1250 words 12 hrs

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Gary Oldman

Dr. Ingrao

LIT 1301.001

20 November 2020

The Beast’s Loving Transformation

At the time of writing this essay, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused many to isolate

from others, leading to loneliness. However, there is great power in connecting with others.

There are multiple studies that “support the notion that love enhances global processing and

creative thinking” (Förster 1487). Disney’s 1991 animated feature, Beauty and the Beast,

explores this power of love as a gateway to being one's ideal self through the development of the

Beast. The Beast starts off as an “Other,” a creature that is deemed as not belonging to a group.

In this case, that group is humanity. Over the course of the story, the Beast grows to be less of an

“Other” and more human thanks to the influence of Belle’s love both metaphorically and literally

in terms of plot development. The development of the Beast from an animalistic “Other” to a

more civilized human creature reflects how people have the ability to change for the better if one

attempts to connect with others.

The Beast's first portrayal after the framing of the story emphasizes his animalistic

“Otherness” to establish his starting point in his development as anything but human. The first

time we see the Beast in the film after the fairy-tale style introduction is when Maurice visits the

castle. When the Beast interrogates Maurice, he is seen walking on all fours and growling.

Multiple times in the scene he is seen only in silhouette, emphasizing his eyes and teeth. His

large size takes up most of the screen during this scene in contrast to the cowering Maurice. His

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ignorance of Maurice’s and his servants’ begging helps to portray the Beast as a stubborn non-

thinking animal. Heather Stevens notes in this scene that the Beast “has truly come to exude

beast-like qualities in every aspect of his being” (10). This portrayal is supposed to strike fear in

the viewer and to make him be a true “Other.”

The first time we get a hint at the Beast’s human side comes when Belle attempts to

rescue her father after the Beast imprisons him. At first, we see the same portrayal of the Beast

that we saw before, where we only see him in dark scenes where he takes up most of the visual

space. He continues to growl and is unswayed by Belle’s begging, saying, “‘There’s nothing you

can do [to save him]'” (Trousdale and Wise). When Belle says she wants to take her father’s

place, at first we get the response that is in line with his animalistic portrayal when he growls,

"‘You'”. However, there is a change in his facial features from angry to surprised when he

finishes his sentence, “‘will take his place?'” (Trousdale and Wise). This consideration and

eventual acceptance of Belle’s request is the first moment where we see the Beast act in a way

that is not animalistic. This goes against what was established before when he was solely

portrayed only as a stubborn Beast, allowing the audience to question whether the Beast is truly a

nonhuman monster as he is shown to have sympathy. In briefly a displaying a bit of humanity,

the Beast starts to be less of an Other and be more human.

A later scene with Lumiere and Mrs. Pots confirms the Beast accepted Belle's request

because she has a chance of breaking the spell. He is still portrayed as walking on all fours. His

servants attempt to give him advice on how to be more of a gentleman, but it falls apart as Belle

refuses to accept his invitation to dinner, causing him to growl angrily at her. This scene can be

interpreted as the Beast’s first attempt at trying to be a human, but he is not able to since he is

only doing it so that he can break the spell through her love rather than getting her love through a

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genuine connection. This is not a sincere show of humanity but rather feigned to meet the

Beast’s goal of having his former royal status.

The true turning point comes when the Beast rescues Belle. The Beast’s attack on the

wolves is portrayed as the first time he does something that benefits someone else. While this

can be interpreted as the Beast rescuing Belle just so that he can still have a chance to have her

break his spell, he fights to the point that he risks his life and faints wounded in front of Belle. If

he had only rescued her to restore his status, he would not have continued to fight if it would

have killed him as that would obstruct his goal from being completed. Kathyrn Olson also notes

that “this act defines him as a hero.” This selfless act starts the development of the Beast as

someone human, further moving away from the designation of being an “Other.”

From this point on, the Beast starts to act more and more like a human because of his

genuine connection with Belle. He notes to his servants that, “‘I’ve never felt this way about

anyone before [meeting Belle]. I want to do something for her'” (Trousdale and Wise). This leads

him to gift the library section of the castle to her. This directly shows that the Beast is becoming

more human because of his love for Belle and his attempt at recognizing her desires of reading.

The Beast’s growth is further shown when the Beast and Belle eat soup together. He first eats

ravenously like an animal. In reaction to Belle’s worried expression, he tries to eat the soup with

a spoon. This shows the Beast’s growth in that while he still has animalistic instincts, he tries to

perform like a human by eating with a spoon. He makes an effort to be more like a human

because he wants to connect closer with Belle. This shows the influence that Belle has in driving

the Beast to becoming a better person.

The Beast’s ultimate act of selflessness due to love is when he releases Belle. When the

Beast and Belle find that her father is in danger, the Beast lets her go so that she can rescue her

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father. Since this completely goes against his objective of breaking the spell, the Beast can only

be doing this because he cares about Belle. He does not want her worried for her father’s life, so

he gives up his goal of recovering his status so that Belle can be happy. The Beast is no longer a

stubborn beast only concerned with breaking a spell but is instead a character that is sympathetic

to others. His “compassion and warmth… is brought out by Belle, rather than taught by her”

(Ezza). This shows that Belle has truly changed him for the better, showing the influence one’s

love can have on others, since the Beast is no longer an “Other,” but rather a character with

human kindness.

When the Beast selflessly releases Belle, he has grown into a more human character.

During his fight with Gaston, the Beast does not fight back until he is provoked by Gaston,

where he is forced to fight back so he can keep his life. When the Beast gains the upper hand and

has an opportunity to kill Gaston, he does not. This selflessness shows that the Beast has truly

grown, as he considers the life that he has the opportunity of ending. We know that this

selflessness is not driven by trying to appeal to Belle because she does not show up until after the

Beast backs down from killing Gaston. Therefore, this consideration for the lives of others comes

only from his new values, demonstrating that someone can be truly changed for the better when

influenced by someone else.

The Beast’s development culminates into him transforming into an actual human. This

visually cements the Beast as a more civilized person, no longer the animal that he previously

was. The audience is aware that Belle’s love is the reason for the transformation since the

introduction states that only true love can break the spell. The fact that the transformation is

triggered by Belle’s love can be interpreted to mean that the Beast became a better person due to

Belle’s influence. The Beast could not have become human if he did not try to connect with

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Belle. The visual transformation from “Other” to human shows that people are capable of change

if they attempt to connect with others.

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Works Cited

Ezza, Azza. “Beauty and the Beast – Character Changes (1991 / 2017).” Character Driven

Reviews by AzzaEzza, 28 Mar. 2017, azzaezza.wordpress.com/2017/03/28/beauty-and-the-

beast-character-changes-1991-2017/.

Förster, Jens, et al. “Why Love Has Wings and Sex Has Not: How Reminders of Love and Sex

Influence Creative and Analytic Thinking.” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin,

vol. 35, no. 11, Nov. 2009, pp. 1479–1491, doi:10.1177/0146167209342755.

Olson KM. "An Epideictic Dimension of Symbolic Violence in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast :

Inter-Generational Lessons in Romanticizing and Tolerating Intimate Partner

Violence." Quarterly Journal of Speech. 2013;99(4):448-480.

doi:10.1080/00335630.2013.835491

Stevens, Heather A., "Changing the Nature of the Beast: An Analysis of Significant

Variations From Madame De Beaumont’s La Belle Et La Bête In Disney’s Beauty and

the Beast" (2013). Honors Theses. 150. https://aquila.usm.edu/honors_theses/150

Trousdale, Gary, amd Kirk Wise, directors. Beauty and the Beast. Disney, 1991.