Tale as Old as Time: Disenchanting the Beast

Representations of the beastly bridegroom have become entangled with their respective brides and female sexual desires. Modern stories of human brides and their animal grooms tend to favour the latter. This essay applies a feminist approach when exploring the evolution of the animal groom within the Beauty and Beast motif. It examines different representations of beastly grooms and brides and varying interpretations of female and male narrators and illustrators. The bear as the Beast is a common figure and evolving views towards the bear as a Beast over the centuries are explored. This essay discusses two exemplar stories for the Beauty and Beast motif, Apuleius’ “Cupid and Psyche” and Madame Leprince de Beaumont’s “Beauty and the Beast.” Comparisons are made between the two aforementioned works, as well as Disney’s 1991 and 2017 adaptations of Beauty and the Beast, the Nordic tale “East of the Sun and West of the Moon” and other works. This essay examines how and why the Beast’s character has transformed from a self-deprecating, gentlemanly creature to a complacent narcissist. In earlier versions the Beast is considered to be the other and a supporting character to a young girl’s maturation into womanhood. However, modern retellings have starred the Beast as the main protagonist. This essay explores these trends and their plausible causes by reflecting on the history of the animal bridegroom motif and the culture and time in which it was written. Furthermore, the Beast is no longer presented as horrifying, but as a symbol of the fallen angel resurrected. The male Beast is sensationalized and celebrated to the extent where it no longer needs to be disenchanted, and the female Beast is depicted as introspective. The fascination and repulsion women (and men) have with the Beast is one of sexualized glorification and toxic masculinity