more content…

He is willing to sacrifice himself so his daughters can live in peace. Beauty offers herself up to the Beast. Poor, kind-hearted Beauty could not bear for her father to be at the Beast’s mercy, so she goes in his place. Beauty is a strong, compassionate girl who will risk her life for the ones she loves. When Beauty is with the Beast she is content with her life. She thinks the Beast is ugly and not that smart, and is still fearful of him, but she grows comfortable in his presence. As she spends more time with the Beast she also becomes more comfortable with herself and what she wants. Beauty isn’t afraid to ask Beast for something she wants, like seeing her father. While Beauty has been with the Beast her father has been dying of grief, with no one to take care of him. Beauty makes a promise to return to the Beast after a week, but her jealous sisters manipulate her into staying, and, of course, gentle Beauty just can’t leave her family behind. When Beauty finally returns to Beast she confesses to loving him, flaws and all, and Beast turns into a handsome, smart, man for Beauty to live with and …show more content…

In the beginning of the story, her father loses her in card game. Even after losing his only daughter in a card game, her father seems more upset at the thought of losing his riches. Then, when Beauty goes to stay with the Tiger, the first, and only, thing he asks for is to see her naked. At this point Beauty has decided to not be a victim and states “For now my own skin was my sole capital in the world and today I 'd make my first investment.” With this in mind she gives Tiger a counteroffer for her virginity, but not her looks or vulnerability. After the Tiger refuses her offer, Beauty goes to her room and discovers a wind up doll that looks exactly like her, and she muses that they both mean the same to the men of the world. Then, because Beauty would not bare herself to the Tiger, the Tiger bares himself to Beauty. Beauty ends up showing herself to the Tiger once she realizes that they both have the same meaning to men, and that she should just give in. That she should stop fighting and just accept the non-human self that the men see her as

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