The ultimate female fantasy – A feminist critique of Beauty and the Beast
The article critiques the story of Beauty and the Beast, exploring its historical origins and feminist implications. It highlights how the narrative has been shaped by societal norms regarding marriage and consent. The analysis draws on the perspectives of Camille Paglia and Judith Butler to discuss themes of desire, identity, and the representation of the Beast as an abject figure.
- ▪The Beauty and the Beast story has undergone multiple edits since its inception, with significant versions by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont and Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve.
- ▪The tale reflects an economy where arranged marriages were common, and young women could be given to older, frightening strangers to settle debts.
- ▪Camille Paglia argues that the transformation of the Beast into a prince represents a loss of the story's vital, raw energy, while Judith Butler emphasizes the social constructs that render the Beast unintelligible as a husband.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
The Beauty and the Beast you remember has been edited at least twice before it reached you. The familiar shape, the merchant father, the rose, the enchanted castle, the proposal refused every night, the transformation, comes from Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont, who published a short version in 1756. She was a governess writing for girls, and she trimmed and moralised an older, longer, much stranger book. That book is Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve's, from 1740, novella length, and it is not really a children's story. It is closer to a manual.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Storica.
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