Beauty: A Retelling of Beauty and the Beast

Beast, though momentarily portrayed as a possible antagonist, ultimately becomes the story’s love interest. As the victim of an enchantment that isolates him from the world, Beast is like the outcast archetype, a character banished from society for some crime—real or imagined—against others. This enchantment gives Beast the physical form of another archetype, the creature of nightmare. Juxtaposition of his inner goodness against this monstrous appearance develops the novel’s message about Outward Appearance Versus Inner Beauty. Through Beast’s initial encounter with Roderick, he’s portrayed as dreadful, with a roar like a wild animal’s and a cruel sense of justice. He portrays himself this way in a desperate effort to find a woman who can break the spell. With Beauty, he shows his true character, which is gentle and kind. The author also characterizes Beast through the symbol of the griffin. Several allusions suggest griffins were featured in the castle’s heraldry before the enchantment, and therefore symbolically represent Beast, the last living member of that royal family. Beauty says the griffin on her ring “did not look evil, nor predatory; it was proud, not vicious” (81). Similarly, despite his appearance, Beast isn’t predatory or vicious, but honorable and generous.

Beast’s early choices are motivated by his desire to break the spell on him and his castle. Later, his love for Beauty and his desire to make her happy become more important. He sacrifices his chance to break the spell and risks his own life to let her see her family. Ultimately, unlike in other versions, this story is not about how Beast changes because of Beauty’s love. His feelings for her grow and influence his choices, but overall his character stays the same, making him somewhat static. Instead, the story is about Beauty’s ability to see the goodness in him, beneath his beastly appearance.

Roderick Huston is Beauty’s father and one of the wealthiest merchants in the city at the beginning of the story. He’s a loving, supportive father who prizes his daughters equally for their unique qualities. Beauty says, “I could talk to him openly, about my dreams for the future, without fear of his pitying me or doubting my motives” (5). Through such unwavering support and love, Roderick champions Beauty’s goals and independence, thereby developing a thematic look at How Fairy Tale Heroines Shape Their Own Destinies. Roderick is compassionate and selfless in his relationships with his daughters and with his employees. After his ships are lost and his business fails, he uses what little money he has left “to try and cushion the fall for some of his best men” and “to try and find the men [lost at sea] and help them out of their difficulties” (14). These actions reveal Roderick’s primary motivation—to protect and provide. His perceived failure to do so creates internal conflict for him, though this conflict is not fully developed or resolved within the narrative. It does give his character some depth and complexity, as does his tendency to make assumptions about Beast based on appearance.

Roderick’s character does undergo some changes, though they aren’t central to the book’s themes and reflect mostly changes of circumstance rather than true transformation. After living a humble life in the country for some time, he tells an acquaintance in the city that, “while his new life was not so grand as the old had been, still it was a good life, and his family was together” (62). His changing circumstances have taught him to embrace a different lifestyle and to recognize what’s truly important—his family. As head of that family, he teaches Beauty to value faithfulness and selflessness, which prove to be the basis for a healthy romantic relationship as well. Roderick progresses from fearing Beast to accepting him. At first this is manifested in his acceptance of Beauty’s judgment. Eventually, it’s manifested in their reunion at the castle after the spell is broken.

Grace and Hope Huston are Beauty’s older sisters. They serve the same function in the story and can therefore be analyzed together. In part, Grace and Hope serve as foils to emphasize certain aspects of Beauty’s character by contrast. Their physical descriptions in Chapter 1 establish the importance of beauty in the story and prompt consideration of how it’s defined. Beauty says of Grace: “Her hair was wavy and fine and luxuriant, and as butter-yellow as it had been when she was a baby (said doting friends of the family), and her eyes were long-lashed and as blue as a clear May morning after rain (said her doting swains)” (3). Beauty’s perception of Grace’s and Hope’s attractiveness, in comparison to her own perceived plainness, reveals the initial flaw Beauty must overcome as she learns to distinguish Outward Appearance Versus Inner Beauty.

Unlike their counterparts in other versions of the fairy tale, Grace and Hope are kind, sincere, and “as good-hearted as they [are] beautiful” (3). They are, however, consistently and perfectly so, with no real flaws or complexity to their characterization. By portraying them as loving sisters with admirable characters, McKinley subverts some stereotypes of female characters, especially those of traditional fairy tales that invariably portray sisters as jealous and hateful. Some aspects of Grace’s and Hope’s romantic relationships parallel Beauty’s relationship with Beast. For example, Grace’s loyalty to Robbie, before he sets out on his voyage and long after he’s lost at sea, reinforces a thematic message about How Romantic Ideals Mirror Family Values.