Beauty: A Retelling of Beauty and the Beast

As a literary genre, fairy tale retellings adapt earlier, well-known stories in order to modernize or further dramatize them. Fairy tales, like all forms of literature, are social constructs. They expose, and sometimes critique, aspects of society and culture. As such, fairy tales that are retold over significant periods of time can reveal society’s changing norms and values. Literature and fairy tales can also shape those changes. Many women authors of the 20th century popularized fairy tale retellings as a way to advance feminism, the movement for women’s rights. By empowering female characters, authors can subvert gender norms that reinforce inequality. Feminist fairy tale retellings have explored issues like gender norms, female subjugation, imposed passiveness and voicelessness, patriarchy, forced marriage, and the commodification of women (Bensaada, Chiraz. “The Art of Retelling Fairy Tales: A Study of ‘Beauty and the Beast’ Fairy Tale, Robin McKinley’s Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast (1978) and the 2017 Disney Adaptation.” Academia, Sept. 2020).

Beauty, Robin McKinley’s 1978 retelling of Beauty and the Beast, fits into the category of 20th-century feminist fairy tale retellings. The original version of the tale was written by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in her collection of fairy tales, La jeune américaine, et les contes marins (The Young American and Marine Tales) in 1740. In 1756, Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont adapted the story into a Christian moral tale. Barbot de Villeneuve was critical of how society treated women, and especially of their lack of rights in regards to marriage. Leprince de Beaumont, on the other hand, positioned the story as a form of moral guidance for young women, suggesting a proper lady’s place was not to leave an unpleasant or frightening situation, but to see and support the good man underneath the surface. Beauty and the Beast has subsequently been retold numerous times and in a variety of mediums, including books, movies, plays, and operas. The versions best known to US audiences are the Disney animated and live-action films (released in 1991 and 2017, respectively), which both won Academy Awards (“Beauty and the Beast.” SuperSummary).

Barbot de Villeneuve’s version of Beauty and the Beast explores themes of appearance versus reality, the effects of greed, and the many types of captivity. In Beauty, McKinley maintains the appearance versus reality theme by looking at Outward Appearance Versus Inner Beauty. However, she alters the way this theme is presented by making her protagonist plain looking, yet intelligent and courageous. This promotes a more modern view of women’s roles and values in society. McKinley departs from the original tale’s depictions of greed. Instead, she portrays all of Beauty’s family as being selfless, kind, and faithful. When Beauty develops sincere love for Beast because these traits are present in their friendship, it shows How Romantic Ideals Mirror Family Values. McKinley expands upon the original tale’s theme about captivity by couching Beauty’s “captivity” in unique terms. Beast tells Beauty’s father, “if she comes, she must come of her own free will, because she loves you enough to want to save your life—and is courageous enough to accept the price of being separated from you, and from everything she knows” (73). During their time together, Beast asks Beauty to marry him every night, but never pressures her. These changes challenge problematic gender norms in conventional fairy tales, like imposed passiveness and forced marriage. They empower Beauty, showing How Fairy Tale Heroines Shape Their Own Destinies. As societies change and literary styles evolve, new takes on old stories emerge, both revealing and shaping the world around them. Robin McKinley’s take on a classic tale from over two centuries earlier imbues it with more modern perspectives, providing a noteworthy example of how authors can breathe new life into old stories (“Beauty and the Beast.” SuperSummary).