(In preparation for the release of my Beauty and the Beast retelling, To Be Loved, I will be re-sharing old Beauty and the Beast posts. So if this post seems familiar to you, you've probably read it before.)
Okay, I'm still on a Beauty and the Beast kick. Still on Disney's Beauty and the Beast, even.
So it's very common, in enchanted bridegrooms stories, for the Beast to release the Beauty to return to her family. This is a very important step in the story; the Beauty ceases to be a hostage, allowing for the development of a relationship that isn't, you know, deeply unhealthy.
Typically, the deal between Beauty and Beast is that she'll go home and visit her family for a set amount of time, then return to him. It could be argued that this isn't really a setting-free, since she's supposed to return, and presumably he could force the issue. But it doesn't seem the Beauty has any fear that he'll do so; she generally stays over the agreed-upon time, ultimately returning because she feels bad, not because she's afraid of repercussions.
The original text of Beauty and the Beast differs from most enchanted bridegroom stories in that the Beast tells Beauty if she doesn't come back, he's gonna die. Which, on the one hand, is one heck of a guilt trip. On the other, she knows he's not going to come collect her if she decides to just stay home. Of course, she does go back, though she's almost too late.
The Disney version differs in that Belle doesn't go home for a temporary visit because she's homesick; he releases her permanently because her father is physically sick.
Which, you know, good job, Beast! Full hostage release is a great move, as far as being a decent person goes. But I feel like, in this particular situation, we could have avoided separating Belle and the Beast at all, if we didn't have to stick to The Plot, established by hundreds of previous enchanted bridegroom stories.
Last time Belle went out into the woods alone, she almost got eaten by wolves. Is it really a good idea to send her out alone on a winter night, again?
Granted, it may also not be a good idea for a monster who recently kidnapped him to participate in the rescue of a sickly old man lost in the woods, but, like, is the Beast really going to think about that? When presented with Situation: My Girlfriend's Dad is Lost in the Woods, will he think "I should stay here, because my presence will be inherently traumatic?" Or will he think "What a great opportunity to help my girlfriend!"?
So. I propose 3 alternate scenarios:
1. We learn Maurice is lost in the woods. Belle needs to go rescue him. Beast accompanies her, for reasons of Safety from Wolves. Obviously the Beast can't go into town, so we bring Maurice back to the palace, where Belle expresses her love. Or maybe she expresses it when they find Maurice, possibly after the Beast fights off some more wolves.
2. Belle goes out alone to find Maurice. Since they're friends now, she's closer to the palace than the village when she finds him, and the palace has all this cool stuff that will probably result in better medical care, she takes Maurice back to the Beast for recuperation. The Beast, emboldened by her willingness to trust him with her father, confesses his love, and she reciprocates.
3. Look, obviously they were in love before she left and came back, they just didn't say it. As soon as he set her free, I'm pretty sure all her doubts about the relationship evaporated. So how about a confession on the way out? Like, "Bye, love you, see you when Dad's better."
Option 3 leaves us with three follow-up options:
1. Beast transforms immediately. This is unexpected, but it's a problem for later. Maurice needs us!
2. She says she loves him, then immediately books it out of there to find her dad. Misses the transformation sequence. Heads back to the palace—maybe an hour later with a sick Maurice, maybe a week later after he's recuperated—to find a completely different palace in its place. Where is her boyfriend? Where are her friends? Where is the building? What has happened? She seemed to find the whole thing a little difficult to believe when she watched the transformation happen; how much harder is it going to be if it all went down off screen?
3. She immediately books it, brings Maurice home, and has the confrontation with Gaston like in the movie. She attempts to show him the Beast. Mirror shows some random dude instead. This is probably going to result in Belle and Maurice both being institutionalized. Everyone at the palace is worried sick—she loves the Beast, she broke the spell, so why hasn't she come back? A few days, sure. She's got a sick dad to take care of. But it's been a couple weeks. The Beast doesn't have the mirror anymore; he can't check on her. What if she never found her dad? What if she never made it out of the woods? What if the wolves got her? What if she's dead? They're going to have to go into town, find out about the asylum, and launch a rescue mission.
And what about Gaston, and the rest of the people in town? Sure, Belle and Maurice were wrong about the Beast, but Belle did still have a magic mirror. And the magic mirror did show a hot guy that Belle seems into, even if she thinks he's a hideous monster for some reason. Is Gaston going to go confront this guy who stole his crush, and clearly took advantage of her shaky sanity? Is everyone going to head out to the palace just to learn more about the magic mirror? Is this whole thing going to end with an attempt to institutionalize the entire palace? Is everyone going to realize Belle was telling the truth, and some magic went down? Are all the other girls going to lose interest in Gaston, now that there's a second hot guy around? One that's actually nice, and also magical, and also not eating way more than his fair share of the town's eggs? Like, sure, the Beast is taken, but he's still proof there are better options than Gaston.
Was there any point at all to this thousand word post? No. But I had fun speculating.
Order my Beauty and the Beast retelling, To Be Loved, from waxheartpress.com!
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