"Beauty and the Beast"
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Wolran Kim
November 2013
A beautiful Korean actress had been made famous from her relationship with a very ugly actor in the media once. The public went wild with enthusiasm over this heterogeneous combination as in Beauty and the Beast, and cheered her as a subjective choice of the Alpha Girl. On the contrary, the mass of the people often poured opposition with jealousy toward a couple of beauty and wealth. The fact that there are more couples of beauty with an ugly man than couples with an ugly woman and a handsome man shows the different views toward the opposite sex. Ability is more of a priority over appearance to men than women. The category of romance is the most vulgar and knocking sensitivity or sympathy on the literary code, especially to women. Rarely are there any affairs, hatred, revenge, or sexual desires in all of human history.
All “pretty tales” (2) have enough of the same settings; “His daughters were extremely handsome, especially the youngest, (2)” and “which made her sisters very jealous” (2). Why is a heroine in a novel, movie, or drama always the prettiest? (I thought the word, handsome, is only for male characters.) I wonder why there are much more plain looking people in reality. “and laughed at their youngest sister, because she spent the greatest part of her time in reading good books” (2), “and Beauty rose at four in the morning, and made haste to have the house clean, and dinner ready for the family” (3), and “On the contrary, her two sisters did not know how to spend their time; they got up at ten, and did nothing but saunter about the whole day” (3). Here, never falling short of the reader’s expectations, the little Beauty is even good-natured, diligent, and intelligent. ON THE CONTRARY, the two sisters are bad-natured and slothful, as is expected. The standard of women’s beauty is also connected to the book, which is the symbol of intelligence, not just an aesthetic appearance.
Beauty’s family went through a crisis of social status because her father lost his whole fortune all at once. They were part of the merchant class, where wealth is the only way to keep their pride. The future of the three daughters depended on their money to marry a duke or earl. After their family circumstances were reversed, Beauty and her two sisters dealt with it completely differently. Still, Beauty’s two sisters didn’t deviate from the bourgeois from the rich days of the past. They have greedy and evil minds, different from Beauty. Their requests of new gowns as presents to their father contrast with Beauty’s asking about the rose.
New gowns represent worldly desires and the rose represents purity without greed. Beauty’s rose becomes a mediator of connection between Beauty and the Beast. The rose actually becomes the cause of the link to Beast, the impeccable prince. Beast’s social status has an interesting setup; he became a beast from punishment, when he was a prince before. After becoming an animal, he still keeps living affluently in a big castle. He was never punished by his environment, but his outward appearance. His preserved wealth later became a reward to Beauty, who is never greedy.
Koreans often say, “All men are wolves.” Wolves are the symbol of hidden desire of the wild man. A man who meets a grown up girl can be seen as a human with a tendency of the beast. Beauty represents spiritual love, and the Beast represents the physical side as an animal. The combination of men and women is the association of body and mind. Often unmarried women have the stereotype that sex or the physical thing is ugly and ill-favored. The spiritual love of Beauty is a decisive role in this plot.
Also, the Beast had to be patient with consideration and devotion until Beauty declared and committed her love toward the Beast. Beauty and the Beast allude to the relationship between men and women. At first, Beauty felt fear of the Beast, but gradually realized attraction to the inner warmth of him. “Alas! I thought I had only a friendship for you, but the grief I now feel convinces me, that I cannot live without you” (14). The spiritual rapport is much more important than appearance in love. This story shows that friendship and gratitude make a long happy loving couple rather than an instantaneous feeling from outward features.
Why did I refuse to marry him? I should be happier with the monster than my sisters are with their husbands; it is neither wit, nor a fine person, in a husband that makes a woman happy, but virtue, sweetness of temper, and complaisance, and Beast has all these valuable qualification. It is true, I do not feel the tenderness of affection for him, but I find I have the highest gratitude, esteem, and friendship (13-14).
The Beast will die if Beauty does not go back to him from her father. Beauty would not return to the Beast without love. The combination of men and women is meaningless and will end as a tragedy without love. Men are the same as beasts without spiritual love. Her leaving her father and returning to the Beast are also connected with the Oedipus complex, because Beauty had to overcome her love for her father. The animal image of the groom exemplifies a vision of woman toward men.
Beauty and the Beast, two protagonists of male and female, do not love at first sight. Their setting of starting with conflict and trouble is much different from the framework of the classic romance that the hero and heroine always struck at first glance. The Beast sent Beauty to her father despite knowing that he will die if she does not come back. This setting shows that the relationship or marriage between males and females requires time to be mature with each other. The Beast respects her free will. Inner growth of the Beast also is the process of ethical obligation.
Global codes of Literature are happy endings, retribution, karma, encouraging the good, and punishing the evil commonly. “Beauty, said this lady, come and receives the reward of your judicious choice; you have preferred virtue before either wit or beauty” (15). Beauty, this name represents virtue not outward appearance, and she is rewarded for her wise choice. “She felt a great deal of compassion for poor Beast . . . so good-natured should be so ugly (11).”
Beauty chose ugliness to be good-natured. On the contrary, her two sisters punished her with their greed and envy; “I know your hearts, and all the malice they contain . . . You shall stand before your sister’s palace gate, and be it your punishment to behold her happiness (15).” The fairy said, “Pride, anger, gluttony, and idleness are sometimes conquered, but the conversion of a malicious and envious mind is a kind of miracle (15).” The fairy seems to be God, who knows every wrongdoer’s mind.
======================
Wolran Kim
November 2013
A beautiful Korean actress had been made famous from her relationship with a very ugly actor in the media once. The public went wild with enthusiasm over this heterogeneous combination as in Beauty and the Beast, and cheered her as a subjective choice of the Alpha Girl. On the contrary, the mass of the people often poured opposition with jealousy toward a couple of beauty and wealth. The fact that there are more couples of beauty with an ugly man than couples with an ugly woman and a handsome man shows the different views toward the opposite sex. Ability is more of a priority over appearance to men than women. The category of romance is the most vulgar and knocking sensitivity or sympathy on the literary code, especially to women. Rarely are there any affairs, hatred, revenge, or sexual desires in all of human history.
All “pretty tales” (2) have enough of the same settings; “His daughters were extremely handsome, especially the youngest, (2)” and “which made her sisters very jealous” (2). Why is a heroine in a novel, movie, or drama always the prettiest? (I thought the word, handsome, is only for male characters.) I wonder why there are much more plain looking people in reality. “and laughed at their youngest sister, because she spent the greatest part of her time in reading good books” (2), “and Beauty rose at four in the morning, and made haste to have the house clean, and dinner ready for the family” (3), and “On the contrary, her two sisters did not know how to spend their time; they got up at ten, and did nothing but saunter about the whole day” (3). Here, never falling short of the reader’s expectations, the little Beauty is even good-natured, diligent, and intelligent. ON THE CONTRARY, the two sisters are bad-natured and slothful, as is expected. The standard of women’s beauty is also connected to the book, which is the symbol of intelligence, not just an aesthetic appearance.
Beauty’s family went through a crisis of social status because her father lost his whole fortune all at once. They were part of the merchant class, where wealth is the only way to keep their pride. The future of the three daughters depended on their money to marry a duke or earl. After their family circumstances were reversed, Beauty and her two sisters dealt with it completely differently. Still, Beauty’s two sisters didn’t deviate from the bourgeois from the rich days of the past. They have greedy and evil minds, different from Beauty. Their requests of new gowns as presents to their father contrast with Beauty’s asking about the rose.
New gowns represent worldly desires and the rose represents purity without greed. Beauty’s rose becomes a mediator of connection between Beauty and the Beast. The rose actually becomes the cause of the link to Beast, the impeccable prince. Beast’s social status has an interesting setup; he became a beast from punishment, when he was a prince before. After becoming an animal, he still keeps living affluently in a big castle. He was never punished by his environment, but his outward appearance. His preserved wealth later became a reward to Beauty, who is never greedy.
Koreans often say, “All men are wolves.” Wolves are the symbol of hidden desire of the wild man. A man who meets a grown up girl can be seen as a human with a tendency of the beast. Beauty represents spiritual love, and the Beast represents the physical side as an animal. The combination of men and women is the association of body and mind. Often unmarried women have the stereotype that sex or the physical thing is ugly and ill-favored. The spiritual love of Beauty is a decisive role in this plot.
Also, the Beast had to be patient with consideration and devotion until Beauty declared and committed her love toward the Beast. Beauty and the Beast allude to the relationship between men and women. At first, Beauty felt fear of the Beast, but gradually realized attraction to the inner warmth of him. “Alas! I thought I had only a friendship for you, but the grief I now feel convinces me, that I cannot live without you” (14). The spiritual rapport is much more important than appearance in love. This story shows that friendship and gratitude make a long happy loving couple rather than an instantaneous feeling from outward features.
Why did I refuse to marry him? I should be happier with the monster than my sisters are with their husbands; it is neither wit, nor a fine person, in a husband that makes a woman happy, but virtue, sweetness of temper, and complaisance, and Beast has all these valuable qualification. It is true, I do not feel the tenderness of affection for him, but I find I have the highest gratitude, esteem, and friendship (13-14).
The Beast will die if Beauty does not go back to him from her father. Beauty would not return to the Beast without love. The combination of men and women is meaningless and will end as a tragedy without love. Men are the same as beasts without spiritual love. Her leaving her father and returning to the Beast are also connected with the Oedipus complex, because Beauty had to overcome her love for her father. The animal image of the groom exemplifies a vision of woman toward men.
Beauty and the Beast, two protagonists of male and female, do not love at first sight. Their setting of starting with conflict and trouble is much different from the framework of the classic romance that the hero and heroine always struck at first glance. The Beast sent Beauty to her father despite knowing that he will die if she does not come back. This setting shows that the relationship or marriage between males and females requires time to be mature with each other. The Beast respects her free will. Inner growth of the Beast also is the process of ethical obligation.
Global codes of Literature are happy endings, retribution, karma, encouraging the good, and punishing the evil commonly. “Beauty, said this lady, come and receives the reward of your judicious choice; you have preferred virtue before either wit or beauty” (15). Beauty, this name represents virtue not outward appearance, and she is rewarded for her wise choice. “She felt a great deal of compassion for poor Beast . . . so good-natured should be so ugly (11).”
Beauty chose ugliness to be good-natured. On the contrary, her two sisters punished her with their greed and envy; “I know your hearts, and all the malice they contain . . . You shall stand before your sister’s palace gate, and be it your punishment to behold her happiness (15).” The fairy said, “Pride, anger, gluttony, and idleness are sometimes conquered, but the conversion of a malicious and envious mind is a kind of miracle (15).” The fairy seems to be God, who knows every wrongdoer’s mind.