Intro
Beauty and the beast has been a fan favorite for a lot of people over the years, one of Disney's greatest classics. It has been growing on me over the years eventually as well, though it's not in my top ten movies. But one discussion I often find on the internet about the movie has been a war between fans for a very long time. Is Beauty and the Beast a romanticized version of Stockholm Syndrome?
So, with this blog, I would like to address this question with my own (probably unpopular) opinion and say... Yes. As great as the movie is, if you look at the elements, it technically is Stockholm Syndrome, but very romanticized. The Beast is not abusive (not a lot at least), but he is someone who holds her captive.
Please note that the fact that I say this does not make it a bad movie. I still love the characters and stories, and there are far darker elements hidden in some fantasy books that people still love to read. This blog post is about how darker elements in a story, don't make it a bad story. It is fiction, after all.
Though It Was A Sacrifice, She Is Still A Captive
An argument I often hear against this theory is: "She was not kidnapped, she volunteered to stay and sacrificed herself!"
While she did sacrifice herself and was not kidnapped, did she really even have a choice? Her father was kidnapped. Thrown into a dungeon because he was trespassing. The Beast could have kicked him out, instead of locking him up. He was dying, and would have died if he'd stayed too long. Belle pleads with the Beast to let him go, but the Beast tells her no, because he is his prisoner. She could have left, but her father would have died. She does make the choice to stay herself, but the beast adds to it making her give her word to never leave, meaning she will have to stay a prisoner forever. And possibly meaning he never wanted to let Maurice go in the first place just because he got inside the castle for some shelter.
Writer's Note: Sometimes it is necessary to give the character a false choice to push them over the threshold and into a completely new life, or even by the ending of the story. Imagine the character is given the 'choice': Either stop fighting / Stay / Die, or someone they love will be imprisoned / die in their place. Would the character be able to live with themselves, knowing the person they love is dead because they wouldn't do what they were told? It's a sacrifice they have to make, but it's STILL kidnapping, because the person keeping the one they love knows what they will choose.
Dismissing A Chance To Be Free, Because Of One Life Saving Act
To be fair, the Beast has done nothing to show kindness yet. Except maybe giving her a better room to stay in instead of a cell but it's still a prison. and he commands her to come down to dinner to eat with him. He doesn't ask. Even states that it is NOT a request, and she WILL be having dinner with him. When she refuses, he let's her starve, telling her that if she doesn't eat with him, she won't be eating anything.
When he finds her in his room he screams at her, chasing her out. Now, he did specifically say she wasn't allowed in the West Wing, so he has a reason to be upset, but he was pretty aggressive to her because she was in there and nearly touched the rose. Belle runs, not only away from the room, but away from the castle, refusing to stay any longer. She is attacked by wolves and saved by the Beast who is now wounded and injured.
She could still have left. She could have dropped the beast off at the castle and let his servants take care of him, taking her freedom and leaving behind her prison. I am sure that in all the years that he's been a beast, he has been sick or injured as well and his servants could take care of him. But she chooses to stay, basically because he saved here life, going right back into the prison she tried to escape earlier.
Showing Kindness Doesn't Mean It's Not A Prison
I'm not trying to make the Beast sound like a villain, because he is not. He does care for Belle and he tries to make her comfortable in his castle. He wants to do something kind for her, because she is showing him kindness, ending up giving her a whole library... But though it is something Belle loves, and she likes what he is giving her, she still doesn't have her freedom back. To be honest, both the beast and the servants are so blinded by needing to break the curse, no one comes up with the possibility that the best gift to give her would be to set her free. He tries to change for her, and he's doing good, but she is still stuck in a prison.
Then there is the moment that she tells the Beast she is happy in the castle, but she really wants to see her father again. He could have told her to go out and find him, and if she wanted, she could come visit again. But instead, he gives her a magic mirror he's been using to spy on the outside world, only to literally just see him again. Only when it is clear that her father is sick and he sees Belle's distress, he gives in and finally let's her go. At this point, Belle has already fallen in love with her captor, even if she doesn't realize it.
Writer's Note: Sometimes, a character is blinded by their goal and doesn't realize what they are actually doing. It doesn't make them bad people. They think they're doing the right thing, but look over one tiny detail. The Beast and Servants wish to finally break the spell and become human again, blinds them from realizing they are keeping Belle as a prisoner.
Do These Elements Make The Movie Any Less Good?
No! It absolutely does not. Fiction is a lot different from reality, and you can have some darker elements in your story. I mean... Imagine you are in high school and there is this boy or girl you meet who instantly falls in love with you. You then find out this person is over a hundred years old, and has been stalking you for a while, even watching you sleep in your room. Sounds creepy, doesn't it? I would run for the hills if that actually happens. But books like these are also popular and are sometimes still made because people enjoy them! Because it's fiction. There is a lot of dark romance that go further than just a romanticized version, and people do read them.
In other words: Beauty and the Beast will always be a favorite of many people, no matter the controversial story behind it.
Conclusion
Well, that is the end of my unpopular opinion about Beauty and the Beast. As I said, I still enjoy it. I hope you all did enjoy this blog post. Until next time!
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