eauty and the Beast is one of the more
famous fairy tales, nearly as well known as Cinderella and Sleeping
Beauty. As a child, it was always my favorite, because it seemed the
most realistic. Odd thinking perhaps, considering it contains an enchanted
prince, invisible servants, and various other magical elements. Consider
this, though: Beauty and the Beast is one of the few fairy tales where
the main characters actually get to know each other before falling
in love. Unlike Cinderella, who falls in love in an evening, or Sleeping
Beauty, who falls in love with a kiss, Beauty spends weeks, possibly
months with the Beast before falling in love with him. In addition,
the message given by the story, besides that main staple that true love
will prevail, is that of true beauty is within. Admirable, and
rare, it seems these days.
The Aarne Thompson classification system groups
fairy and folk tales with similar themes together, thereby making it
easier for scholars to organize and study them. For example, Cinderella
is known by scholars as Aarne Thompson folktale type 501A (persecuted
heroine), whereas Sleeping Beauty is listed as tale type 410. "Beauty
and the Beast" is classified as tale type 425C (Search for a lost husband).1
Variants of this tale can be found in several cultures, and I have included
many of them (and similar tales) here.
The
first published version of the tale was written by Madame Gabrielle
de Villeneuve, and published in La jeune ameriquaine, et les contes
marins in 1740. Her story is somewhat long and meandering--in the
aforementioned text, it took up 362 pages!2
The tale is made complex by machinations between various fairies, concern
over class distinctions, and continual exposition on the cause of the
Prince's curse. Several dream sequences involving a fairy trying to
inform Beauty that "all is not what it seems" are present, as well as
elaborate descriptions of the time that Beauty spends at the Beast's
palace. Interestingly, the Beast does not turn back into the Prince
until after his and Beauty's wedding night! All versions of Villeneuve's
tale included on this page are abridged versions.
The version that most people are familiar with
is that of Madame Le Prince de Beaumont, first published in 1756. She
removed many of the parts of Madame Villeneuve's story that make it
somewhat tedious to read, and Beaumont's version is much more streamlined.
Gone are the dream sequences found in the first version, the elaborate
descriptions of Beauty's time at the palace, and the backstory of the
Beast's and Beauty's parentage. The magical elements found in the first
version are still present (the chest of gold, the magic mirror, the
ring), but are more prominent, simply because the reader doesn't have
to slog through dozens of pages to find them.
Since
the 18th century, others have tried their hand at updating the fairy
tale, whether as a story, a play, or a poem. Many of the older plays
and poems are difficult to find on-line, but I have included those I
could find. Recent re-tellings of the story, such as Robin McKinley's
Beauty, are often fascinating and romantic reads.
The last century has let story tellers show their
vision of the story through film. Most notable of these are Jean Cocteau's
1946 version, and the more recent Disney movie. Several other versions
have been filmed over the years, but unfortunately, on-line information
on these films is scarce. I'll keep searching and see what I can find...
This originally started out as an HTML project
for a computer science class I took during my undergrad days. It has
expanded well beyond that by now. Originally I tried to include on-line
sources, but my main focus right now is trying to transcribe public
domain versions of the story into electronic format. I will be continuously
adding new things to this site. If you are aware of any interesting
and informative sites or resources that I have missed, please feel free
to contact me.
1Aarne,
Antti. The types of the folktale; a classification and bibliography.
Antti Aarne's Verzeichnis der Märchentypen translated and enl. by Stith
Thompson. Helsinki: Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia, 1961.
2Hearne,
Betsy. Beauty and the Beast : Visions and Revisions of an Old Tale.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1989.
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